I fully concur with your points Sarah.

yes Sarah I agree that being able to celebrate or expose children to the many different celebrations of the people in our country, lends itself well to the development of respect and appreciation for others and their beliefs. Here every creed and race find an equal place!

This is important. At our school we do it as well and we also form groups among the parents where we have them work together to celebrate different ethnic or religious celebrations. The children can learn so much from seeing their parents do this.

I totally support your contributions

I fully endorse your contributions.

I concur Sarah, allowing children to experience or take part in festivals and observances that is foreign to them, will allow them to learn something new and have an appreciation for something different.

I do agree with you Sarah. Respecting and appreciating each others differences is a very important part of creative an inclusive ethos and culture.

Well said.

The practice mentioned by Sarah is a single act that has the ability to permeate an entire school population with the powerful message that everyone's religion and cultural beliefs are to be appreciated and not just tolerated. 

A school with this type of ethos is viewed as welcoming and accepting and is necessary in a cosmopolitan society. 

In my example the school I refer to is viewed as high achieving in the community and student achievement in all areas (sport, academics, chess etc) in both in school and out of school extracurricular activities are praised and celebrated at weekly assembly. The Principal also has what is referred to as "an open door policy" where parents can reach out in any situation for advice, support or even to voice a complaint or opinion. These two events contribute most to the current ethos of the school. Unfortunately being a denominational school we do not celebrate all religious festivals. However, students of all religions can and are encouraged to participate in the religious festival associated with the school.

Totally agreed. At my school there are several active clubs that students are apart of and these clubs do a lot of community and charity work. They visit homes, other schools, organise food and hamper drives. All of these I believe makes them wholesome individuals and definitely creates a attitude and sense of community. they have displayed on several occasions that they truly are each other's keepers. it is very heartwarming to see them interact with each other, look out for the students who are differently abled at our school and come together on their own to address or promote something they consider to be vital to community building. We also do a lot of school assemblies that encourage awareness. 

Sarah, I agree totally that developing an awareness about the differences that contributes to who we are, aids in creating an inclusive ethos and culture in school.