Rockwood School District: Ballwin Elementary Celebrates Multicultural May

Press release from the Rockwood School District:

May 19, 2021

Multicultural May got a new look at Ballwin Elementary this year. With COVID-19 mitigation strategies in place, ESOL teacher Laura Davis brainstormed another way to highlight the diversity at Ballwin. 

"We have students from 19 different language backgrounds," explained Davis. "I really wanted to find a way to highlight each of their countries."

To kick off the month, Principal Chris Davis and Assistant Principal Dr. Kimberly Rowan narrated the book, "All Are Welcome," by Penfold and Kaufman. A slideshow was shared explaining all the activities the students would be participating in during the month of May, including a flag scavenger hunt, crafts and music.

"I'm always looking for ways to bring culture into the classroom," explained Laura Davis. "Teachers don't always have the time to prepare or research these projects."

Third grade teacher Katy Jouch prepared a PowerPoint presentation for teachers and students highlighting the cultures represented among the Ballwin Elementary community. Each slide highlights a country, its flag, their customs, holidays, alphabet, attractions, food, and suggestions for crafts and recipes for the students to try. Students and parents alike contributed to the slides. 

There are 19 bulletin boards, designed by parent and artist Rachel Pereira, lining the walls of the school and highlighting each country represented by a Ballwin student.  In addition to the bulletin boards, there are cutouts of students representing each country and a QR code for studnets to scan for more information about that country. After scanning the code, the students can click on a chat tab to hear their classmates speaking languages other than English.

The activities are available to virtual learners as well.

Davis said events such as Multicultural May and International Night - which Ballwin typically holds in the fall - encourage the entire school to become involved.

She plans to hold similar activities next year. 

"Next year I hope to involve the specialized subjects such as gym, music and art," said Laura Davis. "This has been a really fun unit, even if it isn't how we imagined it." 

Multicultural May got a new look at Ballwin Elementary this year. With COVID-19 mitigation strategies in place, ESOL teacher Laura Davis brainstormed another way to highlight the diversity at Ballwin. 

"We have students from 19 different language backgrounds," explained Davis. "I really wanted to find a way to highlight each of their countries."

To kick off the month, Principal Chris Davis and Assistant Principal Dr. Kimberly Rowan narrated the book, "All Are Welcome," by Penfold and Kaufman. A slideshow was shared explaining all the activities the students would be participating in during the month of May, including a flag scavenger hunt, crafts and music.

"I'm always looking for ways to bring culture into the classroom," explained Laura Davis. "Teachers don't always have the time to prepare or research these projects."

Third grade teacher Katy Jouch prepared a PowerPoint presentation for teachers and students highlighting the cultures represented among the Ballwin Elementary community. Each slide highlights a country, its flag, their customs, holidays, alphabet, attractions, food, and suggestions for crafts and recipes for the students to try. Students and parents alike contributed to the slides. 

There are 19 bulletin boards, designed by parent and artist Rachel Pereira, lining the walls of the school and highlighting each country represented by a Ballwin student.  In addition to the bulletin boards, there are cutouts of students representing each country and a QR code for studnets to scan for more information about that country. After scanning the code, the students can click on a chat tab to hear their classmates speaking languages other than English.

The activities are available to virtual learners as well.

Davis said events such as Multicultural May and International Night - which Ballwin typically holds in the fall - encourage the entire school to become involved.

She plans to hold similar activities next year. 

"Next year I hope to involve the specialized subjects such as gym, music and art," said Laura Davis. "This has been a really fun unit, even if it isn't how we imagined it." 

This press release was produced by the Rockwood School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.