CelebratingDiversity at CIS

By Lisa Leland, Communications and Marketing Executive, Canadian International School

We began the month of February with Chinese New Year celebrations and then moved to our annual week long cultural celebrations, “Uniting Nations Week” at Lakeside campus and “Cultural Celebrations Week” at Tanjong Katong campus.  Festivities began with our Carnival of Nations and Global Bazaar, on 16 February, with over 4,000 people enjoying the plethora of games, rides and activities on offer.

Uniting Nations celebrations at Lakeside included various cultural performances that encompassed a traditional Japanese fisherman’s dance and a North American line dance.  A highlight for many was the delicious array of foods at the annual Food Festival, which saw CIS parents preparing dishes that hailed from all corners of the globe.  In true IB spirit, children embraced
the concept of being risk takers as they experienced foods never before tasted - this year Aussie students were beaten by a Korean peer in the annual Vegemite challenge! The week culminated with the perennially popular Parade of Nations with over 78 different nationalities represented.

Cultural Celebrations at Tanjong Katong began with an assembly that featured multilingual stories from around the world.  In true CIS tradition, the highlights of the week featured a Food Festival with tasty delights and a Parade of Nations– celebrating the diversity that is CIS.  These were remarkable events that display the true heart of the CIS community. 

Grade 7 and 8 students from both campuses applied their cultural understanding in an academic context by attending the Model United Nations conference later in February.  During the conference, students represented member countries by debating issues and passing resolutions in attempts to find solutions to some of the world’s problems.  The Model UN involved over 550 students from 28 schools representing over 80 countries.

Cultural celebrations; academic pursuits; and the application of inter-cultural understanding! All in all, it has just been a regular month at school for CIS students.