On May 1, 2026, the Pascack Hills community joyfully gathered to commemorate another unforgettable Celebration of Cultures event, a day dedicated to honoring the rich diversity, inclusivity, and unity that is the heartbeat of Hills.
This year’s festivities transformed the school into a mosaic of traditions, vibrant colors, and shared stories, as students, families, and staff came together in a spirited display of global appreciation and collective pride. The resounding success of this event has firmly cemented its place in the school’s future, ensuring that the multitude of cultures within our community—and in the broader world—will continue to be honored and celebrated for generations to come.
This successful student-led celebration showcased a diverse array of efforts from various cultural clubs, highlighting the value that the Pascack Hills community places on the diversity within the school. Participating clubs included: the Asian Culture Club (ACC), Black Student Union (BSU), Jewish Student Union (JSU), Latino and Hispanic Cultures Club (LHCC), Muslim Student Association (MSA), Student Immigration Alliance (SIA), and the World Cultures Club (WCC), all of whom dedicated intense efforts into preparing and ensuring a successful celebration.
When this celebration was first initiated in May 2023, Pascack Hills contained only three \ cultural clubs: the Asian Culture Club, Latino and Hispanic Culture Club, and the World Culture Club. Since then, Pascack Hills has come a long way, embracing a culmination of cultures and valuing them, creating a sense of community and unity along the way and ultimately embracing seven culture clubs as of May 1, 2026.
What happened during the event?
Throughout periods four to six (before and after lunch), culture stands were set up and displayed in the main courtyard, presenting an opportunity for Hills students to experience the event during lunch or the periods encircling the lunch period, as well as the refreshing weather of the day.
To initiate the celebration, a performance was given by the preschoolers, the chamber choir, and two musical students, Michael McKay and Mauricio Cocco. Preschoolers from the early child development courses at Pascack Hills first took the mic to sing three songs in Spanish, spotlighting the beautiful language of Spanish while awing everyone with their immense effort into the songs at such a young age, symbolizing that unity and diversity can be found everywhere, no matter what age. Following the preschoolers, the Chamber Choir performed “Berusa Er” by Sten Kallman, which compellingly blends cultures by combining Haitian Creole influences while physically being presented in the Swedish language — a synthesis of the dynamic cultures of the world once again symbolizing unity. Lastly, performed just before the selling and activities began, Michael McKay (on drums) and Mauricio Cocco (on guitar) performed “Oye Como Va” by Santana, using a blend of instruments to demonstrate the blend of cultures at Hills.
Proceedingly, an array of tables were set up in the courtyard decorated with elaborate decorations relating to the celebratory holidays that the clubs consisted of. Each club was given two stands; one for selling ethnic sustenance, and one for activities. Each club’s team put weeks of effort into gathering the paraphernalia needed to make this event successful– and as usual, it was.
With many items to buy and various fun activities to choose from, students were astounded by the opportunities the event brought to them. For the Asian Culture Club, ramen was sold, and origami activities were provided. The Latino and Hispanic Culture Club provided students with a Jarrito ring toss activity, the Jewish Student Union presented the opportunity to make clay hamsa pendants, the Black Student Union had cornhole, the World Culture Club had bocce Ball and the Scopa Card game, and the Muslim Student Association had a tessellation-making activity. With so many opportunities to experience and learn about other cultures, students were able to immerse themselves into all of these activities and have fun with their friends.
The event concluded by the end of period six (period after lunch on a Friday rotation), in which all tables were brought back in after yet another successful event.
Why is embracing diversity important?
As Pascack Hills diversifies more and more year after year, the celebratory practices have increased, showing the embrace of diversity and unique cultures in the Pascack Hills environment.
Being able to physically embrace diversity in a public community fosters inclusivity, drives innovation, and reduces prejudice by building empathy. Not only does embracing diversity accentuate a strengthened community, but it upholds personal growth and belonging of an individual within a community.
As one human race, it is important to value each other’s feelings, abilities, and cultures, as it only brings the human race together, creating unity. Not only is the morale of the world increased, but the understanding of others and happiness of it. Being able to value the differences that make a person unique, such as background and heritage, is something that will forever boost the bonds of the human race.
Impact
Every year, the ways in which unique traditions are celebrated and embraced increase, creating a sense of unity and community for every single student. Additionally, the annual rate of bilingual learners at Pascack Hills has been increasing, showing the efforts that students have put into widening their range of cultural knowledge.
These cultural celebrations have not only benefited Pascack Hills, just as a simple community effort, but each individual in a more cognitive approach. Going to an academic environment where prejudice is eliminated enhances academic achievement and critical thinking skills, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). With so many clubs to honor and celebrate traditions, Pascack Hills has many places to go to celebrate and embrace its culture within the academic atmosphere.
Additionally, these clubs unite all students of that ethnic culture, reminding other students that they are not singled out and do not stand alone. Freshman Ridham Bhalla explains the benefits of the Asian Culture Club and how it has helped her embrace her culture in unique ways.
“I love the ACC because it really manages to represent a lot of different cultures and backgrounds; it’s also really interesting to see how we can connect our roots to our current community in this academic atmosphere,” Bhalla said.
Overall, the Cultural Celebration was a huge success, and Pascack Hills will continue to employ this annual celebration for future years to come.
Check out this photo gallery from the event:
