From Somalia to Australia, the Philippines to Cape Verde, Puerto Rico to Israel, Russia to Brazil, China to Great Britain, India to Italy, the Curley is blessed with families, teachers and staff from everywhere under the sun. Kicking off with multi-lingual welcome songs led by Amika Kemmler-Ernst and three able students, last Thursday’s Multi-Cultural Performance (the culmination of a week-long Curley celebration of the strength of our diversity) brought that simple but profound truth home to many. The high point for me, in an evening filled with amazing performances, was the singing of the US national anthem by one of our PACE students. He “brought down the house.”

Amika’s amazing photographs above illustrate in pictures what parent Lindsey Weeramuni expresses in words about the richness of our school. Lindsey writes:

“I’m always impressed by how the audience at our multi-cultural events looks like the city of Boston. The performances brought out a wonderful combination of cultural and parental pride. One group of women swayed and waved the Cape Verdean flag while singing along as their children danced their traditional dance. Another father behind me shook his Puerto Rican flag proudly in rhythm to Miles Davis, giving his son a standing ovation as the drummer of the jazz combo. The closing routine by the spunky multi-cultural cheerleaders reminded me that in one way or another, we all come from “somewhere else.”

The organizing committee for the Multi-Cultural Festival, who deserve our thanks for their hard work and good cheer, are below:

Torri Canada
Ron Hobson
Amika Kemmler-Ernst
Maria Monteiro-Roby
Kim Taylor Knight
Betty Villalba-Alvarado