Celebrating Culture and Heritage at Schubert Elementary School

Ms. Anna Miczek has taught music at Schubert Elementary School for more than 20 years, and this year is shaping up to be among the best. She notes that she loves how supportive her principal and colleagues are of her efforts. A great example of this is Schubert’s recent multicultural holiday student performance. Schubert’s teachers worked closely with Ms. Miczek to make sure that all students could truly shine. 

We caught up with Ms. Miczek to learn more about all the work that went into this event, as well as some of her ideas for the remainder of the school year. Learn more below. 

What are some of your reflections on this multicultural student performance? 

The winter assembly is a tradition at our school, but this year it was a little different. Because our school is a dual language school, and we wanted the performances to reflect that. I speak two languages as well, but my second language is Polish, not Spanish, which many of our students speak. That’s why it was great that we had some teachers volunteer to select some of our songs and help the students learn them. 

The assembly also told a story. It focused on kids going from house to house and learning about different holiday traditions. That is how we made the assembly truly a multicultural experience. 

What were the students’ reactions to participating in the assembly? How about the reactions of parents and other members of the school community who watched the assembly? 

It was a great experience for the students. They had so many questions about the different traditions that were part of the performance. For example, some of them wanted to know more about Kwanzaa. Others were interested in Three Kings Day. It was a way for them to even get to know more about each other by learning about their different cultures. 

And the parents were so excited. There was a lot of clapping. We had 180 students on stage, so it really took a village to prepare for the show. Parents shared how happy they were to see their students on the stage. I love to invite parents to our assemblies because the students love to perform for their families. 

What are you working on for the rest of the school year? 

I usually do another assembly in the springtime, but, this year, I may focus on something else. I recently received a grant for 25 digital pianos. This allows students in second through fifth grade to be able to take piano lessons. I plan to do a few mini-concerts for these students’ families to highlight what they have learned in this program. 

What advice would you give to other schools who want to have successful assemblies? 

It’s not that hard if you are organized. I actually had to start planning our winter assembly about 10 weeks before. It makes it a little weird because students might be practicing holiday songs before Halloween, but starting early is worth it. And don’t be afraid to ask teachers for help. Everyone is so busy, but they can be a big help. Finally, don’t underestimate your students. When given the opportunity, they can really shine. 

What is your message to your students? 

Thank you for being part of this assembly. Thank you for being excited about it. I hope that this experience reminded them to never quit. I know it was challenging for some of my students because they might have needed to learn parts in English, a language they may not have mastered yet. I believed in them, and they did an awesome job.