Children celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Edward Williams School with music and dance

Rhythmic Latin sounds reverberated across Edward Williams School on Friday as students celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with music, dance and loud cheers.

The students in grades K through 6 gathered in the auditorium, where they waved golden pom-poms and were treated to a presentation themed “Latin Dances Across the World,” including a live percussion performance by several students.

Principal Greg Casey welcomed the jubilant students, who watched a short video about the origins of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15.

Teacher Melanie Flowers, a member of  the Cultural Celebration Committee, was one of the emcees and stressed the importance of Hispanic Heritage Month.

“It helps our Hispanic students feel seen and it also helps our non-Hispanic students connect with the others,” the physical-education teacher said.
The students learned that the origins of the observance can be traced back to 1968, when California Rep. George Brown proposed a celebration to recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.

During the civil rights movements of the 1960s, the initiative gained momentum that led Congress to pass a law establishing National Hispanic Heritage Week on Sept. 17, 1968.

In 1988, California Rep. Esteban Torres sponsored legislation to expand the observation to a month and President Ronald Reagan signed it into law. The starting date of September 15 coincides with the independence days of several Latin American countries.

After the short history lesson, the children watched a short Sesame Street video featuring the late Tito Puente, the Grammy-winning Latin jazz bandleader, composer and timbales virtuoso known as "El Rey" (The King).

The students really got into it when the Cultural Celebration Committee teachers – LeAndra Duncan-Ross, Caroline Cohen, Deborah Ross, Melanie Flowers, Yvonne Williams and Ellen Malezewski – presented the “Guess the Dance & Move Game.”

The dances seen were the cumbia, which originated in Colombia; merengue, the national folk dance of the Dominican Republic; the hip-swaying bachata, which also originated in the DR; and the lively Mexican norteña.

Four sixth-graders – Legend Carlos, Ayden Tracey, Mary Janelle and Brandon Malloy – and music teacher Yvonne Williams then played several percussion instruments, including a colorful hand drum, bongos and cowbell.

Things really got loud in the auditorium when the teachers led the students on a call-and-response chant to celebrate the school.

One of the students, fourth-grader Jasli Tomas, was proud to identify her Hispanic roots as a native of Guatemala.

“It means so much and it feels good,” she said when asked what Hispanic Heritage Month means to her.

Earlier in the day, there were smiles galore outside as fathers and father figures accompanied their students to the school as part of “Dad, Take Your Child to School Day.”

The proud dads posed for photos with their children in front of a blue and yellow backdrop, then stopped by a table featuring an array of snacks to kick off the busy day.

The districtwide event began Thursday at Graham, Nelson Mandela/Hosea Zollicoffer and Pennington schools. Hamilton, Denzel Washington School of the Arts, Benjamin Turner Academy and Rebecca Turner Academy also hosted events Friday.