SHS is not made up of only classes and lessons, the students define the school to make it different from others. Within the student body, Southport contains students from at least 20 various countries.

English language  teacher Amy Peddie is introducing to SHS the “Presidents’ Day Event” which has nothing to do with Presidents. The event is on Feb. 20 and is called “Cultures of Southport.” She says her goal is to bring together all the international students at SHS, helping them to get to know each other and experience other cultures as well, along with relating with each other knowing the struggles to begin in a whole new country.

“I love that Southport has so many different cultures, and I thought it would be nice to be able to celebrate them,” Peddie said. “Even though we have a lot (of cultures), I feel like the students don’t always talk to each other and know about each others’ cultures, so it’s a good opportunity for them to know more.”

“Cultures of Southport” is an event focused on the various ethnicities of the students attending SHS. The idea was created by Peddie around two years ago, but they started organizing everything at the beginning of this semester.

During the day, there will be several activities including games and dances. Students will be able to share their immigration stories, which means the journey from their native country to the United States, and all the issues that comes with it with each other. Traditional food from around the world will be served at the event as well.

Peddie, with the help of other teachers, has been working on designing large-scale maps to represent students’  countries of origin, so other students can follow the path of the students’ stories on them.

Tara Foor, the librarian, has offered to hold the event in the SHS library.

“I think the library is a key place, the center of learning,” Foor said.

Other than hosting the event, Foor helps with other tasks that come with the organization of an event, such as leading some of the activities and answering eventual questions.

Both Peddie and Foor find a great opportunity for students to see beyond their limits in this event. It gives students from around the world the opportunity to help SHS students better understand there are other realities so much different from their own.