Over the next few weeks at Colorado Academy, as a collaboration between the school’s World Language Department, the Diversity Equity and Inclusivity Committee, and Food Services, we are coordinating activities to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. The official national celebration in the U.S. runs from September 15 to October 15 and was designed to recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the country’s history, heritage and culture.
In Lower School, students are learning about important figures within the community during Spanish class. We’ll continue the discussion and even investigate other historical moments in settings such as Town Hall.
We kicked off the month in Middle School with a discussion around heritage months. We asked probing questions such as, are heritage months good or bad? Do they divide us or unite us? Discussions will continue in Middle School “Table Talk” sessions—when students meet to discuss important topics under the equity and inclusion framework.
Upper School members of the FACES of Diversity group will help facilitate Table Talk dialogues to explore ethnic names and labels. Our final “Table Talk” will consider cultural appropriation across cultures with costuming.
As part of their coursework, Upper School students are doing a variety of projects in their Spanish class. In Advanced Seminar, we are corresponding with pen pals in Chiapas, Mexico. We’re also hosting a series of guest speakers of former Peace Corps volunteers who served in Ecuador, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic. While the activities vary from class to class, there are exciting things happening throughout the divisions.
We’re concluding Hispanic Heritage month with a Hispanic and Latin American menu in CA’s Dining Hall featuring foods from Argentina, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica. The Dining Hall staff will even offer “Try It” bites for Lower School students to encourage them to try something new.