To mark International Cultures Week at Benenden a whole host of activities took place. It kicked off on the Monday with a celebration of Chinese New Year – the Year of the Rat. The Grey Jumpers and the Mandarin Ambassadors led the whole School Prayers and shared their knowledge and experience of the Lunar New Year and China trip.
The Weekend Programme activities were also Chinese themed: the Fourth enjoyed a Chinese takeway; the Upper Fourth a Chinese craft workshop; Fifths got a lesson in Chinese cooking; the Lower Fifth had a Chinese New Year Social with Tonbridge and the Upper Fifth and Sixth Form enjoyed food from a delicious Chinese noodle van. A whole school TikTok style Gongxi Gongxi (a popular Mandarin Chinese song) video competition was also launched and the winner will get a whole year’s supply of fortune cookies! Away from the Chinese New Year theme there were international cooking classes in Founders, a Spanish film night, a Live Lounge event in the Café, an INTERSOC Fair and Showcase and a National Dress Day, with a number of girls dressing up in clothing relevant to a country close to their hearts.