Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Next Thursday 21st March students will be celebrating Harmony Day. This yearly event, recognises the great multicultural diversity that exists in our society. Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Next Thursday, students are encouraged to wear something orange with his/her school uniform. Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Day. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

Some interesting facts related to Australia’s diversity

• nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was
• we identify with over 300 ancestries
• since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
• 85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia
• other than English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi
• more than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.

These facts are taken from ABS 2016 Census Data. Check out the Australian Bureau of Statistics .

Harmony Day also coincides with World Down Syndrome Day, which has officially been recognised by the United Nations since 2011. On this day, people all around the world celebrate the lives and achievements of people with Down Syndrome, creating a global voice, advocating for rights, inclusion and wellbeing of people with Down Syndrome.

Students are also invited to wear colourful odd socks next Thursday 21st March.

This will help students to identify that intolerance needs to be replaced with
acceptance, inclusion and promote fairness for all.

BUILDING PROGRESS UPDATE

The refurbishment of classrooms is continuing to progress well. This week has seen the Year 5 students move to the refurbished classroom space that was the previous school library. Year 4 Gold has also moved from the Community Room to the refurbished Year 4 classroom.

Year 6 has also relocated temporarily into the existing Year 5 classroom space. This is while the Year 6 classrooms are undergoing refurbishment. During the next school holiday break, the playground space outside the Year 5 and Year 6 classrooms will be upgraded to include new drainage works and new surfacing.

Once Year 6 move back into their refurbished classrooms, the library space will be reconfigured as the final stage to the building project. We look forward to sharing these reconfigured learning spaces with you once they are completed.

Mrs Jane Webb
Acting Principal