Pulaski Street students celebrate World Cup with peers in Wales

Students at Pulaski Street Intermediate School in Riverhead spoke with Welsh children across the pond to celebrate the World Cup together while simultaneously learning about each other’s cultures and daily lives. 

Jaimie MacDonald’s fifth grade class spoke with students from Cwmffrwdoer Primary School in Wales, taking turns asking each other questions about their different cultural practices and school lunches. The key connection the students made was both nations’ participation in the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar. 

“We are thrilled to provide our students with such an amazing international learning opportunity,” Riverhead Central School District Superintendent Augustine Tornatore said in a press release. “The World Cup brings together teams from across the world to compete against one another, but it also reveals commonalities and drives international dialogue.” 

Donning their favorite team jerseys, students were eager to discuss the tournament. However, there was some mild disagreement on what the event was called, as the Welsh students said it was a football competition and Riverhead students called it as a soccer contest. 

The Wales men’s national football team had not qualified for the World Cup since 1958, causing much excitement for the Cwmffrwdoer students. As for the United States, the team had not qualified since 2014. The U.S. and Wales happened to face off in the first match of the World Cup, resulting in a draw. Both teams have since been eliminated from the tournament.

“The students on both sides of the pond truly enjoyed this experience,” said Pulaski Street Intermediate School Principal Patrick Burke. “With the help of technology, we look forward to providing more experiential interactive opportunities for our students.”