IB Grateful Gathering Brings Students Together, Celebrating the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Shreya Selvaraju, Horizon Editor-In-Chief| December 1, 2021

  • Laughing along the sidelines, Alice Gaede ’22 and Anita You ’22 play soccer together. Apart from soccer, IB students could participate in other outdoor games, including Capture the Flag in the Warrior Bowl. Students were allowed to choose their own teams.

    Ruhee Nemawarkar
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  • IB students line up to get food from the Thanksgiving feast laid out in the cafeteria. Parent volunteers helped serve the food to the students. The feast included both traditional fare and nonconventional dishes.

    Ruhee Nemawarkar
    '
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On Wednesday, Nov. 17, International Baccalaureate(IB) students congregated in the cafeteria to celebrate the fourth annual Grateful Gathering. The event was organized by the IB Student Organization (IBSO) and hosted IB students across all four grades.  

Following the virtual school year, many IB students weren’t able to connect with others in the same way as in past years. The Grateful Gathering allowed students to enjoy an evening celebrating togetherness before Thanksgiving break. 

“We felt like it was really important this year to bring that tradition back, really just to build the community and have fun,”  IB Coordinator Ms. Christin Key said. 

Students were asked to wear their IB house shirts. Each house had a different colored shirt with a unique IB learner profile trait on the back. Students who had not yet been sorted into a house were able to pick up their shirts at the front of the cafeteria. 

“It was really amazing to see everybody in all of their house shirts and all the different colors and really representing IB,” Ms. Key said. 

The event began with games. Students could choose to go outside to play Capture the Flag and soccer or stay in the cafeteria to build Jenga towers, create origami designs, or contribute to a paper chain filled with messages of thanks to honor the spirit of Thanksgiving. After an hour and a half of games and activities, IB students met in the cafeteria to eat a delicious spread of Thanksgiving dishes. Students were called up by IB house and served a variety of traditional foods, including turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie, as well as less conventional dishes, like dumplings. 

“I think it’s really nice that all these parents volunteered to help serve and bring us food,” Benjamin Yu ‘24 said. 

During the dinner, students listened to music from a student-created playlist. The playlist was sent out a day prior to the event, and students were able to add school appropriate songs. 

“The playlist was[n’t great],” said Yu. “[I think] they should’ve just not had any music.”

This night of fun, games, music, and food provided students the opportunity to reconnect with others in the IB program, strengthening the IB community just before students left for Thanksgiving Break. 

“It was a great experience and I really liked meeting other IB students,” Sheevani Talati ‘24 said.