By Kaleb Ludwig, Staff Writer — The School District celebrated its diversity by hosting Celebrate Diversity on Jan. 14.

Celebrate Diversity has been an event held at GlenOak for the last two years used to encourage children to accept anyone, no matter what race or ethnicity, as well as teach them about famous figures who challenged the stereotypes in the past.

Children are taught about these famous figures in a very hands-on way. Students from around the district volunteer to dress up as various diverse figures such as Nelson Mandela, Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. Each character also hands out special “trading cards” for their historical figure. These cards tell about their achievements and life as well as show a picture and name.

“It was a very well put together event that displayed many different cultures in very creative ways,” sophomore Gavin Buckley said.

Along with these historical figures, many rooms in the school were turned into rooms showcasing different cultures such as Indian, Chinese, Spanish and even Italian. Inside of these rooms were many fun games and prizes coordinating with the culture of the room. In each room there was also products and free food from that part of the world.

Not only did this event celebrate diversity and teach children, but it also showcased many of the district’s arts programs such as bands and many art projects. The entire school was filled with art projects from many of the elementary schools as well as Glenwood and Oakwood.

Another event that occurred at Celebrate Diversity were performances from many of the district’s jazz bands and small ensembles. GlenOak Jazz I and II both played as well as Oakwoods 7th and 8th grade jazz bands. Small ensembles also played throughout the school such as a clarinet choir and brass choir.

Some things get better with time, and this shows at this event. The turnout was much better that last year’s, and hopefully the attendance will increase again at next year’s Celebrate Diversity.

[Updated Aug. 13, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]