Global Fair, Day of Consideration Focus on Identity at Rivers

Jimmy Kelley
On Sunday night, the Rivers Global Fair filled Kraft Dining Hall with the smell of cuisine from Guatemala to Zimbabwe, two of many countries that Rivers faculty and families call home.
On Sunday night, the Rivers Global Fair filled Kraft Dining Hall with the smell of cuisine from Guatemala to Zimbabwe, two of many countries that Rivers faculty and families call home. Each table served as a window into its country’s culture, complete with flags, artwork, clothing, and other artifacts. This event set the table for Monday’s second annual Day of Consideration beautifully as the Rivers community engaged in discussions and workshops centered on the important topic of identity exploration. 
 
In addition to Guatemala and Zimbabwe, members of the Rivers community hosted tables representing Tonga, Japan, the Philippines, Salvador, Ireland, France, Puerto Rico, Chile, Dominican Republic, Cape Verde, Haiti, Spain, India, and Lebanon.  Upper school Spanish and middle school Latin students added to the fun, hosting tables for Mexico (featuring a kid-friendly piñata breaking) and Ancient Rome, respectively.  Perhaps the greatest highlight of the evening was an engaging performance by a group of young Filipino dancers from Springfield, MA who also taught those in attendance the traditional dance called “Tinikling.”
 
Middle School students Caleb Leeming ’19 and Dylan Keutsch ‘19 kicked off their drive to collect children’s books to be sent to a school in the Far East that was hit hard by Typhoon Haiyan.  They will be collecting books through the end of the month.  
 
Sunday’s events transitioned seamlessly into Monday’s Day of Consideration and the often-challenging dialogue focused on identity development. Kicked off by Michael Sidney Fosberg’s thought-provoking one-man play, Incognito, the entire school engaged in discussions, workshops, and service projects that helped students become more comfortable exploring and sharing their identities with each other
 
The 10th grade experienced an interactive workshop with Boston Mobilization, a non-profit organization that works with youth to develop leadership skills in order to create social change. Meanwhile, the rest of the Upper School were meeting in smaller workshop “family groups" where students and faculty mapped their own identities and discussed what gets in the way of expressing certain aspects of who we are.   
 
The day came to a close with a Town Hall-style meeting during which students and faculty shared reflections from the day. Here are some quotes from students who spoke during that meeting.
 
"We talk a lot about race and socioeconomic issues as a whole, but today I really started to think about how those things apply to Rivers."
 
"One of the things that came up today that I think is really important is that we always talk about who you ARE as your identity. But what I think is just as important is to consider who you WERE and who you WILL be and you can gain something from looking at how your identity changes over the years."
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