Our International Community: Celebrations Around the World
Our International Community: Celebrations Around the World
Jennifer Wallace
One of our core ICS School pillars is "Our International Community" which unites us all in behaviours, attitudes and values, despite our students coming from many different cultural, linguistic, and geographical backgrounds.
Likewise, the IB Primary Years Programme seeks to incorporate different perspectives and world views placing international mindedness and diversity at its core.
With this objective, PY1, PY2 and PY3 have been exploring traditional celebrations around the world:
- PY1 students have been looking at how we express ourselves through different celebrations and festivals, including Diwali and Thanksgiving, with Christmas traditions to be studied throughout December. Last week, to celebrate American Thanksgiving, students gave each other a home-made gift, and shared a fruit salad around a table in the spirit of coming together and giving thanks.
- Recently PY2 students looked at the cultural identities of France and the UK, and the next stage of their learning was to research a country of their choice during the October holidays. Students designed spectacular posters and gave presentations to their classmates. Students chose whether to present in English or in French, and our PY2 teachers, Anaïs and Marion, were very proud to see the confidence of the students as they presented.
- PY3 students have also been exploring different cultures around the world, including Holi in India, Hanami (the celebration of the cherry blossom) in Japan, and they are looking forward to researching the traditions of the Lunar New Year festival later this month.
The IB learner profile attributes of "knowledgeable, open-minded and reflective" are at the core of these investigations and exchanges, as children learn about the similarities and differences between cultures and share their own traditions and celebrations.
