Culture Day at Rome City School

What kind of music do they enjoy? Do they have special dances?

What about their art work?

For 23 years, Rome City School teacher Jennifer Stohlman has been bringing the answers to those kinds of questions to the students of the school.

The countries Rome City students have learned about over the years? They cover the gamut, including Austrailia, Asia, Germany, China, Brazil, Peru, Kenya/Tanzania, Italy and France.

“I just wanted to bring something new to the kids,” Stohlman said. “It’s exciting when they recognize something from another culture. It makes it so they can appreciate that culture better.”

Cultural appreciation is a valuable commodity at Rome City School, with approximately one-third of its students who speak a different language. The school boasts native-born students from Belize, Yemen, Brazil and elsewhere, according to Principal Heather Green.

“We try to celebrate all cultures throughout the year,” Green said.

But Culture Day is special. And this one in particular.

On Friday, Stohlman organized her last Culture Day, featuring Mexico. She will be retiring at the end of this school year.

Green described Stohlman as a valuable commodity in her own right.

“She’s pretty amazing,” Green said of Stohlman.

All of the school’s students, many wearing sombreros, went through several stations:

• In one, a variety of Mexican cuisine was featured and ready for sampling;

• In another, students got learn the Mexican hat dance;

• In a third, the students leaned the historical significance of the maraka, and got to even play it; and

• In Stohlman’s own classroom, each student got to make and decorate a clay sun. The Mexican city of Metepec, which is located near Mexico City in central Mexico, is knowns for its special clay.

“The sun is very important in the Mexican culture,” Stohlman said.

Later in the day, a Mariachi band was going to perform for the students.

The cost of the special programs is covered through a grant from the Noble County Community Foundation.

While Stohlman is retiring, Green said she hopes the school’s new art teacher will continue the tradition of Culture Day for years to come.