NEWS                                                                                        Walnut Valley Unified School District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 880 S. Lemon Avenue

December 8, 2011                                                                   Walnut, CA 91789

Kelli Gile, Office of Community Resources

(909) 595-1261 ext. 31204

DIAMOND BAR, CA--Maple Hill Elementary School celebrated diversity on campus with their annual Multicultural Experience held December 8th and 9th.

The event began with a student talent show featuring a taekwondo exhibition and traditional Polynesian, Chinese, Salsa, and Indian dances.

Students clapped to the beat as their classmates shared their wonderful talents.

Then students and staff joined in singing “Teaching Peace” with hand movements during the refrain “We are teaching peace by what we do and what we say.”

Third grade teacher and host Kelly Morris took the wireless microphone around to several students so their voice could be heard during the song.

Students then boarded airlines with passports in hand and traveled the globe to Korea, Mexico, Italy, Ireland, France, Polynesian Islands, India, China, and the United States.

They toured beautifully decorated classrooms to learn about traditions, participate in cultural activities, and sample delicious ethnic food!

“This event is important to our Maple Hill students because they have an opportunity to share about their own cultures and learn about their richly diverse classmates cultures too!” said Principal Nancy Stingley.

“When they remember their years in elementary school, they may not remember the grammar lesson that they had, but they will remember the relationships and beauty of the cultures they experienced as a result of this day,” she added.

In India, children sampled rice with peas, and garbanzo beans. Korean food included Man Doo (spring roll), Jap Chap (noodle), and Kim Bob (vegetable & beef, and fish rolls).

Many children and staff members were also dressed in authentic cultural clothing for the special school event.

In Mrs. Kristin Thomas’ kindergarten class, students got a lesson about the about French impressionist artists. Then they took cotton swabs and dotted their own works of Monet-styled art.

Over 100 parent volunteers were involved in every part of the event - serving the ethnic food, leading presentations, and helping with activities in classrooms.

In the multipurpose room, teachers Theresa Rovira, Lynda Keelen, Shari Criddle, and Marcia Hansen shared a lesson in American History. They donned powdered wigs and authentic costumes to play the parts of famous American Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln whose faces are carved in granite on Mount Rushmore. Teacher Tami Barry performed as the student writing a report about these great presidents.

“In today's technological world, students have quick access to global communities via television and the Internet. But this connection lacks the personal, more intimate, understanding of a country's rich traditions. The event allows our students to experience the beauty of these cultures firsthand and their memories and learning will far surpass anything they can experience online,“ said teacher Kelly Morris.

Student painters patiently dabbed tiny colorful dots to achieve the French impressionistic style.

Second grader Kelley Reyes joyfully performed a Salsa dance.

Third grader Aria Ting performed a Chinese Folk dance. (yellow outfit)

Teacher and talent show host Kelly Morris, wearing a Nordic horned helmet, brought the microphone around so students could share their voices during the ‘Teaching Peace” song.

Maple Hill students Jeremy Kuo, Zachary Kuo, Devin Chong, Matthew Tempongko, Connor Cho, and Joe Carrajal presented a high-energy taekwondo demonstration with their teacher Alan Cheon from YIC Taekwondo in Diamond Bar. They skillfully and carefully punched and kicked through wooden boards to the delight of their classmates. Before every challenge, each martial art student said, “Focus, Confidence, kick!” Shown: Devon Chong took flight as he performed an advanced taekwondo skill.