Tickled pink with Bring Your Difference Week
20 May 2022
Bring Your Difference Week has culminated in Pink Shirt Day today, with boys bringing extra colour to the school grounds to celebrate diversity, inclusion and kindness across College.
Pink lamingtons have also marked the day as the boys busily bite into the tasty treats to celebrate the success of the student-driven week and wear the rainbow wristbands handed out at Assembly on Thursday to encourage students to embrace diversity in all its forms.
Head of Wellbeing Jack Brent says that “diversity is what binds us together” and by getting that message across at College with Bring Your Difference Week, “we can then spread that important message further to the wider community”.
In tandem with Bullying-Free New Zealand Week, the student-led Wellbeing Committee has introduced the dedicated week, organising a range of events and activities to highlight the theme of He kōtuinga mahi iti, he hua pai-ā rau – Small ripples create big waves.
Each day, the committee also has shared a short video to highlight the message of ‘Bring Your Difference’. In bringing your difference is the understanding that we accept all differences and celebrate these as a school community.
On Monday, the boys recognised the strengths in others through compliments. Committee members gave out Post-it Notes to boys and staff so that they could write and share a compliment with someone, illustrating the power of positive words and actions.
On Tuesday, students were encouraged to ‘have a break with a new mate’, with Kit Kat bars handed out to boys to share with a fellow student who they did not know. It was an opportunity for the boys to ‘have a break’ and talk to someone new so that they could make new connections to learn about interests and ideas that enriched their lives.
