Hunter Valley Grammar School sparks outrage over woke Mother’s Day move

An elite private school has been accused of pushing ‘woke ideology’ after changing the name of its Mother’s Day stall to ‘Family Day’. 

The stall will be available to junior school students from kindergarten to Year Six at the Hunter Valley Grammar School, 310km north from Sydney, on Friday. 

The stalls have been traditionally set up so students could buy gifts for their mother ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday. 

The initiative has angered some mums who claim the stall is erasing their special role as mothers on the one day a year they can be celebrated. 

‘I am quite upset by this,’ one mum told the Daily Telegraph. 

‘By changing the name it feels like you are sending the message to students that mums are no more important than anyone else in their lives they think are special.

‘It is the one day a year where mums are celebrated and recognised.’

She said the change had come after parents complained the Mother’s Day stall was upsetting students who may not have a mum in their lives or had two dads. 

Another mother accused the school of pushing ‘woke ideology’. 

‘I am deeply concerned about gender ideology infiltrating our schools and how proponents of this movement are not only seeking to erase important and meaningful gendered terms such as mother, girl, boy, breast, but also seek through the guise of ‘inclusion’ to erase valued traditions such as Mother’s Day,’ she said.

‘(It’s)… the one day a year dedicated to all mums, future, past and present, to appreciate their value, sacrifices, and unconditional love.’

Parents were notified about the stall in an email from the school. 

‘The purpose of this stall is to celebrate loved ones. On Friday, students from K-6 will have the opportunity to visit the stall,’ the email read. 

‘Students have the special job of choosing a gift with their loved one in mind.’ 

It comes as a growing number of preschools and childcare centres refuse to celebrate Mother’s Day and rename the occasion ‘Parent’ or ‘Family Day’. 

Last year, several early learning centres hosted events that replaced female-centric words like ‘mother’ with non-gendered words like ‘parent’. 

The shift in thinking was sparked by a new resource from the Early Childhood Australia advocacy group, which provided educators with a guide to including diverse families on Mother’s and Father’s Day.

The resource urged educators should give children the option to make a gift for a ‘special adult’ who wasn’t their mum or dad and to avoid gender stereotypes. 

‘Avoid gender stereotypes in children’s crafts,’ the resource advised.

‘Steer away from cards with flowers for mum or ties for dad.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Hunter Valley Grammar School for comment.