NECC students recently had the opportunity to travel the world without leaving Southborough.
On August 15, the Education Department hosted a World’s Fair featuring projects and maps showing the home countries of students and staff. Over 30 students from 14 teams visited the Student Library with their teachers to view the projects created by Saddle, West 2, ITT, and the Occupational Therapy Department. Students also enjoyed playing instruments, trying new foods, and listening to music from the countries represented.
“This event was an opportunity for teams to explore different cultures, and to share that information and experience with others,” said Dominique Maribett, MSEd, BCBA, LABA, a reading and academic specialist at NECC. “I hope everyone who attended learned something new about a different part of the world; whether that was a food item, a style of music, or a tradition that they didn’t know about before.”
Historically, the Education and Academic departments have facilitated enrichment units of study in history and science with students, including learning about elections and past presidents; ideas that shaped history; and making and using maps. In 2019, the departments hosted a multi-cultural event that was so well received, they decided to revisit the idea, albeit on a smaller scale.
“The NECC community is so diverse, and we are always looking for ways to learn more and celebrate!” shared Maribett.
According to Maribett, teams and departments were asked to label a map indicating where they are from and then studied those countries. For example, students in ITT 1 learned about holidays in Ethiopia, where one of their students was born; ITT 2 students learned about Norway and baked Sandbakkel cookies; students in ITT 3 learned about Flamenco music in Spain; and ITT 4 students learned about the Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines.