By Victoria Stone-Meadows
RANGEBANK Primary School in Cranbourne has been playing host to Indian students from Bluebells School International in New Delhi and had a visit from the Indian Consul-General.
Indian Consul-General to Australia Manika Jain, who visited the school on Monday 17 October, met students from both schools, and was an honoured guest at a special assembly.
Students from Rangebank and Bluebells shared their experiences of having a delegation of Indian students at the school for two weeks.
There was also traditional Hindi dances performed by two Bluebells students and gifts exchanged between staff members of the two schools.
Ms Jain spoke about the exchange program and how these experiences create friendships and understandings between cultures that can last a lifetime.
“It is so wonderful to see so many cultures under one roof,” she said.
“It is a great thing to have students and schools sharing experiences and learning so much about one another in our multi-cultural society.”
The celebration of cultures also touched on the upcoming Diwali Festival, which starts on the 15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Ashwin, (October/November) every year.
Other special guests included Casey Councillor Amanda Stapledon and members of the local Hindi community.
Rangebank Primary School principal Colin Avery said the exchange program had been very enriching for the students at Rangebank.
“We’ve had a fantastic time, and there has been a tremendous sharing of information about different approaches in Education between Bluebells and ourselves,” he said.
“Bluebells do seven exchanges a year and the wealth of information they are gaining clearly place them in a very good position across the world.
“For us to be part of that exchange, we are sharing their knowledge and experience along the way which we are very grateful for.”
Mr Avery also said the visit from the Consul-General was something very special and he was very grateful for her enthusiasm about their programs.
“We were really honoured that the Consul-General was able to visit us,” he said
“For her to be able to come and get an appreciation of our school and emphasis we have on multiculturalism is extremely worthwhile.”
