Elementary School Students Travel Around the World Without Leaving Home

On Thursday, Feb. 20, Spring Hill Elementary students and their families got to experience the culture of several countries at the Cultural Connections Fair. They sampled foods, viewed interesting objects from these countries and listened to ethnic music. They even had the opportunity to have their names written in Farsi.

The event was organized by the teacher of customs and culture, Ms. Jasmine Gracia, her students and some of the parents. A grant, along with donations from local businesses, made the event possible. In her 24 years in the profession, Ms. Gracia has taught Spanish at all school levels, English as a Second Language (ESOL) at night school, and students with Special Needs and Varying Exceptionalities.

Her creativity is apparent in many of the projects she has created in the past. For example, in Delaware, her students learned about Afro-Brazilian music and dance and put on a performance. At a charter school in Spring Hill, her students learned food preparation by finding a recipe for a traditional dish and writing their own recipe in Spanish. They made a cookbook, cooked a dish and then brought it in to share. The event also included Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance presentation, and the children learned drumming and dancing.

One of the adults who participated in the event at Spring Hill Elementary (SHES) was Ghasem Khobani, an Iranian who came to the United States 46 years ago. His grandchildren−seven-year-old Tucker Roussel and five-year-old Ruby Roussel attend school there. The children, along with Mr. Khobani’s daughter, helped him set up their display and explain their culture.

On their table was a detailed display board showing significant aspects of Iranian culture and history and Khobani shared the significance of the items. He described their New Year’s celebration on March 21, the first day of Spring. Each family has a table laid out with seven objects that start with the letter “s.” For example, there’s an apple, which in Farsi is “Seeb,” to represent beauty or health. It’s not written that way, of course, because Iranians use a different alphabet from ours− similar to Arabic. This is how seeb is written: سیب There’s also a bowl with any type of grain sprouts. This is called “Sabzeh,” which represents rebirth.

Genet Ozaltin, wearing a beautiful traditional dress, and her two sons−David and Sean −brought in Ethiopian musical instruments, clothing and even coffee from a special bean grown in the fertile soil of that country.

Daedrian Smith and Venise Bond, teachers at SHES, along with Ms. Smith’s son, Liam Clair, displayed Jamaican artifacts and served Jamaican food. There were children’s books on Jamaican history and the Jamaican flag.

Coinciding with the Cultural Connections event, the children are studying a country of their choice. They are preparing a presentation using Canva, a program used to create documents with images.

Ms. Gracia and SHES principal Cari O’Rourke hope to make this an annual event.

“I hope that they [the students] become curious about the world around us and not be afraid to try new foods, dances, music, and get to learn about their friends that may be from other countries. Students from other countries are also adjusting, not only to new school and language but also to a new culture. We help them learn better when they feel welcomed and that eliminates some of the fear and stress they are already experiencing,” Ms. Gracia remarked.

It was obvious that the adults who were there enjoyed themselves. Some got into the mood by listening and dancing to Latin music, trying out some of the instruments and sampling the foods.

“The parents also need to feel welcomed and that they are part of the community, as well, and feel that the school and district support them. I feel the parents can also learn about the other cultures present and get to understand different perspectives.”