Night of Memories acknowledges cultural group achievements
Posted on September 30, 2024
On Friday 20 September, the Intercultural Committee (ICC) hosted the annual Night of Memories in Rutherford House commons.
This event was a formal prizegiving ceremony that brought together hundreds of students and staff to celebrate and acknowledge achievements of all cultural groups under ICC, as Macleans College foster cultural pride and unity within the school community.
The event also highlighted the success of key initiatives organised and held by the ICC Executive Team throughout the year, including the annual Food Festival and Mufti Day, which raised an all-time high in donations. The proceeds were contributed to Multicultural New Zealand, an organisation which promotes hauora (well-being) and kotahitanga (unity) among diverse communities while providing essential support to migrants and refugees.
Another standout event was the participation of the cultural dance groups - Chinese Girls Group, Lion Dance, Punjabi Dance and Bollywood Dance Group, when they represented the school and their culture with pride at the prestigious Polyfest competition.
Flag Pageant, with guidance from Ms Tuailli, saw over 80 flags from different nations proudly displayed, symbolising the diversity and inclusivity within the school. Then soon after, with tickets fully-sold out on both nights, the annual Night of Intercultural event featured culturally diverse performances, along with interactive games for the audience.
At the end of the ceremony, both students and teachers were invited to join in a shared afternoon tea as they celebrated the official ending of the 2024 ICC calendar year.
The ICC Executive Team this year consisted of President Leo Mamedov (Kupe House), Vice-President Cecilia Ma (Mansfield), Communicator Hannah Liu (Rutherford) and Treasurer Behrad Etemadipour (Batten).
A special thank you goes to all the teachers involved, with particular gratitude to Mrs Hoshino for her unwavering guidance and support in managing the logistics of ICC events throughout this incredibly successful year.
Intercultural Excellence - awarded to members of the Intercultural groups who have made outstanding contributions or demonstrated valuable skills:
- Chinese Culture Club - Junjie Wang (Rutherford) and Mandy Man (Kupe)
- Bollywood Dance Group - Suchalya Hewa Gamage (Batten)
- Chinese Flag Dance - Dennis Sun (Rutherford)
- Lion Dance - Natalie Choi (Rutherford) and Zuoan Wu (Batten)
- Japanese Cultural Club/Anime Club - Devlin Li (Mansfield)
- K-Pop Dance Group - Andrea Monasterio (Batten) and Sophia Wu (Kupe)
- K-Pop Social Club - Derek Liang (Te Kanawa), Natasha Harris (Snell) and Weida Lin (Hillary)
- Chinese Chess Club - Howard Shang (Upham) and Tony Xu (Batten)
- Latino Cultural Club - Vicky Fan (Batten)
- J-Pop Dance Group - Annie Hu (Batten)
- Chinese Girls Dance Group - Mimi Chang (Hillary)
- Korean Traditional Dance Group - Naomi Kwan (Snell)
- Art Club - Armaan Buttar (Snell), Abi Chambers (Hillary)
- Korean Drums Group - Hank He (Rutherford) and Melissa Cristina Chang Da Cunha (Upham)
- Punjabi Dance Group - Jasmine Sandhu (Rutherford) and Samar Brar (Hillary)
- Siva Girls Group - Makanaka Gonde (Upham)
Leaders - this award recognises the amazing work and dedication of all ICC group leaders who work tirelessly to celebrate the diversity and cultural awareness at Macleans College:
- Chinese Culture Club - Clara Zhao (Hillary), Alisa Zhai (Kupe), Sophia Cao (Hillary) and Michelle Zhu (Rutherford)
- Bollywood Dance Group - Deeksha Suresh (Mansfield), Lakshmi Thilakeswaran (Te Kanawa) and Lakshya Narooka (Hillary)
- Chinese Flag Dance - Allison Hu (Batten)
- Lion Dance - Janis Chua (Rutherford) and Samantha Ou-Yang (Kupe)
- Japanese Cultural Club/Anime Club - Haru Matsubara (Rutherford) and Kuan Chen (Batten)
- K-Pop Dance Group - Andrea Monasterio, Evana Song (Hillary) and Taylor Ma (Kupe)
- K-Pop Social Club - Dalton Ma (Rutherford) and Jessica Wang (Mansfield)
- Chinese Chess Club - Tony Xu, Selina Liu (Upham) and Doris Chen (Batten)
- Latino Cultural Club - Valeria Gonzalez Castro (Mansfield)
- J-Pop Dance Group - Alice Zhang (Mansfield) and Annie Hu (Mansfield)
- Chinese Girls Dance Group - Rae Zhou (Batten) and Evana Song
- Korean Traditional Dance Group - Amelia Hu (Mansfield) and Nancy Zeng (Snell)
- Art Club - Andy Chen (Snell), Nora He (Batten) and Jennifer Z. Luo (Upham)
- Korean Drums Group - Grace Kim (Te Kanawa) and Sarah Shin (Mansfield)
- Punjabi Dance Group - Karen Kaur (Te Kanawa) and Harman Kaur (Batten)
- Siva Girls Group - Lele Sanileva (Te Kanawa)
Night of Intercultural participants:
- Kapa Haka Rōpū
- Chinese Duet Singer - Laura Yan (Kupe) and Bernice Han (Te Kanawa)
- Korean Fan Dance Group
- Punjabi Dance Group
- Glenfern Band
- Chinese Flag Dance
- The Last Echo Violin and Singer Duet - Samantha Ou-Yang and Mikey Li (Kupe)
- Lion Dance Group
- J-Pop Dance Group
- K-Pop Dance Group
- Chinese Girls Dance Group
- Chinese Instrumental Club
- 5 Star Michelin and KSJ Dance Group
- Kathak Classical Solo Dance - Kinjal Pandey (Rutherford)
- Howick Taekwondo
- Korean Drums Group
- Traditional Chinese Dance Solo - Selina Wang (Mansfield)
- Mr Fourie and Boyu Xie (Upham) Piano Duet
- Bollywood Dance Group
- Little Fish Musical Group - Annie Su (Mansfield), Michelle Yin (Mansfield), Emily Yin (Te Kanawa), Chelsea Wang (Hillary) and Will Chen (Snell)
