With everything from a prized vegan gazpacho to apple strudel, SCVi students shared cultural tastes, literally, from around the world Friday.
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Their annual Multicultural Day began a few years back as a potluck celebrating diversity a few years back.
But the charter school’s growth blossomed the event into a campuswide festival Santa Clarita Valley International hosts on the Friday before Thanksgiving, replete with dancing, booths and opportunities for students to have fun while they share what they’ve learned about other cultures with their peers.
“It’s evolved over the years — it used to be contained to (the K-8 campus), and now that we have more than 1,000 kids it’s kind of taken over (the school),” said Sara Brown, who does community outreach for the school.
Each grade level chose a different country or culture — eighth-graders studying American history chose from the colonies, with peach cobbler from Georgia among the Southern food offerings.
Cora Sweeney and Spencer Kury shared with hummus, flatbread and models of ancient Egyptian homes they made with students as a steady stream of students came through the doors of their sixth-grade classroom, tasting treats while Cora discussed some of what she learned.
The model homes they created were simple structures because “they didn’t spend much time inside,” Cora said. “They slept on the roof because it was so hot and stuffy inside.”
Music and several peer-led dance groups enjoyed hip hop and pop music as students milled about, an impromptu football game taking shape at one end of the school’s recreation area with a couple dozen students doing the “Macarena” at the other end.
Brittney Westover and Karla Kelman, who are both new additions to the staff who organized the event, clearly had fun, as well.
As Westover wrapped up teaching students a song and dance from Zambia, Kelman talked about their take on the school’s annual tradition.
“We liked the idea of taking Thanksgiving time and making it multicultural, especially being in California, where you are exposed to a lot of cultures,” Kelman said, noting the event reminded her of the block parties in New York, where she was raised. “We wanted to create an environment that was a very relaxed, kind of party atmosphere.”
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