On Wednesday 7th December we at Enniscorthy Community College held our Multicultural Day.
The school was full of colour and activity, as we celebrated the diverse cultures and nationalities that make up our school community. The day began with a welcome over the intercom to all in our school, spoken in a wide variety of languages organised by our Deputy Principal Ms. Tina Merriman. This was followed by a beautiful concert, which opened with a parade of national flags while the orchestra performed “Ode to Joy”. The concert included a selection of National Anthems, original poetry penned and recited by our students, Silent Night sang in many languages, a samba from Brazil and a heartfelt rendition of Boolavogue sang by Ms. Anita Cullen. The concert ended in a rousing exhibition of “The Walls of Limerick”, danced by our international students which was choreographed by Anna Nolan, and accompanied by Ms. Brídín Kelly on tin whistle. Mr. Liam Sharkey, MC’d with wonderful panache and humour. All of this went on to the colourful backdrop of Multicultural posters designed by our SPHE students for the poster competition.
We were then treated to a trip around the world courtesy of our students from various countries, as the PowerPoints they created informed everyone about food, presidents, population, language and fun facts from their original countries. A Kahoot quiz all about the diversity within our own school was next on the schedule which was researched and compiled by Ms. Alice James, while some of our students met together in our library with Ms. Paula Doyle and Mary Flynn to discuss and explore all the things we have in common.
Lunchtime was a sight to behold as parents and pupils had been hard at work with Ms. Martina Henderson in the Home Economics room, cooking and baking delectable delights of international cuisine for everyone to sample in the Junior resource area. Food from Syria, Brazil, Romania, Ukraine Italy, Poland, Ireland and Spain ensured that everybody could try and enjoy new flavours and food. The fact that there was nothing left is all that needs to be said about how popular the food was.
Our day finished up with a whole school table quiz, informed from the earlier PowerPoints, which was delivered over YouTube by Mr. Sharkey. Students working in groups of 5, had 9 rounds of 6 questions to test their knowledge, teamwork and learning from the day. Categories included Capitals, currency, food, national anthems, presidents, where in the world and fun facts, some of which were audio rounds, visual rounds, or simply verbal questions. Translations were provided to ensure everyone was included. Our Transition Years were hard at work, collecting, correcting and collating results in room 5 along with Ms. Fabienne Osbourne, Ms. Trudy Parker and Ms. Jennifer King.
Well done to all our teachers, SNAs, canteen staff, parents, management and students for ensuring the day was a great success and enjoyed by all.