Every spring, students at Gould Elementary School learn about the world in which they live by embracing the diversity they see in their daily lives.
Drawing from the more than 20 nationalities that comprise the Gould student body, classes select countries to study across their curriculum. They learn their country's geography, language, customs and foods in preparation for their annual Olympic Week.
They also prepare physically to compete in the world's most time-honored sporting competition: the Olympic Games.
Olympic Week activities began June 1 with an assembly, jump rope exhibition and a presentation of Native American dances.
On June 2-4, students shared their countries' treasures with their classmates during an International Food Tasting event. Each group decorated their booths with artifacts, photos and maps of their country and filled their tables with authentic foods to share with their classmates.
"Its a wonderful learning experience for all of our students," said physical education instructor Barbara Griffin, who has been organizing Olympic activities in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School system for the past 17 years. "Who wouldn't love the food-tasting event? They visit booths around the gym where their peers are the teachers."
Administrators say much of the week's focus is on hands-on learning and getting to know each other. The process has proved to be so effective that they say that, by the time the week ends with two days of Olympic games, they can see the cultural boundaries melting away.