The 7th annual International Fest (iFest) was held at OLHMS on Friday, March 23rd as staff and students headed out for Spring Break! Ms. Nuhie Faheem, OLHMS Spanish teacher, spearheads the festivities each year to help educate staff and students about different cultures and traditions around the world. The mission of International Fest is to create a dynamic and supportive environment that embraces diversity and contributes positively to our community and Mustang society which also follows the District’s mission.
Each year, iFest is kicked off with a spirit week! Colors of the world’s flags, greetings in different languages, and traditional clothing unique to specific cultures allowed staff and students to share their familial backgrounds with the entire OLHMS building.
On the day of iFest, student representatives from each Advisory participated in a flag ceremony that paraded throughout the building. During Advisory time, students created tangrams to show their differences and similarities, played cultural games, and even watched cultural films to discuss the stereotypes of each culture and how people overcome these stereotypes. 6th grade students watched The Luck of the Irish, 7th grade students watched The Hundred-Foot Journey, and 8th grade students watched Bend It Like Beckham. Rich conversations were had by students and staff to continue the theme of unity at OLHMS.
During Encore classes, students toured different country presentations created by students. OLHMS scholars spent countless hours preparing their presentations for their peers. Some of the countries included in the presentations were Poland, Puerto Rico, Greece, Palestine, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, France, Lebanon, Jordan, and many others!
Different cultural groups performed for each grade level during the iFest festivities as well! Many performances included our own Mustangs who performed traditional dances from different cultures. Scholars performed traditional dances from Mexico, Central America, and South America. Some dances included Bachata from the Dominican Republic, Cumbia from Colombia, and El Caballo Dorado, the Mexican remake of the popular 90s American song “Achy Breaky Heart”.
Another part of the performance was the cultural fashion show that showcased beautiful clothing items modeled by our OLHMS scholars. Ms. Sweis introduced each scholar as they confidently walked across the stage to bring their culture to their OLHMS peers.
Richards High School students also took part in the celebration! The All American Dance Class performed a self-choreographed routine that combines different dance styles from around the world including merengue, Afro beats, step, and majorettes. Scholars also were treated to Richards High School ballet dancers - some of which are OLHMS alumni!
Finally, Ms. Sweis and a group of students representing Palestine and Jordan performed a traditional Middle Eastern dance. Ms. Maan taught a group of students contemporary Bollywood and Punjabi Bhangra dances. The traditional and classical Pakistani and Indian Bollywood dance uses elegant movements and spins. The Bhangra dance is more energetic with lots of energy, jumping, and exaggerated movements.
We are so proud of our brave Mustangs who performed and shared their culture and are grateful to the entertainers from the community who shared their talents and cultures with us as well. Bravo, Mustangs!
