Cooper High School students and staff explored the cultures and traditions of Africa during the school's second Cooper Culture Day, part of an ongoing effort to introduce students to cultures from around the world.

Held during lunch periods, the celebration featured traditional foods, music, dancing, art, and interactive games. Cooper's Student Council helped plan and host the event, organizing activities and volunteering throughout the celebration. Senior Jordan Turrieta, one of the student leaders involved in planning, said the council chose Africa as this semester's theme to recognize the many students from African countries represented in Cooper's emergent bilingual program.

Students shared their heritage by bringing traditional foods and items from home to represent their countries and cultures. The celebration also featured interactive activities, including a world flag identification game that challenged participants to identify as many countries' flags as possible in 30 seconds.

A map of Africa offered another opportunity for students to share their backgrounds by placing pins to mark their countries of origin.

Cooper Behavior and Security Liaison Nixon Menget shared a traditional dish from his home country in Central Africa, noting that the celebration not only introduced students to new foods and traditions, but provided an opportunity to build connections among students from different backgrounds.

"The world today is a global population," Menget said. "For students to see it, for them to live in a community like this, it's important to understand other cultures. This kind of event brings the students together."

Cooper plans to continue hosting a Culture Day each semester, creating opportunities for students to understand different traditions and cultures from around the world.