It was a multicultural celebration for Collegeville Elementary students, staff and family members, getting together for a special program on Friday, May 26.
“Although Collegeville Elementary School lies at the outermost periphery of the Escalon Unified School District, its dual language program reflects the diverse cultural heart of our community,” noted Principal Dr. George Megenney. “At the same time we embrace and celebrate the charming aspects of life in a small town and its outlying rural areas, we also acknowledge that the people who live and work here have roots that attach them to a variety of cultural origins.”
Dual language immersion programs, Megenney added, generally have three basic goals for students: developing bilingualism and biliteracy, fostering high academic achievement, and nurturing cross-cultural understanding.
“It was with an eye toward the last of those goals that the staff organized its first Multicultural Day on Friday, May 26,” the principal explained, with the goal of having this become an annual event.
Before the pandemic, one of Collegeville’s ongoing traditions was its annual “Western Day.” Families were invited to the school for a hamburger lunch they could share with students and enjoyed a bit of line dancing to bookend the event.
This year, the multicultural twist was added.
“The staff hoped to take the basic idea and update it to reflect the character of the dual language program,” said Megenney. “A taco lunch was organized and teachers spent the weeks preceding the event teaching students dances from around the Spanish speaking world. Parents and staff volunteered to decorate the school and prepare sufficient food for the more than 300 expected attendees.”
The lunch menu featured the tacos, beans and a variety of fresh condiments for topping the tacos including lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and salsa, as well as watermelon slices.
The day was even bigger than officials anticipated.
“As it turned out, more than 500 members of the community came out for lunch and saw students perform a variety of dances to tunes representative of Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba and Mexico,” Megenney said. “The smiles and laughter of those who attended were reflective of a successful event that brought the Collegeville community together in a highly positive way.”
