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The Little School Hosts 14th Annual
Multi-Cultural Festival
The Little School at Santa Fe Community College recently hosted its 14th annual Multi-Cultural Festival for its students in grades Pre-K and younger.
“The festival has changed and grown a lot from where we started with it,” says Little School director Dr. Karen Bennett. “But, our goal remains the same. The goal is to celebrate the similarities and the differences in our many cultures.”?
Bennett says that the Little School alone has teachers on staff from
Bennett says throught the school year, the students learn from each other and the teachers at the Little School about multi-culturalism. “We have kids at the school who come here not knowing any English,” she explains. “We have teachers who routinely speak different languages in or around the classes.”
“We teach multi-culturalism all year long,” says Bennett. “But, it all culminates with the festival.”
This year’s Multi-Cultural Festival featured 22 countries, including some from
The participants, most of whom are parents who have children attending the school, set up booths with information, photos, food and artifacts from the featured countries. Children also were given the chance to participate in hands-on activities, such as making their own pasta, making maracas out of hollow plastic eggs and beans and making beaded bracelets and jewelry.
The children also put on an exceptional show for their parents, grandparents and friends. They sang songs in several languages, including “Frere Jacques” and “It’s a Small World.” They students also donned traditional clothing from worldwide cultures.
Bennett says the theme for the event is embraced in the song “The World Is A Rainbow.” “The theme is really that we’re all a lot more similar than different,” she says. “If we start at an early age, the kids can learn to respect their differences.”
For more information, call the Little School at
