10-06-2025
Filipinos now 10% of roll, college celebrates culture
Due to a recent influx of Filipino students to a rural Southland school, students organised a celebration dinner to share their Southeast Asian culture and connect.
This year the proportion of students from the Philippines at Menzies College has reached 10% and to celebrate, they threw a dinner party.
International committee president Sarri Penus, 17, said there were a lot of new junior students at the school and the dinner was a chance for them all to get to know each other and their families.
Guests were encouraged to bring a dish that showcased or represented their family, she said.
There were 27 dishes on display in the school hall, brought by 20 families.
The star of the show was the whole spit-roasted pig, or Lechón and there was also a dessert table featuring custard, coconut and rice-based delicacies.
Sarri said they were going to have a traditional dance as entertainment for the evening, but decided that was not an authentic experience at a Filipino party.
"As Filipinos we love to have celebrations and parties and all that stuff," she said.
She said at birthdays, Christmas and other celebrations the Filipino standard was karaoke, which went on after dinner.
Before dinner, Menzies principal Kath Luoni welcomed guests in Tagalog and said 10% Filipino representation was a massive change from when she first started 15 years ago, when there were none.
"For quite a long time, the few Filipinos who did arrive would have felt quite isolated in our community. But it's so nice to see everybody here tonight and feel that sense of belonging and I'm very proud of that," she said.
Nicholle Bedrijo, 16, came to the school eight years ago and said when she first started she knew only one other student who came from the Philippines.
"Even though I progressed through school without that many Filipino peers, I'm very happy to see the younger Filipino students bonding," she said.
ESOL teacher Maura Dakin, who helped organise the event, said that the number of new incoming students from the Philippines in the junior school was more like 20%. She said most of them arrived with perfect English.
Gore District Council community development co-ordinator Guillaume Willemse also spoke and reminded newcomers to the district to reach out to the council for support.
A raffle for Ronald McDonald House, drawn on the night, raised a "tidy" sum of money, Ms Dakin said.
"I believe this will be the first of many future Filipino celebration events," she said.
