The Old Rochester Cultural Club held its inaugural meeting on Sept. 23, and it was a hit.

The meeting brought more than 50 students, and the club looks to expand from there.

An affiliate chapter of the Cultural Clubs of America, Inc. the group seeks to raise awareness of cultures, educate students about different life experiences and unite students across different schools. The Old Rochester chapter is run by Senora Diana Carreira and was introduced to OR by senior and Cultural Club of America CEO/Founder Edward Gonet IV.

Students participated in an exercise where they were instructed to “make friends with” and “get to know” a potato. Then, those potatoes were mixed up, and students were tasked with finding their original potato. The point of the exercise was to highlight the idea that although potatoes, perhaps like groups of people, may seem similar on the outside, they are easily distinguishable once you get to know them.

Students were also given the opportunity to examine one-thousand year old Peruvian artifacts that were donated to Cultural Clubs of America. They will research the artifacts throughout the year and learn about the items' backgrounds and heritage.

The club’s first trip will be to the Brazilian Grille in Dartmouth to celebrate Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month along with other Southcoast Massachusetts cultural club chapters. There will be a guest speaker of Hispanic heritage and students will learn about the similarities and differences between Hispanic and Latino cultures.