Shropshire Star

Cultural diversity celebrated in the classroom

Schoolchildren celebrated the diverse nature of our world by holding a ‘Cultural Diversity’ day to tie in with UNESCOs World Cultural Diversity Day.

Published
Children at Lower Heath

Pupils at Lower Heath CE Primary School and Nursery in Prees welcomed visitors, examined artefacts, tried various foods and sang songs as they learned about various cultures of the world.

Mrs Jan Hilditch, class teacher and organiser, said: “This event was a day to celebrate the vast variety of cultures around our world and open our children’s eyes to diverse beliefs and ways of life. Each class were immersed in a different topic, which covered both different countries and different religions. The children had a wonderful time and learned the important message that even though people are different, we are all special.”

Hummingbird and Robin classes had a visitor for the day, who follows the Sikh religion. They tasted traditional Sikh foods, danced and learned about celebrations and traditions within this faith. Skylark class looked at artefacts from Kenya, tasted the traditional Kenyan food of ugali with kale and stew, carried water containers on their heads and learnt some Swahili by singing a song of welcome. Kingfisher class were lucky enough to have a Jewish visitor, who taught the children all about the synagogue, what the Rabbi wears, and traditional foods. All children also had the opportunity to learn dances linked to their topics provided by Dancedays.

Jacob Shaw, Cleo Hughes and Nieve Donaldson with Mr Frank Vigon

Headteacher, Mrs Helen Reynolds said: “This was a wonderful experience for all the children, exploring different cultures and religions in a positive light. Lower Heath have the ‘Golden Thread’ of ‘Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging’, running through all of our curriculum. We truly believe that everyone is unique and everyone is special and this is an important message to convey to our children.”