On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Laurel Mayor Johnny Magee attended the first-ever Cultural Food Fair at St. John Day School, a vibrant, educational event organized by the school’s 6th graders. The fair featured booths representing 22 different countries and even St. John’s Day School itself. The event, open to the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., provided an exciting opportunity for students to showcase what they had learned about different cultures through a wide variety of activities and displays.
This event was the brainchild of Stephanie Bynum, a 5th and 6th grade teacher at St. John’s, who previously organized similar cultural fairs at Laurel Middle School. Now that she is teaching at St. John’s, she brought this unique idea to her new school, offering students an unforgettable hands-on experience.
Among the standout presentations was 5th grader Parker Kent Steinwinder, specially selected to represent St. John’s in anticipation of the school’s 75th anniversary. Another student, Kashvi Kumar, also a 5th grader, represented India. She was also specially selected because her family is from India and she has traveled there several times. Her booth included representative spices, colorful decorations for the spring festival, information about Gandhi, and Diwali candles, along with a chess board to highlight the game's origins in India.
Principal Lisa Ishee shared that the projects represented a range of learning levels, encouraging skills like creating, evaluating, collaborating, presenting, and even performing. Students created presentation boards, designed PowerPoint presentations, wore costumes, selected cuisines, and set up booths for two countries each. Some students even prepared traditional dances for extra credit.
Students in the lower grades were able to join in the fun by creating art projects for display during the event. First graders created penguins for Antarctica; Second graders made Egyptian Pharaoh portraits, Third graders made Aboriginal Dot art, and Fifth graders made Mexican Sugar Skulls.
“It takes a village,” Ishee remarked, acknowledging the support of parents and praising Ms. Bynum for making the event a success. The students, she noted, had gained a lot from the experience. Among the various food offerings, visitors could even enjoy fortune cookies with Bible verses inside.
Students including, Addi-Rose Broome, who gave presentations on Japan, North Korea, and South Korea, provided information to their peers, younger students, and visiting members of the community.
