Harmony Day is a time when we celebrate cultural diversity and that ‘Everyone Belongs’.

At Canberra Montessori School we are fortunate to have a culturally rich community and our students are able to enjoy this diversity on a daily basis but, on Harmony Day we rejoice in this diversity a little more.
On Tuesday, your child may wish to wear traditional clothing from their family’s heritage background or, they may wish to wear something orange (which is the colour chosen to represent Harmony Day).
At 11:00am, weather permitting of course, all the students will gather at our school’s ‘Peace Pole’ where some students may choose to show off their traditional dress. The Cycle 2 students will then entertain the rest of the school with some speeches about Harmony Day and the traditional owners of the land. They will then sing them some songs about Australia and recite a poem about ‘Peace”.
Throughout the day, each class will produce a map showing the various countries (the students of that class) have originated from. This should indicate that people living in Australia actually come from many different parts of the world.
We at CMS acknowledge the continued connection to culture, country and community and pay our respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live, play and learn on the lands throughout this country and to their families, Elders and ancestors who keep their cultural identity, spirit and resiliency strong.

Traditionally, the Indigenous people of Australia would leave their handprint as a way of showing they belong to that particular land. Our students will be placing their handprint around the map of the world in recognition that they belong to the world.