Dear Riverside Families and Staff
You are invited to participate in Riverside's Heritage Night to cherish Diversity of our Community.
When: Thursday, April 10, 5-8pm, Riverside School
New to Riverside or you've been here for many years?
Please know that you BELONG, come join us at the most magical event of the year.
We encourage all families, with or without international background, to take part in sharing cultures & traditions from around the world.
As in past years, we continue to celebrate a culture and diversity at Riverside!
This year's theme is "Many Voices, One Orchestra".
Come join us for an evening to celebrate the rich diversity we have at Riverside. We acknowledge how, despite our individual differences, our cultural backgrounds—stories, traditions, food, music, and more—come together to create a beautiful, powerful, and unified human experience!
A school-wide activity reflecting this would be shared with the students/teachers and we invite families (through all the opportunities below) to bring/highlight an instrument that represents their heritage, aligning with Harvard scholar, educator, and poet Henry Longfellow’s idea that music is “the universal language of mankind".
We believe that the power of music/sound will create cross-cultural connections and strengthen our unique community.
In Honor of "Celebrate Diversity" Month (April),
which recognizes and honors the rich varied cultures at Riverside, we would like to spotlight differences through curiosity and active listening as we deepen our understanding of each other with kindness and empathy.
https://www.unesco.org/en/donate
UNESCO promotes education, intercultural dialogue, cultural heritage, human rights, and more. Congress needs to know you support full funding for UNESCO so consider donating AND advocating.
EVERYONE in the community can contribute in any or all of the following ways:
**See below for sign-up & further details**
*Note the updates in the sign-up notes*
Deadline to sign up is March 28
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact any member of the planning team
Michelle Baxter (baxtermcdonagh@gmail.com); Dupe Coker (moyegunle@yahoo.com),
Jennifer Nicosia (jnicosia23@gmail.com),
Anna Achampong (annaachampong@princetonk12.org), Lin Gu (gu.lin@outlook.com) or
any member of the PTO
Jobs
Create a display to introduce your heritage. Feel free to be creative! Bring flags, clothes, instruments, posters, or anything that represents your region/culture/country. Each country will have a 6 ft table available for display. In the past, tables have displayed photos, interesting facts and places. You can also make crafts with the students or play games, quizzes at your table. It's up to you!! *This year, we encourage exhibitions to include instruments or images of instruments in their display* Signed Up: 15 / 25 |
Sign up |
Do you and/or your child have a special talent that they would like to share? Do you know of anyone that could perform a traditional dance, song, or play a musical instrument? Show pride in your heritage or celebrate another culture through song, dance, musical instruments, poems etc.*This year, we encourage all choral or music performances* Signed Up: 3 / 10 |
Sign up |
Participate in an enchanting and colorful display of our Riverside community at this year’s exclusive fashion show! Riverside children, parents and entire families are invited to step into the spotlight by dressing up in unique attires representing nations around the world. Please be sure to share important facts about each attire so we can “brag” about you as you glide through the runway! *Please share the various kinds of music you would like to "glide" through* Signed Up: 7 / 20 |
Sign up |
Share your favorite traditional dish, appetizer or dessert with other families. You can also bring a meal or treat from your favorite part of the world. Bring enough for 10-12 people to share. Name of dish, country of origin and major ingredients will be requested for display. Even if you do not bring a dish, we need your help organizing the delicious dishes that come through our tables every year. Please consider supporting us. Signed Up: 13 / 100 |
Sign up |
Please sign-up to help with the event in terms of logistics and support. We will assign you a simple job as you arrive. It can be to help out with chairs, food, handing out passports, organizing performances and fashion show etc. An extra pair of hands is always appreciated! Thank you! Signed Up: 3 / 15 |
Sign up |