Good afternoon! Buenos Tardes! Bonjour! I am Trish McGuire the proud principal of the Julian Curtiss School of World Languages and I welcome you to the Julian Curtiss Magnet School’s annual United Nations Day Celebration. I would like to welcome our distinguished guests, State Senator Ryan Fazio, CT. State Representatives Hector Arzeno, Rachel Khanna and Steve Meskers, First Selectman Fred Camillo, Select person Janet Stone McGuigan, Superintendent Dr. Jones, and many of our BOE cabinet members, as well as Board of Education members, Joe Kelly and Christina Downey.
Thank you for being here for our Julian Curtiss Signature Event.
What a beautiful day for our 2023 UN Day Parade. Every October 24th, the United Nations Day is celebrated all over the world to commemorate the anniversary of the official creation of the United Nations through the 1945 UN Charter and we celebrate that today.
This is year 32 for this celebration at Julian Curtiss and it never gets old. It is such an important day for our school, our district and our nation. We all know that the answers to today’s current conflicts lie within the ways in which we educate our children. There can be no lasting peace unless our youngest are taught to empathize with others and understand multiple perspectives.
We are here to change the story of hatred and prejudice. We are here to show you what it is really like when you openly bring together new languages, new cultures and different beliefs with the common focus that we will educate our children, we will work together, live together and solve problems together. Julian Curtiss School, a school rich in diversity, religions, and socio economic backgrounds will continue to teach tolerance, acceptance and openness. We will teach our children that they do make a difference in the lives of others.
We implore our leaders and the adults here today to help our children focus on the positives, the kind of people they want to be, and the ways they can make a difference in the lives of others. I am certain that we, the adults, can foster a sense of positive community, pride in our country, and hope in our future. If every person at this parade leaves here today and makes an effort to reach out to just one very different person in their community and find a common ground our social climate will change.
The events we schedule for our students during UN week, and throughout the year, emphasize and support intercultural dialogue. Our students participate in assemblies and activities throughout the year that teach and reinforce the norms. We discover cultures through the arts, foreign language and the world of dance. All of our students experienced an assembly including the study of Latin countries and Latin music. Our fifth graders will study and visit the United Nations in the spring. There have been discussions in classrooms focused on our heritage and our cultures. We all come together in the parade, and we all enjoy the many cuisines of the world on Friday night for the International Food Tasting.
We hope you feel an underlying theme of community throughout our parade. We pledge not to let this emphasis end today. We strive to build a strong school community that will go out and make a better world. Through mutual respect we can gain peace.
I thank everyone for joining us today and hope you enjoy the speakers, the music, and the parade! Please enjoy the children as they greet us in the language of their country.
Last, but not least, I must give a very special thank you to parents Stephanie Krupa and Lisa Flanagan for organizing the week’s events, and deploying a very large group of parent volunteers to bring all of our events together. I would also like to invite families to our International Food Night this Friday at 5:30 pm. The party doesn't end there! Please join us for our Trunk or Treat on Sunday here at JC 12-2pm.
