South Brunswick to Celebrate Diversity at International Night

South Brunswick is a community known for its diversity, and the district's World Language Department has for 14 years celebrated cultural uniqueness with the annual International Night. This year's festivities are set for Tuesday evening at .

"Really what this is, is a cultural awareness event that gives the opportunity for the World Languages Department to host students and their families in a celebration of the diversity of the South Brunswick community," said Supervisor of World Language and ELL Thomas Decker. "This event gives students the opportunity to share part of their culture and to learn from the culture of others."

Earlier this month, the Crossroads World Languages Department hosted its own International Night celebration. The event, which was attended by about 250 people, featured a dinner of student and family prepared ethnic food, and a cultural showcase with 12 student acts.  The show included French songs, classical Indian songs and dances, and student poems. The evening kicked off with a rap titled Coming Together written by Crossroads South student Nahjae Wilson.

The South Brunswick Aging in Place Partnership was also in attendance to facilitate roundtable discussions about cultural connections in the community.

At Tuesday's event at SBHS, attendees will get to see a talent show and feast on a multi-cultural dinner.

"We always like to give the opportunity to highlight some of the talent our students have," Decker said. "Our community members get a feel for the diversity of the town and it raises awareness by allowing people to see other cultures in a different light. This school is a diverse place, but students come to school with a lot of talents they can share."

International Night also helps to make connections for students in the World Languages program.

"It's a recognition of empathy for other cultures and it facilitates a discussion about other cultures and how they fit into each other," Decker said. "As a department, we want to provide the opportunity for this exchange to happen on a daily basis in the classroom, while we make connections between cultures. So it's a natural for us to host this event."

International Night will be held at South Brunswick High School at 6 p.m. on Tuesday (March 27).

If you are interested in attending, contact Thomas Decker, Supervisor of World Languages at thomas.decker@sbschools.org or 732 329-4044 ext. 5201.  Attending guests are to bring a family or cultural dish to share.