At Niwot Elementary, Mwebaza Day is more than just a long-standing annual tradition. It is an opportunity for students at Niwot Elementary to meet, interact with, and learn from their counterparts at Mwebaza School in Uganda.
The lessons learned from Niwot Elementary’s partnership with Mwebaza School go well beyond elementary schooling. “It means so much. It is a longstanding tradition that teaches about culture and diversity. It’s a unique way to build friendship across the sea,” says Niwot Elementary Principal Nancy Pitz.
Mwebaza day shrinks the world for students and exposes them to a culture that is different from their own. “It helps kids see that despite differences there’s great value in everyone, and that differences should be celebrated,” says first grade teacher Dale Peterson. Peterson has forged a mutually beneficial relationship between Niwot Elementary and Mwebaza school that has lasted for more than 15 years.
The students get a chance to perform for each other, ask questions, and meet their pen pals for the first time. Niwot Elementary’s choir sang “Jeremiah and the Bullfrog” and the Mwebaza Club sang and danced to “This Land is Your Land”, while their friends at Mwebaza School performed a variety of different dances and songs.
Niwot Elementary students enjoyed hearing how their Mwebaza counterparts celebrate holidays and birthdays, and were eager to share their own holiday traditions as well. They also enjoyed learning about Ugandan culture and what the average day looks like for a Mwebaza student. Fifth grader Reese Macchia said she enjoyed “getting to see our pen pals because we’ve never seen them before and getting to see what they do.” The chance to finally celebrate their friendship is what Mwebaza Day is all about for Niwot Elementary. The celebration ended with a schoolwide toast of passion fruit juice to their friends across the sea. Mwebaza Day and Niwot Elementary’s partnership with Mwebaza School is a perfect example of how St. Vrain Valley Schools applies a global learning perspective in the classroom and shrinks the world for students.