Each fall, the sixth-grade English classes step back in time as they participate in a writing exercise that isn’t just an exercise in history, but an exercise in personal history. For those of you who don’t know about this event or haven’t experienced it during your 6th grade year, what happens is that the whole sixth grade is given the assignment to go home, interview their parents or grandparents, and ask if anyone in their family immigrated to America and why. Then students gather all the information from their interviews, and they make it into a journal, a book, or a diary (the choice is theirs).  When they are done with the books, they have a party on November 25 and this event is called Heritage Day. This is where you can dress as your relatives or ancestors did when they immigrated to America. Students can sing or write a song that has to do with their ancestors immigrating, and parents are invited to come to this event. Then there comes the part where guests at Heritage Day read your journals, and then there  is the best part out of the whole day:  eating!!!!! This is where you bring a dish for people to eat, but it has to be a dish from the country from which your parents or grandparents emigrated. For example, if your parents/grandparents emigrated from Italy, then you would bring a Italian dish. This day is organized by 6th grade English teacher Mrs. Ponchock. This event takes place outside the firehouse. The reason the event falls on November 25 is because if your relatives are not local but they usually come down for Thanksgiving, then you can invite them for this event. The Neersyde asked Mrs Ponchock and some students about this event, but we also dug even deeper in our investigation of the origins of this day by interviewing Mrs. Kirkman, former Benjamin 6th grade teacher and middle school substitute and tutor  who started this event a long time ago. “Mrs. Quigley and I started this unit and celebration the first year I taught sixth grade; I think it was 2008” said Mrs.Kirkman. “When I was a student, sixth grade was my all-time favorite grade, and I wanted to share my love of sixth grade with the Benjamin kids”  said Mrs. Kirkman.“I also thought about some of my daughter’s favorite things from when she was in sixth grade: one was heritage day” continued Mrs. Kirkman who also suggested that the journal writing portion of the assignment is her favorite part: “The journal writing was important in so many ways. It was a way for the students to learn about an ancestor, a way to have kids and parents talk and work together, and the journal became a beautiful piece of family history. Mrs. Ponchock also pointed out when interviewed that “ the goal of the Coming to America project is to expand understanding of why people would uproot themselves and their families to immigrate to a new land. I hope that the journal project fosters empathy, and that it piques interest in global issues and historical events.” continued Mrs. Ponchock. “ Heritage Day is where we come together as a sixth grade extended family, inviting parents and anyone else who helped students write their journals, to celebrate together.” said Mrs. Ponchock. “ This project, including our Heritage Day feast, reminds us that we all owe a debt of gratitude to our ancestors who were brave enough to immigrate to America. Heritage Day is like a culinary toast to their courage.” said Mrs. Ponchock.

Crystal Pauldo, a current 6th grader, had this to say of her experience with Heritage Day thus far: “What I like most about Coming to America is you are digging deeper into your family’s meaning and personality. You get the chance to learn about your ancestors and love them even more. I think it’s a great experience”  Ava Hoffman, a current sixth grader, added,“So far I have learned not only about my heritage but some other [people’s] heritage, and one thing that I  noticed was many immigrants that came to America were all from a foreign country and most likely did not speak English. Something that I found interesting about my research in my Coming to America project was my family also did not speak English at all and came over with $10.  Not everybody’s heritage was European, but they all had one thing in common. They all wanted to come to America to start a new and better life.” The Coming to America unit is clearly a great curricular innovation because you can learn about your ancestors and why they came to this country, and you can become closer to your family by learning about them. Be sure you can stop by Heritage Day the day before Thanksgiving. Come for the history, stay for the food.