吃瓜不打烊

4 December 2024

The 300 students at St Anthony’s School, Noble Park, encompass 43 different cultural groups, with 93% of the cohort learning English as an Additional Language (EAL).

‘It does bring some challenges’, said Principal Erin Nagel, ‘but we really look at it as such a positive atmosphere and community. It’s our strength, our diversity, and we celebrate it often’.

Soon after the pandemic, Erin observed that the numerous negative stereotypes in the news had started to impact families, students and even teachers. She says she and her staff determined a concerted shift in the negative stereotypes was required.

With funding provided by Together For Humanity’s program, an action plan was devised by the school’s leadership team to implement three key priorities:

1. to increase the school’s understanding of its community, including their beliefs, faith and culture through professional learning for staff and community conversations with parents
2. to celebrate and build awareness of diversity through school-based celebrations of faith and culture
3. to increase students’ awareness of their own culture, enable them to have an understanding of other students’ culture and traditions, and promote respect for diversity.

Over the past three years, parental responses to the question ‘How well does the school consider your family’s cultural background?’ have gone from 65% in 2022 to 93% in 2024.

In recognition of the school’s efforts, St Anthony’s was one of nine recipients in the School Team Awards category of the Together For Humanity National Awards for Intercultural Excellence, presented by Australian Human Rights Commission Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman and Special Envoy for Social Cohesion, Peter Khalil MP.

This is an extract of an that was originally published on the EducationHQ website.