By: Rebecca Sparacio and Ashley Vincenzo
On the last Friday of the holiday break Wheatley’s Inter-Cultural Unity Club hosts The ICU Luncheon, a beloved annual event celebrating our diverse culture. In the morning upon arrival at school,students are greeted bright and early with Mrs. Luftig’s wonderful choir who sing holiday songs, and students and faculty join in, setting the tone for the day. Then there is an assembly featuring cultural performances, and a fashion show, followed by a delicious buffet with different cultural dishes donated by our Wheatley community, and live music echoes in our hallways and the cafeteria throughout the day.
During the assembly, expect a variety of performances representing culture from China to Greece. Similar to last year, there will be a group speaking in various languages to coincide with this year’s theme, Language. The word on the street is that Mrs. Seferian, one of Wheatley’s most loved social studies teachers, will be speaking in Danish. For the fashion show, get ready for The Wheatley School fashion showcase (as we all know Wheatley is a culture unto itself). As always, get excited for Fink’s drum line to lead us into the afternoon activities..
With this year’s theme of language, ICU Co-Presidents Ally Keller and Alia Yamin (aka lil’ Alia) have been working tirelessly with the entire ICU committee and club advisor Mr. Fitzko. While you might know them as a musical genius and a jack of all trades, their dedication to the club and appreciation of culture will guarantee this luncheon be a great one.
Alia became involved in ICU during freshman year because “one of the upperclassmen that I was friends with dragged me to a meeting.” which is the same reason someone joins any club at Wheatley. Over time, Alia became friends with many of the members but did not realize the incredible amount of time and effort the luncheon required. Yet, this turned into one of the aspects of ICU she appreciates the most, as she sees how “everyone came together to help paint decorations, make desserts and set up for the luncheon the day before.”
As co-president of ICU, Ally is most excited for the moment when Wheatley’s Mr. Fink leads the drum line into the cafeteria after the assembly. During this part of the day, everybody enjoys a delicious lunch while talking to friends and listening to music. Ally has been involved in ICU since she was in 8th grade. After preparing the decorations and entrees for the last four years, Ally is excited to host the event with Alia for one last time. She states that “ICU and the Luncheon has always been one of the most, if not the most, important days in our school and for our school community. It serves as the annual landmark to bring attention to Wheatley’s diversity and student talent in dance and music. Most importantly, it exposes new aspects of culture to everyone, no matter where your family comes from”. This day is sure to be extraordinary, so come and celebrate all that we have to offer each other,support our friends, make new friends, recognize how special the ICU Luncheon is, and how unique our school is.