"We have to know what’s going on all around the world, we are not just here in Michigan. This way we can just bring all the diversity, the culture all in one spot for them to experience it all firsthand," explained Sandra Nursilo, a Hillside Middle School parent.
Hillside Middle School hosted a day to celebrate all of our student's cultures.
"We are so proud and love that our kids are having so much fun because here at Hillside that’s what it’s all about, having fun, tying in the academics, bringing in families and parents, celebrating every culture we have in Northville and we are so proud of this day," said Meaghan Monk, a teacher at Hillside Middle School.
Hillside's International Event is usually in the evening, but this year they changed it to be during the school day.
"They are so excited, they are having so much fun, they’re leaving every session with huge smiles. It’s just so amazing to see that we’ve worked so hard and they’re having such a great time and what’s an added bonus, they’re learning while they’re having fun," said Ms. Monk.
Several parents set up cultural displays for the students to explore.
"I love how interested they are in the details. We were explaining the Samosa tradition to multiple children and also started to write all of their names in Punjabi and I didn’t think they’d be so interested in seeing their names written in Punjabi but it was very sweet to see that they thought it was super cool to write in a different script," explained Nirmal Kaur, Hillside Middle School parent.
"I think it was important so that we could acknowledge each other and we could know about each other’s cultures so it let’s us connect to each other more. If you didn’t know people’s back stories, I guess it wouldn’t be as good, like your relationships wouldn’t be as great as they are if you know," said Skylar, 6th grader at Hillside.
The school's food service team set up food samples from countries around the world. Plus, a handful of teachers shared their cultures with fun activities like Irish Dancing. Another teacher shared how to make pizzelles to celebrate his Italian family.
"I just think we live in a really diverse district and we should really celebrate that and I think this event is one such way in which we do. And I think we should continue doing more such events to make sure everyone realize how lucky they are to be in such a wonderful location," said Ms. Kaur.
Meads Mill Middle School will be hosting their International Day on May 10th at 6pm.