St Gregory’s celebrates Culture & Diversity Week
At the end of October St Gregory’s celebrated another highly successful Culture & Diversity Week, bringing the whole school community together in a joyful exploration of global traditions led by our incredible 1719 society.
The week kicked off concentrating on language and communication, with all tutor groups focusing on learning some new ways of greeting one another.
Tuesday was the day everyone always looks forward to as we held our international food festival which was a culinary treat for the senses. Students, staff, and parents brought in delicious dishes from around the world, offering sweet and savoury delights from different cultures. From Spanish Tapas, stuffed vine leaves, French bread products and cakes, so many sweet doughnuts, Welsh cakes, baked goods from everywhere from Lithuania to Hungary, as well as an introduction to the sensation that is Irn-Bru for many.
The food festival was the ultimate treat and gave everyone an opportunity to try something new. Not only did the food fair bring people together over sharing food and talking about it, but it also raised money for a charity of the students’ own choosing.
Also on Tuesday, we welcomed an aspiring future Olympian, James Hulme, from the university of Bath who competes in the modern Pentathlon. James is currently rising through the ranks and placed fourth in the world at the recent World Championships. He spoke to all of Year 8 about his experience of competing alongside people from across the globe and learning so much from healthy competition.
It was clear to all of us listening, that he has both learnt from the training practices and cultural differences that guide becoming a successful athlete, but also been moved by how much they teach one another about daily life. He shared with us many stories and experiences of competing in other countries, highlighting the challenges and blessings of travelling abroad to compete. He gained many fans with his honest and likeable persona, converting his audience to explore the modern pentathlon. We were grateful to James for visiting us and helping us see how to celebrate culture and diversity through another lens.
On Wednesday and Thursday we enjoyed so much Karaoke at lunchtime in the main hall. The support and backing of their peers has encouraged everyone from year 7’s to year 13’s to find a track from another language or culture and sing on stage in front of a packed out hall. The 1719 society leadership team of students led the event with enthusiasm and by example, ending lunchtime by guiding hundreds in a collective rendition of the Macarana. Several groups of students were involved in a dance workshop on Thursday by Kenzi Ireland called Afrobeats. Full of energy and joy, students loved the experience and showed that they all have rhythm inside of themselves – sometimes it just needs a little encouragement and unlocking.
Thursday was also the pinnacle of our week with a vibrant cultural dress-up day, where both students and staff donned stunning traditional outfits representing a wide array of nations. The sight of colourful saris, kimonos, African prints, and many other beautiful garments as well as some clever nods to family heritage was appreciated by all and encouraged students to embrace and learn from each other.
Throughout the week, the 1719 society have found ways to share learning opportunities in tutor time and assemblies focusing on how important expression of culture, diversity and traditions are for a tolerant and respectful society. St Gregory’s Culture & Diversity Week was a resounding success once again, thanks to the engagement and participation, respect for one another and some exceptional planning and drive from the student leaders in our sixth form.
St Carlo Acutis Exhibition Visits St Gregory’s
St Gregory’s hosted an exhibition of the work of St Carlo Acutis, the recently canonised teenage saint who is being spoken of as the millennial saint in our school Chapel and surrounding area.
Students, staff, families (and inspectors who were around that week!) had the opportunity to take in some of the incredible research St Carlo Acutis conducted on Eucharistic miracles worldwide and throughout history, which were then recorded on his website https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/liste/list.html.
He had the most incredible devotion to the Eucharist for one so young, full of maturity in all matters of faith. To him the Eucharist was “The highway to heaven”, a place he reached at the tender age of 15 years. But in that short time he found a deep connection to Jesus, became a witness and disciple in the modern age, and brought others along with him.
Carlo has succeeded in an extraordinary way, despite living an ordinary existence like that of many, in dedicating his life, moment by moment, to the highest goal to which all people are called: eternal bliss with God.
Many classes visited the exhibition for a tailored lesson exploring the work of St Carlo, as well as so many others voluntarily coming to view the exhibition during lunchtimes – we pray they have found a lens into the message of the Gospel through one of their peers.
St Gregory’s students share their ‘voices for peace’
As part of our celebrations for the Lasallian days of peace, students in St Gregory’s used their retreat day to reflect and create a wonderful visual display in the school Chapel. After introducing the school to the theme in assemblies, students on retreat were encouraged to explore how they could be the bridge and connection to a more peaceful world.
Peace in our world, in our communities and families can only ever come from the peace within each of our hearts. As one of our four house saints we drew inspiration from St Oscar Romero who famously said ‘Each of you must be God’s microphone’. Students were each given cut out microphones which they decorated and shared their message or prayer for peace upon.
All of those 174 visual symbols of the united voices of our young people now circle doves and a giant globe in our school Chapel to create a stunning display.
