On the 29th September 2009 our school celebrated The International Day of Languages. This was an important occasion in our school calendar because it was a great opportunity to view our school as a place where people from diverse backgrounds meet, live and interact and where languages flourish.
During that day children had an opportunity to learn numbers, songs and rhymes in different languages.
• Nursery and Reception learned numbers and rhymes in French.
• Year 1 class had a visit from an Italian speaker who read stories and rhymes to the children, taught the children numbers up to 12. Also Year 1 children learned how to say "Hello! I love my school" in British Sign Language with the help of Mrs O'Neil, our parent.
• Year 2 class learned some Polish phrases and songs with the help of their Polish parents.
• Year 3 class learned some numbers in Portuguese.
• Year 4 class learned how to say numbers and "My name is..." in Hindi. Year 4 children also learned a wonderful Indian dance with sticks, celebrating Navaratri festival. Linking to RE topic on Islam.
• Year 5 children did a role play, learning some basic phrases in Urdu.
• Year 6 children learned some phrases and numbers in Spanish, and also listened to Red Riding Hood in Spanish by a native speaker.
As the day went on, we had a school assembly where we shared what we had learned in our classes. The atmosphere was great and children were confident with their performances. After the assembly every class had a small celebration where they tasted croissants, crepes (Reception, Nursery), pizzas, garlic bread (Year 1), Polish pancakes, herring, Polish stew, Polish bread (Year 2), Portuguese beans, cakes (Year 3), samosas, mango ice cream, Bombay mix (Year 4), chicken tikka, chicken korma, naan bread (Year 5), burritos (Year 6).
All members of staff participated on the day, including the dinner supervisors and the cook. The cook worked exceptionally hard, transforming the canteen into the French restaurant (Tuesday, Friday), the Spanish café (Wednesday), the Italian café (Monday) and the Mexican restaurant (Thursday). Children were encouraged to say "Thank you" and "Please." in different languages.
The International Day of Languages was a great success and hopefully will be celebrated every year!
