Harmony Week

An overview of Shore’s celebration of Harmony Week

A.T.B. Gilchrist

Last week Shore recognised Harmony Week, being a wonderful event with a range of activities occurring. The main event this year was focused within Tutor groups, to establish a greater sense of community and belonging across the year groups within each House. By encouraging boys to bring in an object or symbol from their culture, it allowed a tangible connection between them and their culture, enabling an easier understanding of the boys around them, and often revealing a heritage that until now had remained relatively unknown.

Junior House Music Awards served as a welcome surprise during the week as well, bringing another layer of meaning to the term ‘Harmony Week’, as Houses gathered in the Smith Auditorium to enjoy and celebrate the performances of many boys.

Chapel was another special occasion, with both the Bible reading and Prayers spoken in different languages, ranging from Mandarin to French to Latin. Whilst the languages spoken were new to many, their spoken context allowed a novel way in which to experience them. The appreciation for them by the staff and boys was evident, as those reading highlighted, not only the diverse range of cultures and languages throughout the school, also their own prowess and the diverse talents of the boys.

We were honoured at Assembly to have Mohammad Alizada (year 10) and Abdulla Sapand (Year 8) speak to us on their experiences in Afghanistan, and how lucky they were to be able to catch a plane and make it safely to Australia. Their highschool, Holroyd High, led by Principal Kylie Adams and Deputy Principal Lillian Joseph, plays a massive role in taking mainly refugees, and students from overseas, of which at least a third couldn’t speak English at all, until they took part in the school’s intensive English program. Foreshore also performed Ka’val Sviri, a Bulgarian folk song which sounded absolutely tremendous and really complemented the multicultural day.

I thought they were truly humbling speeches, and certainly made me much more appreciative and aware of all the opportunities we have in Australia, and even more here at Shore. Even the privilege just to walk down the street in safety, whereas the young men who spoke revealed their freedom was taken away when the Taliban invaded Kabul. 

Another annual tradition is the international food trucks, selling a whole range of foods from different cultures, such as the Gozleme, from Turkey, Pizza from Italy or Bratwurst sausages from Germany. These help bring a sense of richer diversity as staples from across the world are brought together for Harmony week.

Personally I found it to be a really enjoyable and uplifting week, and an almost palpable sense of unity seemed to connect the boys.