Dungannon school celebrates cultural diversity through music
Children at a primary school in Dungannon have been busy exploring the diverse cultural heritage of their peers through a series of music, dance and art workshops.
St Patrick’s Primary School is immersing pupils in Irish culture and cultures from countries around the world with the help of a Community Cohesion Grant from the Housing Executive.
Roisin Campbell, the school’s Vice-Principal, said:
“Celebrating our school’s diversity is so important and we wanted to teach our pupils to respect the culture and heritage of others.
“Support provided by the Housing Executive has allowed us to run this project which fosters better connections and meaningful relations between all the communities in Dungannon.
“Our school has a diverse enrolment of pupils with many children having family links in Portugal, East Timor, Poland, Lithuania and North Africa.
"Through song, dance and music the pupils are enjoying sharing their own culture and learning more about others.
“Some of the workshops have been provided by talented musicians who have travelled the world, while we are so thankful to parents from each of our main community groups who volunteered to teach dance classes.
“A special concert and art exhibition held to celebrate the end of our project will showcase to parents all that the pupils have learnt.”
Anne Marie Convery, the Housing Executive’s Good Relations Officer for Mid Ulster, added:
“We are thrilled to support this project and it was wonderful to see pupils enjoy learning about the rich cultural heritage of the school community.
“Pupils will take away a better understanding of the mix of cultures in Dungannon and greater respect for the heritage of others.
“Projects like this one are an important opportunity to celebrate diversity and promote the creation of safer and more cohesive neighbourhoods.”