Every year, October brings with it the excitement of International Day, a joyous event that brings together all the different pillars of our community – our students, staff and parents – to celebrate our motto of being “One World, One Community.”
As per school tradition, the glorious flag parade of students representing all the different nationalities at our school was the centrepiece of this event. As the whole school cheered the flag-bearers during their march to the podium, our hearts filled with pride on being part of such a diverse and welcoming community.
At both our Nanyang and Suntec campuses, students in different grades of Primary School put together performances to songs such as ‘You got a friend in me’, ‘Home’, and ‘Zimbolé’, which celebrated what it means to be “One World”.
International Day would not be as successful or as memorable as it is without the strong support of OWIS parents. It was fantastic to see so many parents who were able to come to the campuses to be the most vocal cheerleaders at the flag parade. The OWIS Parent Committee and our many wonderful parent volunteers who planned and conducted the engaging and vibrant cultural fair ensured that every child who came in learned something new about different countries and their interesting cultural traditions as well as got to sample delicious treats from all the corners of the world.
Our thanks goes out to the teachers and staff who helped to create such a spectacular experience for our students. A special note of appreciation to the music teachers at both campuses for their efforts, as well as the Grade 11 IBDP students for helping out at the country fair at OWIS Nanyang.
As Mr James Sweeney, Head of School, OWIS Nanyang and Suntec, said in his welcome speech – while we all are from different countries and celebrate our differences, we must never forget that we are now also part part of this “One World” community, which is a place where we all learn to be kind to those around us, curious about the world, and collaborative with each other.