As the school with the most Assyrian students throughout Turlock Unified School District, Dennis Earl Elementary School hosted an Assyrian New Year Parade that included a number of festive dances during an afternoon assembly on Friday. Roughly 65 Assyrian students participated in the event, during which they shared information about Assyrian history, food, clothing and dances with their peers. Another 20 local kids from the Church of the East also attended to perform a number of Assyrian dances.

According to Community Liaison Caty Nariman, who started this event at the elementary school seven years ago, it was important to host an event like this to both educate kids about Assyrians, as well as show them that Assyrians are still carrying on their heritage and culture even in the United States.

“We just want the world to know who we are and where we came from. We are appreciative to be able to live in this beautiful county and to be able to share our heritage. This is our 6,767th year of existence and I thank everyone who supported us through this, especially our principal Laura Fong who is very supportive,” she said.