Could you please introduce yourself?
My name is Mr. Kennedy; I am the middle and high school principal
Can you tell us what UN day is and what it is meant for?
UN day is a chance to celebrate our connection to UN and the diversity of our school. We will celebrate the diversity of our school, meaning people from all the different nationalities will come in their national dress and celebrate the food of the countries. Every year, the UN does the rapprochement of cultures, so what we will do is run activities by grade focusing on the theme and the beauty of all the different cultures at our school. We get together for a big celebration of our diversity and our partnership with the UN.
When you are talking of this diversity and the cultural history of each country, do you think it is an important aspect for UN day?
Huge. I think it is important every day. When you see that you have 40 or more different cultures, all with different languages, at one place at one time getting together, I think it’s really great to learn from each other about the different cultures. I have been at 9 different schools now, and the different cultures that I’ve lived in can be fascinating,
The UN Day date was before 24th October, however, now it has changed. Is there any reason for that?
For us, it’s from a practical point of view. There could be a specific date but we intend to celebrate on our own way. It is just a naturally good day for us to celebrate on that day, and it’s more convenient. The other days, there are other things happening. This one is a great day, a half day, and a wonderful way to start the fall break. Schools do that once in a while, to move things around and make everything more convenient.
Does this mean we should always expect UN day to fall before Autumn Break?
It depends, and the headmaster gets together with the principal to check what is happening at school, what events are going on and what tests are happening and this date feels like a good fit for the time being. It also would be tougher with the younger children on campus, because if we had a whole day event, it would be really challenging to have all the elementary school kids in their national dress. Which is why, for us, a half day is perfect, especially on a Friday before the autumn break.
Talking about practicality, are there any other changes on UN Day as compared to the previous occasions?
No. “Rapprochement of Cultures” is the same thing from last year, so the first 2 hours of the day we will be working on different activities. And then we have the big moment where we get together in the sports-center. We celebrate the big marching with our national colors, and after that we commence lunch, which is the highlight for the grade 1’s.
What kind of activities should high-school students expect for their grade level?
It depends. The grade 10’s areis going to do mock MUN, and they are going to debate on current topics. Grade 8 is going to make a big plywood jigsaw puzzle; they make a huge puzzle where all the kids are put together representing their culture. The grades 6’s are doing an art project.
Are there any other interesting preparations that you would like to talk about?
There is going to be the Parade of Flags, which is really cool, where the youngest and oldest of a nationality will be marching their flag. Then there will be a couple of speeches from Dr. Barder and from the UN representative.
How do you think UN day affects you?
It makes me think of how fortunate I am to be in a place like this, and how I have a different cultural view, and how important it’s to understand and accept them. We should think about how fortunate we are to have these different cultures and how fortunate we are to have each other’s company. We can dress in our national costume with pride, like the Korean and Japanese national costumes come on, unfortunately, the Americans don’t really have a national costume.
Then what are you going to wear for UN day?
I’m going to dress up like a New York banker, with a suit, kind of like that.
Thank you!
No problem
By: Animesh Sakorikar, Viet , Lam Le
