“Since Halloween is around the corner, children were also encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes,” WSR principal Naomi Nishimura said.
The “essence” of the celebration was to appreciate the world’s different cultures, she added.
“This is one of the opportunities for us to be able to express our thoughts and ideas while learning about diverse cultures,” she told Variety.
U.N. Day should have been celebrated on Oct. 24, but the school decided to combine it with Cultural Day to “maximize” student activities.
“We have to be able to do more time in the classroom. It is our focus to maximize the learning time of the children,” Nishimura said.
School counselor Rebecca J. Flores, event coordinator, said the parade of nations which featured students waving the 192 flags of the U.N., opened their program at 1 p.m.
Students also performed cultural numbers, she added.
“It was also a day for Halloween trick-or-treating,” she said.
School counselor Kimberly Concepcion, another coordinator of the event, said the activity was a joint project of WSR’s enrichment center and bilingual program.
During the program, Art Sandheim of WSR talked about the brief history of the creation and goals of the United Nations.
Fifth grade students and teachers then presented U.N. songs.
Carmela Famorca, Coleen Duenas, Leischangefisch Somol, Juana Kiyoshi and Jasime Calvo gave brief messages in different languages.
The event’s master of ceremony was Anthony Taylor.
