A global culture of learning

Global Cultural Week

Exploring far off lands and understanding other cultures has always been an educational adventure that excites me. As a first-generation American with immigrant parents, I grew up learning about many countries and languages, which fueled my interest in traveling to see for myself. Some of my favorite trips were to Scotland, Germany, British Columbia, Canada, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. All of these were special to me because I got to share my cultural experiences with my family members and friends.

Within the Indian Hill School District, Global Competence is a cornerstone of learning; it is a primary focus area leading the District’s Strategic Plan for Transformational Excellence. The week of January 27 through January 31, in partnership with the Indian Hill Global Group – a parent-based group supported by the Indian Hill PTO – Braves will enjoy a week-long cultural learning adventure with exposure to more than 20 different nationalities represented within our District. This is part of how we are preparing our students to understand and prosper in a diverse global community to successfully lead, engage, and serve others – the real heart of our Global Competence goal. 

The 2019-2020 Global Cultural Week activities include:

Indian Hill High School (IHHS)
IHHS will feature Tastes of the World – where parents will create small bites from various regions of the world to sample one day during normally scheduled lunches. Throughout the week, IHHS will showcase: Instruments of the World; Music of the World; Languages of the World; and Art and Poetry of the World.

Indian Hill Middle School (IHMS)
IHMS will spend each morning with students reading the quote of the day in the language spoken at home. Morning music will be representative of the many nations that IHMS students/families are from. Students can enjoy international board games in the media center throughout the week during lunch. IHMS will also share a variety of international poetry throughout the building in both the global language and English translation.

Indian Hill Elementary School  (IHES)
Braves will experience lessons on currency, geography, and topography from different countries aligned with the curriculum level of their grade, and enjoy songs from different nations throughout the day. Students will also be greeted each day in a different language! 

Friday, January 31 - Indian Hill Primary School (IHPS)
The Global Fair, the main event of the week, will be held on this day. Fifteen countries will be represented by families who will be present to share with students the uniqueness of their country through activities and displays in the IHPS gym. Students will carry passports during their visit to the fair. They can bring the passport home and share all they learned on this special day with their families.

We want to thank our parents who are helping us to make this global educational adventure possible for all of our students. As I learned during my youth, it is when we are able to share this learning with our family members and our friends that it is the most special. 

In service to our children,
Kirk Koennecke
Superintendent
Posted January 17, 2020