Students at Iona Preparatory School Celebrate International Heritage Day
From left, junior student performers Marco Martire and Gaetano Corrao danced the Tarantella; School Counselor Kanard Lewis served as emcee; senior Panagiotis Papastefanou sung in Greek; seniors Nathanael Curro, Mateo Loyo, Nien Levy and sophomore Kristof Spellen performed the traditional Chinese lion dance; senior John Khader showcased traditional Jordanian fashion; senior Daniel Callanan showed why he was the 2016 U12 World Irish Dancing Champion; and juniors Grant Wang and Diego Ocasio also donned some fresh duds for the international fashion show. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Maria Cavallaro.
Iona Preparatory School celebrated its inaugural Heritage Day at the Upper School on March 29th. Student affinity groups ranging from the African American, Gaelic and Hellenic Societies, to Fratelli d’italia, Latinos Unidos and the Mandarin Club, created interactive classroom presentations and cultural performances highlighting the school’s diverse student population. An International Café & Bazaar was also set up so that students could sample food from different countries, as well as receive customized Henna body art. Student “travelers” were organized by House and given “passports” that would need to be stamped at the various countries they “visited,” needing to frequent at least one classroom presentation and one performance. The event was organized by World Languages teacher Maria Cavallaro P’32 and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Coordinator Heri Albertorio, with a number of other staff either aiding in the presentations or preparing myriad cultural dishes. Iona Preparatory Lower School celebrated its International Day on Thursday, April 7.