CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT: ASHTON ELEMENTARY (WITH VIDEO)

Students at Ashton Elementary got to travel the world and experience different cultures and customs — all without ever leaving the classroom. Groups of students in first- through sixth-grades traveled through five different country-themed classrooms for the school’s annual International Celebration of Diversity Day, held Thursday, Jan. 20. This year’s featured countries were Italy, Germany, Cuba, the Netherlands and Mexico.

Maddie Egan
Fifth grade
What has been your favorite part about today?
Making a windmill in the Netherlands room. They have them all over the place there, because they use them to make energy.

Which has been your favorite country to learn about?
Cuba was a lot of fun. I liked the food — we had sandwiches and banana chips.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned today?
In the Netherlands they only have clear weather for 25 days out of the year. All of the other days it’s rainy or foggy. I’m not sure if I would like that.

Selby Klanot
Second grade
What has been you favorite country to learn about today?
Mexico was the best, because we got to play bingo.

What was the most interesting thing you learned today?
Italy is really old. They have buildings that are thousands of years old.

If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?
Costa Rica. We learned about it last year, and they have lots of islands and beaches and animals.

Alex Lindsay
Fifth grade
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned today?
Italy has lots of mountains, and it’s shaped like a boot kicking a soccer ball.

How is Italy different from America?
It’s smaller and they speak a different language. They have more ruins than we do, and it’s part of a bigger continent. I think it’s part of Asia.

If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?
I would visit Japan, because my dad was born there.

Domenic Ciricillo
Fifth grade
What has been your favorite country to learn about?
I liked playing Mexican bingo. Instead of shouting “bingo!” when you win, you say “loteria!” That’s the Spanish word for lottery. The food there was really good, too, and we got to drink fake mojitos.

If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?
I would go to Italy, because that’s where my family is from. My mom is volunteering today to teach kids about Italy.

Mira Meisner
Third grade
What has been your favorite country to learn about today?
Germany was really fun. We got to play cornhole.

What has been your favorite part about today?
Learning about all of the different cultures and customs from other countries.

If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?
Italy. They get to eat pizza all the time!

Contact Maria Amodio at [email protected]

Scroll down to view a video of students forming a conga line in the Cuba themed classroom