North Balga Year 5 students showcased their multicultural backgrounds last week by performing traditional music, dance and drama for Scotch College Year 5 students.
North Balga principal Grant Kennedy said the performance was part of a working relationship the schools had formed to enrich students’ learning experiences and encourage new friendships.
‘It’s great to see the students interact with one another,’ he said.
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READ NOW‘The Scotch College boys are able to experience the multicultural aspect of our school.
‘Of the 240 students who attend North Balga, 49 per cent speak English as their second language, with 39 different languages spoken.’
Scotch College community and service director Bill Cordner initiated the relationship to broaden his students’ life experiences.
‘It’s about introducing the boys to a diverse group of people, a very different group to the one that the boys would normally meet,’ Mr Cordner said.
‘The boys come from the western suburbs and it’s a fairly privileged background; it’s nowhere near as diverse as the eastern suburbs of Perth.
‘It’s all about demonstrating to our boys that North Balga kids are very similar in many ways in terms of likes and dislikes and what they aspire to ” they want to be doctors and lawyers as much as our boys do.’
North Balga student Devanya Strickland, who was born in New Zealand, said having the relationship with the Scotch College students encouraged her to talk about her home country.
‘I love telling the Scotch boys about my country,’ she said.
‘We’re quite different from their school because we are very multicultural.’
Scotch College student Will Lewis said he was amazed there were so many different cultures and different languages spoken at NBPS.
‘It’s great to experience those cultures represented in dance and song,’ he said.
‘It makes me want to travel to those countries.’