Hawken Students in One World Day
On August 27th 2017, several Hawken students spent their Sundays at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, which span from University Circle to Rockefeller Park, and consist of 32 gardens representing different countries and their respective cultures. The first garden, built in 1916, was a Shakespeare garden, which evolved into the British cultural garden. Following this, subsequent cultures have filled out the ravine in the century since. Three years ago, the Hawken 5th graders became stewards of the American Cultural Gardens, participating in several “clean-ups” throughout the year, and running an annual fundraiser for the garden. Currently, money being raised by the fifth graders is being saved for a new Abraham Lincoln bust to replace the original which has long since been damaged.
On One World Day, the Cultural Garden’s annual festival, the gardens come to life with groups representing each of their cultures at their garden and showcasing a cornucopia of food, goods, history, and culture from around the world. Representatives from the gardens, including the Hawken fifth graders for the American garden, participate in the Parade of Flags, in which people march a tour of the gardens in the group of their respective country, displaying their flag and often wearing traditional clothing. According to Ms. McDaniel, Hawken parent and 5th grade teacher, not only did Hawken’s group of fifth graders march in the Parade of Flags, but they were prominent figures in One World Day’s main event: the naturalization ceremony. The lower school choir led the Pledge of Allegiance and sang America the Beautiful, while other students congratulated new citizens with letters and American flag pins. After spending the first week of school rehearsing their singing, each fifth grader wrote a letter of congratulations for the naturalized citizens. The fifth graders also cleaned and planted flowers in the garden in preparation for One World Day. Ms. McDaniel shared that the fifth graders greatly enjoyed One World Day, saying “that they play an important role in making others feel welcome in the community”. Through the fifth graders’ engagement in the culture gardens, these Hawken students are able to gain an important service learning project, and opportunity to make a visible impact on their community and new members of our country.
Not only did the Hawken fifth graders play a role in One World Day, but juniors Natsumi Meyer and Ashley Fulton were a part of the festivities. Natsumi Meyer is an Irish Dancer for the Murphy Irish Arts Center, who ran the Irish cultural garden. The Murphy Irish Dancers represented Ireland in the Parade of Flags, and performed in the morning in the Irish garden, and again on the main stage. Singer Ashley Fulton had the honor of performing the National Anthem at the naturalization ceremony, further representing the diverse talents and engagement in the community Hawken School brings to the Cleveland area. Fulton added, “The One World Festival was a really incredible opportunity for me- and though one of its most central themes was the intersection of so many different people and cultures, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the experience was incredibly uniting.”
http://www.clevelandculturalgardens.org/history/