Cedar Mountain students celebrate Heritage Day

VERNON — To celebrate a social studies unit on the immigration time period, Cedar Mountain Primary School's third-graders explored their own unique backgrounds through a “Heritage Day.”
On April 7, the third-grade “immigrants” re-enacted the proverbial Ellis Island experience with the help of teachers and parent volunteers. After tracing back to their ancestral roots and uncovering genealogical history with a family tree project, each student dressed up in costumed attire that was representative of their family’s country of origin. The young “immigrants,” eager to begin their quest of exploration, then participated in an Ellis Island simulation that incorporated various stages of the immigration process. The multiple stations (Baggage Room, Great Hall/Physical Exam, Legal Exam, and Currency Exchange) served as checkpoints for the incoming class of immigrants, each of which was necessary to complete, prior to entry into America: the Land of Opportunity.
By extending the unit beyond the classroom, the third graders were able to find a deeper connection to their heritage and ancestry, as well as their classmates’ shared history.