Whitsunday Anglican School (WAS) held its Global Learning Day last Thursday with colourful displays of song and dance representing the different nationalities and cultures that make up the Junior School cohort.
Students from diverse backgrounds joined their classmates to share information and perform dances, stories, songs and poems from varying nations and cultures.
Now in its 14th year, each class represented a different nationality including Bangladesh, China, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Ireland, Italy, Vietnam and more.
Gracie and Cruz are both in the year 3 class that prepared a song and a story to represent Zimbabwe.
They’ve been preparing their performance in class for about three weeks while learning about the country.
“It’s a landlocked country in Africa,” said Cruz.
“And there’s five national animals,” added Gracie.
“The buffalo, lion, elephant, leopard and rhino,” they listed together.
WAS Head of Junior School Mick Martin said Global Learning Day started out as a small event to recognise the school’s diversity and multiculturalism.
“It’s a great recognition of the growing cultural diversity at the school and Mackay too,” said Mr Martin.
“We’ve got about 52 different nationalities represented in the junior school along through the families and staff so it’s a great way to give those children and parents an opportunity to be involved as a community and show off their culture and nationality.”
“It’s very important that we are promoting tolerance, inclusion and really celebrating that diversity,” added WAS Principal Andrew Wheaton.
“It’s wonderful to see all the students that are here so proud of their backgrounds and their diverse cultures that we see represented here at Whitsunday Anglican School.”
WAS Head of Junior School Mick Martin and Principal Andrew Wheaton with year 3 students Gracie and Cruz
Junior school students told the stories of different cultures through song and dance at WAS’s Global Learning Day last week. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie
