International Fair held at Northside Elementary
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/decatur/News/2495/
By Janelle Jessen janellej @ nwanews. com
DECATUR ó Northside Elementary students experienced the culture, food and clothes of countries around the world during last weekís International Fair.
Giraffes, windmills and cherry blossom trees filled the hallways as each classroom built beautiful displays for their assigned country. Flags and student artwork hung from the ceiling, giving the school a bright and festive air.
Students also studied a different country each day. Mexico was studied Monday, Ireland on Tuesday, Kenya on Wednesday, Peru on Thursday and the United States was studied on Friday.
Students wore the countryís colors, and teachers dressed in costumes from that country. Food from the featured country was also served in the cafeteria.
On Thursday, parents and community members were invited to a special International Night. Booths from Mexico, Columbia, Belgium, the United States, India, Cape Verde, Ireland, Japan, Laos and Bolivia were set up around the school cafeteria, offering displays of the clothes, culture and food.
Students and guests were each given a passport. For each booth they visited, they were given a sticker in the passport and when the passports were filled, students were given a prize.
The Multicultural Club performed a Spanish dance, an Asian dance, and a Clog dance for the event. Dazzleíem Dance students also performed dances representing the ballet, jazz and tap styles.
Dazzleíem Dance instructor Cherrie Knox said ballet represents many cultures, originating in Italy, then moving to Russia and then France.
She said jazz also has many cultural influences, including African Vernacular, while tap is a truly an American dance.