Bright Beginnings Center Celebrates Diversity With Culture Night
As Culture Night began, families set up tables to share food, trinkets, photographs, games, and activities from their cultural backgrounds. In all, families and staff members represented the seven countries of Armenia, Brazil, China, Portugal, The Philippines, South Africa, and Taiwan. Sunny, the school’s therapy dog, also shared about his culture as a Golden Retriever whose heritagetraces back to Scotland. Some families wore traditional dress or had items originally from their countries to share with those visiting their tables.
Families who were not presenting at Culture Night were invited to join in the fun and walk through the building to learn more about their friends and teachers. Students visiting Culture Night started in a classroom where they were given a passport and were able to draw their picture on it. They then visited two classrooms full of cultural tables set up by those participating in the evening and finished in a fourth classroom that featured art activities such as design your own flag. In addition to current families, prospective BBC families interested in attending preschool at BBC for the 2024-2025 school year were also invited to attend.
As the preschool building for the Hopedale Public Schools, the Bright Beginnings Center is home to the start of education for many Hopedale students. The addition of Culture Night attempted to recognize the growing diversity in the school’s community. “Over the past few years we have seen more diversity in the students and families at BBC and we are learning so much through our students as they share about their family traditions,” School Adjustment Counselor Kelly Alley said. Mrs. Alley brought the idea to building principal Kristen Poisson and the concept grew from there. Alley said, “As I thought about ways we could celebrate this diversity and get to know each other more, the idea for a Culture Night just made sense. It seemed like a great opportunity to celebrate one another and learn from one another.”
Many families like the Longs who have a daughter in preschool at BBC were excited to join in on Culture Night. Angel Long said, “As soon as I heard that Kelly Alley wanted to host a Cultural Night at BBC, it was a no-brainer to support the event and host a table to highlight our family’s Chinese culture. At our table, we highlighted some Asian books from our personal library and gifted attendees with chopsticks and fortune cookies. I want my kids to be proud of their heritage and understand the layered journey as to why their grandparents immigrated to the United States. It’s also important to teach my kids about different cultures and families to support diversity of all kinds.”
The school prepared for the event by adorning the hallways with flags from nations around the world. Welcome signs in different languages greeted families as they arrived and walked the school hallways. Some tables gave out items like chopsticks or flags of their nation. The turnout was strong with the passport room having to copy extra passports for all of the travelers who showed up.
“We were so happy with the turnout,” said Poisson. “When you start a new event you don’t know what to expect but the families who shared tonight went above and beyond with what they brought to showcase and I am so glad we had so many families come out and join in the fun.”
As the evening went on and students progressed through the classrooms, they earned a stamp in their passport at each table they visited. They ended up with a keepsake of their evening that featured stamps from “around the world.” Several teachers were on hand to help families navigate their travels and help with arts and crafts activities. One thing was for certain, the feeling of community was strong at BBC during Culture Night.
