Students, parents and clergy were invited to participate in a night of art, technology and culture at Reynoldsburg St. Pius X School on Tuesday, March 4.
The event, “Kaleidoscope: Art, Tech & Culture in Harmony Night,” was intended to foster culture and community at the school. The celebration coincided with Mardi Gras, the final day before the beginning of the Church’s Lenten season, traditionally a day of feasting and festivities.
St. Pius X school parents were asked to share their cultural heritage during the evening. Each family determined how to present their native customs.
Families could share their culture through interactive displays of their native country, including history, geography, food, music and dance, explained the school’s Spanish teacher, Paulette Nedeau.
“Our school community prides itself on our diversity,” she said. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for our families to come together, share their heritage and build stronger, more inclusive relationships.”
Nedeau, a native of Guatemala, led the multicultural portion of the “Kaleidoscope” event.
As a foreign language teacher, Nedeau explained, she wants students to learn and appreciate differences and similarities between cultures. She said that by doing so students can develop a greater sense of empathy and respect for others.
Fifteen countries were represented that evening: Netherlands, Indonesia, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Sicily, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Ghana, Eritrea, Cameroon, Congo and Vietnam.
The parish’s pastor, Father Patrick Watikha, AJ, a priest of the Apostles of Jesus, represented his native country of Uganda. He brought a number of individuals to the event and performed a dance for attendees.
Technology was another significant part of the event. Students’ technology projects were on display for members of the St. Pius X community to view or interact with.
The projects showcased students’ work in technology class, explained technology coordinator and teacher Katy Kister.
“I curated and featured (a) project from every first through eighth grade student that they completed in technology class so far this year,” she said.
Students’ projects included coding, animation and 3D printing. Each grade level had a different project featured at the event.
First grade students used coding to customize digital characters. The second grade learned about Canva, an online graphic design platform, and images created by artificial intelligence. Third grade made trading cards of saints.
The fourth and seventh grades shared “Minecraft for Education” projects from the popular 3D game. Fifth grade made animation videos, and sixth grade created videos of robots that they coded to dance.
Eighth grade students printed 3D images of devices they designed. They were tasked with creating devices to solve problems relating to natural disasters.
For the art portion of the evening, a piece of each student’s artwork was hung outside classrooms throughout the school.
Before the “Kaleidoscope” event, artist Joel Schoon-Tanis of Holland, Michigan, visited art classes. Students participated in painting a 4×30-foot mural “from a simple sketch to an absolute masterpiece,” said the school’s art teacher, Adam Sharpe.
Schoon-Tanis’ works are intended to “unlock a sense of childlike wonder about God’s world,” according to his website, and his murals are found in schools, churches and children’s hospitals in several countries.
He helped students create a mural inspired by three Bible stories.
“It was fun to work alongside and I learned a great bit,” Sharpe said. “I think it was very beneficial for the kids to see how another artist thinks.”