The dress code was unofficially but distinctly colorful at the Denton Avenue School last week, as teachers and students wore clothing expressing their ethnicity as part of the school’s Heritage Week festivities.
The educational part of the biennial observance combined both instruction from teachers and participation in various events.
“It’s a tremendous value for children to appreciate learning about other cultures,” Denton Avenue School principal Mary Louise Haley said.
Students were given an introduction to yoga, how to make challah bread and the structure of words in Chinese calligraphy. They also had fun taking their first tentative steps at different cultural dance forms, including south Asian Bhangra and southern American country line dancing.
Taking pride in one’s culture and demonstrating sensitivity to other’s cultures were part of the unwritten lesson plan, Haley added.
The curriculum was aimed at giving the grade schoolers an appreciation for diverse cultures in a school where the student population itself demonstrates ethnic diversity. Wearing ethnic costumes – something the teachers did every day – gathered momentum among the young students as a way of advertising their ethnic pride.
Students who are normally shy about their ethnic background were eagerly wearing it by week’s end, Haley said.
A new wrinkle this year was a wall of ethnic coats of arms with serious and whimsical elements created by the children. An Italian coat of arms included an image of the Coliseum and a plate of pasta and meatballs.
She said the school’s third Heritage Week in five years opened new windows for the children on music, dance and art. She said it also provided parents who participated as volunteers demonstrating different cultural skills and traditions an opportunity to proudly share aspects of their culture with the tradition.
“It’s my culture,” said Denton Avenue parent Niki Lolis, who taught an exuberant group of fifth graders Greek dancing last Friday. “We’re such a melting pot in New York. New York is the epitome of what the country is about.”
Lolis was one of 30 parents who donated their time last week in presenting programs that celebrated the cultural nuances of the human family.
“It’s about the similarities, not the differences,” said Beth Rosenman, lead teacher at the Denton Avenue School.
Two Indian-American parents made a presentation one day about traditional Indian wedding ceremonies, including slides of their own wedding. Rosenman said she was struck by the similarities between the wedding ceremony they described and the wedding ceremony in her own Jewish culture.
The program for the week was developed over several months by Rosenman, who found appropriate spots for eager parent volunteers and built on lessons learned from the past two Heritage Weeks at Denton Avenue.
Students in the Spanish language immersion program enjoyed learning to sing the popular Mexican “Cielito Lindo” last Friday.
On the same day, Denton Avenue parent Victor Chung held the attention of fourth and fifth graders in art teacher Maria Monda’s classes as he explained the intricacies of Chinese calligraphy.
First graders in Emily Topel’s class had fun making and kicking Korean hackey sacks – Jai Gi Cha Gi – with a helping hand from Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth, who praised the Heritage Week concept.
“I think it’s such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the different cultures that make the fabric of the Denton Avenue School,” Bosworth said.
Fourth graders enjoyed a workout in the gym to Zumba music with Lora Balsamo, a third grade teacher at Denton Avenue who moonlights as a Zumba instructor.
“We’re going to go all around the world without ever leaving the gym,” she told the children as she demonstrated Zumba dance moves taken from different musical traditions.
The gym was the scene for everything from lessons in dancing the Israeli hora and Indian bhangra steps to tae kwon do and futbol – a.k.a. soccer – taught by Denton Avenue parent Robert Jara.
His fifth grade daughter, Jackie, penned a paragraph about Heritage Week accompanying several drawings she made of students in native ethnic garb that Haley posted in the Denton Avenue main office.
“It doesn’t matter how you look or where you come from. Wipe away those tears and start loving who you are,” she wrote.
