International Night is the most popular nights of GSMST’s school year. Every year, the students and faculty spend about three hours dressing up the ground and main level of the school with colorful banners and elaborate decorations of the seven continents of the world, while other preparations happen the cafeteria.
During this preparation period, parents come in with traditional dishes from whatever region of the world they, or their family, are from. At 6:00 p.m., the doors open for everyone. The admission fee is about $5 for parents and others, while students get in for free. Patrons get to walk around eating food and partaking in the many activities set up for everyone to enjoy, like a drum circle and face paint in Africa or drawing and a quick folklore lesson in Asia. This casual and fun exploration of the school is all set up for the main attraction of International Night: the regional performances.
At 7:00 p.m., the cafeteria opens, with seats quickly being filled, and the students put on performances that captivate the audience with the heart put into and the complexity of each performance. From Eastern African and South American dances to martial arts and drum routines from East Asia, the students (and sometimes their parents) have fun showing the multiple cultures that make up one of the things that make GSMST so special as a school.
