Seaford Manor School Celebrates International Day

In celebration of International Day, students participated in Japanese crab races, played an Israeli ball game and discussed the book, “The Sandwich Swap” by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah and Kelly Di Pucchio, a story about tolerance and acceptance.

The program, presented to students by the Shared Decision-Making Team, a committee of parents, teachers and administrators committed to helping students make good choices, was designed to heighten students’ understanding of traditions and cultures around the world, and help them to recognize and accept the differences among students of various ethnicities in their own classrooms.

Seaford Manor School Principal Debra Emmerich’s daughters Valentina and Mary Kate, an aspiring teacher, led the students in the activities and spurred a dialogue about the children’s book that tests the differences between two friends who always eat lunch together — Lily who eats a peanut butter sandwich and Salma who eats hummus — when a food fight breaks out.

Students said they learned from the story "to not be mean to one another, “to always try new foods” and “to be a bucket filler not a bucket dipper,” referring to the school’s robust character education program in which students fill their buckets with character-building qualities.