Pupils Travel The Globe On World Languages Day
Last Tuesday, the Prep School held its annual World Languages Day celebrations, a day eagerly awaited by staff and pupils alike.
The School was adorned with flags from many countries and there were some impressive costumes on show.
Each year group had chosen a country and throughout the day the classes rotated around the various activities, learning about their countries through arts, crafts, dance, music and food.
Each class also enjoyed the challenge of exploring the language of the country, as guest speakers from Iran, Sweden, Nigeria and South Africa enthralled the children with interesting presentations.
The children discussed how useful adopting a second language is in helping to understand a new culture and learning to think about things differently.
At lunchtime an International lunch including amongst others Swedish Meatballs, Sri Lankan Fish Curry and Beef Stroganoff was greatly appreciated by all.
The day concluded with a whole school assembly in which much of the work was shared and presented, as the children were able to showcase their learning and creations from the day.
These included amongst others: Pyramids and papyrus from Egypt; stunning clay moonstones and elephants from Sri Lanka; singing and dancing to the sound of African drums; interesting facts about Nigeria; traditional Nepalese hats and artefacts; Persian rugs; a Swedish play and a presentation on apartheid.
The teachers enjoyed listening to the children a few words or counting in so many different languages including Arabic, Farsi, Swedish, Zulu, Yoruba, Nepali and Sinhala.
Thank you to the staff and children for their support and participation, and for making it such a memorable day.
Events such as World Languages Day play an important part in helping to shape the attitudes of our children and to recognise, celebrate and respect the great diversity of the world in which we live.
