CHES Students Celebrate Holidays Around the World

Kindergarten and first grade students at the Cape Hatteras Elementary School (CHES) got into a global holiday spirit on Tuesday with their lively annual celebration of “Holidays Around the World.”

The event, (which is bolstered by parent volunteers as well as a team of teachers), showcases how holidays are celebrated at varying countries around the globe, with the individual countries picked by the teachers based on their connections, heritage, or personal ties to the locales.

“Each teacher picked a location based on their background,” said TA Natalia Kahn. “There is a lot of passion, and a lot of support for this [project] every year.”

The six countries for 2018’s celebration included Brazil, Venezuela, Italy, Germany, Ireland, and Israel, and each classroom was transformed into a distinctive country, as the kids moved from one room to the next, sampling the various cultural celebrations. Over in Israel, kids were “lighting” their menorahs with crayons and playing dreidel, as teachers and volunteers leant a hand, while in Venezuela, the children listened and sang along to songs played on a Cuatro – a traditional four-stringed Latin American instrument.

“The focus is on how the holidays are celebrated in other countries,” said Kahn, “and the kids move from one country to the next, earning stamps on their passport along the way.”

“It’s a multi-media presentation with songs, videos, activities, photos, and more, and it’s very fun for everyone involved,” added Kahn.

Perhaps the biggest allure of the event for adults and the young students alike is the food, and this year’s celebration featured a cornucopia of goodies that ranged from Irish stew and Italian pastas, to German strudel and Brazilian chocolate cookies. All of the food, which was spread out on lengthy buffet tables, was brought in by the teachers and the roughly 20 volunteers who leant a much-needed hand in orchestrating the many worldly activities.

102 young students joined in this year’s globe-trotting celebration, and based on the smiles spotted in every activity-filled classroom, the event was once again a huge hit – an outcome that was made possible by both the teachers’ hard work, and the volunteers’ enthusiasm for introducing the world to Cape Hatteras Elementary School.