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Celebrating Harmony Week!
Once again, we have had a wonderful Harmony Week, celebrating the fact that so many of our students generously share their culture with others. It has been a joy to see the students practicing for hours in the chapel, preparing for their performances and excited to finally share them with the school community. Here are some of the highlights from the past week:
Junior School Performances
This year we had 31 students from Years 3–5 who prepared songs, dances and musical items from places such as India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Mauritius and Italy. Every morning, Junior School students watched around four performances, which they loved. Cheering and clapping was heard from the different classrooms, and we were all immensely proud of the students who took up this opportunity.
Paella, Crepe and Shortbread Making
Cooking classes were fully booked during Harmony Week as students learned from Mr Palomares, Mr Young, Mrs Dwyer and Mrs Williams, all ably assisted by Ms Rose, Mr Peake, Mrs Grant, Mme Christensen, Ms Reale and Ms Torcasio. Delicious paella, crepes and shortbreads were created and enjoyed by all! In addition to the crepes, Mrs Dwyer created waffles to raise additional funds for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Thanks to Sam and Caitlin who gave up their lunchtime to sell them!
Bhangra Class
Bhangra dance is something that many of our Casey Grammar students enjoy. This week we have seen quite a number of Bhangra dances, including one you can see below. One of our Year 7 students, Harleen, generously offered her time to teach Years 3–4 at lunchtime, assisted by Ms Nolan and Mrs Kyne. A wonderful time was had by all!
Harmony Week Senior School Assembly
We were amazed by the talent of our Senior School students who performed at our Harmony Week assembly. It was fantastic to see traditional Indian dancing, Bollywood dancing and bands performing Vietnamese, Filipino and Bollywood songs. Grateful thanks to all of the students who performed for us: Ekam, Ekjot, Harleen, Jannat, Rushika, Siya, Saketh, Joaquin, Weilun, Divon, Cameron, Ricky, Sophie, Justin, Tania and Tessa. We are so grateful that every year we have students willing to put themselves forward to share their cultures with our wider school community. This year we were also privileged to have Mya and Hibha share about Ramadan commencing in the Muslim community this week.
Harmony Day Celebrations
On the official Harmony Day (21 March), our school was a sea of colour, particularly orange. It was also a fundraiser for both the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and the Syria-Turkey Earthquake Appeal, and we are proud to say that we raised $1,000.
Foundation – Year 2 Parade
What a joy to see so many families join us for the F–2 Parade on Tuesday morning! The weather was on our side and all the students watched as Karnvir and Rugved performed so wonderfully for them. All the students then paraded to show their colourful clothing. Thanks to all who attended.
Lunch at Casey Common
This year we had festivities including music, face painting and henna at Casey Common during Tuesday lunchtime. Approximately 10 henna artists created designs on around 40 students for the first time and we had our face painters putting the colours of various flags on people’s faces. Thanks to Joaquin and Josh who provided the music as well as Kiarra, Saba, Hetvi, Naaz, Irushi, Jas, Tania, Theekshana, Siya, Sanvi, Abby and Sabreen who all gave up their lunchtime.
What is always moving is how many different people across the school contribute to making this week possible. It’s a huge team effort and I’m grateful to everyone involved.
Monique Riviere-Pendle
Chaplain
