Hispanic Heritage Month at Aaron School
By Daniel Backer, Lead Teacher at Aaron School
¡Hola! For the past several weeks, the 30th street campus has been celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Students have been researching the contributions and achievements of notable Hispanic Americans. With significant offerings from scientists, writers, painters, and politicians, important Hispanic figures have found their way into almost every classroom!
Through English Language Arts and History presentations, students have been introduced to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer, activist Diego Rivera, and artist Frida Kahlo. Our STEAM department had students calculating like mathematician Ruth Gonzalez, and exploring outer space like astronaut Ellen Ochoa. Will moonwalking be on the final exam?
In addition to the achievements and contributions of specific individuals, the whole month has led students to delve into deep discussions about culture, diversity, and identity. Some students have even volunteered stories about their own abuelas and abuelos, while teaching the class Spanish words and phrases, such as buenos dias, hasta luego, and everyone’s favorite, siesta!
Hispanic Heritage Month came to a close on October 15th, exactly one month after Independence Day for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. To celebrate, there was a school-wide assembly where the STEAM department displayed various student projects and presentations related to Hispanic Heritage Month. Students had a great time playing Loteria (similar to Bingo), and decorated national flags of Spanish speaking countries. The whole school was buzzing with excitement throughout this assembly.