Heritage Month Newsletter: September 2023

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month to all of our Moravian Academy community!

I am elated to bask in the rich history, culture and global contributions of Hispanic/Latinx communities. As a Colombian and Puerto Rican American, this month has personal significance for me. As a DEIJB practitioner, heritage and awareness months/days have always served as a reflection point--a time to pause and point my energy to empowering learners to think critically about the identities they hold, and to examine the ways in which their identities interact with socio-historical frameworks. It also a time of great joy to envelope ourselves in the rich tapestry of diversity we all weave.

Our campus DEIJB coordinators are hard at work this year to offer reflection, deep learning and joyful celebrations for our monthly programming. I want to give a special shoutout to Señorita Medina who created all of the content and rich resources in this month’s newsletter. She continues to leave me in awe with her expertise and passion for DEIJB in the classrooms. Many faculty members are engaging in active and passive lessons/programming in their classrooms. Sra. Melika Matlack at the MSC engaged me this week in her lesson “Café y Conversaciones” with her first-year students. We sipped on café con leche while engaging with thoughtfully curated questions that promoted fact gathering, research and self reflection. Sra. Katie MacMillan on the HDC had her students research prominent Hispanic figures to lead to a classroom presentation in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Señorita Medina’s Corner (DEIJB Coordinator for HDC)

According to the Story League, “stories appeal to our senses and our emotions, not only drawing our attention more easily, but also leaving an impact on us as audiences. This makes storytelling powerful in delivering any message.” They are also a wonderful way to bring different perspectives to life within our classrooms. It allows students the ability to see both windows into other cultures; but also celebrate their reflection in these stories.

• Si Quisqueya fuera un color / If Dominican was a color
  Author: Silli Recio (República Dominicana)
• ¿De dónde eres? Where are you from?
  Author: Yamile Saied Mendez (Argentina)
  
• Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre Alma & how she got her name Author: Juana Martinez Neal (Peru)
• Lola Islandborn
  Author: Junot Díaz (República Dominicana)
• Frida y sus animales Frida and her animalitos
  Author: Monica Brown (Peru)
• De aquí como el coquí Coqui in the city
  Author: Norma Perez (Puerto Rico)
• Soñadores Dreamers
  Author: Yuyi Morales (México)
• Los Coquíes Aún Cantan The Coquíes Still Sing
  Author: Karina Nicole Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
• Quizás Algo Hermoso 
  Author: F. Isabel Campoy (Spain)
• Maybe Something Beautiful 
  Author: F. Isabel Campoy (Spain)
• Un Pregón de Frutas A Song of Frutas
  Author: Margarita Engle (Cuba)

Resources

Beginning School

• Sesame Street: Latino Festival
• Plaza Sesamo: Elmo aprende la palabra orgulloso
• Lil’ Libros
• Famous Hispanic Figure Coloring Pages
  

Lower School

• El mes de la herencia hispana
• Los países hispanos desde el punto de vista de niños
• Íconos Hispanos
• Hispanic Heritage Month: by the number
• Brain Pop: Hispanic Heritage Topics: English and Español

Middle School

• Ted Talk Clips: Hispanic Heritage Month Collection
• Chef José Andrés: Feeding Puerto Rico after María
• Germán Santillán: Ancient chocolate tradition
• America Ferrera: My identity is my superpower

Upper School

• Google Arts and Culture: Interactive Exhibits
• Latino Culture in the US
• National Education Association
• Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino
• Bilingual Materials
• Museum Collections

Stay tuned for our next issue in which we summarize the happenings from Hispanic Heritage Month and prepare for the heritage, history and awareness dates celebrated in October. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our DEIJB team (Juan Rojo, Barbara Medina, Heather Manning) with ideas or questions.