On Mar. 25, the ELL (English Language Learners) students from Edward Little High School took part in a very traditional spring activity.

Mrs. Nancy Martin and Mrs. Linda Galway, teachers of the ELL room, took care of hiding 220 eggs for the activity, with help from music teacher Mrs. Jen Fortin. The ELL students were to look for the foil-wrapped chocolate eggs that were hidden in the ELL room and the neighboring music room. They did this during their lunch periods and during study halls.

As the students searched for the eggs, the teachers had a good time and laughed as they saw the students struggle to find the chocolate-y eggs. Some of the eggs were easy to find, but some were so hard that they might possibly still be hidden somewhere! While we might not have found them all, the egg hunt was a fun way to participate in this traditional rite-of-spring.

From ancient times, eggs were dyed, decorated and exchanged as part of spring celebrations. In early days, the egg represented the rebirth of the earth. As winter ends and spring begins, the earth brings forth life as does an egg when it hatches. Eggs have always been decorated in these times, and many of them are considered beautiful pieces of art. Some of the most well-known eggs were made by goldsmith Peter Carl Faberge. In fact, one of his creations was a gift from Russian Czar Alexander to his wife, the Empress Marie.

We also tried to make “beautiful” eggs by dyeing and decorating them. Although they might not be as astonishing as Faberge’s creations, they were pretty nice.

Students participating in the event included Mohamed Ahmed, Nay Aung, Patty Blachut, Fartuna Ennaw, Fatuma Haji-Hersi, Mohamed Haji-Hersi, Mahamed Hersi, Maryan Janay, Hnin Lwin, Arjang Nowtash, Sahra Odowa, Fardous Osman, Ibrahim Osman, Delcy Romero, Elham Salah, Garte Sosmena, Abdi Ahmed, Danny Suazo, Thuy Tran and Muna Yonis.

Part of the fun was that the egg hunt was also a contest. The winners were, first place, Delcy Romero (23); second place, Dan Suazo (18); and a tie between Fardous Osman and Mahamed Hersi (16).

Garte Sosmena contributed to this article.


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