Laura Gravitt - 5th Grade Teacher 

On Monday, November 12, the 5th grade classes from both the Fairburn and Peachtree City campuses enjoyed a simulated experience of immigrating to America. The students dressed in period costumes from the turn of the 20th century, and were assigned new identities as immigrants from European and Asian countries. Each student was given a passport with their new identity, money from their home country, a boarding pass for a ship bound for America, and a luggage tag to identify their humble belongings. After the students boarded the ship, they played games and learned a dance that was common during that time period. The ship dropped off the immigrants  at Ellis Island where they took an American Citizenship Test, had a physical inspection by a doctor to see if they were healthy enough to enter America, exchanged their foreign money for American money, and enjoyed samplings of many different foods from other countries. All along the way, the immigrants had to be on watch for pick pockets and unscrupulous money changers who might try to cheat them.  Finally, the immigrants wrote letters home to their loved ones in their home countries, describing their immigration experience. Immigration Day was a great day of learning and fun for all the students and parent volunteers.