VIDEO: International flavour at Pretoria school heritage celebrations

Children from diverse cultural backgrounds dressed in colourful, traditional clothes celebrated Heritage Day at Pretoria Lycée Jules Verne French International School in Arcadia on Monday.

The international school was marking the first day of its 2019 school year.

The school year kicked off with an important lesson of learners knowing their heritage and embracing their cultures.

Learners embraced each other’s nationalities and culture as they sang French and English songs and took part in drumming lessons using drums from Ghana.

The lesson was facilitated by Klitsgras Drumming Circle.

Ophelia Onibon whose son attends the school, said: “Today’s Heritage Day festivities were very well organised. It was a surprise to most parents to see the children with drums which was spectacular.”

Onibon said unlike in the past years, parents actually got to have the opportunity to watch the children play their drums and sing.

“We all had fun watching such an amazing African cultural display in an international school.”

School principal Gratien Ban said the school had a large number of diplomats’ children.

“We are a diverse diplomatic community. We have about 140 learners ranging from three to 11-years-old (Grade RRR to Grade 5), made up of over 20 nationalities.”

He said the children were from France, Gabon, Congo, Togo, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, China, US and UK, among others.

“Our school firmly believes in enriching its pupils through the culture and languages of its host country. In a turbulent time in South Africa through xenophobic attacks, we hope to bring a glimmer of hope and spread joy to our various families, as well as communities.

Event organiser Vanessa Smeets said she wanted the children and parents to experience the spirit of ubuntu in South Africa’s “beautiful rainbow nation”.

READ MORE: Heritage Day: 5 interesting facts about South African genealogy and ancestry

“As Mandela said, we are people because of other people. Ubuntu is a celebration of all cultures and heritages,” Smeets said.

“We started off the day with ‘The Bare Necessities’ from Jungle Book.”

Children and their parents debated on what their bare necessities are and what make them happiest. They wrote their answers on small pieces of paper and put it in a tree.

The answers were: my family, music, my friends, different foods but mostly love.

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