Amid the clamor of kids and parents filling Queen Anne’s Frantz H. Coe Elementary School’s atrium Thursday night, fourth-grader Mirabelle Scholten stood in front of her three-paneled display, wearing a yellow mask with white, blue and red polka dots.
The 10-year-old’s unique headgear was part of the school’s weeklong multicultural events celebrating countries and cultures from around the world.
On this night, the school’s atrium was transformed into a “bazaar,” with students filling the two-story space and showing visitors their displays.
The paneled displays varied from classroom projects to family displays featuring different kinds of items and exotic cuisine from countries where the students’ ancestors originally came from.
Events and activities were also held throughout the school, including salsa dance lessons for parents and students in the cafeteria and gymnasium.
Scholten’s mask was from the Dominican Republic and was among the various items the 10 year-old included on one side of her display to show what life is like in the island nation where her mother’s ancestors hailed from. On the other side of her display, was information and items from Denmark where her father’s family came from.
“I learned a lot,” said the excited Scholten as she talked about the importance of the school’s multicultural week. “I was amazed by all the flags!”
Earlier in the week, during an assembly, students carried flags representing dozens of countries where their ancestors had lived before coming to America. Scholten and others were surprised at how many countries were represented by the school’s student body.
A row away from Scholten, 10-year-old Gabriel Cerna was attracting a crowd as he played a traditional Peruvian drum made out of a wooden box that is known as a “cajon.”
His 3-year-old sister, Bianca, joined in the musical session by playing one of the evening’s most interesting instruments, a “quijada,” which is literally the dried jaw of a donkey.
The teeth rattle when it is played like a tambourine. Family friend Diana Brannan helped complete the trio, playing another “cajon.”
“The quijada is quite a conversation starter,” said Farin Houk, the mother of Cerna and Bianca and a kindergarten teacher at Coe Elementary. “This is a great opportunity for the kids to learn about themselves and share with the others about who they are and where their families came from.”
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