We have had a wonderful fornight with the children engaging in a range of religions and cultures during diversity fortnight. Mrs Conlon started each lesson with a P4C (Philosophy for children) input, which often included a book, before Mrs Pearson added the art element.

Each Year group had the opportunity to work with a partner or independently, but throughout their lesson they were encouraged to discuss the topics that were introduced during the inputs. The children really embraced these lessons, which led to interesting and thought-provokong conversations.

Year 6 JUDAISM – Shalom

Shalom (שלום) is a Hebrew word which means “peace”. Like in English, it can mean the peace between two parts, as well as an inner peace, being calm or the quietness of a person. It is also used as a method of greeting like “hello”, “good day (morning, afternoon, high noon,…)” or “good bye”. The root of the word “shalom” can be related to le-shalem which means “to complete, to reward, to pay, to compensate”. This means that it is more than the absence of conflict or struggle or the breaking of unfriendliness: It also means a return to the balance, to justice, and to the complete equality. The children had the freedom to portray the word SHALOM any way they chose, using their preferred media. Some children worked on their own or in pairs. As you can see, the results were stunning.

Year 5 SIKHISM – Gurdwara – Dioramas Key words : A gurdwara  (in Punjabi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ) is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Diorama is a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale. Our Year 5 children learnt about the Sikh Festival of Bandi Chhor Divas, which celebrates light overcoming darkness. They then created these stunning Gurdwara dioramas, working either in pairs or individually.

Year 4 ISLAM – SANDALS inspired by the book, Four Feet, Two sandals

About the book: When relief workers bring used clothing to the refugee camp, everyone scrambles to grab whatever they can. Ten-year-old Lina is thrilled when she finds a sandal that fits her foot perfectly, until she sees that another girl has the matching shoe. However, soon Lina and Feroza meet and decide that it is better to share the sandals than for each to wear only one. As the girls go about their routines washing clothes in the river, waiting in long lines for water, and watching for their names to appear on the list to go to America the sandals remind them that friendship is what is most important. Four Feet, Two Sandals was inspired by a refugee girl who asked the authors, Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed, why there were no books about children like her. This book portrays the strength, courage, and hope of refugees around the world, whose daily existence is marked by uncertainty and fear.

Our Year 4 children worked in pairs to create an identical pair of sandals. They worked brilliantly together on planning and then making their bespoke sandals.….Then came the dilemma…. Who gets the finished pair of sandals.  Did just one child get them?  Did they take it in turns? Or, did they have one each, so that they could remember the story and the friend that they made the sandal with? What would you do? As you can see, they have done a fantastic job – so good that I’m tempted to sell some of them on Vinted!

Year 3 HINDUISM – The Elephant Festival ‘Hastimangala’

We learnt about the Indian elephant festival called Hastimangala, which is held in a northern Indian city called Jaipur. The festival is held on or before the Holi festival, which is the festival of colours. The elephant festival provides ‘caretakers’ with a day to decorate their elephants with their own artistic patterns, colours and features. People compete to have the most beautifully decorated elephant. We explained that this artistic festival is said to be controversial. Some animal activists think it is
cruel to decorate the elephants as it can harm their skin and make them feel uncomfortable. We asked the children some thought-provoking questions, such as: What do you think about this? Do you agree? Or, do you think it is nice to decorate the elephants in an artistic way? The children then had the choice to work on their own or with a partner to decorate their own elephant for our own ‘Hastimangala Festival’. We then stapled the front and the back of the elephant, leaving a small gap at the top, which we then stuffed with cotton wool before sealing it all up. As you can see, that all look wonderful and would all win the ‘most beautifully decorated elephant’ award!

This was our Hastimangala Festival.

Year 2 – HINDUISM – Rangoli Patterns We were looking at the festival of Holi. Holi marks the arrival of spring and the end of winter. It is usually celebrated in March. In 2024 Holi will begin on Monday March 25th. Holi is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Hindus. The festival remembers the legend of Prahlad and the demon, Holika. During the festival people smear each other in bright coloured powder – called gulal – which recalls the story of Krishna and his love for Radha. They also decorate streets with rangoli patterns. The children created their own rangoli patterns, using coloured pencils, coloured sand and coloured salt.

Year 1 – ISLAM – Prayer Mats Prayer mats are important in Muslim prayer as they keep the worshipper comfy and clean and can show you where Mecca is if it has a compass. We did discussed that we must follow certain rules if they are going to be used by a Muslim. Prayer mats will often include symmetrical patterns and lots of colour, but not images of humans or animals as only Allah is the Creator. The children worked in groups of five or six to created these stunning, colourful prayer mats. Do you have a favourite? I think it’s too hard to choose!

Reception – SIKHISM

Sikhs believe in one God who guides and protects them. They believe everyone is equal before God. Sikhs believe that your actions are important and you should lead a good life. They believe the way to do this is:

• Keep God in your heart and mind at all times
• Live honestly and work hard
• Treat everyone equally
• Be generous to those less fortunate than you
• Serve others We then learnt about a KALGI. A KALGI is a turban ornament that was worn as a sign of royalty and special Sikhs, such as Guru Gobin Singh Ji. Nowadays they are traditionally worn at weddings and other special occasions. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Sikh faith before making their own KALGI that adorned their turban. Don’t thewy all look bright and colourful! Great effort Reception!