Photo by Ishaan Ramola

Students celebrate Vincent Aboubakar’s goal for Cameroon.

International Club Thanksgiving Lunch

On Nov. 21, the International Club held a Thanksgiving lunch celebration in the ESOL hallway. Staff, parents and students prepared a variety of Thanksgiving foods, including turkey, green beans, casseroles, cornbread, sweet potatoes and pies. Students could also participate in activities like expressing their thankfulness on a large poster.

“A lot of students, especially those who have come here from other countries, haven’t had a traditional Thanksgiving celebration. This was a really great experience to bring people together and for our students to try new foods and interact more with others,” ESOL teacher Lawrence Fogel-Bublick said.

Junior Nisan Sili, who moved to America from Turkey this year, attended the Thanksgiving lunch. “This was my first time celebrating Thanksgiving. I don’t usually see the people from the school altogether, so it’s really nice to see everyone,” Sili said.

The event was also sophomore Habun Yigit’s first Thanksgiving. She enjoyed learning about the American holiday and traditions, which are different from her home country Turkey’s traditions.

“This is my first time eating turkey,” Yigit said. “It was pretty nice.”

Thanksgiving Food Drive

The Immigration Advocacy Club (WJIAC) held two Thanksgiving food drives on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 at Fleming Park and Farmland Elementary School respectively for immigrant shelters and fundraisers for humanitarian movements in foreign countries. They collected mainly canned food items.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Photo by Ishaan Ramola

International Club holds a mural in the hallway. Students and staff gather to share what and to who were they thankful for. Students shared they were thankful for family, friends, teachers and even Messi.

“The timing [of the food drives] helped us a lot because families were starting to go through their pantries to prepare for Thanksgiving,” senior Alec Lynch said.

The club officers and members worked hard to prepare the food drives and were pleased with the food drives’ success. “The number of donations we received astounded us and truly made us proud of the communities we worked in,” Lynch said.

Lynch especially thanked all of the volunteers that helped at their stands and the people who donated. The Immigration Advocacy Club plans to hold future food drives and community events.

Filipino Club Holidays Celebration

On Dec. 21, the Filipino Club will present a holiday celebration event in the student commons as part of the weekly Wednesday showcase for clubs. They have prepared performances of traditional Filipino dances, food and more from Filipino culture.

“We will be presenting aspects of the Filipino Christmas holiday and showing traditions and objects that are associated with the holiday,” sophomore Bella Relacion said.

To plan for the celebration event, the Filipino club made posters, organized the dances and prepared traditional dishes and other Filipino cultural items. In the holiday spirit, they hope many students can attend the celebration and experience Filipino culture and traditions.

“I hope that it’ll be an opportunity where more people can learn about the Philippines and our club and show support for us,” Relacion said.