![ECC Mother Tongue Day]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1582315500/asf/zsewnsirnnfrdtdgd9zk/mothertongue.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1582315500/asf/zsewnsirnnfrdtdgd9zk/mothertongue.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1582315500/asf/zsewnsirnnfrdtdgd9zk/mothertongue.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1582315500/asf/zsewnsirnnfrdtdgd9zk/mothertongue.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1582315500/asf/zsewnsirnnfrdtdgd9zk/mothertongue.jpg","width":1279}])
This week, the ECC celebrated International Mother Tongue Day with three days of events, featuring 33 different nationalities!
On Monday, during flag ceremony, two guests came in to read to our students in different languages. Avigail Yair from K3 RM 16 and her mom Nurit read in Hebrew and English and Kaede Fujimoto from K3 RM14 and her mom Mayumi read in Japanese and English.
On Tuesday, we had a special event with volunteer moms, who told our students stories in their mother tongues, showed them new words and alphabets, played different games and made yummy snacks with them.
These were our wonderful volunteers:
| VOLUNTEER Parent/Guardian |
|---|
| Xiaodan Bian CHINESE |
| Francisco Guzman ARGENTINA-SPANISH |
| Akiko Kuga JAPANESE |
| Alma Quintero JAPANESE |
| Yvette Belardo ITALIAN |
| Brian Stolz JAPANESE |
| Deborah Apeloig HEBREW |
| Claudia Franco GUATEMALA-SPANISH |
| Liliya Popova RUSSIAN |
| Charlotte Bringskov Lorentzen DANISH |
| Jaqueline Razon HEBREW |
| Betyna Almeida-Covarrubias PORTUGUESE |
| Sarah Yunjeong Oh KOREAN |
| Andrea Cristianne Zomosa FRENCH |
| Angela Leonela Soto GUATEMALA-SPANISH |
| Veronica Vazquez & Mariel Lorini ARGENTINA-SPANISH |
| Pino Del Sesto ITALIAN |
| Nicolas Tostin FRENCH |
On Thursday, students were invited to come dressed in either traditional clothes or colors that represent their country or countries of origin. We began with a country roll call and students lined up behind their country of origin as it was announced.
As students paraded in a wonderful display of diversity, the song Wavin' Flag by K'naan played and a community member announced the flags as students passed in the Turtle Patio, Side and Back Gardens. Once back in their rooms, students watched a six-minute music video of the song Wavin' Flag performed in:
- Arabic: K'naan and Nancy Ajram
- Indian: K'naan and Jasim
- Spanish: by K'naan and David Bisbal
- Mandarin: K'naan Jacky Cheung and Jane Zhang
- Japanese: K'naan and Ai
- Mongolian: P.Bayartsengel, D.Anu, E.Solongo and E.Soyombo
- Hungarian: anchors and sport reporters of Magyar Televízió
- English: Will.I.am, K'naan, David Guetta
- French: K'naan and Féfé
Now that we've had our first parade we will give thought to how to incorporate families in the future!
See a photo gallery of the different events below.