Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at the Iroquois Campus

By Vanessa Abreu

From September 15 to October 15, Grand Rapids Christian Schools celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. 

At the Iroquois Campus, It was such an exciting time where we could share with students the achievements of Hispanic American people. Students had the opportunity to go on a gallery walk where they saw flags, fun facts, posters, and various tapestries made in Hispanic countries. One part of the gallery walk was also a scavenger hunt with handmade items from various Latin American countries. They were able to see pictures of a wooden fan from Nicaragua, a clay mug from Cuba, a hand-knit alpaca cloth from Bolivia, and much more. We even had some parents come in and share about their Hispanic culture with their child’s class. 

Señora DeMoor’s 4th grade Spanish Immersion class took “brain breaks” during the day to learn La Cumbia, a musical style from Columbia with Indigenous, African and European influence.

GRCS families got involved as well — sharing their knowledge and love of their own Hispanic Heritage.

The Cisneros family made a short video sharing their love of Mexican culture!

The Quartey family came to visit Señora Marquez's preschool class to teach the children how to make "Papel Picado," a paper decoration used in Mexico to decorate for parties.

 

As we work towards preparing our students to be effective servants of Christ in contemporary society, we recognize that fostering cultural competence is part of that. As we celebrate different cultures, we are teaching our students to love their neighbors and also be justice seekers. 

GRCES Iroquois Campus Learn More

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Vanessa Abreu is the Spanish Immersion Coordinator and Assistant Principal at Grand Rapids Christian Elementary Iroquois Campus. She has been working at GRCS for nine years. Before her role as the Spanish Immersion Coordinator, she taught 3rd grade Spanish Immersion at Iroquois for seven years. Vanessa's family is from Havana, Cuba and her husband is from the Dominican Republic. Together they have two children in the GRCS Spanish Immersion Program.