Multicultural night celebrates differences and culture in a fun and interactive way for students, parents, and teachers!

“I expect a lot of food, music, and parents and students looking around and learning about other countries!” volunteer and teacher Evelyn Cordero said.

This party is meaningful to some people because they see it as a way to connect and share their culture, like the performances students will do and the variety of food there will be. Some people want to learn, some want to eat or dance and have a fun time, however there is a deeper meaning in this activity for Mrs. Evelyn.

“To me this is meaningful, because I can share more information about my country, which is Ecuador. I can also talk about their food, their history, and the different clothing that they use,” Cordero said.

There is going to be a variety of culture represented at the party such as Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, España, Republica  Dominicana, Venezuela, Honduras, Brazil, Japan, and Greece.

“It’d be nice to have more countries; maybe next year. I know we represent the populations we have in this school, but it would also be nice to just bring in random countries that students have no attachment to and so students could also learn about those countries and their culture,” volunteer and teacher Karen Tripp stated.

An activity like this takes time and dedication to plan, which was not a problem for the students. The planning was crucial, from decorations, to time, location, and activities, so the students were split into groups so they could work faster and quicker.

“The club was very organized with planning. There were different crews that oversaw stuff like marketing and sound, and the teachers could volunteer to represent a country. It could be the country they are from or a country that interested them,” AP Spanish teacher Kritzia Ramirez said.

Some of the teachers are not from the country they are volunteering for; they just want to be a part of something fun and experience new things like Mrs. Tripp

“I volunteered because even though I’m not from Brazil and don’t have Brazil heritage, I am Portuguese and have Portugal heritage so because of that we have some things in common,” Tripp said.

Having an activity like this is important to the staff and students because it expresses part of who they are. Something like this takes passion, which is what the staff put into this project. It was all thought out by the Foreign Language club.

“This activity idea was initiated by the foreign language club to give an opportunity to the school, community, teachers, and students to share their culture and traditions and to celebrate the diversity that is in our school since we are a multicultural school,” Ramirez said

This process was done before, but it was not successful when they first attempted it. The activity was planned to take place during Hispanic heritage month in 2022, however it was moved to due to unexpected circumstances.

“This was first going to take place during Hispanic heritage month last semester, but because of the sudden hurricane we had to cancel, and they gave us a new date on February 3, and we said, ‘Alright then let’s make this multicultural night’,” Ramirez stated.

Some people want this to become a yearly activity and they expect the impact to be big enough to do so. Multicultural night is all about inclusiveness, union, respect, tolerance, and values, which some people, like Mrs. Ramirez, believe is what makes a strong and successful community.

“I think this experience will be unforgettable because not only are the teachers involved, but because we also extended the opportunity to the parents and student to shine like they want to and to share their culture like they want to, so I think it will be memorable,” Ramirez said.