The word harmony comes from the Greek word harmos, which means joint.
On Thursday we celebrated Harmony Day. A national celebration of our collective diversity and acknowledgement of the importance of inclusion.
It is one thing to acknowledge difference and another to accept it in all its ‘otherness’. I will never know what it is to be Chinese, Indian, Aboriginal or you. I can acknowledge these differences. I can respect them. I can have curiosity towards them. But I cannot become them. What we need to build together is a third space. A space for both you and me. In the Early Years this space is given shape by the School’s values of truth, respect, and service. Within that framework we aim to join with you and your family to create an inclusive community.
In the Early Years our boys speak 10 different home languages and identify with 12 different cultural backgrounds. In Australia we are made up of over 400 different languages and 270 different ancestries. Harmony needs to be more than a token show of orange and the translation of hello (although I do appreciate the fun in this!) It needs to be a conversation. In the Early Years we have attempted to start this conversation by inviting families to create their own unique clay bead that we will join together to create one garland. It is not the end product that we are focused on but the conversations along the way.
We will have the clay table set up for the rest of the term and we invite in all community members to create a unique bead to join our community thread.
Holly Baulderstone
Head of Early Years
