Andrews Osborne Academy's International Day has grown to International Week

Apr. 19—For the last 35 years, Andrews Osborne Academy's annual International Day celebration has been an important event on their calendar.

Now having grown to International Week, many Andrews Osborne staff members have a hand in embracing diversity and the world cultures of students.

"It's a unique opportunity for students from different countries to get to know each other," said Diala Armonas, who started the International Day program in 1989. At the time of its beginnings, the former French and math teacher was encouraged by Charles Marsee, former head of school.

Armonas then found herself digging around the student body, finding students with various ethnic backgrounds.

"We had one student who was American, but lived in Hawaii for a while, so when we first did the program, she did a Hawaiian hula dance for us," she recalled. "There were also foreign students here from Spanish-speaking countries and later on, we had a couple of exchange students from Germany and one girl was from Canada, so those students also got involved in the event."

At the time of the program's beginnings, it was only a one-day event at the Willoughby-based campus.

"The first year, the food was not successful," Armonas said. "We let the children go into the kitchen and make their food. The next day, they put all the food out, but didn't think you need people behind it to serve it. The seventh-graders took all the stuff and there wasn't enough left. It was kind of funny."

As for the program itself, it was the first time the school had done something like it and as a result, it was appreciated, Armonas said.

"The kids who participated felt so good because they got a chance to talk about their heritage to the rest of the school," she said.

Armonas chose to major in French and math while she was college. After her college career, she was looking around to find places to teach, which was quite hard, she said.

"For one year, I spent the year being a substitute teacher in different schools in Cleveland, a proof by fire kind of experience," Armonas said. "Then, I got the offer here and they offered me to teach French, and one geometry class because they didn't have enough French classes for a whole day."

Armonas went on to teach the geometry class for four years in addition to her French classes.

"Sometimes, by the end of the day, I would get mixed up and start counting in French," she laughed. "After four years, the school's requirements on foreign languages became stricter and there were more students taking them, and enough for me to have a full course load."

Armonas taught for 22 years at Andrews Osborne, 10 of those being involved with International Day, which she has described as being an integral part of the school's identity.

Meanwhile, for the last 11 years, Faith Bordonaro has had a hand in the event. She started at AOA as a math teacher and has since went on to hold various administration positions. She's currently an educational technologist and advanced placement computer science teacher, as well as the director of the International Day program.

In light of the event, Bordonaro has incorporated international lessons into her classes, including on international finances and a project called International Shores, which looked at how to estimate the coastlines of countries.

Prior to being asked to be the program's coordinator, Bordonaro was quietly involved on the side.

"I've been working with a lot of great people," she said. "As a coordinator, I don't take any of the credit. Some students helped every single day, prepared and served food to other students. I think a lot of our students from other countries miss those flavors. To have real, authentic food from their country makes them feel even more at home."

As it represents many different countries, AOA is a special place to Bordonaro.

"There's 25 countries this year," she said. "International Day — it's just a way to make our students feel part of their education and part of the community. It's also a chance for teachers to teach something a little bit different than they normally would and stretch themselves."

Bordonaro has observed that over the past few years, new students from different countries enroll into AOA.

"We have a lot of students come from the same countries every year, but last year, we had a couple students from Fiji," she said. "This year, we had a student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so that's a new representation. It adds to our tapestry as an international school.

Being one of the school's longest-running traditions, International Day has gone through many forms.

"Teachers come and go, so there's always going to be a new perspective," Bordonaro said. "My hope is that it'll continue to evolve. As we get people from different countries, the world becomes smaller. We know so much more about other cultures, even more than we did when we first started International Day.

"Being able to share that among all grades — it's a joy for us to see that melt together toward the end of the year."

Editor's note: This story was edited at 3:45 p.m. April 22, 2024, to correct the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.