Harmony Day & RCH Appeal for Sam

Harmony Day is held each year on 21st March. It's a day to celebrate our cultural diversity. It's about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. These celebrations create opportunities for all of us to think, talk about and recognise how our differences make Australia a great place to live.

To help celebrate Harmony Day on Tuesday 21st March, we encourage students to wear their traditional cultural dress, such as a traditional hat or top or a formal outfit if comfortable to wear for the whole day. 

Students may also wear the colour orange or ultimately, a range of colours in honour of Sam for the Royal Children's Hospital Appeal. Please bring a gold coin donation for the RCH.

Why orange?

Orange is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Week. Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect. 

Why colours?

Sam was a bright and happy student who accepted everyone. He embodies the mutual respect we hope everyone can have towards each other. (See below)

Did you know?

• Nearly half (49 per cent ) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was.
• We identify with over 300 ancestries.    
• Since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia. 
• 85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia. 
• Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi.  
• More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia. 

These facts are taken from ABS 2016 Census Data. Check out the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

Together, as a community of St John’s, we can show our support for cultural diversity and an inclusive Australia; and live the ‘everyone belongs’ message every day.

As part of this national day, we also want to honour the memory of Sam, a past student at St John's by having a gold coin donation on this day to raise funds for the Royal Children's Hospital. 

The Late Samuel Thomas Nye 

19th December 2003 - 15th February 2017

Sam was a past student of St John's school in year 8 at Elisabeth Murdoch College, a friendly funny boy whose life was sadly cut short in February 2017. The St John's Community, especially staff who had the pleasure of teaching him, were deeply saddened to learn of his passing. Sam collapsed at school and went into sudden cardiac arrest which was caused by a genetic heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Sam always wanted to help and support his friends. He would be honoured to know that people continue to assist others in his name.