March 19, 2024

District holds first International Day

MBUSD families and students celebrate MBUSD's first International Day. Manhattan Beach residents came together and showcased their cultures and experiences. (Reproduced with the permission of MBUSD Facebook)

By Roberto Kamfner

Assistant Business Manager

The Manhattan Beach Unified School District held its first International Day where 75 families including foreign residents of Manhattan Beach with children in the school district came together to showcase their cultures and experiences on December 3.

According to Teacher on Special Assignment for English Language Learners Jim Hands, the goal of the day was to connect all of the people who have moved to Manhattan Beach and the South Bay to serve as an information hub and support network for other immigrants. It was also aimed at sharing food and tradition from the different cultures.

“Imagine going somewhere and not speaking English with anyone else besides your family, so what I wanted to do was to see if we could get everybody together,” Hands said, “If nothing else, an informational hub.”

Also according to Hands, the long term goal is to create a network that functions independently from the school district and works through the community. The plan was to create a network for people of all cultures whose similarities are their differences, and could help solve problems in the way things are done.

“How do I find my mail? What school is my child going to go to?” Hands said. “These are all things our informational network of cultures can help with.”

According to International Day participant Pamela Nualart, the people that were part of the day were there because of their differences from the population of Manhattan Beach who has been living here since birth, and to form a support group for one another.

“This is for people who are moving from far away places to one local place, where we might not find easy connections with the locals,” Nualart said. “Not because they aren’t welcoming, but because we are just so different.”

According to Hands, there is an inherent disconnect between the native population of the South Bay and the immigrant community. Not intentional, but a stark reality nonetheless.

“Everyone here is new to Manhattan Beach in one way or another,” Hands said, “They are coming into a community that is very closely knit. Everyone has known each other for a long time, so it’s hard for them to assimilate into Manhattan Beach culture.”

According to Nualart, the difference is what makes them connect to other foreigners or people who aren’t originally from Manhattan Beach so easily, which inherently makes it easier to integrate with the locals.

“We want people to know that they are supported and that there is somewhere they can feel laid back and that there is someone like them that they can lean on and that we can build something together,”  Nualart said.

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