Music from local celebrity DJ Lady K, the smell of mouth watering Cape Verdean food and gyrating hips to beats from the Islands. No, this wasn't a house party in Wareham. It was the February 15 Night of Celebration of Cape Verdean Culture, a exhibition of what students have been learning in recent years through the Global Education curriculum at Wareham Public Schools.

"It's been 2 years," said Wareham High School senior Rachel Bonfiglio while cleaning up after the first-of-its-kind event. "We've finally reached our goal...[we're] just getting where we want to be."

Guests, both parents and children, toured the library and the area outside the auditorium after the introduction to get a visual, and even a flavorful, sampling of the Cape Verdean culture.

In the main hallway were samples of food that were snatched up as quickly as they were put out. At one end of the table were "The Tastes of Cape Verde," 7 page cookbooks that featured such Cape Verdean staples as Canja (chicken soup) and Kuskus, as well as more daring concoctions like "Ana's Crockpot Manchupa."

In the library, children could get the Cape Verdean flag painted on their faces while their parents toured the displays or watched a video about a typical day at Wareham Middle School, made by students for their friends in Cape Verde.

The mingling and eating was but a precursor to the main event, however.

At 7:15, guests returned to the auditorium to watch 14 Minot Forest Elementary School and Decas Elementary School students put on show that they had been preparing for over the past 10 weeks.

"I think it was a spectacle," said Minot Forest Assistant Principal Richard Paling, whose son Coleby Paling of Decas Elementary School performed in the dance. "I'm very proud of all of them out there ... They worked hard and you can tell by their performance tonight what a success it was."

The students performed three separate dances they learned during one hour classes per week, and sometimes the classes were only 45 minutes, according to Rita Abreu, a Cape Verde dance teacher who helped teach the children with her partners Tina Barros and Odette Almeida.

The students danced in pairs or formed lines that snaked around the dance floor, all while keeping their choreographed steps in rhythm with the Cape Verdean music of Batuke (Batuque), Funaná, and Cola-Sanjo.

The dances were one way that younger students were able to show what they learned about Cape Verdean culture through the Global Education Program.

Older students had different experiences to share with the audience. One particular Global Education experience were Skype conversations that Wareham High School students held with their sister school in Santa Cruz, Cape Verde.

For example, offered Bonfiglio, Wareham students were surprised to learn that many of their Cape Verdean counterparts didn't share their views on the death penalty. They couldn't, in fact, even comprehend that someone would get the death penalty instead of a second chance.

Experiences like that taught the students that there were entirely different ways of looking at the world.

"We see how other cultures view political issues and other kinds of issues such as these, so that we ... become open-minded about a subject," explained Wareham High School junior Sam Brogioli.

The learning went both ways, however.

"They love to ask questions during the Skype session," said junior AJ Filkins.

Often times they ask whether the students know a particular famous person.

"They expect us to know some of these people," Filkins said.

The Wareham students turn that misunderstanding into an opportuity to explain that "people are in different social levels," according to Filkins.

Sometimes, the Skype conversations helped them realize things that they value about their own communities.

"We learned that Cape Verdean kids definitely don't have it anywhere as good as we do," said sophomore Mason Vasconcellos, who was joined the Global Education Team in 8th grade because of his good grades.

It was partly that realization that motivated the students to send about 5 barrels worth of school supplies to Cape Verde late last year.

The helping hand was extended from Wareham High School students, but, according to Ana Miranda, the district's director of operations and finance, it was also extended from the greater Wareham community.

The Onset Cape Verdean Festival Association helped pay for the costs of shipping the barrels and Staples contributed $460 worth of school supplies, according to Miranda.

"I've always said, I love this community, it is a caring, giving community," Miranda said in her closing remarks to the evening.

In addition to helping with material goods, the Wareham's Cape Verdean community also shared their experiences, culture, and knowledge with the Global Education Team.

"Even the curriculum was a community effort," said Janice Rotella, Wareham Public Schools Director of Curriculum and Instruction. "It's really the community support ... that keeps things going."

The Global Education Program is both a curriculum and a club of Wareham Public Schools teachers and students. The curriculum is incorporated in classes help students and the community become "globally minded," according to a leaflet containing information about the program.

Members of the club participate in extra programs, such as Skype sessions or dance lessons, during or after school.

While Cape Verde was a natural choice because Wareham has a large Cape Verdean community, the Global Education Team is also establishing connections with countries such as China and India, Rotella said.

For the time being, however, there was plenty of reason to be happy during the Night of Celebration of Cape Verdean Culture

"We didn't expect to have so many people," said high school student Stevy Baptiste, "so it's been great."

The event was sponsored by the Onset Cape Verdean Festival Association and the Wareham Cultural Council.