International Assembly 2026
This year’s International Assembly allowed students to proudly showcase their cultures through events such as singing, games, and dance performances. With enthusiastic MCs Aika Ueno and Alex Ding, the assembly began as students joyfully stepped forward with flags from countries around the world, from Asia to Europe to Africa. The students then excitedly represented their countries and greeted everyone in each country’s language. To start the performances, Nier Wang, Mr. DeSouza, and Ms. Bean performed “El Alma Mia,” a song with a beautiful, peaceful melody. Nier and Ms. Bean sang and harmonized meaningfully while Mr. DeSouza accompanied them on guitar.
Next, Senior Agape Bagamery-Szalay sang the Hungarian song “Szabadság Vándorai,” which she explained means “travelers of freedom.” It’s a song about moving forward and following your path. Her singing was powerful and soulful, capturing the audience’s attention with her enchanting voice. Following Agape, Aika taught everyone the Chinese character 走 (Zǒu), which means ‘walk’ in English. Nier and Alex then performed a catchy, upbeat Chinese rap called “You Can Walk Slower” that featured 走. Its repetitive and infectious melody made it easy for the audience to participate by repeating 走 and clapping along. The musical performances moved the audience, evoking feelings of peace or excitement. They introduced the Worcester Academy community to beautiful music from diverse cultures.
The next activity was a jump-rope game in which one volunteer from each grade, including middle school, and Mr. Mull, tried to jump over a giant swinging rope. The winner received a packet of candy. Netsie Cameron, a 10th grader, set the pace by jumping 15 times. Netsie ultimately won, with Walle Landau close behind with 11 jumps. After the jump rope game, students Coey Cheung, Tina Fang, and Zoey Cheung soothed the crowd by singing a Canto-Pop song about confidence, growth, and strength.
Students also learned fascinating facts about Ghana through a presentation by Juniors Tiffany Ntim and Jeddidah Anim, such as Ghana’s five World Cup appearances, including this year, and that Ghana is the largest gold producer in Africa. They finished their presentation with a fun cultural poem about the Ghanaian tradition of naming children after the day of the week they are born. Bill Trinh then led the school in a Vietnamese version of Bingo called Loto, engaging everyone by having them draw numbers from a bag while lively music played in the background. To wrap up an exciting International Assembly, the Dance Team performed “Fancy” by K-pop group Twice.
Through wonderful song performances, games, fun facts, and dancing, students cheerfully shared parts of their cultures with the Worcester Academy community. These showcases not only allowed students to appreciate all the different cultures at WA but also to support their classmates and get a glimpse of different aspects of their classmates’ cultures. This year’s International Assembly was truly fascinating and memorable.
