Students, families come out for a night of cultural fun

Feb 9, 2018

Ever wonder who invented the Klondike bar? Did you want to know where the longest bridge in Europe was? Perhaps the current Olympics had you wondering about the origins of the event.

These answers (and much more) were found at Sippican School's Family Night on Thursday, where students showed off contributions to society from all across the globe.

The evening was part of Sippican School’s Anchor program, a community outreach program started by teachers Lisa Dix and Lisa Horan that aims to cultivate a positive relationship between the school and its families.

This time, the program aimed to show off all the different backgrounds that make up the Old Rochester district.

Students chose countries from around the globe and did research on them, which they presented at tables in the multi-purpose room. Most tables had a little treat that represented the country, whether it be aebleskiver from Denmark, malasada from Portugal or gelato from Italy.

Tapper Crete and his sister Addie handed out Klondike bars to participants – a treat that represented family history as well as Swiss history.

“My great-grandfather invented the Klondike bar,” Crete said.

Crete explained that his great-grandfather’s father moved to Cleveland, Ohio from Switzerland for a better life. His great-grandfather grew up to inherit the Isaly Dairy from his father, and eventually invented the Klondike bar.

“He also invented the Choco Taco!” Crete added.

Jaymison Gunshel and Jacob Hadley took on an ancient civilization and researched Greece. Fittingly, as the Winter Olympics kick off in South Korea this week, Gunshel said the coolest thing he learned about Greece was about the way the Olympic Games were played at its inception.

“There were no women allowed, and a lot of time games went to the death because there were no referees or judges or anything,” Gunshel said. “They also had to compete naked.”

Ella Caesar, Connie Friedman and Lauren Cohen decided to explore a Celtic country and learn about Ireland – mostly because of Caesar’s firey tresses.

“I just knew there were a lot of redheads there,” Caesar laughed.

Mari Sudofsky decided to tackle Portugal because of the country’s heavy influence on the South Coast.

“My friend said her dad’s girlfriend is from Portugal, so she could give us some ideas about what to research,” Sudofsky said. “I learned that they have the longest bridge in Europe!”