TALLMADGE, OHIO (Oct. 18, 2019) – The Tallmadge City School District is hosting its first International Night from 5:30-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, to celebrate cultural diversity and build cultural awareness. The event is open to the public and free to attend and will take place in the rotunda of the high school.
“We are so excited to be hosting our first International Night to showcase nine beautiful cultures and send a message of acceptance to those cultures represented by our English language learners (ELs) from kindergarten through 12th grade,” said Kathleen D. Gallagher, an English as a Second Language teacher for Tallmadge City Schools.
The event will feature nine cultures that are represented by students throughout the district. Cultural dress, dance, song, food and more will be featured. Attendees will also get a passport and earn stickers for it by learning about each culture. Each country station/table will have an activity for attendees to take part in, such as learning a Ghana song game, making French crepes, learning a Taiwanese chopsticks game and learning Arabic dance and much more.
“Families are encouraged to attend to learn about the growing diversity in Tallmadge City Schools and the community in a fun yet informative way,” said Superintendent Jeff Ferguson. “It will help all of us better understand our neighbors and celebrate our differences as well as our similarities.”
Other organizations will also take part in the event. They include: The International Institute, The Himalayan Arts, Language and Cultural Academy (HALCA), the Nepali Dancers affiliated with the Global Kitchen, Gracanica Folklore Ensemble, and Global Awareness Project (GAP).
“For this event, we are focusing on the cultures represented by our school, but there will also be an opportunity for attendees to sign up and share their own cultural roots with an invitation to join us next year by participating and sharing information,” said Mirjana Tolj, the district’s EL tutor.
The event is funded through the Smiles Diversity: Extending the Classroom into the Community grant that Gallagher and Tolj recently received from the Ohio Education Association. The Smile Diversity grant is designed to increase cultural awareness and celebrate diversity and community understanding through cultural engagement. The grant will fund more events throughout the year, including a Multicultural Night event, biannual meetings of ELs, “Special Person” Day or “Cultural Storytellers” Day, and ELs at the Library. Many cultural books were purchased for our EL department curriculum through the grant.