Nolensville Elementary Celebrates Cultures

Published March 11, 2019

Nolensville Elementary students are learning about different cultures with the help of the International Festival.

At the festival March 8, the gym turned into a cultural melting pot students could visit during their class time.

“We’ve had these festivals throughout the district,” said Nolensville Elementary English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher Laura Franklin. “I’ve always admired them, and I wanted to bring it to Nolensville. We had it a couple years ago, but I wanted to bring it back.”

Parents set up booths representing countries around the world, and the gym was decorated with flags representing the students themselves.

“The students did a flag procession through the whole school,” Franklin said. “It was so colorful, and they were so proud to carry the flags of their countries and of other countries. The students are drawn to celebrating our similarities and differences.”

At each table, students could play games, try on clothing and see how people lived in each country.

“It’s really cool to see how the cultures are so different,” said NES fourth grade student Nadia Filer. “My favorite booth has been Mexico. There’s beautiful artwork and clothes. I’d love to learn more about the culture. I just want to learn all of it.”