Multicultural Literacy Night has been one of the many community and family-centered events organized and hosted by the teachers and staff at School Two. The School No. 2 learning community, with the support of their local union, the Linden Education Association (LEA), were awarded a FAST (Families and Schools Together) grant from the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) to fund the cost of the event.
More than 150 School No. 2 families took a trip around the world, completing literacy-related activities linked to many of the multicultural versions of the traditional Cinderella fairy tale. Using a splendid castle as the magical doorway to distant lands, they traveled to such destinations as France, Greece, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, the United States, and the Caribbean with their passports in hand. While experiencing the diversity within the different Cinderella tales, the families completed story retells, sequencing activities, vocabulary builders, comparisons of the different tales, made text-to-self connections, and more as they listened to the various tales read aloud by School Two teachers and student volunteers. Each destination was decorated in the spirit of the country of the Cinderella tale and many of the teachers wore traditional clothing of that culture so that guests could discover the essence of each land along with its literature. Guests were then regaled with a generous buffet of each country’s food, allowing for a true “taste” of the different sociti. A School Two communitywide celebration of diversity through the exploration of multicultural literacy was had by all!
(above) Cinderella herself, Layla Kupka, stopped by for a quick “Hello!” and visited the countries.
(above lr) Sch. 2 teacher Sophia Sanchez and Sch. 2 second grader Claudia Dolan make a pretty flower in Mexico after learning about Cinderella’s adventures.
(above) The Choudhry Family along with Sch. 2 Pre-K teachers Fran Pszenica and Evelyn Rivera get ready to travel the world.00
