by Kemmie Jackson
Multicultural Night at North Springs is a time for students from different backgrounds to come together and share their culture, customs, and experiences with their peers and families. This Thursday, March 9th, the school will celebrate cultures from around the globe during the day through several performances, as well as events held on Thursday evening.
Senorita Ferris, who is a Spanish teacher, World Languages Department Curriculum leader, and 2022-23 Teacher of the Year, is organizing the event with her department. She explains, “During multicultural day, we have performances in the auditorium that represent different cultures, then in the cafeteria we have food from different cultures, and activities.”
During the day, North Springs students will have the chance to attend live performances during fourth period in the auditorium at 2:15, to appreciate and honor other cultures. Classes attending the in-school multicultural performances will get to see a 45 minute presentation of global dances, songs, and poems. The North Springs Dance Company, led by dance instructor Mrs. Kent, will be performing Middle Eastern Belly dances based off of North African, and Middle Eastern culture.
“We’ve had a variety of dances [on previous multicultural nights], some of which stem from our world dance unit that we do in our dance classes,” Kent explains. “The Company class is performing a fokloric belly dance that was choreographed by a guest artist, Liezel Lane.”
Students participating in Multicultural Night include the Spanish 1 and 2 courses, Chinese and Latin classes, and National Spanish Honors Society members. These world language students have created decorative tri-folds displaying colorful photos of different places and cultures, including flags, recipes, currency, clothing, customs, and more, as well as information about the countries and customs. Some bring in a traditional food dish or research a traditional dish from a country and compose an essay.
Latin Club members will create a Roman Colosseum “photo-booth” for attendees to take a picture in with while wearing a toga. Ms. Weng’s Chinese classes will demonstrate Chinese Calligraphy, Chinese Painting and a paper cutting activity at the Chinese table, as well as a poster about Famous Chinese People, Chinese Festivals and food, and the company of people from around the world.
The evening event will also feature student performances, beginning at 6:00 pm. Ms. Kent explains, “We also have dancers who volunteered to perform a Caribbean dance. Additionally, there is poetry, music, and club presentations from the Latinx club and Chinese Language club.”
Mrs. Weng describes the contribution of her Chinese classes to the evening, which features a Lion Dance and Dragon Dance with Drums, the Chinese songs “A Brunch of a Plum Tree” and “I Love Chinese Food.” “These are all songs and dances that showcase Chinese Culture,” She explains. “And if you all listen to the song ‘A Brunch of a plum tree’, you will hear the viral Tiktok line (Xue hua piao piao,, bei feng xiao xiao) and understand it too!”
The event, an annual fixture at North Springs until COVID hit, will be somewhat different this year. Ms. Ferris explains, “It will be smaller, because not as many classes will be participating,” she says. “There will be a good amount of students who haven’t seen it before, due to not having it last year.”
Some of the teachers had little prior exposure to the event due to COVID. “I only participated in one full Multicultural night in 2020, just before the Covid pandemic,” says Latin instructor Mr. Diamond. “It was an incredible experience the first time, with so many attendees, performances, and food!”
The department members whose classes participated enjoy the fellowship the evening brings. Ms. Ferris shared this as one reason the department holds the event, and how they hope the community will come out to experience it “My favorite part is all the food and getting to try all of [it],” she says. “I also like seeing my students learn about different cultures.”
Mr. Diamond appreciates not only the food and performances, but seeing “All the people whose eyes light up reading all of the posterboards about different countries.”
“It is a fun experience that many alumni/students who have experienced it still rave about,” agrees Ms. Weng.
Ms. Kent values the experience for her classes and North Springs students. “There’s a combination of students, families, teachers, and community members that come to celebrate the event. Multicultural Night is a great way to celebrate cultural pride!”
Mr. Diamond adds, “It is a unique event that shows off the diverse cultures Sandy Springs is home to, and leaves everyone with an enthusiasm for trying new things and having new perspectives.”
“I look forward to seeing students’ creativity and sharing all the delicious food!”” says Ms. Flores. She adds, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to try traditional foods from different countries that are not normally available in the community. Parents can see and taste the results of their child’s efforts. Plus, IT’S FREE!”
Multicultural Night is scheduled for Thursday, March 9th from 6:00 to 8:00pm in the cafeteria, and is open to NSHS students, staff, and their families. For more information, students should speak to their World Language instructor, or contact Ms. Ferris at ferrisj1@fultonschools.org.
