In October 2019, Yazi, a practising Muslim, visited each of the schools within the federation and spent a full day sharing with our pupils about she practises her own beliefs.
First of all, Yazi opened the day by leading worship with the whole school, introducing herself in Punjabi and sharing with the children more information about herself and her family. Children learnt how Muslims practise their beliefs and how they celebrate their holy festivals with family and friends. Yazi then shared how she practises her own beliefs and how she would dress.
After worship, the children returned to their classes and started a carousel of activities for the day. These included:
- The children had the opportunity to dress up in traditional clothes worn for celebrations, including bride and groom costume
- They had a go at Arabic writing understanding the process of writing from right to left rather than left to right
- They created their own prints using tradition Indian stamps that Yazi had brought with her
- The children had the opportunity to have a 'mendi' on their hand, an intricate patttern using natural henna, which is used traditionally for celebrations. The children were really interested to hear that a bride might sit for four hours while being painted.
- To end the day, Yazi demonstrated some key features of Indian-style dancing and the children had great fun trying out the moves themselves to Indian music.
Our children thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, learning about the different aspects of the Muslim faith.
