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WHAT IS THE GLOBAL CITIZENS COMMITTEE?
As our world is more interconnected each day, providing our children with opportunities that develop their knowledge of cultures around the world is fundamental. Using the Westlake community as our building block, we can explore and celebrate global cultures; cultivating our students into global citizens. A global citizen recognizes that every individual has had different experiences. We all have something to offer and can learn from each other. The GCC’s purpose is to help develop our students’ global cultural competence about the world they live in. “Cultural competence” includes being aware of one’s own cultural worldview; an openness to others’ cultures; knowledge of different cultural practices and world views and cross-cultural skills. The GCC strives to develop Westlake students’ cultural competence and worldliness so that they can be authentic global citizens, no matter where they are in the world. We will do this by adding multi-cultural exposure to our PTA-school activities, assemblies, and school culture—such as last year’s International Day/Night. International Night Flyer |
Day of the Dead at Westlake
This month, students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Global Citizens' Club learned about Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Dia de los Muertos is a celebration that takes place on November 1st, and is often mistaken for Latin America's Halloween (it is actually quite a bit different). The GCC students learned about the history, and made some flowers and skeletons for a Day of the Dead Altar that will be on display in the school library. All Westlake students are welcome to bring any photos of deceased loved ones (family, friends, or pets) or deceased people from history and society that they admire and want to honor, and place the photos on the altar. A photocopy is fine if they prefer not to leave a treasured photo. If you would like the photo returned, please write your student's name and room # on the back. The display will be on display for viewing through the first week of November, and can also be viewed at Spooky Story Night on October 27th. Attached are some of the materials the GCC used for this project, including a link for a 3-minute video about Dia de los Muertos, in case students would like to learn more about this cultural celebration in Latin America. CGI Student Academy Award Gold Medal Winner Short Film HD: "Dia De Los Muertos" from Whoo Kazoo Historical Information about the Day of the Dead |