Saint Stephen’s Celebrates Cultures from Around the World

Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School hosted its World Cultures Day for its Intermediate School’s sixth grade on May 16, 2014, which celebrates the diverse variety of cultures present at the School. Cultures celebrated this year included those of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. In total, the day featured 16 families representing 14 countries, which is the largest distribution of diversity represented in the event’s history. 

Matthew Kinkead, a sixth grade student, moved with his family from Miami a year ago. His family is originally from Cuba and they were excited about experiencing their first World Cultures Day at Saint Stephen’s. “It is so important to talk about culture with your children. It’s really easy to lose your heritage, and this event was great for Matthew and our family,” said Mimi Kinkead, Matthew’s mother. “Our family in Cuba sent over some items, and Matthew used his technology skills to build a presentation on our iPad; it was a family collaborative project that opened up a great conversation about our heritage and culture. Saint Stephen’s encourages a warm and loving atmosphere, and it’s easy for students to feel accepted and blend in, while appreciating what makes them different,” she said.

Another student, Caden Milburn, presented Canada with his mom, Mira. “I had fun working on this with my mom and my family, and it’s cool to show my friends about where our family is from,” said Caden. Caden is one of five children; three were born in Canada and Caden and one of his sisters were born in the United States. “We’ve lived in Canada, Florida and New Jersey, so our kids have really experienced different cultures. We had a lot of fun researching and getting photos, and Caden enjoyed setting up our “Mini Stick Hockey Challenge” for his friends,” shared Mira Milburn.

"Students at Saint Stephen’s have unique opportunities and effective resources that allow us to make use of them.  Our teachers reach out and develop relationships with schools around the world, in the actual cultures we are studying, in order to take a more hands-on approach.  We regularly set up Skype lessons with international schools, and use video lessons and social media to communicate with the global community," said Blake Hoonhout, the sixth grade world cultures teacher. Jennifer Hambrick, the Spanish teacher and Global Education Coordinator added, “The Global Education Program at Saint Stephen’s is enhanced by our diverse, international population of students. The more exposure that our students have to other cultures, the more they start to notice differences, rather than judge them. We want our students to learn global competency and cultural understanding, which are important traits to instill at a young age,” she said.

After the presentations and cultural sharing, students and parents were treated to a World Cup soccer game and a cricket feature lead by Clint Goodchild, head of the LWR Cricket Club.

Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School is a private, independent, co-educational, college preparatory school in Bradenton, FL. Saint Stephen’s delivers world-class education, excellent extracurricular experiences and exciting programs like AP course work, the iPad initiative, a band/strings program, a global education program, K-12 daily foreign language program and our Marine Science Initiative, to name a few.

Saint Stephen's sits on a gated, 35-acre campus, which includes a state of the art athletic center that hosts the school’s athletic events including cheerleading, football, track and field, lacrosse, baseball, softball and tennis. At every level, from PK3 through grade 12, students are nurtured in small classes and encouraged and supported in their academic pursuits. Students benefit from programs and educational models that have proven successful by Saint Stephen’s students who are excelling today in colleges and universities around the country.Saint Stephen's is proud of its rich academic offerings that go hand-in-hand with a strong college counseling program, a wide variety of competitive sports teams, a creative fine arts program, and many service learning opportunities. For more information about our school, please visit www.saintstephens.org.