Students and teachers at Hopkins Academy took a break from finals preparation to participate in the school’s second ever diversity day last week.
Instead of normal classes, students attended various stations in 45-minute blocks, where they learned about the cultures of foreign nations through food, dance, art and sports.
According to Hopkins Science Department Chairwoman Cathy Niedziela, the purpose of the stations is to let the students “rotate around and learn about international cultures.”
At the food station, students sampled and learned to cook kafta, a Middle Eastern beef and lamb patty.
There was also a “Your nose knows” station, where students had to identify spices, and where they were from in the world, solely based on smell.
The other activities were also based on cultures from around the world. At the dance station, students were led in traditional dances from across the globe including Poland, Tibet and the Caribbean.
At the games station, students participated in a number of games like Kabaddi, a game from Pakistan which involves a single person trying to tag as many people as they can before they are tackled, or in the case of the students, have the flag around their waist torn off.
They also played Whirl Around, from Syria, which is kind of like Jacks. A person bounces a ball in front of them and spins around before catching it.
According to Daniel O’Donoghue, who teaches international foods and baking and is known to students as Mr. O, the students embrace the day.
“It’s really fun and exciting,” said O’Donoghue, saying that the day’s activities allow the students to “be in a different world” and “give them a taste of something different.”
O’Donoghue said that it is also a good opportunity for the teachers to step out of their own disciplines and learn a little bit. O’Donoghue pointed to a chemistry teacher who was helping out at the foods station.
Christine Pipczynski, who teaches English but was helping at the games station, credited the success of the day to the students who helped organize it.
Diversity day, which started last year, is organized by the school’s Diversity Club with help from the school’s teachers and administrators. The club is made up of a group of students at Hopkins, and according to member and Hopkins sophomore Virginia Cannella, the club tries to “bring awareness to global issues.”
Pipczynski said that the students were more involved this year in helping to organize the day. She said that the students understood that “if they want to enjoy the day, they need to participate in it.”
Cannella said that the students in the diversity club brainstorm ideas about what cultures they want to highlight, at which point they confer with teachers who create the activities at the stations.
Diversity day is the final day of school before finals start, O’Donoghue said, noting that while most schools do a field day, diversity day is a way to learn something and have fun.
According to Cannella, the day is popular among students, especially the station where the get to eat.
“Most people like it,” said Cannella. “It’s and easy and relaxing day but we are still learning about different cultures.”