Middle School students in grade 6 had a day of service, community, connection, and learning centered around the food they eat and the family heritage that shaped them. 

 

The heritage cookbook project is an annual interdisciplinary unit led by Middle School world history teacher Rian Otto and English teacher Owen Beitner, which explores family history and cultural traditions centered around food. The project began as an innovation summer grant at St. Margaret’s, driven by a desire to foster connections and celebrate diversity in the St. Margaret’s community. Mr. Beitner and Ms. Otto envisioned a cross-disciplinary unit that would place community-building at its core.

Mr. Beitner expresses the importance of cultivating meaningful connections, “Recognizing that this is the students' first year of middle school, along with the addition of nearly 40 new families, we saw an opportunity to strengthen the bonds within our already close-knit environment. By sharing personal stories, cultivating meaningful connections among students, and literally ‘breaking bread’ together, the project has proven to be a powerful way to unite our school.”

Students in Ms. Otto’s class drew a map of their country of origin and created heritage presentation slides. Students presented their story in both writing and history classes.

In Mr. Beitner’s writing class, meanwhile, students interviewed family members about their cultural heritage and learned more about a family recipe with cultural significance. “Watching students share their cultural pride has been truly heartwarming,” said Mr. Beitner.

 

The culmination of their efforts was a significant day on Wednesday. The day kicked off with the grade 6 students energetically participating in a service-learning activity at Second Harvest, part of a service-learning day across the entire Middle School. The students were involved in every step, from digging to planting and nurturing small seedlings. These seedlings, when harvested in a couple of months, will be directly donated to food banks.

 

The students then returned to campus to a feast, with help from parents and loved ones who brought their family recipes to share with the rest of the grade 6 community. The festive potluck in the Middle School courtyard was a true celebration of each family’s personal story, featuring food, dessert, and drink items representing cultures from around the world. Many of the dishes were from the family’s heritage, while others were just beloved family recipes.  Some of the cultures represented include Australia, South Korea, Philippines, Germany, Greece, Hawaii, Iran, Guatemala, India, China, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy and Mexico. There were empanadas, musubi, potstickers, BBQ, and noodles, among many other delicious dishes. 

  

"It was wonderful to see so many parents and grandparents here on campus to share their family recipe with our hungry and appreciative sixth graders (and teachers!),” Mrs. Otto said. “Our Tartan community is truly strengthened by this cherished experience of learning, food, and fellowship.”