School district hosts holiday party for ELD families
By Jazmine Knight
The St. Joseph School District celebrated parents and students from different cultures at their annual ELD winter party.
Hosted by the English Language Development department, the party serves as a fun, safe place to embrace different backgrounds and traditions among the students in the district. The ELD party also serves as an opportunity for parents to learn more about what’s going on in the district including upcoming English proficiency tests, attendance and graduation.
Located at the Keatley Center, the night started off with a family dinner. Guests could also enjoy various crafts, prizes and even a book giveaway. For Michelle Schulze, ELD coordinator, her favorite part about the party is seeing all the performances.
“We have a partnership with Latinos Connect and they bring their little carolers to sing every year,” said Schulze.
Additionally, the district welcomed youth performers from New Life to do traditional Venezuelan and Chuukese dances. According to Schulze, many students are very proud to perform. Some will even go on to perform at their school.
“It means a lot to them. It means a lot for everyone to see that, yes, they’re learning English, but they also have this whole other culture of language that they can speak as well,” Schulze said.
Rib Andon and Jolie Serious, student dancers, said their performance was centered around God and they appreciate all the families that came out to watch.
“Our dancing literally just shows how to worship our Lord. All in all glory to God because without him, all of us wouldn’t have done this. We wouldn’t be here today,” said Serious.
“Praising, praising and worshipping is my favorite part,” said Andon when asked about his favorite part of the ELD party.
Schulze says events like this one helps the St. Joseph School District stay connected with the community by providing a space to share resources while bringing families together.
“It allows them to share all of their culture with us so that we can see the beautiful things they have to share. So it just becomes a great partnership,” she said.
