The 2012 Spring Fair.
The Lycée Spring Fair is part street fair, part international food festival, part Science Fair, part class sampler, part sports day – and altogether a whole lot of fun. You see kids running around “visiting” numerous countries, older children helping with arts and crafts, parents getting/receiving a reflexology treatment or bonding over the great deal they got on a case of wine, and staff members volunteering their professional – and hidden – talents.
In my first year as a Lycée parent, I was inspired to volunteer when I saw that there would be country booths. As one of very few Indian families at the school, I felt a parental responsibility to represent our country even though I really didn’t know what I was doing. That first year, I wondered how French and American families feel about this event. The sheer variety of the fair is the answer. The Bounce House, Science Fair, Bake-off, boxing, ballet and jazz classes, athletics, Math Monuments exhibit, and Choral, for example, connect to no or all nationalities. And yes, France and the United States have booths as well.
Parents and volunteers sell arts and crafts, great treats and offer games to children and adults alike.
As we were planning, we learned that the Lycee will soon be embarking on an initiative to consider diversity in the school. We tried to work this into the theme of the fair. The country booths are a focus of the fair, but we wanted to acknowledge that “where you’re from” is only one aspect of diversity. We also wanted to convey that our differences (can) bring us together by highlighting all that we have in common, hence we chose as our theme: We Are Linked: Diverse and United. I wouldn’t say this year’s fair addresses diversity in any meaningful way but at least for some of us on the planning end, the concept of diversity started a interesting conversation that we hope the initiative will inspire us and others to have.
My co-chair Adriana Sanandres and I are happy to have the opportunity to see and be part of the big picture of this school-wide event. We are amazed at the generosity of so many members of the Lycée Community to volunteer their time, talents, and stuff. For the first few weeks of planning, we had the sense that no one ever says no around here! We are also impressed by the efficiency and kindness of the Lycée staff. We know it must not be easy to develop an instant working relationship with a diverse group of parent volunteers, and then, just when you are getting used to working together, start all over again on a new event, with a whole new group.
We hope you’ll come eat, drink, watch, play, learn – and to experience a few of the ways in which we are all linked.
Adriana Sanandres and Niki Singh, Spring Fair 2013 co-chairs.
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