During the week of March 10-14, Camas High School (CHS) held its first ever Multicultural Week. From decorations to activities to food, there were numerous opportunities provided for students to partake in the sharing of global cultures.
Planning for the event went all the way back to August 2024, the inspiration being taken from other schools at a summer leadership camp. From there, the Associated Student Body (ASB) leaders planned for months to make it happen.
“ASB has really been working on Multicultural Week since December but started to pick up the pace in February,” Sophomore Class President Veradee Phillips said. “We have been ordering all of the decorations and treats from cultures, getting food trucks, and even having some of ASB come on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to decorate the halls.”
While ASB primarily ran the event, there was also collaboration with clubs, students, and families. For example, one group of ASB members worked with the Fashion Club to make a video about traditional dress that came out Thursday, March 13. Two cultural food trucks were also brought in during lunch on Wednesday.
Additional activities were planned each day either before school or during lunch to give as many students as possible an opportunity to participate.
“There were ideas to do this at night, but we’re not doing this at night because only certain people will come at night,” CHS fitness instructor and ASB adviser Valerie Parbon said. “We want everyone to have the opportunity to be exposed to peoples’ cultures, so that’s why we chose lunches primarily to do that.”
During lunches, families from CHS also had the opportunity to contribute by setting up tables in the school’s main commons. Families from Pakistan, India, and Nepal had spaces where they put decorations, foods, posters, art, and other significant parts of their cultures on display. This included a henna artist that drew traditional floral designs on students’ hands.
Additionally, ASB provided themed snacks, crafts, and games each day for students to participate in. Different cultures were represented during the week through a morning greeting and an accompanying snack. At lunch, there would be a craft and a game for the culture being represented that day.
The main focus for the week was to teach students about different customs and help grow their appreciation of them.
“The goal of Multicultural Week is to educate, celebrate, and bring awareness to the different cultures represented in our school community,” Phillips said.
This was the first time in CHS history that a full multicultural week has ever taken place, and it will not be the last. This new tradition spreads cultural awareness to students in an interactive way, connecting the school as a whole.
“We hope that everyone feels like they belong at the school, and we encourage people to be curious and ask questions to others to better their understanding of different cultures,” ASB leader Emily Parker said.
