On April 28, students of Johnson Elementary walked into Bridgeport High School, despite their graduation date being more than a decade down the road. High schoolers in the Spanish and French classes handed the younger children passports and sent them to explore the world.  And in less than an hour, the elementary schoolers had travelled around the planet, learning about as many countries as possible. The International Fair had begun.

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Mariah Boyce has walked across the graduation platform and is now heading to college,  leaving behind cultural awareness and an appreciation for diversity in the younger generation at Bridgeport. She played a key part in creating Bridgeport High School’s Spanish Club, which is led by Dr. Jenny L. Santilli.

 

Boyce said, “We thought it was a good idea to invite the elementary students over and asked the Spanish and French Club to make different posters to educate the kids on different countries and talk about the food and the culture and everything like that.”

 

Many of the high school helpers for the International Fair worked as “Ambassadors”, who led the Johnson students from booth to booth, stamping their passports after they learned about each country. One of these Ambassadors, Madelyn Lalama, said, “This is important. A lot of the times kids are not culturally educated. This is a good opportunity for them, especially at a young age.”

 

Mrs. Lesley Morgan, a teacher at Johnson, was one of the main reasons the International Fair became a possibility for her students.

 

“They have the International Fair at Bridgeport High, held for the public. Dr. Santilli and I have been talking for a few years and we wanted to use a similar opportunity to bring our elementary students in so they could experience some of the world. We worked together so they could have their own kind of second International Fair this spring just for Johnson Elementary students.”

 

Morgan said it's important to teach students at a young age that there is a bigger world than Bridgeport.

 

"While our hometown spirit is very important, we live in a global world and we want our students to know from a young age how important it is to know another language and work with other people from all over the world," she said. "This was just a great way to introduce them to that.”

 

Photos by Julie Perine. See Soule's video below.