Student Wellbeing & Learning

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging. The message of Harmony Week is everyone belongs. 

Did you know? 

• More than half (51.5 per cent) of Australian residents were born overseas or have at least one parent who was.  
• Since 1945, more than 7.6 million people have migrated to Australia.  
• Nearly every single country from around the world was represented in Australia's population in 2020.  
• More than 150 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages are spoken in Australia. 
• Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Punjabi.  
• We identify with over 300 ancestries. 

This information has been taken from ABS 2021 Census Data. Check out the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

In 2026, Greenhills Primary School will celebrate Harmony Week in Week 8 (16–20 March), with classroom learning focused on diversity, inclusion and belonging. On Wednesday 1st April, we will come together for a special whole-school Harmony Day celebration. This will be a full day of engaging activities that recognise and celebrate some of the many cultures within our community. Students will work in multi-age House groups and rotate through a range of cultural experiences across the school. These groups will be used multiple times over the course of the year, allowing students to build connections across different year levels.

We will begin the day with a whole-school parade on the Tiger Turf at 9:20am, which parents are welcome to attend. Students are encouraged to dress in a way that represents a culture of their choice. This might reflect their own heritage, connect to our Italian program, or simply include green and gold colours. In previous years, students have worn traditional cultural dress, national sporting team uniforms, or even come dressed as pizza or a jar of Vegemite! Please refer to the Compass post for further details.

We look forward to celebrating the different cultures within our Greenhills community.

Jess Johnston

jessica.johnston@education.vic.gov.au