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The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) Hume Region, and Catholic Education Sandhurst Diocese recently hosted the annual Celebrating Languages Festival.

The festival welcomed entries from eight regional schools from the primary and secondary sectors — including government and Catholic schools from as far away as Bright and Kyabram. The schools involved included St Joseph’s Primary School at Benalla; Yarrunga Primary School, Appin Park Primary School and Galen College in Wangaratta; Bright P-12 College; Benalla East Primary School; McGuire College, Shepparton; and St Augustine’s College, Kyabram.

Students and teachers delivered excellent presentations of song, dance, drama, role plays, poetry and readings in Indonesian, Japanese and Italian.

The audience was made up of parents, grandparents, siblings and extended family members who were very supportive of the students’ study of a second language and their ability in speaking in the target language.

The program was opened with some inspiring multicultural entertainment provided by Melbourne-based multilingual Ghanian dance troupe Asanti Dance Theatre,which entertained everyone from the youngest to the oldest members of the audience.

The festival highlighted the value of studying a second language, as well as the commendable achievements in learning in our region. It was a unique opportunity to highlight the skills and talents of Hume region students as well as showcasing the various schools’ language programs.