RoundUp: E pluribus unum
Multicultural Night at Brook Haven, a new mural, and barn owls settling in
Multicultural Night was a blast
Park Side and Brook Haven families gathered for food, music, dance, and cultural performances from around the world
Park Side and Brook Haven families came together on Friday night to celebrate the Sebastopol Union School District’s global heritage. Between 400 to 450 people packed into Brook Haven’s Multi-Purpose Room.
Families hosted tables featuring food and cultural information from over 15 countries around the world, including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, South India, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Venezuela, Ukraine, Poland, Scotland, and Portugal.
When families walked into the multi-purpose room, they were greeted by volunteer ambassadors at the passport table and invited to place a star on a large world map to indicate where they were from. Each child was given a passport and sent on their way to visit each of the 15 country tables, where they could sample food from around the world and get his or her passport stamped.
Honestly, this was the party of the season—the room was packed with adults and kids, chatting, eating and moving from table to table. On stage, there was a full line-up of performances, including African drumming and song, Irish dance, Mexican Folklorico, poetry, music and Mexican Loteria, while parents and kids watched from tables below.
It felt like the America that should be—a harmonious mix of all the world.
Event organizers included district parents Crista Mason and Julia Van Soelen Kim and the School District’s counselor, Flannery Norton, who recruited families involved in the District’s English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC). Those families worked together in the school library ahead of the event to create informative poster boards, and they prepared Mexican mole con arroz rojo (red rice with a chocolate mole sauce) and led rounds of Loteria (a traditional Mexican game of chance similar to Bingo) the night of the event.
“Sebastopol Union’s strength is its diverse and vibrant community of families representing a wide range of cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds,” Van Soelen Kim said.
The Kim family hosted a table featuring Korean kimbap (rice rolls) and japchae (glass noodles) with the help of the family’s grandmother, Mrs. Kim. It was the first time the grandmother had volunteered at a school event, having never felt comfortable doing so when raising her own children in the Bay Area.
Sebastopol Union Superintendent Sara Gramm, who is part Japanese and was dressed in traditional Japanese garb, said, “One of the things I have valued most during my 26 years with Sebastopol Union as a teacher, parent and administrator is our diversity. My husband and I chose our schools for our own daughters because we wanted them to grow up in a community that embraces inclusivity and diverse perspectives. Evenings like this serve as a powerful reminder of the richness and strength that diversity brings to our schools.”
Looking around the room at the happy throng, Gramm said, “We are going to need to get a much bigger space for this next year.”
New mural sighting
Artist Lisa Beerntsen discovered this mural on one of her frequent ambles. “We discovered a new mural by the very prolific Amandalynn on a stretch of the West County Trail.” This one is a short walk south of the parking area on Ross Station Road. “I’ve noticed her murals multiplying in Forestville. This is toward that end of the trail.”
Raising Barn Owls
Recently, the owl box at the Laguna Environmental Center got a video camera, paid for by a kind donor. On March 3, the camera spotted a single egg inside the box. Two days later, a second egg appeared.
Volunteer Nick Jones, who helped install the camera, said to expect the female to lay one egg every two days until finished, with a minimum clutch of three eggs and maybe up to six or seven.
“We’ll continue posting updates as more eggs are laid,” said Anne Morkill, executive director of the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation. “Can’t wait to see the owlets!”
The videocam also caught “a curious moment” last month of a third owl showing up at the entrance.
“During nesting season, barn owls sometimes check out occupied boxes — to scope potential sites or inspect neighbors,” the post said. “Is it a visitor? A rival? A hopeful future resident?” Apparently, it’s not just humans wondering why all the homes in West County are already occupied.
Follow the evolving owl story on the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation’s Facebook and Instagram.
The Foundation wanted to acknowledge the Wildlife Rescue of Sonoma County’s Barn Owl Maintenance Program team.
We did this at the school where I taught in East Los Angeles. It was the best get-together each year for not only the school but the whole community. I wish I had known about it! Thanks for the reporting.
Even though my kids graduated over 20 years ago, I would have liked to know about this. I would have gone. Great idea.