Celebrating diversity at South High

Diversity was the theme of student presentations and performances during the American Education Week program at South High School on Nov. 18.

“Artistic,” “visual” and “cultural” were just some of the words to describe the morning’s program, featuring a dozen different presentations. Visitors to the school last Friday morning could find a listing of the pros and cons of the educational systems of both the United States and India, information on ancient numeration systems, and a “comma rap” — a lively ode to English Language Arts, among other unique offerings.

The best of the Falcon Report, the school’s student-made weekly television segment, showed much of the latest happenings at South, including the continuous community service efforts. South’s academic achievements and creativity were celebrated by attendees, including Superintendent Bill Heidenreich, Board of Education president Jeanne Greco Jacobs and trustees Donna LaRocco, Frank Chiachiere and Bill Stris, and countless other parents, students and administrators.

“Today’s program is very reflective of what goes on at South, inside and outside of the class everyday,” said Principal Maureen Henry. “It’s wonderful to see students have the opportunity to showcase art, research skills.”

LaRocco, who joined the high school board this year, attended all four programs. “It was nice to interact with the kids and see the display boards,” she said.

Ninth-grade students Ayesha Mirza and Hamza Sadhra had offered information about college, part of a Project Citizen presentation. They proposed a bill that would set a minimum amount that public and private colleges should charge for tuition. “We came up with an action plan,” Sadhra said.

Mirza said she enjoyed the program. “We got to see what each grade does, and I think it’s really nice,” she said. “Every school should do this.”