The entire third grade wing was filled with foods that students’ families had prepared: Sarma—Albanian stuffed cabbage, risotto Milanese—a creamy rice dish seasoned with saffron, kiffles—Czech buns with an apricot filling … just to name a few. As the students, teachers and parents tasted the treats, conversation about flavors and favorites filled the space with connections.
Cultural Day is a third-grade tradition at Meadow Pond Elementary. The celebration dovetails with the social studies unit on settling in the United States and in communities throughout the world, and helps the students understand the American experience at a microlevel: the classroom.
“Culture Day reminds us that everyone is special and unique, and that everyone is respected and belongs,” said teacher Connie Merritt.
The event started in the classrooms, where families filled the small seats and students led the program.
In Merritt’s classroom, the students presented short videos they had created about their families’ heritages, favorite activities and holiday foods—from rice balls to pizzelles, family movie nights to New Year’s Day hikes, and from weekends at the beach to trips across the world.
Creative expression and technology skills were folded into the fun: each video’s music and graphics were as unique as the family it featured.
The presentations ended with a personal statement about family. Among the rich diversity of traditions, the sense of belonging was universal. “My family is awesome.” “We never stop loving each other.”
Sharing food was the delicious highlight of the celebration. Students and parents recommended dishes to each other and everyone went back for seconds.
Merritts’ high school intern, Erin Samuelson, showed what she’d selected from the smorgasbord: homemade pizza, corn tacos, pandesal - a Filipino bread roll, and Irish cocktail sausage.
“Everything looks amazing!” she said.