Celebrating Culture, Diversity and Home at Aspire Riverwalk
Aspire’s early education and kindergarten centres celebrate and uplift the diversity of our children and staff. Nowhere is this more evident than at Aspire Riverwalk. By celebrating the cultures the children come from, as well as the culture of First Nations peoples, Riverwalk is creating compassionate, worldly children.
Recently, the staff and children at Aspire Riverwalk participated in Diversity Week celebrations to recognise the beauty of cultural diversity. On Thursday the centre dressed up in their cultural dress or something that represented their background. It was incredible to see so many wonderful outfits representing countless countries and ethnic groups.
Centre Co-Director Julie is a massive proponent of celebrating culture, diversity and home.
“Celebrating our culture is so important, and we encourage children and educators to incorporate our various cultures into our programs. Doing this allows children to celebrate differences and embrace diversity throughout their learning journey.”
Aspire Early Education & Kindergarten Riverwalk also celebrate Floral Fridays. Floral Fridays is a tradition on Torres Strait Island where people wear flowers or floral prints for the day. Educators and children alike come dressed like a bright bunch of flowers each Friday. The children also learn about Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as the First Nations peoples on whose land they learn and play on.
Celebrating Floral Friday allows the centre to further implement cultural awareness and bring curiosity of the Torres Strait Islander culture into our learning environments. This encourages us to further explore other Torres Strait Islander customs and traditions, educating ourselves and our children towards becoming more culturally competent.
It is a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn about the culture of the land and gain knowledge of our country’s history.
Another way that Aspire Riverwalk assists its multicultural community is by supporting people through Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is noted as a month of fasting, reflection, prayer and community. The Riverwalk team have supported their fasting community members by providing free water and dates as they drop off or pick up their children. The centre supports all religions, cultures and beliefs of the children and their families.
If you are interested in enquiring at Aspire Early Education & Kindergarten Riverwalk, call 1800 978 429. Alternatively, email info@aspireearlyeducation.vic.edu.au or click here to visit our contact page.
