Harmony Week
Celebrating World Harmony Day at Bimbadeen Heights PS 🌏🧡
On Monday, 24th March, we had a fantastic celebration for World Harmony Day! It was truly wonderful to see our students embracing the spirit of the day by dressing in cultural attire or adding a touch of orange to symbolise inclusivity and respect.
At Bimbadeen Heights PS, we are incredibly fortunate to have so many cultures represented in our school community. This event was a beautiful reminder of the strength, diversity, and harmony that make our school such a special place. The day was a huge success; filled with learning, connection, and celebration.
A heartfelt thank you to all our students, staff, and families for your support in making this day so meaningful!
Our Year 6 students were encouraged to share what the Harmony Day acknowledgment meant to them including some facts and their own thoughts, feelings and opinions. Here are some of their responses -
To me, Harmony Day means that everyone is together. Australia is their home and they enjoy Australia as their place to live. They believe they are safe in Australia. I feel Harmony Day is a great thing for Australia and most people enjoy it. Half of Australia are from a different country or have a parent/grandparent who was born overseas. I believe most people in Australia feel lucky to live here. I, myself, feel very proud to be in Australia and to be an Australian.
Harmony Day reminds me of my family living in Pakistan. It also reminds me of good memories with my cousins and grandparents and all the good times that I spent with them. Harmony Day also reminds me of the Boy Overboard book that I read in my class. I think Harmony Day is very important to Australia because it makes Australia an amazing place to live and a peaceful place to be.
I believe that everyone is treated respectfully in Australia. Everyone belongs in Australia and everyone should be proud of Australia.
By Kashmala R 6BB
Multiculturalism. It is a long word, but it means a lot. Did you know that half of the people that live in Australia were born in another country or have a parent that were born in another country. 12 out of the 25 million people who live in Australia were born in a different country or have a parent who were born in a different country. I feel like being able to have that past is amazing.
Everyone Belongs is the motto for Harmony Week. It is good for everyone to feel like they belong. I believe if people feel they belong and have a part in making Australia even better then there will be peace and harmony everywhere. If we work together and we can harmonise and celebrate Australia all together.
Did you know that the 5 most spoken languages in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Italian? But there are also 70 Indigenous languages still spoken today. Isn’t that amazing? I think if everyone is unique in their own way, then that is fantastic!
Harmony Week reminds me of the reason people choose Australia to be safe and learn more. Some people may have migrated to Australia to learn better English. Harmony Week is all about valuing people’s opinions and recognising unique differences in a good way.
Do you know why we wear orange? It is because orange means socialising and talking about interesting differences. That is what Harmony Week is all about.
By Charlotte G 6BB
Harmony Day is very important to people with different cultures. For me, it means making people feel like they belong, no matter the place, no matter the time. Did you know that 50% of Australians are from another country or their ancestors are? That’s half of 25 million people that at sometime migrated to Australia! Australia is a multicultural country which means everyone belongs. I think someone should accept you for who YOU are. I don’t care how tall or short you are, light or dark skin, if you are kind I wouldn’t even care if you were purple.
“Everyone Belongs” is the Harmon Day/Week motto. When I think about everyone being accepted, for me, this means that the country can grow and be like one big family. Being inclusive is a big part of Harmony Day. You can’t exclude someone for having different beliefs or cultures. But you can ask
them more and make them feel accepted! I believe that Harmony Day is what makes Australia, be Australia! Care for each other and love one another with your whole heart!
Harmony Day is important to celebrate because it shows us how we’re all unique! I believe that not only does the colour orange represent social communication and meaningful conversations, but it also shows support. Orange is very bright. Do you know what else is bright? Everyone smiling when they see you wear orange! Tutus, shirts, socks and even bandanas!
I believe Australia is a very supportive community. I feel like everyone should value everyone’s ideas. I also think that Australia is a safe country. We should celebrate being multicultural because, picture this, a world where everyone is the same. Boring. Plain. But instead, we have a wonderful world where we can celebrate our differences. That is why Harmony Day is important to celebrate.
By Hannah 6BB
Everyone Belongs. That’s what people say on March 21st for Harmony Day. Harmony Day is a day to celebrate Australia’s multiculturalism which means how diverse and different we are. You could be different to the person next to you or the person around you. Everyone is different and that’s what makes us Australia. More than half of Australians are from a different country or have relatives from a different country. Over 25 million people live in Australia and 12 million of them have connections to other countries.
