On November 7, the District 45 Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC) hosted 29 families with students new to the United States and District 45 at its New Family Welcome Dinner at Jefferson Middle School. Fifteen countries, including Egypt, Honduras, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Uzbekistan, were represented at the event.
The dinner began with warm welcomes by District 45 Superintendent Dr. Brian Graber and Director of EL/Bilingual Services Lisa Speakman. Mrs. Speakman gave families an overview of the evening’s activities and invited them to enjoy a meal of traditional dishes that honored the diverse cultures represented at the dinner.
Dishes included beef, chicken, and pork tacos; beef and spinach empanadas; rice pilaf; vegetable biryani; falafel; chicken cutlets; grilled Polish sausage; black bean and cheese pupusas; and potato and onion pierogis. Dessert included plum pierogis, baklava, Mexican cookies, and snow cones.
After the dinner, children enjoyed games, craft activities, and word puzzles organized by Frida Community Organization. Meanwhile, Director of Digital Learning and Innovation Beth Slusher led parents and guardians through tutorials on accessing the PowerSchool Parent Portal and signing up for family-school conferences.
Interpretation services were available on-site in Arabic, Dari, Spanish, Uzbek, and Ukrainian. Thirty-five volunteers, including BPAC parent leaders and District 45 staff, served as greeters, food servers, and guides throughout the evening.
BPAC President Sara Hernandez was thrilled with the event’s outcome and felt it helped extend a caring hand to families new to the country and District 45 community.
“When someone is new in an unfamiliar place, some fears and uncertainties go along with that,” Mrs. Hernandez explained. “With this event, members of BPAC wanted to welcome the new families to the district and offer them a place to belong where they can address those fears and uncertainties. That’s what makes us a community. There is always someone to turn to for help,” she said.
To all our new students and families, welcome to the District 45 community! Thank you to all the volunteers, interpreters, and staff who helped make this a special evening for our families. A special thank you to the Frida Community Organization and Tri-Town YMCA for sharing services and resources that helped make this evening successful.