International Diversity Celebrated at Island Park

If you attended ’s International Night, you would have witnessed the diversity of the students and their family origins first-hand. Nineteen countries — from India and Israel to Uruguay and Vietnam — were on display at A Taste of Island Park, as 500 attendees explored booths, sampled international delicacies and shared their personal histories.

This year, origami making, Flamenco dancing, the Lakeridge steel drum band, face painting and henna stamps were among the free entertainment. 

International Night is unique to Island Park. So is the elementary school level English Language Learner (ELL) program, which is designed to develop ELL students' fluency in English.

“It is such a special event where our Island Park community can celebrate the diversity within our school and embrace each other's cultural backgrounds,” said outgoing co-chair Diane Salisbury, who was publically thanked for her past six years of leadership of International Night.  

While the theme changes each year, the goal of educating children about different cultures remains the same. To further entice the children to explore each table, students were given a world map to complete. Excitedly “traveling” from one country table to another, each student earned a flag sticker once they found the hidden photo of Principal Dr. Nancy Loorem in that country’s display.

Co-chair Liz Kenny’s family coordinated the booth on Ireland. “I enjoyed seeing how much fun the kids were having, but my favorite memory was seeing how an entire group of adults put in so much time and effort so their children could share and honor their heritage.”

Countries represented at the 2011 International Night include: Afghanistan, China, Columbia, France, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay and Vietnam.