HudsonWay Immersion School Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

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HudsonWay Immersion School based in Stirling, NJ opened its virtual doors to the community this year with its first public celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month this October. This is a time when the nation recognizes the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans with a celebration of culture. Here were the many activities held for the community with recordings, video highlights and downloads available for view on the school website at www.hwis.org.

• Storytelling in Spanish featuring 5th graders Catalina Fonseca and Sara Mattle reading El Vecindario de Quinito by Ina Cumpiano and Helado y dinosaurios by Eric Litwin.
• A free hour-long virtual Zumba class featuring Paolo Jurado, licensed Zumba teacher. Participants of all ages enjoyed upbeat Latin music while getting exercise.
• A special cookbook featuring a collection of favorite recipes and the stories behind them from teachers and staff of HWIS available online.
• Reading of “¿Dónde está Venezuela? by Nacho Palacios“, learning traditional Venezuelan Song: Los chichimitos and learning a craft: maracas – from HudsonWay teacher Merian Salazar, a native of Venezuela

This month students involved in the Spanish track at HWIS showcased their knowledge of the culture and language in projects that involved research, creativity, and presentational skills. In the 5th and 6th grade class, each student researched one notable person of Hispanic background such as Frida Kahlo, Roberto Clemente, Sandra Sotomayor, Selena Quintanilla among others. Each student presented the biography in Spanish, while dressed in costume.

Students in the 3rd and 4th grade classes each selected a Spanish speaking country and presented a persuasive powerpoint report on the weather, landmarks, food, and fauna of each country.

“Our goal is to develop students' understanding of other cultures and be able to compare it to their own” says Irene Gallardo, Assistant Director and native of Spain. “In doing these projects we connect multiple content areas such as the arts, social studies, and science and while enabling students to express themselves in written and verbal Spanish language at a high level. Our teachers are always looking to maximize the learning from each project.”

HudsonWay Immersion School (HWIS) is a full immersion Spanish and Mandarin school serving children aged 2 through grade 8. The school is located on two campuses – Stirling, NJ and Midtown West, NYC. Children learn all of their subjects in two languages, Mandarin and English, or Spanish and English. They achieve high biliteracy, strong academic skills, and exemplary character to become global leaders.

For information related to admissions, visit www.hwis.org.

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