Schools
A Trip Around the World
Sunquam Elementary students celebrate the many cultures represented in Half Hollow Hills.
*Article and photos courtesy of Felice Kristall.
Sunquam Elementary School recently held its annual Multicultural Day. This wide-world experience begins when students pass through U.S. Customs and present their passports to the many countries they visit. In their travels, they learn about different cultures, foreign languages, flags, geography, traditional clothing, currency, foods, music, architecture, dance, sports and more.
Some popular countries on the itinerary include Italy, France, Mexico, Israel, Egypt, Japan, China, Ireland, Turkey, Greece, India and Thailand to name some. Republic of Estonia was new this year.
Some interesting facts: In India, people greet each other by folding their hands together and saying, “Namaste”; The Republic of Estonia is smaller than New York State and almost half is covered in forest; The national sport of Thailand is Muay Thai, otherwise known as kick boxing; France’s National Day Celebration is July 14th; According to Turkish legend, Noah’s Ark landed on Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat) in Eastern Turkey.
Many PTA volunteers dressed in traditional cultural costumes. High School East Foreign Language Honor students greeted Sunquam students in Italy, France, and Mexico.