Today began with a Flag Ceremony. First thing this morning, staff, students, and some parents, many wearing traditional clothing or clothing that represented their home country, lined the central sidewalk running from the parking lot to the high school soccer field. Students hailing from the United States gathered closest to the parking lot, where Mr. Collins, in full patriotic costume, was enthusiastically encouraging students and generously sharing flags. From there, somewhat more subdued students from the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Thailand gathered by their respective flags, which continued in reverse alphabetical order all the way to Albania. Students from our host country, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, gathered at the front of the line, waiting to lead the Flag Ceremony onto the field.
In Olympic-like fashion, each nation was announced by Dr. Gillespie, followed by some cheering and marching to the beat of some marvelous music. While last year’s list noted 50 countries, this year’s parade celebrated 60 nations. It’s amazing to see how we can celebrate and be unified by such diversity.
After the parade, we gathered to spell out C-O-N-D-O-R-S for our all-school photo, which was taken by… a drone!! One funny moment was when a bird decided to make friends with the drone.
The photo has not yet been released, but we will post it here when it’s ready.
Much of the rest of the day was spent watching the clock as the much-anticipated International Lunch approached. At 11:15 a.m., older students made the traditional trek to the elementary school to meet their assigned elementary buddies with whom they enjoyed a fabulous feast. We were on our own this year, which allowed us to all eat together and enjoy one another’s company and conversation. Tables decorated with patterned pagne cloth and set with napkin-wrapped utensils welcomed the students to the covered basketball court. With patience and politeness, students and staff perused the beautiful and bountiful buffet and selected samples to savor. Congolese beignets, Lebanese tabouleh, Turkish mercimek koftesi, Malagasy mofo laisoa, and… American mac and cheese were only a few of the featured foods. For almost 90 minutes, our TASOK family lingered over this mouthwatering meal. And, when it was all over, students even stuck around to serve by cleaning up.
Thank you to those who helped coordinate the lunch and prepared delicious dishes for us to sample. Know we are grateful.
We are also grateful for Mr. Jimmy and his willingness to share his love for music with us and for the opportunity to share our love for music with the TASOK community.
If you enjoyed our performance, join us for more on Friday for the Elementary Celebration of the Arts at 8:15 a.m.