About

Festival of Cultures

An Annual Celebration of Many Nations!

The purpose of the Festival of Cultures is to teach understanding and acceptance of all people. Our goal is to expose students to a variety of cultures while educating them in cross-curricular activities pertaining to each country/culture. It is our hope that through the week long-lessons and our culminating celebration students at St. Anastasia will learn to welcome and embrace diversity throughout their lives.

 

Areas of study include:

• Geography – country maps, and special attention to unique features.

• Culture – children learn about the language, traditions, festivals, music historic/famous people.

• Religion – descriptions and artifacts of predominant faith(s).

• Foods – common foods and specialty foods.

• Literature – well-known authors/books or poetry.

 

Additional focus may include architecture, inventions, products/industry.

 

Together, teachers and students use their research, special projects, creative ideas and artifacts to produce an extensive classroom display allowing visitors to learn about each country.

 

Festival Day

Students take a “trip around the world” as they tour each classroom. They carry passports to receive a sticker from each country. This is followed by an all-school parade around the neighborhood. Each country is represented by it's flag, a country sign, and the students dressed in costume, or country colors. Lunch is provided for students, parent volunteers and guests. The highlight of each lunch period is the dessert table overflowing with treats (provided by parents) representative of each country. The day ends with a program celebration. Classrooms perform various dances and/or songs from their respective country of study. Pride in the USA is evident throughout the day. Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty lead the parade. The lunchroom and gym are decorated with red, white, and blue. Our program opens and closes with traditional patriotic songs from the USA sung by everyone present.