28 June 2021
Underpinned by relationships of trust, it is the work of our teachers to create learning environments that reveal the rich diversity of our student body, and to use this to build unity.
Each year Harmony Day enables us to discover something new about our students, highlighting their insatiable quest for meaning and their emerging desire to understand themselves.
鈥�In Year 6 we were study颅ing a How We Express Our颅selves unit, so we asked our stu颅dents to share a part of their cul颅ture on Har颅mo颅ny Day that rep颅re颅sent颅ed 鈥�鈥�beau颅ty鈥�. We were exposed to an incred颅i颅ble col颅lec颅tion of mul颅ti颅cul颅tur颅al tra颅di颅tions alive in the homes of our stu颅dents today. From tea drink颅ing rit颅u颅als to water pup颅pets and the most remark颅able piece of music played on an ancient Chi颅nese instru颅ment called the guzheng, our stu颅dents were awe-inspired dis颅cov颅er颅ing one another鈥檚 unique cul颅tur颅al iden颅ti颅ties.鈥�
Mr Fraz颅er, Year 6 Teacher
Harmony Day is about inclusivity, respect and belonging for all, regardless of cultural or linguistic backgrounds. We choose to mark this occasion in the Junior School by inviting students to explore their connection with a country of their choice and come to School dressed in a national costume. We are aware that the request to wear a 鈥榥ational costume鈥� can be interpreted differently by families and we encourage creativity and individuality on this occasion. In our increasingly global society we are conscious that one child may identify with being 鈥榓n Australian鈥� quite differently to another. Providing opportunities to discuss this, reveal perspectives, and respectfully wrestle with different thoughts and experiences energises connections.
The Year 5 teachers took the opportunity on Harmony Day to explore the linguistic systems that exist within the names of students in their classes. Some questions included: How does understanding someone鈥檚 name help us to understand their identity? Why do we abbreviate names so often in Australia? How does knowing how to say someone鈥檚 name correctly invite a sense of inclusion? What other language systems can we discover when we pay attention to the pronunciation and letter combinations of a name? What sounds exist in some languages but not in English?
Insightful discoveries were made when students dug deeply into the story of their names. Some stories were shared and others were questioned. A number of children felt that their names defined them, while others noted that their family names were changed over time due to migration, marriage laws, adoption, translations and family traditions.
鈥�Peo颅ple find it hard to read my name because they see the first two let颅ters and get con颅fused. I think this is because we don鈥檛 see 鈥�鈥�Ts鈥� at the start of a word in Eng颅lish so peo颅ple hes颅i颅tate and mis颅pro颅nounce it all the time. I cor颅rect them. I like my last name because it comes from Greece, which is where my grand颅fa颅ther is from.鈥�
Leo (Yr 5)
鈥�I felt proud teach颅ing oth颅ers about my fam颅i颅ly and my her颅itage. It felt good being able to explain how to pro颅nounce my name prop颅er颅ly and tell peo颅ple what it actu颅al颅ly meant. I felt like they got to know and under颅stand me bet颅ter.鈥�
Mia (Yr 5)
鈥�My name Zoe means 鈥�鈥�life鈥� in Greek.
My mid颅dle name is my grandma鈥檚 name. My grand颅par颅ents were born in Greece and when my grand颅pa first trav颅elled to Aus颅tralia he was told to change his last name to Chap颅ley. I think if some颅one took my name away from me and told me to use anoth颅er name I would feel emp颅ty. I don鈥檛 think my grand颅fa颅ther felt good about it but he did it. I think know颅ing this sto颅ry has made me con颅nect with my grand颅par颅ents more and feel con颅fi颅dent about my her颅itage. My grand颅fa颅ther sac颅ri颅ficed lots of things to move to Aus颅tralia, even his name.
I think it is amaz颅ing how my grand颅par颅ents pushed through so much and even颅tu颅al颅ly ran a super颅mar颅ket. I am proud of my Yayai and Papau.鈥�
Zoe (Yr 5)
Exploring names, rituals and costumes is a joy. Paying attention, imagining, listening and respecting is what enables us to become better, together. These are the cornerstones of international-mindedness.
Belinda Reitst盲tter
Assistant Head of Junior School (Teaching & Learning)
