Middle and Upper School students explored Native American culture and traditions with a presentation by Lawrence (Larry) Ahenakew (Chippewa-Cree from Montana and Cree from Saskatchewan) and Mary Akenahew (Cherokee from Tennessee and Piscataway from Maryland), both active members of the American Indian Community House, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization serving the health, social service, and cultural needs of Native Americans residing in New York City. Explorers Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell gave a presentation to students on their global travels and showed their Emmy-nominated documentary, “In the Footsteps of Marco Polo,” in which they followed Marco Polo’s route through Afghanistan and 20 other countries, traveling over 33,000 miles, entirely by land and sea, over two years. Glen Weber and the Japanese drumming ensemble based at the NJ School of Percussion demonstrated TaikoZoku, percussion instruments used in Japanese musical tradition, performed six pieces and spoke to students about the ancient Japanese art form.

In addition to the large presentations, each Middle and Upper School girl attended small group sessions facilitated by members of Kent Place faculty and staff on 16 varied topics including the art of Chinese brush painting, Ireland’s civil and religious history, exploring microfinance, and global sports and games.

Later in the afternoon, Diversity Council, a student organization sponsored a fashion show for the entire school. The event showcased clothing and traditional costumes from all corners of the globe.

The Primary School students participated in Global Perspectives Day by preparing “care packages” to send abroad as cultural exchange with students in the Dominican Republic. Students in grades one through five rotated through various workshops and activities to write letters and create artwork on a large banner. Songs performed and games played were captured on film and explained by the students to include in the care packages. Pre-Kindergarten students heard the story, Bread Bread Bread, from Ann Morris’ Around the World Series. The book shares stories and pictures of people all over the world eating different breads, illustrating how even though some things are the same, they can also be quite different. After the story the children sampled their own breads from around the world, as parents and teachers brought in breads traditionally eaten in France, Colombia, Greece and Israel, among others.

Global Perspectives Day was created to help build and sustain a bridge between diverse experiences and cultures. In giving the girls a day to immerse themselves in the perspectives of a vastly varied group of people, Kent Place hopes to provide them with meaningful exploration and understanding of the views of others.