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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
'
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
'
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
'
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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From Monday, April 22, to Friday, April 26, the second annual Roots Week took place, featuring a Cultural Food Fair and an assembly with a staff speaker and lion dancing hosted by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance. Throughout the week, students were encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the cultural diversity that makes up our community.
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The second annual Roots Week began on Monday, April 22, and from there, celebrated a wide variety of cultures through differing activities, such as the Cultural Food Fair and an assembly. Throughout the week, affinity groups also hosted opportunities to get together, such as karaoke hosted by the Asian American Pacific Islander Club (AAPI) and cultural foods that could be bought from the Unidos Club during lunch.
What first originated last year as the “brainchild” of former Vice Principal for Student Life Mr. Aaron Hollingshead has since grown into an anticipated tradition for students at La Salle.
While small changes have been made this year, the overarching goal remains the same: “[It’s] a celebration of who we are and what makes up this greater La Salle community,” Director of Equity and Inclusion Mr. Mario Garza said, one of the members of staff who helped organize the event, along with affinity club leaders, students in the Leadership class, and Dean of Students Ms. Kenzie D’Ambrosio. “It doesn’t have to be tied to a country or a specific ethnic group.”
Not only did the Roots Week shine a spotlight on different cultures, but in the eyes of Mr. Garza, it had a specific emphasis on acknowledging the communities which make up the school as a whole.
“It’s important to have an understanding as much as possible about those people around you,” he said.
Because of this, Mr. Garza wanted to ensure that student voices played a pivotal role in the decision making process leading up to the week’s events. “One of the things that’s important to me is always trying to make sure that we utilize our affinity groups on campus to help lead the way,” Mr. Garza said. “I want them to be involved in a way that’s authentic for them.”
Co-President of the AAPI Club, senior Sarah Doles, participated in both the Roots Walk — one of the events during the assembly on Wednesday, April 24, to showcase students’ cultures through their attire of choice — and the organization of the week itself. She conveyed that what the Roots Festival does altogether for students is grant an opportunity to experience “cultural diversities” in school that they might not have the chance to experience otherwise.
This was similarly echoed with the Cultural Food Fair, which occurred on Friday, April 26, and featured a culmination of ethnic dishes, American-regional dishes, family recipes, and more.
“There’s a lot of food that people don’t have access to, to experience and try these new things,” Doles said. This year, another way to encourage engagement from students was through the bringing in a boba truck — suggested by students in Leadership — onto campus during the extended lunch period of the Cultural Food Fair.
As a result of the festival, affinity groups supported one another with their respective activities or for their broader goals within the primary events.
During the assembly, P.E. & Health Teacher Mr. Chris Sulages spoke up about his Hellenic heritage, what it means to him, and the importance of connecting with one another’s cultures. Mr. Garza noted that this was especially effective for students who could listen and understand from someone they likely had been taught by in their freshman and/or sophomore years.
“There’s so much about different cultures to learn,” Mr. Garza said, indicating the magnitude of local connections. “Sometimes we focus on famous people or famous events and not enough on day to day lives of people.”
The assembly also featured — for the first time — lion dancing by White Lotus Dragon & Lion Dance, performed by senior Jasper Gilley and fellow member of the dance troupe, Daniel Ly. According to Mr. Garza, the performance received positive feedback all around, and included unexpected engagement with the audience, such as entering and interacting with the crowd.
Mr. Garza, while appreciating the entertainment of the dance, also noted that in coordination with it, “education should always be what we’re trying to do.” This is what prompted the idea of having a faculty member speak as well. “The more we continue to do these types of things, the more we’re going to get out of it,” he said.
And most importantly, the Roots Festival gives an opportunity for students to learn.
“My hope is that students feel engaged and excited about the opportunity to share a little bit more about themselves with each other,” Ms. D’Ambrosio said, explaining her emphasis on highlighting student passions. “That makes me feel like we’re doing a good job here.”
She hopes that next year will also have the reintroduction of Unity Day, which includes student-led workshops and a keynote speaker in addition to the other events occurring throughout the week of celebration. It brings back to the foreground what she said is the Roots Festival objective: “making sure that everybody feels like they have a place here and feels that they’re seen and heard.”
Overall, the aim of the Roots Festival is to find a balance between taking the time to reflect on one’s own culture and gain an understanding of the many surrounding cultures which make up the school community, so that within a predominantly white campus like La Salle’s, “students that come from other communities feel comfortable here in whatever way makes sense to them,” Mr. Garza said.
![Now in her 26th year of teaching, Ms. Amy Gantt emphasizes that education is about helping others. “I hope for [students] to see that they had adults in their life who cared about them and who supported them and who were looking out for their wellbeing,” she said.](https://lasallefalconer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_1176-1200x800.jpeg)
