We have reached the third anniversary of the the March 15 tragedy, and our hearts go out to the Christchurch Muslim Community.

This year observed the introduction of a Unity Week.  Led by the Sakinah Community Trust, it was held in Christchurch (Ōtautahi) from the 15th of March to the 22nd of March. Unity Week is a wonderful initiative designed to harness and build on the sense of unity that emerged in the city and the rest of New Zealand after the mosque attacks.

As we did last year, our school community observed the March 15 tragedy and by embracing this years Unity Week we strengthened out commitment to Unity. As a symbol of such, we planted flowers in our memorial garden, choosing beautiful flowers of the four whare colours of Riccarton High School. This will be an annual event and we sincerely thank our students, Fatima and Sadiyah, for helping our talented Grounds Keeper, Mr Darren Rogan, to plant such beautiful flowers.

In another gesture, RHS staff and students observed a minutes silence during whanau time on the 15th of March. The leaders of our Culture Council, Anti Bullying Committee and the Muslim Students Group initiated a wall of remembrance which we themed on “Unity”. Students and staff put up heart warming post-it notes and laid flowers and candles at the base of our unity wall. A big shout out to the leaders of our Anti Bullying Committee, Michael and Yue Ying, for taking over the student initiatives on the day while our Year 13 students were away on off-site learning. 

Whanau teachers embraced the day with unity themed activities during whanau time. Amie Blackwell’s class made raranga putiputi (flax weaving) arrangements, and origami. At the end of the day, I collected the flowers, crafts and notes, presented and laminated them onto A3 paper and gifted them to the mosques. For me, the highlight of this year’s unity week activities was the video our school produced to understand hijab. We have received considerable acknowledgement and appreciation from the Ministry of Education (MOE), English Language Partners (ELP), and from other community organisations. 

Ka pai to RHS students, Elnathan and Prince, along with the RHS MAD team for organising this wonderful video. A big thank you to Fatima, Mahdia and Huda for being a part of it. 

Nowruz

On a separate note, Nowruz, the Persian New Year that marks the beginning of the spring season, is celebrated with great passion and enthusiasm among various Farsi communities across the world. 

The word 'now' means new and 'ruz' means day, which translates to 'a new day'. Our library has set up a beautiful display to celebrate Nowruz, and students are able to have their photos taken amongst the display, and learn various information about Farsi culture and Nowruz. 

We wish a very happy Persian New Year to our Farsi community, Nowruz Mobaarak!