Recently, South Forsyth High School held its first annual International Cultural Week (ICW), honoring and celebrating the diversity present within our campus and community.

From February 18th to March 4th, students and teachers showcased the unique experiences, elements, and background from various countries around the world. To help make this event a success, SFHS National Honor Society (NHS) and Student Council worked together to create unique decorations, spirit themes, and individual events to encourage others to learn about various cultures. 

While ICW happened in the first week of March, the preparations for this event began far in advance. Members of various organizations such as National Art Honor Society and NHS worked together for countless hours to create decorations which represented the continents around the world. Ranging from Africa to Asia, students crafted remarkable decorations such as cherry blossoms from Asia, coral reefs in Australia, and the Amazon Rainforest in South Africa. Additionally, to further showcase the diversity in culture, students collected over 2,000 individually wrapped snack items from all over the world for their peers to enjoy.

The decorating sessions were a testament to the spirit of teamwork in the SFHS student body, as volunteers even came in on the Sunday morning before the week for several hours to help set up. Additionally, students with a heritage from across the world sent in photos and videos of them participating in cultural dances, music and other talents, which NHS displayed through QR codes around the atrium. There were even QR codes for Spotify playlists of international music, so students could jam out to the continent of their choice.

Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to participate in exciting spirit days to uplift spirits as well as respect for other cultures. On Monday, students put on their best “Tacky Tourist” outfit as they traveled all around to learn about different cultures with the decorations around the school. Tuesday was dedicated to proudly showcasing one’s flag colors. Whether the colors of your country were red, green, or yellow, all colors of the rainbow filled the school as students matched their outfits to the all tiny flags taped in the hallways. 

Wednesday was dedicated to dressing like a celebrity or famous person from their respective nations, and Thursday was for sports jerseys from different countries. Finally, students dressed up in traditional clothes on Friday, with the garments of nations all over the world filling the hallways.

However, one of the highlights from the entire week was the surprise event on Wednesday, March 2nd. With the thousands of snacks collected, NHS and Student Council officers laid out all the savory and sweet snacks along the tables in the cafeteria. Each table represented a different continent (Asia, Europe, and Americas). Students were able to grab some delicious delicacies as they went to their next class before or during Instructional Focus (IF).

The variety of choices when it came to snacks further emphasized the beauty of diversity in our community. Whether it was a stroopwafel from the Netherlands or a bag of Magic Masala chips from India, students were trying all types of snacks while also learning more about their friends.

The week continued with students participating in different activities and continuing to dress for their cultures. On Friday, the decorations started to come down, but the memory of the eventful week would continue as NHS planned to make it an annual event.