Unifying Nations Across Borders ~ STRIPES Magazine

Friday, November 11, 2011

Unifying Nations Across Borders

Hello. Mabuhay. Annyeonghaseyo (안녕하세요). Ni hao (你好). Namaste (नमस्ते). Privet (Привет). Konnichiwa (こんにちは). Salam (سلام).

Who would think that these greetings and more could come together at one place at the same time in spite of geographic distance?

Through fancy traditional costumes, creative country-themed classrooms, luscious delicacies, and ingenious mascots, the MIT International School (MITIS) faculty and students symbolically brought nations together and made the 2011 United Nations (UN) Month simply unforgettable.

The UN Month is one of the most anticipated programs of the school. With this year’s theme “Three Rs to Save the World”, MITIS through its Social Science Department conducted several activities in line with the program to impart environmental awareness among its students and stakeholders on top of the UN Millennium Development Goals of 2015.

The month-long celebration kicked off with an Impromptu and Extemporaneous Speech Contest on October 12 and was followed by an Annual UN Quiz Bee on October 21. Hyung Jun Woo (Grade 12), Michael Andre Barbarona (Grade 8), and Dong Kyu Hyung (Grade 12) placed in the top three of the Impromptu Speech Contest while Charles Denver Opague (Grade 5) and Jannigje Nena Louisa Bezemer (Grade 9) bagged the title for the UN Quiz Bee.

One of the highlights of the UN Month was the International Food Festival and Inter-Cultural Exhibition held on October 28. Students and teachers put forth their best effort to depict select UN member countries through making their classrooms into mini-museums in various creative yet waste-free fashions. Dressed in their unique and colorful costumes, Grades 5 to 12 students impressed the guests and the judges with their mouth-watering dishes carefully and meticulously arranged in distinct setups.

The extra challenge of the waste-free food festival was for students to mount their exhibits and food stalls without using disposable materials and utensils. The students were also tasked to observe cleanliness all throughout the exhibit proper including the ingress and egress of their materials. The Grade 12 class, which transformed its room into Boracay-inspired beach scenario and served authentic Filipino foods to represent the Philippines, won the title for Category B while Grade 7, which represented South Korea, won the title for Category A.

Adding to the fun of the celebration was the Mascot-making Contest where the classes were challenged to create an icon for the country they represent through the use of recycled materials. Students exhibited their resourcefulness and artistry by coming up with varied creative outputs. Grade 7 bagged the award for the best mascot as they astounded the school with their giant Samsung Galaxy S2. Grade 8’s dragon symbolizing Vietnam, Grade 6’s totem pole representing Canada, and Grade 10A’s statue of Lord Shiva as a symbol for India were also the best attractions of the competition.

The winners of the Mascot-making Contest and other citations were awarded during the UN program where students and teachers dolled up in traditional costumes to represent various UN member countries. Students of different grade levels offered musical and dance performances during the program and as a close, Grades 1 to 4 performed a song interpretation number of Michael Jackson’s "Heal the World" that underscored the significance of the event.

This is the second year that MITIS made the UN Month a memorable experience not only to the students but to the whole MITIS community. Anchoring the message of unifying the nations towards peace and development with environmental sustainability, the school believes that the impact that the celebration has made to its students will form part of their character as responsible global citizens.

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Photos:

Preparations for the UN Culminating Activity