Middle School

Middle School Studies Immigration

Monday, November 5, 2012

On Friday, Nov. 2, West Side Montessori Middle School continued its tradition of Immigration Day, when the students assumed the role of immigrants in an early 1900s simulation. As the concluding activity for the students’ heritage research, each person portrayed a family member who may have immigrated through Ellis Island in New York or Angel Island in California. Students were required to have the proper paperwork in order to gain a ticket onto a ship departing for America. Once the immigrants passed through customs and made the voyage to the United States, they still had to pass a medical exam as well as convince the immigration officers they were worthy to be American citizens. The simulation concluded with a lunch buffet of ethnic foods from the students' respective countries.