Palos South Student Presentation Inspires Cultural Event

Given a choice between coming to school early or sleeping in, most middle school students would choose to grab the extra ZZZ’s. But for students in Palos South Middle School’s Capstone Program, some eighth graders are signing up to come in early once a week for a full year.

Each year, the students who sign up for the program are challenged to present a solution for a need in their community following an inquiry-based approach through the year-long process. For the 2023-24 school year, Capstone students were asked how they would make their community a better place.

And one of those student groups, eighth graders Kamile Juzenas, Meda Kemeza, Indre Luksys, and Penny Ocampo have seen their proposal transformed from concept to reality with a full-fledged cultural night event being planned for Palos 118 families. The group—three students of Lithuanian descent, and one with Japanese and Mexican lineage—decided their solution to how to help their community would be to highlight the diverse backgrounds of their school for the District’s Cultural Community celebration night on May 14.

“Each culture has something to bring,” said Indre of the origins of their idea. The group has been coming in at 7:30 a.m. to meet with Capstone facilitator Ann Marie Ruprecht to work out the details of the event which they hope will foster what Meda describes as “acceptance of other cultures” and Kamile says will also be an opportunity for families to “have fun and learn valuable lessons about other cultures.”

“People are very proud of their culture, and we wanted to give them a chance to share that with others,” said Ann Marie Ruprecht who teaches sixth grade language arts at Palos South in addition to her work with the Capstone students. With turmoil around the world, she said she hopes the event will be a reminder that we all share something in common.

“We hope it will foster acceptance of everyone here in District 118,” she said.

Plans for the evening include information tables hosted by District families representing different cultures along with opportunities to see dance performances, sample food, and create crafts. Attendees will also receive a passport to be stamped as they visit each cultural display. The students said they hope that families who come will dress in clothes that represent their culture.

The Capstone program first started in 2015. In the fall, the class along with their teachers toured potential sites around the Palos area that were in need of help. They also met with government officials in Palos Park including the mayor, and the village’s staff who talked about various needs in the community.

Palos South Social Studies Teacher and Capstone Program Coordinator Katie McDonough notes that students engage in a Problem Based Learning model which lets students set the course of how they tackle the project. Students conduct research, and then present their plans in front of their peers, teacher coordinators, and District administrators where their ideas are evaluated. Presentations include their problem statement, solution, and even the steps they took to arrive at their solution including cost estimates.

“We’re there if they need something but it really is all them,” she said.