Syrian newcomer families wanted to thank the staff of Cootes Paradise Elementary School and the school board for embracing them when they first came to Canada — and they found a very tasty way to do it.

On Tuesday, staff at the school, as well as representatives from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, were treated to a potluck meal of home-cooked Syrian dishes prepared by parents of newcomer children who attend the Westdale school.

The families wanted to thank the school and the board for embracing them when they arrived in the country in February and March of 2016.

"They're so appreciative," says ESL teacher Louise Booth, who, along with fellow ESL teacher Laura Puric, has been working closely with the close to 50 students from 25 families since their arrival.

Many of the children had either no or very limited schooling when they arrived. None spoke any English.

But, through concerted efforts on behalf of the staff and families, the communication gap got smaller.

"We did a lot of charades," says Booth, "but you just make it happen," she adds, referring to those first few months.

She says some of the older kids have progressed enough to begin to include humour in their speech, which comes from a more fulsome understanding of the nuances of the language.

Puric and Booth also learned some Arabic and office administrator Marcia Taylor took it upon herself to learn a fair bit of the language so she could communicate better with parents over the phone.

With all the families being embraced by the school community, connections have been made between not only the students, but the parents as well.

"We've gotten to know them all so well," Puric says. "Today is truly a direct reflection of the relationships we've built over two years."

That relationship will continue to grow as some of the children who were too young to attend the JK to Grade 5 school when they arrived in Canada are joining their siblings at Cootes Paradise.

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"They wanted to say 'thank-you'", says Principal Danny Fede. "But really it's us thanking them for the great relationships that we've built with them; that we're continuing to build and especially for the rich culture that they're bringing to our school."

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