Manirakiza Sarah, left, a 12th-grader at Newcomer Academy, held up a poster of a turkey she created with the help of St. Martha School kindergartners during a Thanksgiving event Nov. 20 at St. Martha, 2825 Klondike Lane. Sarah, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was among about 50 Newcomer students who took part in the event, aimed at helping them understand the Thanksgiving tradition. Newcomer is an English as a Second Language school, part of the Jefferson County Public Schools, designed for young immigrants. Over the past two years, St. Martha kindergartners and first-graders have fostered a relationship with the immigrant students. The students have spent classroom time together working on English skills and celebrated holidays and other traditions, such as Christmas and Halloween, together. The Thanksgiving event included music and pumpkin pie.
