National Harmony Day– ‘Our Strength is Our Diversity’
On Tuesday, 29th of March, Macquarie Grammar School celebrated Harmony Day. The day was intended to show cohesion and inclusion in Australia and promote a tolerant and culturally diverse society. As our school is very multicultural and diverse, Harmony Day was a great opportunity for us to celebrate and recognise the many cultures that make up our school community.
As all the students and teaching staff at our school come from different cultural backgrounds, celebrating Harmony Day allowed us all to respect, appreciate and celebrate a sense of belonging for everyone. The day created an opportunity to think, talk about and recognise how our differences make Australia a great place to live. This day was also an opportunity for us to express a strong and inclusive welcome to our international students and to embrace our unique identities.
On Harmony Day we came together as a school to celebrate our cultural diversity. With the help of MrsCawood, Mr Green and the SRC, we brought our school community together through food, music and a very entertaining fashion show, parading the many cultural dresses of our staff and students. As embarrassing as it might of seemed and felt at first by the people who dressed up on the day, we all slowly began to feel comfortable and with pride. Even though we all looked different, we all felt the same and most importantly, we felt that we all belonged.
Throughout the day, the students and staff engaged in various different activities to celebrate Harmony Day. We were also very lucky to have with us the Indonesian Angklung (a musical instrument from Indonesia that was made from two to four bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame) Group to perform for our students and staff.
The day was a great success. It was filled with laughter, excitement and enjoyment. The Student Representative Council was able to raise nearly $100 just by selling orange ribbons on the day. To conclude our Harmony Day celebrations, all the students created a collaborative artwork with multi-coloured handprints on a blank canvas, illustrating how our strength is our diversity and that everybody belongs. As the celebration of our first Harmony Day at Macquarie Grammar School was a great success, we hope to celebrate this marvellous day annually to celebrate cultural diversity and that everybody belongs!
TarinKhondukar (Y11) SRC
