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Against a backdrop of great international tensions and differences, Glencoe District 35 officials wanted to have an event showcasing how people of many backgrounds can come together.
That wish came together Oct. 19 when District 35 hosted the inaugural Family Belonging Night at West School. It was an evening where visitors could enjoy different types of food, watch international dances and a shared art project among the activities.
“The goal of the event is to celebrate the diversity within our community and a sense of belonging among everyone in Glencoe,” District 35 Director of Professional Learning Betty Weir said.
One of the evening’s popular destinations was rock painting.
“Our planning committee wanted to have a shared art project as part of the event for an activity for families to participate in together and that is what they landed on as the idea,” Weir explained. “We handed out some samples of ways people could decorate the rocks and people could decorate a rock that represents something unique about their family. The rocks will be placed in locations around District 35 to share positive messages of care and belonging.”
Eight year old twins Torian and Tolou Tajalli were painting rocks as their mother, Daphne Tajalli watched.
“We really wanted to participate in an event that was about integration in our community because that is what we deal with in our lives,” Daphne Tajalli said. “As a Muslim family it seems more important than ever to show up and belong.”
At another part of the school, Lauren Kase sampled some Asian cuisine passed out by West School Reading Specialist Andrea Chusin.
“I wanted to celebrate the diversity that we have here in District 35,” Kase said. “People don’t realize how diverse we are. The U.S. is a melting pot with all the cultures. Especially now it is really important to appreciate who we are and where we come from and celebrate that.”
A few feet away from the food, everyone had the chance to write hello on an international hand sign.
That group included Adam, Aydin and Lamis Golabek and their mother, Fatima Hussain.
“We are a Pakistani-Polish family,” Hussain said. “This is a great opportunity to celebrate different cultures, try different foods, meet different families and also to see the different cultures in Glencoe.”
In a school corridor, eight community organizations providing information to people with activities and prizes including the Anti-Defamation League.
ADL Assistant Education Director Rebecca Dumain said they had been planning to attend this event since August, well before the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel that killed hundreds of people.
Dumain stood behind a desk with signs offering messages of “Be Kind” and similar sentiments and spoke of the ADL’s goal of participating in like-minded events.
“We bring schools a program to help the students know how to make their school ‘no place for hate’ so the students get to decide what do we want do to make their school a more welcoming environment,” Dumain said. “That is what we are doing all day, every day.”
Weir said a committee of teachers and parents organized the Family Belonging Night.
“We’ve been working on it since July,” she said. “We are really excited about how it came together and a lot of people contributed to make it happen.”
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Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.