'Ethnic richness' celebrated

Queenstown Primary School pupils (from left) Holly Chisholm (6), representing Vietnam, Uta Higuchi (13), representing Japan, Millie Vaitkus (6), representing Scotland, Smirti Thapa (8), of Nepal, and Kibbana Seipolt (7), representing New Zealand, at the school's international day on Friday.

More than 30 nationalities are represented at the school, and the annual ''day'' is aimed at celebrating the ''ethnic richness''.

The school encouraged pupils and teachers to dress in costumes representing their heritage, finishing off a week of in-class activities, including flag identification and mapping tasks.

On Friday the school celebrated with an international lunch, where food stalls provided culinary treats from Australia, India, Fiji, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, South America, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Following a parade of nations, Friday's assembly included items performed by pupils - an Irish dance, a Filipino dance, a Ghanaian drummer and the school's kapa haka group.