By: Matthew Du, Staff Writer

On November 15th, the Mills PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) organized and held their first ever Mills Vikings’ Potluck in the cafeteria to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, with more than 50 parents and families in attendance. 

Those who attended were encouraged to bring their favorite or cultural dish that they would like to share with others.  

There was a lot of food at the potluck including chips and salsa, cheese and crackers tray, and chickpea salad for appetizers. Lumpia, chicken wings, vegetarian spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce, chicken potstickers, and pizzas were served as main dishes. Additionally, crepes, See’s Candy, butter mochi, mango sago, and maja blanca were desserts some families brought to the feast.

The Mills Administration, along with volunteering families helped make this event happen. Throughout the night, volunteers helped with setup, distributing drinks, and cleanup after the event commenced.

There was a signup form for people bringing appetizers, desserts, Halal dishes, Kosher dishes, and a dish or casserole with and without meat. This form allows there to be more of a variety of foods for people to eat and enjoy. 

The purpose of this potluck was to create a sense of community, belonging, and celebrate different cultural traditions and backgrounds, illuminating the diversity between the students and the families of Mills. Moreover, this event also was to promote the annual funds for the school. 

“The purpose of the Potluck is twofold – the first is to build community through food and sharing culture.  We’ll have student groups performing that evening – the Dragon Team, the Latina Mentor Program Folklorico Dance Group, members from our Mills Choir, and a Mills quartet, ” said Joy Pasamonte Henry, the Mills PTO President. 

She added, “The second is to promote the Mills Annual Fund, which helps fund additional programs at Mills, helps our student groups, and teachers with classroom material or field trips.  Our Annual Fund goal is $100,000 by December 31, 2024.  Every dollar counts!” 

The potluck was something new that they added this year and wanted to test out. 

“This will be the first year for the Vikings Potluck.  In the past, the Mills PTO has hosted Mills Mania and also co-hosted Mills Got Talent with Mr. Gregoric and his music class.  Unfortunately, family attendance the past few years has been low so we wanted to try something new.” said PTO President Henry. 

I briefly spoke with Principal Duszynski on her thoughts on this new potluck. 

She shared, “I think it’s really important for our parents and our community to come together to make friends, get to know one another…now is the time to get to know each other a little bit more and for parents to make connections with one another. So that they can support each other, share information, share tips about how to support their students, and just be in community.”

She then added, “So one of our goals is to create an inclusive environment where everybody feels welcome and everybody feels connected. The potluck is an opportunity to do that so it’s an open place where anybody can come and feel like you know they can make a connection to the world and other people in the Mills community.” 

I also spoke with numerous people who attended the potluck including students, parents, and their families. There was a lot of positive feedback from them and everyone loved the event. They really enjoyed the food and student performances. 

Senior Matthew Situ (12), spoke on how he felt when he walked into the cafeteria, “When I walked in, I heard the dragon dance music. That was pretty cool and it was still a little empty. But it is brightened up. It was a good amount of people here, not too much so it’s not too busy. I think it’s a pretty successful turnout.” 

Situ then added saying,”I see a lot of different students and parents of different culture and ethnic backgrounds and us all joining together is very nice to see. It’s a great place to learn about different cultural foods, but also talking to other people at my school. I think more people should just come out here and participate.”

Sophomore Aidan McAllister (10), expressed, “I think that by holding an event, it tends to bring people together because events tend to be more like encouraging for people come outside and interact with other people. I think that in general it is the ultimate connector, so I think that’s one of the main ways that helps for sure.”  

Phuong Tran, parent and Mills PTO Communications Chair Member shared, “My daughter is a freshman so I’m new to the school. I don’t know a lot of parents…I’m a little nervous that I don’t know anybody, but everyone’s been really nice. I got to meet some new parents tonight. 

She also added a very unique parent perspective on the student performances saying, “Oh, those were fun, those were really fun. I think especially as a parent, you don’t really get to see all the different clubs at school and what they do…Otherwise, I wouldn’t know any of it.”