By Eleanor Wilson
With families from more than 60 different cultural backgrounds, Hampton Park Primary School was a sea of diversity for their Harmony Week celebrations on Thursday.
The school held a Cultural Infusion Afternoon where students were invited to wear their traditional cultural clothing to “recognise and highlight the beauty of [the school’s] cultural diversity”.
“The [children] were excited and proud to share their cultural dress and there was definite feeling of celebration around the school,” teacher Tamara Thompson said.
“We had dances from New Zealand, Samoa, Sri Lanka, India and Greece, songs from Afghanistan and Samoa, as well a presentation about Iran. It was a lovely afternoon and our performers were excellent.”
The cultural infusion afternoon closed off a busy week of celebrations for the school, which acknowledged the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence with classroom activities and colourful displays.
Under the theme kindness culture, teachers and students discussed and promoted inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging through the school’s be a buddy, not a bully message.
“All students worked hard within their year levels to create amazing displays to send a strong message that at Hampton Park Primary School we are kind, respectful and inclusive,” teacher Jenny Nguyen said.
The activities are part of the school’s Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Program, which teaches students about respectful relationships, gender differences and gender violence.
The SEL Program was implemented into Victorian schools in response to the 2015 Royal Commission into Family Violence.
“We do our SEL sessions every Monday, and that feeds into their learning for the whole week,” Ms Nguyen said.
