Cedar Hill School recently held an International Arts Night to celebrate and welcome the numerous international families that have moved into the Cedar Hill Elementary community.

Principal Dr. Colleen Mercurio, said these students quickly pick up English and often excel in their classes, some of which are even at the top of their classes.

Throughout the school year students throughout every grade worked on various art projects, from dance routines, choral lineup, collages and paintings from various different regions and cultures around the globe.

On Thursday, April 28, the International Arts Night showcased student work throughout the year. There were several performances and families were invited to tour the school, which had been set up slightly like a museum to display student work.

Mercurio explained that not only is art a way to express one’s culture but it is also important to the “development of the whole child.”

“Study after study finds a direct correlation between access to the arts and academic success,” Mercurio said.

The school’s all-purpose room was filled as family and friends gathered to watch the performances. The night began with three dance routines by the Cedar Hill Indian Dance Collective. Led and choreographed by Shany Rajagopalan and Pooja Thyvalappi, an 8th grader at Winman Junior High, students from kindergarten to 6th performed one classical, folk and Bollywood themed dances.

Then the Cedar Hill Chorus performed several songs significant to the Civil Rights Movement, such as “Siyahamba” and “Wade in the Water.”

After the performances those in attendance toured the student art gallery and viewed the kindergarten classes’ stop motion animation shorts, among other classroom initiatives.

All of the performances and projects were done in music and art classes and in the school’s Art Master Program.

“This was a way for all of us to come together as a community,” Mercurio said. “We wanted our international families to know we are happy they are here. We need to accept our different cultures and one another to grow as a school, as a community, and as a country.”