Sydney
Pupils are not allowed to attend their own graduation ceremony because of artificial nails
A Sydney school felt that artificial nails like this one were too daring for a graduation ceremony – and therefore banned numerous students from the ceremony
© Screenshot Facebook / Manly Observer
A girls’ school near Sydney has let scores of students miss their own graduation because they had artificial nails. Many of their parents are appalled.
The graduation ceremony is an important graduation ritual for many students, where their achievements are recognized and the end of a chapter is celebrated. In a Sydney suburb last week, some tenth graders had to involuntarily miss their graduation ceremony after the school refused them participation because they wore acrylic nails or colored nail polish.
According to the “Mackellar Girls School” in the suburb of Manly Vale, the affected schoolgirls violated the school’s external appearance guidelines. According to Australian media reports, instead of being called on stage in front of their families like their classmates, they were divided into different classrooms where they should have watched the Christmas film “The Grinch”.
There is disagreement about exactly how many students were excluded from the ceremony. According to media reports, parents report more than 57, sometimes even 70 students. According to The Manly Observer, the New South Wales Department of Education confirmed that 57 students were not allowed to attend the ceremony, but said that the majority of the girls were late because they were late. Only 20 girls were denied participation because of dress code violations. Parents present at the ceremony dispute this version.
Parents complain about action by girls’ school near Sydney
A mother told “The Manly Observer” that the ceremony was initially delayed by about an hour because of the disciplinary measures taken against the girls, and at first nobody in the room knew why. Then several students called their parents from the classrooms to tell them that they were not allowed to come into the hall. The school staff is said to have never informed the parents about the situation.
After protests from parents, some of the students were finally allowed to stand and watch the assembly from the back of the hall. However, they were not allowed to come on stage, and their names were not read out when the certificates were awarded. They only received the certificates after the ceremony. A mother told News.com that the school acted as if the girls didn’t exist.
In addition, according to reports from a mother, the students were apparently divided according to the severity of their violation of the dress code. This means that students who also wore false eyelashes had to stay in the classroom, while some students who only wore light-colored acrylic nails were finally allowed into the hall and at least watch the ceremony.
Many parents of the students have no understanding for the rigorous approach of the school and expressed their anger on social media. The measures are cruel and not up to date, it said in some comments. A mother wrote in a letter of complaint to the school that she was ignoring and destroying the girls’ years of academic achievement. One mother told 10 News First Sydney schools should be more flexible about appearance regulations. Fingernails say nothing about a person’s academic performance or personal characteristics.
Ministry of Education: Schoolgirls are said to have been informed about dress codes
According to the New South Wales Ministry of Education, the students were informed in advance about the demands on the clothing and the appearance of the students and were also explicitly informed about the requirements for fingernails. However, the mother of one affected student told Yahoo News Australia that the students had previously been assured that as long as their nails looked natural, there would be no problem. Only “unnaturally colored” nails were communicated as taboo, which is why many of the affected schoolgirls had extra “French Nails” made – nails in a bright design.
pedagogy
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In an e-mail from the headmistress, seen by the Manly Observer, she is said to have told parents that the concerns expressed about the school’s actions would now be reviewed.
Sources: “Yahoo NewsAustralia“, “Yahoo Life“, “News.com Australia“, “Manly Observer“, Twitter, Facebook