News & Views

“The beauty of the world lies in the differences of its people.”

Prince’s Gardens is a melting pot of countries and different cultures from all around the world and this is something we celebrate every day with pride. However, there is one day where our multicultural community truly comes alive and that is International Day! The Languages Department put together an impressive schedule of fun activities to explore things from around the world.

On Monday 20^th, the whole school assembly was themed around the Spanish-speaking world with children performing songs, stories and a poem by Federico García Lorca. Spanish and Mandarin are the two main languages we learn at the school from Pre-Reception to Year 6. Throughout the week, there were opportunities for students to do a Show and Tell and present an object from their country or even a dance or useful phrases. It was wonderful to see children so proudly sharing parts of their culture with their peers. Ayla 4L, shared photos of her adventures in the USA and Capucine 6W, bought in Vietnamese spring rolls for her class to taste.

Thursday’s Mandarin lessons were themed around the famous Dragon Boat Festival in China. The classes celebrated by making perfumed pouches called xiang bao which are thought to bring good luck and ward off bad spirits. These awesome activities all lead up to the very exciting and eagerly anticipated International Day on Friday 24^th. 

Friday 24^th June was a fine summer’s day. The school was alive with colour and there was such a great energy in school. Children and staff dressed to represent countries from around the world including Ukraine, Japan and India. You could smell delicious aromas coming from the kitchen as our chef cooked a traditional Caribbean-themed lunch of jerk chicken with rice and peas. Learning about different parts of the world, our children took part in an awesome array of activities including a fiery flamenco dance class, a sensational samba drumming workshop as well as Russian storytelling with Year 1 parent Mrs Chukaeva.

No International Day would be complete without the parade in the garden. The teachers kickstarted the costume parade strutting down the runway while their students cheered at the top of their lungs. Then, class by class, we saw how much of an effort the children had put into their outfits as they paraded to the sound of the samba band led by our drumming teacher, Mr Williams. Prizes were awarded to the children whose costumes stood out for their creativity.

Ms Verma who organises the day says, “This event emphasises to our whole community the values of tolerance, unity and acceptance. I hope on a day like this, our students understand that being different is a good thing and if we can embrace our differences then the world would be a better place!”

Tina Verma, Teacher at Prince’s Gardens Prep School, UK