Tauranga Girls’ College is privileged to empower a culturally diverse range of students. To celebrate the rich cultural diversity at TGC, two weeks of multicultural celebrations were held, involving various cultural groups. As a result of these celebrations, Tauranga Girls’ College was one of five schools awarded $200 by Multicultural Tauranga for outstanding cultural inclusion.

On Wednesday 17 August, students gathered at the whare to create a cultural globe of hands, representing the different ethnicities of TGC’s ākonga. It was incredibly special to see all of the different cultures represented in the artwork! The art will be added to further over the coming weeks before being displayed.

On Friday 26 August the TGC Multicultural Festival was held in the hall, with performances from an array of cultural groups. Students were entertained by TGC’s Pasifika and Kaupapa Māori groups, as well as several groups of international singers, dancers and musicians. It was fantastic to see all of the talent on display!

Kaiako Mrs Cunningham says, "the musicians, singers and dancers blew me away! It was obvious these students were enjoying themselves and so proud of their cultures. But what was more moving was the students in the audience. These students clapped and cheered their hearts out in support of their peers. It did not matter that they couldn't understand the language; the rhythm and beat of the music was enough for them to join together. It really was a privilege."

The Multicultural Festival also had a range of cultural food stalls where students could try different ethnic delicacies. The tasty treats included dumplings, pork buns, German cakes, and rēwena bread. Our ākonga enjoyed these dishes just as much as they enjoyed the performances!

Overall, the multicultural celebrations were a great success. Our kura takes pride in celebrating diversity everyday, and it was fantastic to see ākonga come together to share their cultures with each other. 

Ka pai tō mahi, well done to all those involved!