Lest it get lost in the shuffle and gobble of Thanksgiving, student leaders at Hoover High made a point of observing Universal Children’s Day on Monday.
Universal Children’s Day was established by the United Nations in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness and improve children’s welfare. November 20th is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, Universal Children’s Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children’s rights.
Now in the midst of celebrating its 50th year, Hoover has evolved into an International Baccalaureate school, a distinction that features emphases on global awareness and community service.
“Our goal is to promote international mindedness in our students and help them understand how to make a difference in their community,” said Hoover School Improvement Leader Maureen Griffin who escorted the students on their goodwill tour around the district, along with the school’s IB Diploma Program Coordinator, Eric Hall.
Representatives from the National Honor Society, Interact Club and Student Council answered the call for a full day of outreach that included stops at Findley, Cowles and Moore.
The teens reached all the way back as far as kindergarten on activities ranging from international dancing (foreign exchange students from Romania and Norway came in handy here) to reading storybooks aloud.
Before turning a roomful of wide-eyed kindergarteners loose on a craft project at Moore yesterday afternoon, one of the Husky ambassadors told the little kids that the big ones were at their service.
“Go ahead and get started,” she said, “and remember, if you need help, just ask someone in a green shirt.”
They won’t soon forget.