Third-graders at Highland Baptist Christian School learned all about their Cajun heritage through storytelling, dancing, games and food at the school’s first Louisiana Day on Tuesday.
The third-grade pupils were told fairytales with a Cajun twist, said teacher Angie Daly. They also learned about Mardi Gras traditions and the Teche Project, which is devoted to cleaning up the Bayou Teche.
Then they learned how to Cajun dance and to play games that children would have played in the past.
The third-graders learned how to play pick-up sticks, jacks and how to create their own toys like children their age would have done.
Local artist Paul Schexnayder was on hand to help the students create their own “Happy Cajun” drawings.
Each event centered around Louisiana and its rich history and culture, Daly said.
“It teaches them their history, their story, which is very important in understanding who you are,” she said. “Your ancestry tells your story. (This) makes you appreciate your ancestry.”
Daly said preserving South Louisiana’s culture and French language was important, which is why the students read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Evangeline” and learned about Le Grand Dérangement, when the Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia by the British.
Cheri Armentor, an HBCS parent who organized the event at Highland Baptist, said she has volunteered at Louisiana Days for other schools and wanted bring it to the school where her daughter attends.
Third grade is the prime age for students to learn about their state and history, she said.
“It’s a wonderful age to start really understanding what we have in the state,” Armentor said. “I wanted to start them getting excited about Louisiana. They do a big unit in fourth grade about Louisiana, and (these students) will have additional learning when they get to fourth grade.”
She said the day was an immersion of Louisiana and a way for students to be proud of what is in their state.
Dave Thibodeaux with the Teche Project taught the students the importance of recycling and protecting the Bayou Teche.
He taught them where their trash actually ends up and how long it lasts, such as plastic bottles, he said.
“We want them to be self-aware,” Thibodeaux said. “When we throw trash in a bag and on the road, it doesn’t mean it goes away. It stays in the environment.”
Thibodeaux talked to the students about reducing trash, bringing their own bags to the grocery store, using tap water instead of water bottles and buying and reusing a big water bottle.
“It’s small things, but when 190 million people do it, that makes a big difference,” he said. “If we all do our small part, it goes a long way.”
