Our Junior School is home to girls and families from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. This is one of the qualities that makes our community so rich, and Harmony Day gave us a meaningful opportunity to celebrate it together.

This year’s theme, Everyone Belongs, came to life across the Junior School through a program led by Mme Owen and our Year 6 Cultural Awareness Team. You can read more about their work in Mme Owen’s article in this newsletter. I want to acknowledge the leadership shown by these girls, who took ownership of the week and brought its message to every year level with confidence and care.

Our Year 6 Library Team also contributed thoughtfully, selecting and sharing books during Assembly that reflected the Harmony Day theme. Their choices opened up conversations about identity, culture, and connection, and reminded us all of the power of story.

The American scholar, Rudine Sims Bishop, describes books as mirrors, windows, and sliding doors. Mirrors allow children to see their own culture and identity reflected in what they read. Windows offer a view into the lives and experiences of others. Sliding doors invite readers to step into a world different from their own. When our librarians, Mrs Pascale and Mrs Whitford, and our students select books that reflect the diversity of our community, they give our girls all three: the confidence of being seen, the empathy that comes from understanding others, and the curiosity to explore beyond what is familiar.

Parents might like to use Harmony Day as a starting point for conversations at home. Sharing a family tradition or story with your daughter or exploring a picture book together from a culture different to your own are small but powerful ways to reinforce that curiosity about others is something to be valued.

Easter is also an especially meaningful time for families to explore what it looks like to welcome and value others as we remember how God reached out to us despite our sin and brokenness. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross reminds us of the depths of God’s sacrificial love, and his resurrection affirms the hope we now have for eternity.

We hope that you, your families and loved ones have a wonderful Easter. Our girls have worked hard this term and are ready for a break. I hope the holidays bring time for rest, play, and being together.