What is the Cultural Fair?
The Cultural Fair is a project that sixth graders must complete. Each student is assigned to create a large poster board about a specific country, and they also need to make a food item or a game related to that country. Toward the end of the year, the students present their projects on the blacktop.
The Cultural Fair is a big deal—not only because people put a lot of work into it but also because it plays a significant role in their grade. However, what really matters is that they have fun. Ms. White and Mr. Luci told me that every year they try to change things up, so it’s just a matter of time before everyone finds out what’s new. According to Ms. White, the students are very eager to get started. She mentioned that most of her students identify with Mexican culture.
Ms. White explained, “The Cultural Fair has been a long-running event at GEMS. Previously, the 6th-grade history teachers ran this event, but during the pandemic, it was briefly paused. Three years ago, Mr. Luci and I decided to bring it back to our campus. The Cultural Fair has always been a great opportunity to learn about cultures from around the world and help GEMS students build a sense of community. Students can learn about different traditions, food, music, and all the things that make these areas of the world special.”
What was it like last year?
The day before the Cultural Fair, students set up their tables. The next day, when they arrived at school, they went straight to their PAW class as usual. Once in PAW, the students were signed out by their teacher and grabbed their materials. After gathering their things and joining their group, they headed outside to set up their table on the blacktop. Once everything was set up, each group received a card that they needed to get stamped. To get their card stamped, they had to either eat someone else’s food or participate in the game they had set up. Additionally, at least one person from each group needed to be at their table at all times. To manage this, they handed out different colored cards, and every ten minutes, they would announce that the students should switch so there was always someone running the stand.
