In front of their peers, students at Butler Avenue School smiled as they proudly held up flags from countries such as Puerto Rico, Mexico and Nicaragua.
Butler Avenue School celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month recently with presentations of Spanish speaking countries and a musical performance of the “La Piñata” song on stage. During the performance, their schoolmates and parents joined in on the fun by clapping. Luz Ortega, a third-grade ESL (English as a second language) teacher said it was a huge celebration for students at the school.
“All the kids, second graders and third graders were involved in this song,” Ortega said while discussing the program and the Piñata, which is a fun tradition at parties. “Everyone was involved and we had a lot of support from parents.”
For the celebration, children wore traditional clothing to spread awareness about Spanish speaking countries. Erin Travers, a second-grade ESL teacher was thankful to the administration for having the celebration.
“This is a great way for the Spanish community to be involved with the school,” Travers said. “It’s a national heritage month and it’s a nice way for other children to learn about the Hispanic Culture.”
Travers added that a lot of students are unaware that more than 20 countries in the world have Spanish speaking citizens.
“We have a lot of children who were born here, but they learn that their parents are from a different country,” Travers said. “This is a great way for them to learn.”
Principal Vanessa Brown said the students worked hard on the program which honored Hispanic heritage.
“I really do support them,” Brown said about the students attending the school. “The children always look forward to this.”
Faith Jackson, community liaison for Clinton City Schools, added that the school district wants its students to be well rounded.
“We live in a world that’s not just one culture,” Jackson said. “We live in a melting pot.”
Each year, National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The purpose is to celebrate the history, culture and contributions of United States whose ancestors come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America.
The start date of Sept. 15 is important because it’s the anniversary of the independence for Latin America countries including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Also, Mexico and Chile celebrated their Independence after Sept. 15.
It began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under the leadership of President Lyndon Johnson. In the late 1980s, President Ronald Reagan to a cover a 30 day period.
