All cultural backgrounds were represented on Diversity Day at Maplewood.

January 27, 2011 - Principal Jerry Steele looked out at Maplewood students who gathered in the gymnasium and simply said: “Good morning!” Then he wondered how many ways there are to say “good morning” - a fitting question on Diversity Day.

Maplewood students filled the gymnasium on the morning of January 27 to celebrate their diversity and their month-long character education trait of Acceptance. Students dressed in clothing that reflected their heritage and gave different presentations that all emphasized their diversity.

This year the Maplewood school theme is "We are the world, we are the future." Each month, the Character Education Committee thinks of a character trait to carry out the school theme. The staff challenges the students to exemplify the monthly character trait, whether through showing acts of kindness to others or by participating in a community service project. Diversity Day was the culmination of learning about acceptance and diversity in classroom Guidance lessons.

“Our students were excited about Diversity Day,” Maplewood Guidance Counselor Laurie Bremer said. “They put much thought and effort into deciding what kind of cultural clothing they would wear or what special item they could bring from home to tell us about their cultural background.”

Diversity Day has given students the opportunity to share valuable information with each other about a variety of cultures and to create an atmosphere of learning and acceptance.

During lunch time, students participated in “Mix It Up at Lunch”, where they sat with new friends that they normally have not sat with before.

“We enjoyed planning Diversity Day and we hope that the Maplewood students have learned a life long lesson to appreciate the differences in others,” Bremer said.

February’s character trait will be Journaling.