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Student groups hailing from New Jersey and South Africa joined students at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac Monday to discuss diversity and to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president.

As the teens clapped and danced to a rousing musical performance from the Bokamoso Youth Center in Winterveldt, South Africa — in which Obama's name was overlaid on a traditional song praising Nelson Mandela — teachers capitalized on the historic occasion and the presence of the student groups to host a diversity workshop, an opportunity some described as "teaching nirvana."

Though Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day were holidays for many schools around the county, some nonetheless turned the occasion into a "teachable moment" for students.

Monday, St. Andrew's students rubbed elbows with the Bokamoso group, who are hosted yearly by St. Andrew's families as they perform their music around the Washington area, and a group of 50 young men from St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, N.J., who are sleeping in the school's gymnasium in order to witness Obama's landmark inauguration. The workshop, which fell on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was an opportunity to discuss stereotypes and racial awareness, teachers said.

"It's setting a tone of humble, gentle interaction with other people," said Stacy Kincaid, the school's diversity director. "I think that's exactly the kind of tone that Obama will set."

As the students of all colors and backgrounds joined together in a conga line that snaked around the room, the celebration seemed to answer Obama's call to come together as one.

"We're passing the stage of racism," said Bokamoso youth group member Pearl Zondo, 19, of Obama's historic inauguration. "We're finally realizing that we are the same, if you can just forget our skin color."

Students paired off to pinpoint a common trait — black, white, northern, southern, public school or private school attendees, for example— and discussed the "snap judgments" that came to mind for each phrase.

"What we are all struggling with is to get beyond those first judgments or assumptions we make about people," said Kincaid. According to Alex Lis-Perlis, a St. Andrew's student who organized the workshop, a need for dialogue about diversity will remain after Obama's election.

At the Bullis School, inauguration day was a way to model lending a helping hand to those in need. Over Thanksgiving, Bullis officials read a news article about the plight of several marching bands with hopes to perform in the inaugural parade. Though housing was already booked throughout the Washington region, the decision about which bands were selected to perform wasn't made until December.

Bullis got in touch with the Isiserettes Drill and Drum Corps from Des Moines, Iowa — a marching band selected to march in the inaugural parade that was in need of housing — and offered the school's empty gym as a place to stay. "What we're hoping to model here is the idea that when there's a need and you have an opportunity to respond to it, you respond," said Bullis Head Tom Farquhar. "…When there are needs out there, they don't come and bang on your door — you have to look for opportunities for service."

The Corps, who traveled via bus through snow and ice before arriving at Bullis Sunday night, will perform Jan. 21 at the school's all-school assembly, a meeting which will also pose an opportunity for students and teachers to reflect on their inaugural experiences, Farquhar said.

The excitement of the inauguration was not lost on even the very young. At the Franklin Schools in North Potomac, nearly 300 students ages 2-6 dressed in their finest to attend the school's mock inaugural ball last week. The children excitedly danced in classrooms transformed into ballrooms, took the oath of office in a mock Oval Office, and glimpsed a mock presidential limousine decorated with American flags.

The fare for the occasion? "Bi-partisan punch" — purple to represent the blending of Republican red and Democrat blue — and "yes we canapés," a political spin on Cheez Whiz and crackers.

According to Sharon Gilder, a school administrator, the Inaugural event was an opportunity to teach children to become part of the political process at an early age. "This keeps them right on the pulse of what's happening around them," Gilder said. "It will leave an indelible impression."

For older students who were able to witness Tuesday's historic inauguration, the lesson was one of perseverance and unity. "I think [Obama's inauguration] proves we can do anything, whether you're black or white, gay or straight," said Tyler Rice, 17, a St. Benedict's student. "With hard work and determination…nothing is impossible."