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World Fest: Showcasing Cultural and Linguistic Backgrounds

  • Jan 19
  • 4 min read

Sarah Hanf, Creekmoor Elementary, Raymore Peculiar School District


Introduction

World Fest was a beautiful and successful event! The event was a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity, filled with excitement and enthusiasm. For our Creekmoor English Learners (ELs), World Fest was a wonderful opportunity to showcase their rich cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It was a celebration of their identities and a chance to share their unique perspectives with the broader community.

One of the most significant outcomes of World Fest was the strengthening of relationships among parents, the school, and our community. Parents felt more connected to the school and more comfortable participating in school events. This increased engagement has had a positive impact on the overall school climate.

Our World Fest committee worked together to make the event possible. Our committee was comprised of teachers and other staff members. Committee members called parents to ask them if they would be interested in volunteering to run a booth at the event. Other committee members were responsible for helping families set up booths and ensuring they had the items needed (tables, chairs, etc.). Committee members also helped decorate the event. On the day of the event, some of the members were responsible for helping pass out the passports to the children attending. Other members ran their own booths featuring their cultural and linguistic backgrounds. 


The books we acquired were passed out to the different booths at the beginning of the event so the parents would have literature to showcase in their home languages. They were so excited to see children’s literature that featured their languages to share with other families. Many families read books to the children who visited their booths and pointed out their home language  alphabets. When the event was over, the books were collected and cataloged in the school library system for families to check out.


Parents have expressed a strong desire to participate in future World Fest events, highlighting the event's success in fostering a sense of belonging and community. The friendships formed among families at World Fest further strengthened the bonds within our school community. Overall, World Fest was a resounding success, leaving a lasting impression on our students, parents, and community members. It was a celebration of cultural diversity, a catalyst for stronger relationships, and a source of inspiration for all involved.


Goals

  1. Give students a sense of pride when sharing about their language and culture

  2. Promote multilingual reading opportunities

  3. Provide parents an opportunity for positive school community involvement

 

Step By Step Plan 

  1. Organize a World Fest Committee

  2. Arrange and schedule the entertainment

  3. Invite families of ELs to participate

  4. Advertise the event

  5. Decorate for the event

  6. Host the event


Budget


Sustainability

World Fest was an absolute blast! Parents and students alike had a fantastic time exploring the diverse cultures represented at the event. Seeing the excitement and enthusiasm was inspiring as people discovered books in their home languages and proudly showcased their language skills.


The parents are eager to continue their involvement in future World Fest events and participate more actively in school activities because of the large number of participants at this year’s events. We hope to host World Fest at a larger venue in the future. Parents are telling friends who weren’t able to attend the event how much fun they had. For example, Pakistani families divided the list of responsibilities in their booth without any prompting from the committee. Seeing the families work together to take ownership of this event is exciting. 


The books we shared will be used in future World Fest events and made available in our school library system year round. Many families were interested in learning about other languages and cultures from the event and researching other countries. Parents look forward to checking out the books in their home languages from the school library. We will also use the books to promote diversity awareness months. Our school librarian frequently highlights books for these months. Teachers are excited to use this diverse list of books as a resource for teaching about our culturally and linguistically diverse community as we build cultural awareness schoolwide.


Reflections

The event was a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity, filled with excitement and enthusiasm. One of the most memorable aspects was the opportunity to discover books in home languages, sparking a sense of pride and connection among the attendees.


Three hundred and ten people attended the event. As a result, the World Fest committee is considering a larger venue for next year. Parents are already asking for the date so they can plan to participate in next year’s event.

Parents were particularly excited to share their rich cultural heritage with the community. World Fest allows our parents to have a positive interaction with our school community. The feedback from parents was positive and encouraging. Parents stated, “We had so many people that we ran out of food!” Attendees said they had no idea we had so many cultures and languages represented in our school community.















The Show Me Multiliteracy project disseminates best practices to school teams and develops educators' capacity to support emerging multilingual students' literacy development in both English and their home languages.

© 2020 Show Me Multiliteracy

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