Exploring wonders of the world, one classroom at a time

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BLOOMFIELD, NJ — It was ‘Around the World in 80 minutes’ on Thursday evening, Jan 12, when Fairview Elementary School hosted a cultural and literacy workshop for parents, students and educators.

Activities and displays relating to the seven land masses of the world — the five continents plus Australia and Antarctica — were presented in seven classrooms — one land mass per classroom.

There were games to be played, puzzles to be figured, pictures to be crayoned, even the chance to write your name in hieroglyphics; everything relating to an understanding of people around the globe, with homemade food in the gym.

Even in the hallways there were displays made by students that highlighted the animals, inhabitants and histories of the continent contained in a nearby classroom. An announcement on the school PA system by Pilot/Principal Sal DeSimone alerted the parent and children- passengers to take off for another locale.

The ultimate destination of such a far-flung itinerary was to bring those parents and children together, with educators, in a literacy workshop to “observe a myriad of cultures, languages and histories that are present in our community,” DeSimone said.

In 2007, he said the school hosted a multi-cultural day event but none since. He called that event huge and the one last week was huge, too. It was coordinated by third-grade teacher Michelle Crincoli and first-grade teacher Jeanne Aiello.
Aiello said while completing a graduate course, she researched the importance of parental involvement and student academic achievement.

“Research suggests that students who have parents who are involved in school show greater academic achievement,” she said.

She thought it would be a good idea to invite parents and children to school to participate in a workshop illustrating how literacy instruction can be applied across the curriculum.

“Since we at Fairview are blessed with working in such a diverse population, Michele and I thought that combining a multi-cultural event with the literacy event would bring both academics and cultural backgrounds together.”

So, the idea took flight and Fairview educators had the chance to meet parent and child in a literacy workshop — of global proportions — located on Montgomery Street, Bloomfield, North America.