School is preparing for culture night

THE MILLSTREET Community School Language and Culture Night returns this Thursday night.

It’s the time of year when the school celebrates countries and cultures with workshops, quizzes and awareness-raising activities around the themes of belonging, inclusion, celebrating diversity and challenging racism.

In the run up to the week, transition-year students have been running the MCS Olympics 2024 during PE lessons.

This involves every student in the school representing different countries in teams, and the country that wins the overall competition will receive medals.

The TY students are also working with their RE and CSPE teachers and junior classes to produce country profiles of all the nations represented in the school at this time.

Art teacher Sandra Moynihan organised an art competition around the theme of ‘Sanctuary – My Safe Place.’ A highlight of the week will be the Celebration of Culture and Inclusion this Thursday from 7pm.

The event is open to all members of the community, and the programme features song, dance, poetry, storytelling, music and the chance to taste foods from different countries.

Special guest is Dr Manizha, a dentist by profession and Dean of the Dental School in Herat, Afghanistan.

“I came to Ireland when the Taliban invaded Afghanistan and threatened me and my family, so to save our lives and my job, we came to Ireland,” said Dr Khan.

A strong advocate for refugee and asylum seeker rights, she presents a radio show called My Life in a Suitcase on Radio UCC 98.3 FM. Dr Khan is very pleased to attend, and the school is delighted to welcoming her on such a special night. Admission is free, with proceedings getting underway at 7pm.