Throughout the week of Feb. 25 to Mar. 1, Conestoga High School celebrated the annual Unity Week with spirit days, cultural celebrations and other festivities.
The celebration kicked off with the Asian-American Culture Society’s culture day on Monday. The club hosted Chinese yo-yo lessons, which has been a tradition for the past few years. They also sold Chinese takeout and snacks, including Pocky, Hi-chew, and White Rabbit milk candy.
“Asian American club wanted to have the club come together and collaborate to make a profit and presence. I feel like the day was generally successful since we made a profit, we also came together as a club and put in work and created something together, we had an elevated sense of unity afterward,” said junior Aaron Li, the club’s vice president.
During 8th period, Li and junior Joey Zhou dressed up in a traditional Chinese dragon costume and paraded through the school with the drumline.
“We wanted to add something special to a regular school day and it was cool to see everyone coming out of their classrooms surprised and excited to see what was going on,” Zhou said.
In addition to the Asian-American Culture Society’s activities, the schoolwide spirit day was “Jean Day”, with an emphasis on working together regardless of different “Jeans” (genes).
On Tuesday, Best Buddies club hosted their celebration in the main lobby. Students wore pajamas to show school spirit, with the goal of “putting name calling to bed.”
For the third day of Unity Week, Multicultural club hosted activities in the main lobby. Students had the opportunity to get passports signed by each country in the lobby, and Conestoga had a chance to celebrate its diverse student population. Music t-shirts decorated the hallways as students celebrated the spirit day.
The African-American Student Union hosted their culture day in the lobby on Thursday, with food sales including the ever-popular fried chicken and collard greens. Throughout the day, a documentary about Nina Simone, an influential African-American musician and civil rights activist, played in the lobby. Students wore numbered jerseys to celebrate school spirit and promote the idea that every student counts.
Unity Week concluded with the Latino and Hispanic culture day. In addition to hosting salsa dancing and playing latino music in the lobby, the club sold Takis, Guarana soda, churros, and other cultural foods. Many Spanish classes had the opportunity to go down to the main lobby and participate in the festivities.
“I think the reception was fantastic to the activities and the food we had. People were very curious about our club and the information we had to share,” said junior and club member Liam O’Murchu.
Students participated in the final spirit day by wearing ‘Stoga gear and school colors. During the final day of the week, students also had the chance to vote for their favorite cultural food they tried throughout the week. Asian-American Cultural Society won the vote, with African-American Student Union and Latino Culture club coming in second and third, respectively.
Richard Li can be reached at [email protected]
