Mount Sinai 4th-graders learn about immigration by doing

Parents and teachers at Mount Sinai Elementary School will host the school’s third annual Immigration Day for fourth graders on June 14.

The goal is to “recreate Ellis Island in the early 1900s for our students,” said Becky Kopcienski, a teacher who is organizing the event.

Students will arrive at the school in costume after doing research about where their ancestors were from, Kopcienski said, and will participate in several “stations” designed to recreate a turn-of-the-century immigrant experience.

One station will simulate a factory, in which each class will make a quilt, Kopcienski said, and others will include such experiences as medical exams and tenement housing. Parents will play roles such as bosses and medical inspectors, she said.

About 60 parents and teachers are scheduled to participate, Kopcienski said, noting that the event should be a “memorable and educational experience” for the school’s fourth graders.

Immigration Day is open to parents in the school district.