The day had finally come. After about a week of preparations it was finally Friday. On February 28. Holy Cross Junior High’s Student Council sponsored an event to help open the students’ eyes to the world around them. The event was Cultural Day; the theme was “Embracing Diversity.”

Students baked specialties from all around the globe including sushi from Japan, rice from China, and croissants from France. Colorful display boards and items relating to the country were set up around food while some children even dressed up in foreign clothes. One brave boy, Terry O’Brien, even wore a Scottish kilt.

In honor of the celebration some guests had been invited to speak about their unique experiences in foreign lands. The first of these was Anne Theriault. Anne walked on stage wearing a traditional Sari and launched into an in-depth description of her stay in Nepal. She enthusiastically told of how she taught students history among other courses while they taught her then- language and customs. “In Nepal,” she said humorously. “They shake their heads to say yes, like we do to say no!”

When Anne finished her story, it was time for the next speaker. Sister Claire Lepage. Sr. Lepage had spent many years teaching in Brazil. As she recounted her experience she spoke passionately about the people. She told the students about an old woman, who had only one egg for food in her entire house, who gave the egg to someone else in need of nourishment without a moment of hesitation. “NO matter how poor they were..-how little they had… the people were always willing to share with each other and those less fortunate.”

The last speaker of the day was former Mayor John Jenkins. He made the crowd laugh with clever antics and he told them. “It makes no sense to hate haters.” He told the audience with sincere regret about his ignorance when he related an anecdote of one of his martial art competitions. A man. in fact the previous champion, had invited him to go on an all expense-paid trip for a multiple month stay in France “France!” But Jenkins couldn’t go. He had neglected to ever learn another language and could not understand the man without a translator. “I missed out on an opportunity.” he said.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Jenkins was presented with a Crusaders sweatshirt and Cultural Day finished up. One thing was for sure, diversity had been embraced.