A show by Primary students during UN Day 2014 at the LFNY.
Every October, LFNY primary students celebrate United Nations Day, in honor of the founding of the UN on October 24, 1945. According to the United Nations, UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter, when it was ratified by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — China, France, the then Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom– and a majority of UN signatories.
At the Lycée, UN Day offers teachers, students and parents a chance to reflect on the origins of an organization instrumental in promoting dialogue across nations. Even more so, it is a chance for our families to celebrate and share the customs of the many different cultures represented in our community. We learn about points of differentiation, yes, but also about what unites us.
In first and second grade, the celebration takes place in the classrooms, with students and parents, and also teachers, dressing up in costumes, sharing stories and singing songs rehearsed with Jacques Letalon about their countries and cultures.
Says Primary Director Vannina Boussouf, “UN Day predates my arrival at the Lycée seven years ago, and it’s a tradition we will continue! Having the opportunity for teachers, assistants, students and their parents to unite at school to talk about their countries of origin teaches our students to be open to each other and the world, and also to be excited about what makes each one of them unique and special.”
In third, fourth and fifth grade, students work with their homeroom teachers and music teacher Sébastien Tomasini to create a whole program of music that they perform on stage for their parents. Song choices reflect the values of UN Day with topics like peace, global citizenship and solidarity.
Mr. Tomasini adapted each of the 11 songs chosen by the teachers for young voices and instrumentalists. “It’s fascinating to rework the songs for children’s voices and then to work with the students to create their interpretation of each song,” he says.
He likes to challenge the students. He worked with fifth graders to accompany their classmates entirely on their own on piano, viola, cello, xylophone and even drums on some challenging numbers, including “Pipes of Peace” by Paul McCartney. Instrumentalists rehearsed almost every day on their lunch break to get the music down right. He challenged the third graders in CE2D, for example, to sing a beautiful African chant called Bambali.
“I admire their tenacity and their enthusiasm,” he says.
Parents, you can watch the complete performances on the Primary blog.
About the Author :
Elisabeth King joined the Lycée team in November 2011 as the school’s first director of communications. A francophile at heart, Elisabeth spent her junior year of college in Paris, and held her first job at the French Trade Office here in New York. She brings to the Lycée over 15 years of experience in media and communications in non-profits, government, news and business. She was previously executive vice president and director of strategy at ABI, Inc., a boutique public relations agency, and she worked as associate editor on two books co-authored by Todd Brewster and the late ABC News anchor Peter Jennings.