Enjoy our student work featuring this year’s theme: Indigenous People of the World!
Hudson Montessori’s Social Studies Fair is featured in NJ.com! Please view the article here.
If you peeked into any of our school’s classrooms, you would be captivated by breathtaking displays created by students and teachers over the course of this school year. Life-sized replicas of artifacts, historical events, and geographical areas explode with color on the walls, ceilings, windows, and tabletops, representing a selection of Indigenous cultures from around the world. Dioramas, paintings, written reports, and authentic artifacts adorn the rooms.
Hudson Montessori School selects a global theme each year to excite and engage all of our students in every classroom. Through this year’s study of indigenous people groups and cultures, we have broadened the human story, making sure the voices of the past are equally essential as those we hear today.
“By amplifying the lives of Indigenous people, our students have a deeper understanding of history,” said Gracy Jolly, School Founder, Hudson Montessori School. “We give a voice to the past. Our predecessors are relevant, and we honor and remember their stories.”
From Monday, May 17, through Friday, May 21, students and their families were invited to experience the school’s 12th annual Social Studies Fair, "The Indigenous People of the World,” on Hudson Montessori School’s campus. To keep the school community safe, families had timed entry slots to control crowding. The curated, private viewings of the transformative exhibits were a treat for families to visit their student’s classroom for the first time this school year. Masks were required to enter the premises. While the social studies fair is typically open to the public, the limited attendance to this year’s event to preserve the safety of our families and the community. It also gave visitors more time and opportunity to view and more fully engage in the children’s work.
The students absolutely loved visiting their school’s museum, and here are a few of their comments:
“For the Social Studies Fair, I loved seeing other classes’ work,” said sixth grader Tyler. “I got to learn a lot of information I didn't know before. Even though it wasn't the same as last year, it was still amazing!”
“I liked writing the poems and the Native American legends,” said third grader Sebastian. “I liked making the Minecraft bison with my friends. I liked making my Social Studies Fair project and learning new things."
"I'm sad because they're cutting down all the trees, and I'm afraid that the Amazon Rainforest is going to disappear,” said Nirvana, age 4. “I'm afraid I won't survive if that happens.”
"The Aboriginal people make their shelters out of things they find in nature, like stones, grass, sticks, and bark,” said “Ha Anh, age 5.
“The Social Studies Fair this year had the theme of Indigenous people and I found it super fun learning about our ancestors before us!” said fourth grader Krisha.
While our social studies fair is typically open to the public, we are limiting attendance to this year’s event to maintain our pandemic visitation policy while still allowing families to attend curated, private viewings of the transformative exhibits that have turned each classroom into a museum gallery.
The school has been teaching each of its 12 classrooms in-person since the start of the school year, offering a remote, virtual option for those families who wanted or needed their students to continue their schooling from home.
“Fostering the Love to Learn” for students age 2 to up to 6th grade is the central theme that guides the thoughts and actions at Hudson Montessori School. It is the school’s mission to create independent thinkers who apply their knowledge to real-life settings and grow into responsible, compassionate citizens of the world.
Below is a gallary of all images from the 2020-2021 Social Studies Fair: Indigenous People of the World. The photos can be accessed here.