By Marcus Uhe
Students at Cranbourne East Secondary College are ramping up their preparations for the return of the 4C’s Cultural Showcase at Bunjil Place next month.
In partnership with a number of schools from across the region, such as Narre Warren South P-12, Alkira Secondary College, Cranbourne Secondary College and Fountain Gate Secondary College, Cranbourne East VCAL students have been entrusted with the responsibility of organising and directing the show for the first time.
On 5 and 12 September, the students will perform cultural dances and musical acts at the Bunjil Place Theatre, and have their visual arts, such as wood carvings, fashion and digital media displayed at the Bunjil Place Library for family members and the community at large to engage with.
The 4C’s (Cultivating Creatives Cultures through Communities) program was started by Laitini Matautia 16 years ago as a means of including and engaging students from diverse backgrounds by giving them the opportunity to celebrate their heritage and culture in a student-led project.
In-turn, it helped to combat issues of racial discrimination and anti-social behaviour in the schoolyard.
Throughout the school year, the students are required to plan and pitch their ideas to Ms Matautia, before engaging with one-another, stakeholders and external groups to execute the performance and exhibition that they envisaged.
“It’s a program made for students, by students,” Ms Matautia said.
“All these students when they come to me by semester two, they have to have all the knowledge that they’ve accumulated over time.
“We’re not teaching them anymore new skills; we’re putting them in a work environment and they’re under a timeline, they’ve got a show to run with 800 people and stakeholders there they’ve got to get to know, they’ve got responsibilities and personal development skills, as well as work related skills.”
The program forms part of the personal development curriculum and fosters the development of problem solving and leadership skills.
“Everything’s outcome based; they’re not just doing things willy-nilly for no reason, it’s an actual work related task, and they have to get it done,” Ms Matautia said.
“You don’t just go into a job and you know what you’re doing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, what’s the next step? You’ve got to have that plan A, B, C.”
Shouldering responsibility for the stage performance are a team of student directors, including Dimitrios Pikos, Ashlea Alabaster, Hadija Katambwe, Chanel Ulutui and Tevita Fanguna.
Ms Alabaster said they were grateful for the opportunity to be assigned a role of such significance.
“This is Cranbourne East Secondary College’s first time organising it,” she said.
“It took a two year break because of Covid-19, and it’s even bigger this year because it’s bringing everyone back together after two years.
“We’re very honoured that (Ms Matautia) picked our school and believed in us that we could organise it.”
Among the prominent cultural groups in the student cohort include Polynesian and Pacific Islander, Indian and Middle Eastern communities.
From her experiences with other schools, Ms Matautia said this event was often a highlight of students’ and families’ education journeys.
“Some of the parents, they don’t come to school events, they don’t answer calls, they don’t take on all that sort of stuff, but this is the one thing, the one night that you see all the extended family come and support their students,” she said.
“They highly value the cultural side of things, and for them to also see that the kid are also passing their curriculum outcomes, that for them is a bonus.”
As leader of the program, she said the responses she receives from students’ family members often leave her overwhelmed.
“Usually the year 12 students who are graduating, (their families) come and watch them and I’ve had tears, hugs everything, outside Bunjil Place where their grandfathers come in and hug their kids because they’re graduated and it’s a really big deal.
“A lot of kids from some of these backgrounds, their families have never been through or finished high school, so it’s been an amazing thing for them.
“I had never intended for it to get this big but I felt the need from schools and families that this is something that they would engage in and that’s why I have continued to do it to this day.”
Tickets for event can be purchased at bunjilplace.com.au/events/4c’s-cultural-showcase
