Palos East hosts successful Celebration of Cultures

With nearly 300 guests in attendance, Palos East Elementary School hosted its second annual “Celebration of Cultures” on Wednesday, April 19. Mrs. McNamara’s Accelerated Learning Program (ALPS) students and Mrs. Parra’s English Learner (EL) students proudly represented their heritage and cultures with 44 projects and displays from 22 countries. Students showcased their exhibits with artwork, artifacts, music, dance, literature, traditional games, clothing, language, food samples, and other items of ethnicity.

“The parents and students were very enthusiastic and eager to learn about each other's traditions,” said Mrs. Parra. “We were very fortunate to have a variety of performances from some of our very own Palos East students.” Special performances of ethnic dances and songs were performed by Mrs. Cooper’s bilingual Arabic kindergarten and first grade students, Mrs. O’Connor’s bilingual Polish kindergarten and first grade students; Lithuanian dancing by third graders Kotryna Jakovleva, Rugile Likataviciute; and Irish dancing by Palos East alumna Lucy Reich. In addition, a Polish Highlander dance troupe, St. Spyridon Greek dancers, and HulaChicago Hawaiian dancers performed.