Celebrating Diversity during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

For this May’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Gunston Middle School celebrated in style with events representing the rich cultures of Japan and India. Students participated in a lunchtime craft-learning workshop about the art of folding paper, or, origami. Students were able to make paper cranes taught by a knowledgeable seventh grader.

Gunston students finished out the month with help from the Asia Heritage Foundation. Wuiping Yap from the Foundation taught a group of students an entertaining Bollywood-style dance to the song “Pinky!” The students found that dancing any kind of choreographed number, especially something with as many moves and as much attitude as a Bollywood dance, is difficult. They were tired, but by the end of it, managed to learn the routine to the whole four-minute song. Students loved the idea of dancing as a way of sharing their heritage. They hope to continue to be able to teach other students and the Gunston community about their cultures through music and dance. Sounds like Gunston has some budding dancers and teachers!