Celebrating Diverse Cultures at One School One World
Last weekend, the DEIG office presented its biennial cornerstone event, One School One World. Revived in 2023 after a pause in 2021 from the COVID-19 pandemic, 2025 saw the return of the beloved tradition. Hundreds of BB&N community members piled into the Nicholas Athletic Center gym to enjoy a feast of cultural foods and performances.
Tables from countries on almost every continent lined the walls of the NAC, laden with food, drinks, and stickers to help complete an OSOW passport. Participants strove to visit and interact with all the table hosts to earn a sticker to fill the provided book for an entry into a raffle. Regardless of the raffle outcome, all attendees received the prize of learning about a new culture and enjoying a snack.Â
A staple of the event is the countless performances by students and community members. Students performed traditional songs from their respective countries on instruments like the violin and bamboo flutes and danced in ensemble and solo numbers.
Two exciting announcements also graced the stage. First, choir teacher Joel Sindelar announced that BB&N will run an African drumming class with Moussa Traore and Company next spring, thanks to an Innovation Grant. Second–and also thanks to an Innovation Grant by the Class of 2023– Rob ‘ProBlak’ Gibbs unveiled the all-school mural he inspired students to create.
In March, students across all three campuses filled a large ‘1’ with things that make them happy. Then, Gibbs filled in the rest of the mural in his signature style to complete the project, which he unveiled to the community on Saturday.
The unity and commitment to learning displayed in the NAC inspired everyone, with one parent even remarking that One School One World should happen yearly instead of every two years. Thanks to the DEIG department, especially director and associate director Leila Bailey-Stewart and Patty Dei, for their efforts to make this event so memorable.
