Kennedy celebrates world cultures

Kennedy High School senior Nicholas Braccio said he joined World Culture Club when he was a freshman because he wanted to meet new people. While the friendships he has made with diverse groups of students kept him coming back to meetings year after year, being a part of the organization’s World Culture Night also made him want to stay involved.

“It’s a good showcase of the community,” said Braccio, of Merrick. “Having a culturally diverse dinner is a nice accent to the program, with a dances and performances that we try to vary every year.”

Braccio and the other members of the student organization recently presented foods, dances and music from around the globe to the Kennedy community at the annual event on April 29.

Franca Fiorentino, a Kennedy Spanish teacher, advises World Culture Club, for which Braccio serves as president. The club invites students of different backgrounds to come together and celebrate their cultural heritages.

Zachary Zysberg, a Kennedy sophomore from Bellmore, began attending World Culture Club meetings this academic year. He said it has allowed him to tell stories of his Polish background –– his grandparents were Holocaust survivors –– while learning about other nations from his peers.

“I was always interested in social studies, but we don’t get into deeply cultural studies in class,” he said. “I wanted to learn more while spreading knowledge of my own culture.

Zysberg served food at World Culture Night, a program that incorporates dinner and a show. Students and residents of south Bellmore and south Merrick filed into the cafeteria to sample dishes like Italian sausage and peppers, Spanish rice, lo mein and potato knishes.

Braccio explained that some of the food was donated by Bellmore-Merrick eateries. Local businesses also gave raffle prizes.

With their plates of food in hand, attendees sat at tables around the gym’s perimeter, waiting for the show to begin in the center. There, they saw students perform acts featuring Italian song, the Jewish bottle dance, K-Pop, Latin pop, Bollywood and belly dancing. Faculty members also got involved, dancing to jazz music.

Braccio said students begin to research and learn their acts in January. While preparingfor World Culture Night, they also support other programs, such as educating children about Chinese New Year at Nassau BOCES facilities, in addition to learning about other cultures by visiting various ethnic neighborhoods in New York City. 

“Sometimes we don’t realize the variety of cultures in Bellmore-Merrick alone,” he said. “I think it’s important to learn about and explore them…and show how different people from different cultures can work together.”