This year Hillwood will host it’s famous international day after almost three years of not being able to celebrate it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

International Day will consist of performances and food. Each country can choose to present their culture with a table that has food from their country, and/or their country’s flag.

“There will be tables with information about the countries and (and this is my favorite) there will be a wide variety of food from the many countries that will be a part of this event,” International Day sponsor Luke Oakman said. 

International Day is a chance for Hillwood students to celebrate their cultures. Hillwood has an incredibly diverse student body, and students are very excited to participate in International Day since for many of us it will be a new experience.

“I will be representing Kurdistan along with my sister and my two non Kurdish friends!’’ senior Suoz Tovi said.

Students can also choose to do performances which consist of dance, singing, playing an instrument, or any other type of performance they would like to do that would represent their culture. Students can also choose to participate in the fashion show where they can dress in their ethnic clothes and walk across the auditorium stage.

“To participate, you have to be dedicated to attending all the meetings hosted in Mr. Oakman’s room as well as doing one of the activities that are part of the event,” senior Samirakhon Makhkamjonov said.

If students are interested, they can sign up using the QR codes or come by room G243 to sign up as well.  All participants are required to come to any meetings that are announced. Freshmen can meet with Ms. McGonagle during meeting days on Tuesday and Thursday.

The date of International Day has not yet been determined, but we will make sure to keep students updated!

“We are still working on a date. We were originally aiming for the end of March, but we ran into an issue because that is the start of Ramadan, and we want to ensure that Muslim students can take part in the festivities. We are now hoping for a date in April after EOC testing,” Oakman said.

If you want to represent your country but don’t know anyone who shares the same background, you can still represent it by yourself or with a group of friends no matter their cultural background.

“Every student from Hillwood will be able to participate in International Day whether or not they are representing a country. We want everyone to be able to learn about all the amazing cultures Hillwood, eat yummy food, and watch some amazing performances!’’ said Tovi.