School’s Classrooms Turned Into ‘Nations’

The Laurence 2000 School was a small world after all on Thursday.

There was Mexico in a fourth-grade room. Students wore sombreros, ate Mexican sweetbread and sang “La Bamba,” as their parents clapped a beat.

Just down the hall was Japan. Paper lanterns hung from the ceiling as second-graders dressed in kimonos posed for pictures before a large drawing of an erupting volcano.

Next door was England. Students, some clad in beefeater hats, assembled around a table draped with a Union Jack flag and sang “Scarborough Fair.”

Six nations of the world, normally separated by thousands of miles, were represented in the classrooms of the school as part of Laurence’s international day. The classrooms were turned into Mexico, Japan, Italy, England, France and Zimbabwe.

The event was supposed to be part of the dedication ceremony of the school’s new administration building on Victory Boulevard. Heavy rains chased the students--all clad in traditional clothing from the six countries--and teachers, administrators and parents indoors.

The weather did not dampen spirits, though, as parents crowded classrooms and doorways to hear songs sung in foreign languages.

“The students have been preparing for this day for the last three months,” said Marvin Jacobson, the school’s director.

The students learned about each country’s geography, history and culture and compared each nation with that of the United States, Jacobson said.