The most common languages that aren’t English are Arabic, Mandarin, Italian and Vietnamese. Australia has over 70 different aboriginal languages and the oldest known civilisation is the aboriginal one from over 65,000 years ago. Harmony Day is about respecting others and not being rude and saying mean things. It is not a one-time thing, it’s an every day thing. Respecting others should always happen. If we are always respectful that is one step forward to a better world.
I personally truly believe in Harmony Day because for the fact that for a day everyone respects people, listens to others and generally is a better country. If there was a country with everyone respecting others, I would personally move there. We can make Australia a beautiful country, but the first step is respect. Harmony Day is beautiful because it’s not only Australia but it’s a worldwide chance for everyone to come together for one day just to respect people’s differences. It also celebrates strengths and skills to make new friends. The colour for Harmony Day is orange which means respect and social conversation.
I think lots of countries have migrated to Australia to have a better life like in the Boy Overboard book. Jamal and his family are migrating to Australia for a for a better life and Jamal has amazing soccer skills like Bibi. Harmony Day is a way to celebrate their skills and make friends just like in my story.
I lived in India for 3 months after I was born and then the UK for 7 years. In those 7 years, it was really hard because we moved all the time because people increased the house prices and paid extra. It was really hard to make friends and feel like I belong until we left for Australia. Then I made friends almost instantly and already knew this was a great country to live in. This quote got stuck in my head, “Respect is not a one-time thing, it’s an everyday thing”.
By Zorain Z 6BB
Harmony means accepting and appreciating others or your culture and is a day to make everyone feel like they belong.
I think Harmony Day is very special because other cultures feel respected and included on Harmony Day.
I feel Harmony Day brings peace and people together to appreciate others and their culture together so no one feels left out or like they don’t belong.
This reminds me of my family because my nana is from England and she came to Australia for a job and a better life.
Harmony Week is important for everybody because it makes people feel important and respecting their opinions is important. Everyone is important!
Finn 6EM
My family is from quite a few countries. Russia, my parents, my grandparents and some of my great grandparents. My youngest siblings were born in Australia. One of my great grandparents is from as Azerbaijan, another one from Ukraine and the rest are from Russia. I don't know anything about my relatives that are older than my great grandparents.
We still need to respect and value Australia’s first owners the Indigenous. They ruled Australia over 65,000 years ago and over 70 indigenous Australian language are still spoke. Australia is a multicultural country and about half of the people in Australia out of 25,000,000 were born in a different country or have a parent who is.
I think harmony is important because people can look and speak differently because they're from different countries some people might laugh at others about how they look speak or what they do or believe in
Nikita 6EM
Harmony Week is a week to celebrate everyone’s cultures, differences, similarities etc. We celebrate this so everyone feels safe included and respected. Harmony Day is important to celebrate in Australia because half of the population either was born in a different country or have a parent that was born in a different country.
I think Harmony Week should be celebrated globally because people immigrate from country to country hence different cultures in all countries. Harmony Day helps shape our country into a multicultural safe place for all. I feel happy that everyone in Australia feels safe and included all the time however in other countries it is not always the same story. People face racism, bullying and loads of other things all because their culture is different and/or they come from a different country.
“Everyone Belongs” is the motto for Harmony Day. It's really important to remember this because half of the Australian population is from a different country. People are from different countries all over Australia. We must respect them and accept them. Say it again, Everyone belongs!
Ella 6EM
I think Harmony Day is very special. It helps us all connect especially through our cultures and backgrounds. I love Australia but I would love to learn about the traditions and lands of other people and that's why I'm so glad that Australia is a multicultural country. Lots of countries are still not accepting others and what they sound and look like. That is why Harmony Day is so important to me.
I feel that Harmony Day is a very peaceful day and I hope that it will be celebrated for many years to come. It's very special to learn about other people and their backgrounds and I'm so glad that I get to share about my culture. My backgrounds are Italy and England. My Nono came to Australia when he was around 10 or 11 and to this day we still celebrate his culture. Every year my Nan and Nono and sometimes my family have a pasta sauce making day. It's so fun and it's very yum. My granddad on the other hand came when he was very young around 2 to 3. I love learning about them and all the things that make their countries so special.
I love Harmony day and learning about what other people’s cultures brought to Australia like food. If people didn’t migrate and come to Australia we wouldn't have all the yummy food that we do today.
That is why I love Harmony Day and will continue to celebrate it.
Chloe 6EM