Wellbeing

All forms of racism impact on student and teacher wellbeing.

Whole school programs

Wellbeing initiatives are embedded into programs that build and maintain school community harmony. If racism becomes an issue within the school community leaders are encouraged to refer to:

Welfare based activities

Pastoral care/ tutorial groups, Student Representative Councils (SRCs), lunchtime interest groups and extra-curricular activities at schools, pre-schools, after hours school care centres could include some of the following ideas.
  • have a regular column in school publications eg newsletter which includes quotes, community statistics, poems relevant to cultural inclusivity
  • hold an anti-racism forum for the student leadership body – involve the member of staff responsible for dealing with issues of discrimination such as your Anti-Racism Contact Officer (ARCO)
  • hold an anti-racism forum for the regional student representatives. Involve the members of staff responsible for dealing with issues of discrimination and Educational Service Advisers
  • establish a Student Anti-Racism Network (SARN) with neighbouring schools
  • consider leadership or peer mediation training
  • develop and implement an anti-racism program across a year level for a term – older students could be trained to take groups
  • use videos as focus for discussion in anti-racism training
  • book a performance group dealing with multiculturalism and racism
  • invest in new resources which focus on intercultural understanding
  • use literature about anti-racism and cultural inclusion as a basis for literacy work, reading periods or peer reading – refer to Intercultural understanding through texts (PDF 2MB)
  • study ‘Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes’ and make origami cranes and other creations
  • display a cultural board in the library or school that features a different cultural group each month
  • record numbers of students, languages spoken, a map and other interesting facts
  • run a writer/poet-in-residence program. Collate work into a resource for future use
  • invite a story teller or puppeteer to perform and then record the stories in books for younger students
  • write stories for your local primary or preschool. These could be based on Aboriginal stories or stories from different cultures, either familiar to the students or researched. Team with Visual Arts to illustrate the stories
  • study and write folktales, poetry or short stories on the theme of multiculturalism
  • invite community guest speakers representing the diversity of the community
  • study different periods of Australia’s migration history. Visit Making Multicultural Australia and assemble a timeline
  • study historical documents and speeches relating to multiculturalism or race relations such as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln or Paul Keating’s Redfern speech
  • use The NSW Department of Education’s cultural diversity calendar to
  • recognise and observe significant days and/or incorporate into daily routine
  • plan activities to observe days of major significance such as:
    • 21 March Harmony Day and International day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
    • 26 May National Sorry Day
    • 24-30 June National Refugee Week
    • 7-9 July 2017 NAIDOC Week
    • 17 September Australian Citizenship Day
    • 21 September International Day of Peace
    • 16 November International Day of Tolerance
    • 10 December International Human Rights Day
  • contact an overseas school – exchange letters and work samples
  • introduce some languages not usually offered at your school for a limited time and study both language and culture – choose countries students may visit or come in contact with locally such as Indonesia, Fiji, Vietnam, Thailand
  • make a short video to reflect the diversity of your school
  • hold a visual arts exhibition focusing on anti-racism
  • create cultural artefacts
  • create decorative  items such as puppets, kites, lanterns, masks or body art – research their origins
  • organise a poster competition using anti-racism themes
  • design and paint a cultural harmony mural for a playground wall
  • create a mosaic reflecting the identity of the class, school or local community or based on a theme or significant event – each student paints one large tile and tiles are combined as a finished product
  • study, make or play instruments from around the world
  • study a type or range of music from around the world
  • access M.U.S.I.C: Musicians United for Songs In the Classroom for a directory of popular songs and suggestions for how to teach and learn
  • investigate racism and stereotyping in popular modern music
  • invite community members to give cooking demonstrations from different cultural backgrounds
  • run cultural diversity trivia using questions from the Racism. No way! quizzes
  • have fun multicultural periods or wet weather activities – introduce board games from around the world and rotate students – play music! Dance! Sing! Read! Enjoy!