Today, the North Cliff School celebrated Cultural Diversity Day.  The event was extremely well organized and was presented by the PTA.  Englewood Cliffs is a diverse community with many families being first and second generation immigrants. The school hosted a wonderful event reflecting this diversity.

Six countries were represented that included China, Greece, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey.  The students welcomed a break from their rigorous class schedule to tour the exhibits.  They found great joy in learning all about the different cultural and historical contributions.

Bravo to the Englewood Cliffs PTA for promoting education, diversity and respect for our cultural differences.

China

China’s presenters gave a geographical demonstration and discussed Beijing, the nation’s capital and Shanghai, it’s largest city.  The children learned about the renminbi, it’s official currency, chinese calligraphy, a form of aesthetically pleasing writing, and how this populous nation of East Asia is a vast landscape encompassing grassland, mountains, lakes, rivers and coastline.

Greece

Greece’s presentation was rich in history and culture.  The children learned about Greece’s contributions to the modern world in mathematics, science, philosophy, language arts, engineering, and the birth of democracy and olympic sports.  Videos of traditional greek dances, models of landmarks, detailed descriptions of some of the worlds most famous tales, and displays of greek costumes all kept the kids engaged.

India

India’s presenters displayed various traditional games, jewelry and clothing that worked very well as the students had a lot of fun playing with the various props.  The children loved wearing a “Bindi”, a colored dot worn on the center of the forehead and artistic henna tattoos were applied to their hands.

South Korea

South Korea’s presentation was largely focused on the Olympic games and for good reason.  They talked about PyeongChang, this years host to the 2018 winter olympics and other fun facts such as the Gangwon province being known for its mountain vegetables and hanwoo beef.   But, what the kids really enjoyed was the pinwheel crafts they participated in making.

Taiwan

Taiwan’s presenters shared an engaging display which included fun facts such as its national flower, the plum blossom, its massive population of 23 million people, and the various languages that are spoken on the island.  The presenters tried to emulate the night markets in Taiwan by offering various games to play.  The children did not hesitate to line up and give the games a try!

Turkey

Turkey’s presentation was also rich in history and covered subjects such as the Ottoman Empire, Virgin Mary’s tomb,  Maiden’s Tower, Hagia Sophia museum, sufi whirling and many other subjects.  The kids were kept engaged with backgammon, one of the oldest board games known to man.

Cultural Diversity Day at the North Cliff School was a huge success partly due to the fact that the parents and teachers that contributed had just as much fun as the children.  Many thanks to our community for teaching and celebrating the existence of a variety of cultures or ethnic groups within society.