After six years of planning, Family Discovery Night debuted at the Lower School in April 2023. Meant as an event for the SPA community to explore a variety of cultures, Discover Night was planned to launch in April 2020, however, COVID delayed the in-person gathering. Now, at long last, the popular Family Discover Night is coming to the Randolph Campus on May 3.

MS/US Intercultural Life Chair Naureen Qadri recalled last year’s event: “It was a super hit. It was the first time in so many years that the entire community came back to the school … everyone signed up.”

When Qadri took her position, she was excited to bring the event to the MS. Her hopes, however, expanded beyond that. “We have a lot of enthusiasm from the Middle School parents because parents don’t really get an opportunity to volunteer that much once their kids reach middle school and Upper School,” she said.

Many popular events from last year are set to return, including backgammon, cricket, henna, Arabic calligraphy, and more. A key difference, however, is that the mini-activity groups will be primarily student-run this year, a change due to the event’s relocation to the Middle School. “I heard from some of the people in the administration and some of the other parents that the middle schoolers want to be more independent, and they want to do the minis by themselves,” Qadri said.

From 5:15-6:00 p.m., all families are welcome to the Huss Auditorium for African Dance with the Tiyumba Drum and Dance Company, a group returning from last year. Intercultural Life Program Specialist Alexis Irish sent a sign-up sheet to upper school students asking for their interest in representing their culture by leading an activity session.

Qadri noted the initial interest in the event was not as high in the community of older students; still, several students have signed up to be volunteers, helping out as floaters. “I decided to volunteer at Discovery Night because one of my friends reached out about doing it together, and I thought it sounded like both a fun way to spend time with a friend and also a way to participate in the school community that was interesting to me,” sophomore Frances Matthews said.

“I expect this event will be informational and engaging,” sophomore Minh Tran said. “MS Family [Discovery] Night and similar events are a great way to build community, as they allow you to learn more about and connect with classmates,” he added.

Qadri hopes that the event will incorporate everyone on the Randolph Campus in the future. “My vision is that maybe next year, we can have a combined event [with Middle and Upper Schoolers], and we can transition so that kids can use their leadership skills and share their culture [and] heritage,” Qadri said.

The Parent Association hopes that encouraging all community members to participate would make the event a meaningful and fun learning experience. “That’s what we saw in the Lower School,” Qadri said. “[Discovery Night] brought the community together, and kids learned a lot of new things about different cultures.”

As the organizer, Qadri recalled being pleasantly surprised by the new information she learned and was thrilled to watch her son take pride in his culture when his classmates came to school wearing henna. “I’m hoping that [Discovery Night] becomes a part of SPA because it really impacts the kids in a positive way,” she said.

Sophomore volunteer Taryn Karasti is likewise optimistic about the event’s impact. “I think the event will be really fun. I imagine kids finding things that they’re truly interested in, which makes me happy to see,” Karasti said.

The SignUp Genius for Family Discovery Night is live; middle school students and families can sign up to attend, and upper school students can sign up to lead a session.