- Activities
For the second year in a row, Catholic Central Spanish Honor Spanish Society Students celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month to promote the importance of learning the Spanish language. The month-long celebration runs from September 15th until October 15th.
Students enjoyed a taco truck with authentic Mexican food on Friday, September 29th after the Boys’ Bowl assembly. They also hosted a trivia contest with all Spanish classes to promote cultural facts and achievements from the Hispanic community and decorated a bulletin board on the second floor to highlight notable Hispanics.
Detroit Catholic Central’s Spanish Teacher and Sponsor of the Spanish Honor Society, Jennifer Manriquez, stated that students participate in group activities to remember the Hispanic culture, including a dodgeball battle to reenact the battle between the French and Mexico during Cinco De Mayo that takes place in the Spring.
“Our Spanish Honor Society facilitates and helps plan the activities. We do a lot of group activities, games, and trivia. We make Christmas cards for the bilingual senior citizens. We have a Christmas cookie activity. There are lots of interactive activities but with a language component and highlighting different cultural aspects,” stated Mrs. Manriquez.
The Spanish Honor Student’s service project this year is to connect with and support the Basilian Mission’s educational center in Mexico as they raise funds for after school and community programs. Students also have a travel abroad trip to Spain scheduled for the summer of 2024. Last year, students traveled to Costa Rica to gain a global perspective and see the culture firsthand.
“We’ll be connecting with the Mexican Basilians this year. Father Huber has visited several times and I’ve been in touch with the Basilian Father in Mexico that’s running the program. They have been raising funds and built an educational center for their community offering community programs for parents. It’s an excellent program for their community and we are supporting them. Last year, we did a monetary drive and helped support the building of their community center. Now they’ve asked us to be somewhat of Godparents, known as Padrinos. So we are going to send some motivational messages and cards to let them know we’re supporting them and thinking about them,” stated Mrs. Manriquez.
Students in 9th through 12th grade can participate in the Spanish Club. To become eligible for the Spanish Honor Society, students must have three semesters of Spanish, perform community service with a language component, and be recommended by a teacher based on their academic achievements. Currently, there are 19 students who have been awarded the Global Seal of Biliteracy for their scores on the Advanced Placement Spanish Language exam.
For more information on how to join the Spanish Honor Society Club, contact Jennifer Manriquez at Jmanriquez@catholiccentral.net or visit room 229.