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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-04-08 Daily Xml
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HARMONY DAY

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (15:37): Today I rise to talk about the recent Harmony Day celebrations I attended at Northfield Primary School. First, I was very grateful that the school invited me to attend its Harmony Day celebrations. It is a wonderful school, and the students and staff take Harmony Day seriously and celebrate the cultural diversity of their school and the local community. I know that the school is determined to promote peace and harmony within the school and the broader community. I congratulate the school (under the leadership of its principal, Sharon Broadbent) not only for organising the Harmony Day celebrations but also for its active participation in promoting world peace.

On the day, Northfield Primary School was formally recognised as a Save the Children Alliance United Nations Global Peace School, and it was awarded the UN flag and a certificate in recognition of its achievement. This is truly a wonderful achievement. The journey to the school's acknowledgment as a global peace school commenced in 2005 when the staff of the school chose to undertake the Pathway to Peace Program and attended a training conference in Brisbane. The training program provided the framework for the school to build its Peace Building and Child Rights Program, which operates across the reception to year 7 curriculum. Pennington Primary School became the first UN Global Peace School in 2005, Thebarton Secondary School was the second school in South Australia to qualify for the award in 2007 and more schools in our local communities are undertaking the program.

The program involves the establishment of a network of schools and communities choosing to be proactive and introducing into their ethos and daily operation: peace building, child rights, understandings and practices. Save the Children Australia (South Australian Division) provides the personnel and programs to assist with this opportunity. To become a UN Global Peace School the students and staff of the school community share the responsibility of becoming global citizens and advocate for positive change in children's lives by:

implementing the Save the Children Child Rights Program;

reviewing teaching and learning practices and curriculum outcomes;

choosing two relevant units in the Save the Children Speaking Out Program;

completing and advertising the program; and

ensuring the program in an ongoing manner to be involved in the UN peace celebrations by providing opportunities for staff, professional development and preparing a portfolio.

Harmony Day is one of the many ways in which the school community celebrates its diversity with all its members. I was delighted that, on the day, Northfield Primary School was able to show the many visitors its rich cultural diversity, which includes both staff and students from some 42 different nationalities, including our Aboriginal community, Vietnamese, Arabic, African, Indian and French communities, as well as numerous other backgrounds. I am proud to see this school leading the community in developing tolerance and understanding between these diverse cultures and I am proud to have the school in my electorate. It is not always easy being peace makers, but the school conscientiously undertakes peace-building programs in every aspect of its daily operations in the classroom, in communications with students and parents and in its association with the wider community.

As I said to the students, Australia is one of the luckiest countries in the world and it is extremely important that we acknowledge our nation's cultural diversity. We in Australia have a lot in which we can rejoice when it comes to rich cultural history. Migrants, many of whom were refugees fleeing oppression in their home countries, have added greatly to Australia and we are learning from their experience. The students at Northfield Primary School will certainly be future leaders and decision makers, and participating in the activities of Harmony Day teaches them to understand how it is important to work together and take pride in our rich cultural diversity and history.

I am extremely proud of the students and staff of this wonderful school. Again, I congratulate them. It was a pleasure to watch the children perform, interact with each other and delight in the differences that their cultural diversity has brought to this wonderful school.

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