Susan Kim was the first soloist in The Wheatley Chorale’s “We Are the World.” (Photos by David Rosenzweig) — Susan Kim was the first soloist in The Wheatley Chorale’s “We Are the World.”
(Photos by David Rosenzweig)

The holiday season was the perfect time for students and teachers at The Wheatley School to celebrate the school’s diverse cultures at the annual ICU Luncheon on Friday, Dec. 20.

The Intercultural Union (ICU) Luncheon serves as a great way to end the usually stressful first few months of school. The ICU club hosts the party each year with the help of Steve Fitzko, staff advisor and Social Studies teacher, and Wheatley parents, who donated the delicious food.

For more photos from the ICU Luncheon, click here.

The day started off with the entire school gathering in the auditorium. This year Seungmin Yi, president of ICU, and Andrew Zuckerman, ICU officer, hosted the assembly, which encompassed a variety of performances, ranging from dancing to singing to performing of Chinese yo-yo by Anne Yan. Other notable performances included The Wheatley Choral’s “We Are The World,” made famous by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie in the 1980s, and the students’ Spanish dance performance.

Steve Finkelstein lead the drum line with Mr. Haig, Mr. Loverich and Mr. Stork.

There were also some humorous performances. Four senior boys, Louis Costa, Jordan Weinstock, Neil Shahdadpuri and Ziv Lotzky, did a rendition of the famous Mean Girls scene when they performed “Jingle Bell Rock.” However, the most memorable act was the 11th-grade boys doing the “German Sheperds” dance, which showed off the teenage culture’s provocative new dance moves.

“The ICU assembly was amazing,” said Zuckerman, who was part of the German Sheperds. “It really blew me away.”

After the performances, there was a fashion show, displaying costumes from nations around the world. With the abundance of various colors and fabrics strutting down the aisle, many of the students and teachers paid close attention to the detail. The assembly then closed with the drum line led by science teacher Steve Finkelstein. This year, the drum line was dedicated to Finkelstein’s daughter, Aly, who attended her last day of school at Wheatley that same day. The drum line was led to the cafeteria where students from the Children’s Learning Center were waiting for the rest of the school to join them.

ICU club members gathered in the cafeteria.

Throughout the day, Wheatley students were able to go to the cafeteria to buy ethnic food that was prepared by the student body, and watch students and teachers perform on the stage. Students were able to purchase tickets to play games in the multipurpose room. The school was decorated to represent all the different nations that make up the student body, as well as the alumni who returned to visit their old stomping ground.