Sorry about the long hiatus. My school's first bimester is coming to a close, which means that the last two weeks have been spent grading notebooks and writing tests. I'm eager to see how my students perform on their social studies exam, particularly because I was delegated the responsibility of writing the test for both sections of second grade. The kids will be sitting down to this particular exam on Tuesday.
The focus of this post will be Mexican Independence Day, which occurs on September 16th each year. This day commemorates when the revolutionary Miguel Hidalgo supposedly uttered the cry for independence (El Grito de la Independencia) in the state of Guanajuato. The War of Independence occurred between 1810 and 1821, a long conflict in which Mexican-born Spaniards and Mestizos fought against the armies of Colonial Spain.
Parents flocked to NSM to see the upper elementary students reenact one of the famous battles from the war. The Spanish forces were dressed in red and blue, while the Mexican forces were clad in white. Not totally sure what exactly was going to happen, I was surprised to see the two groups of kids rush towards each other with a loud battle cry, and in just a few moments it was clear that the outcome was a Mexican victory. With so much excitement, it was difficult to control the lower elementary students. It was a relief when the headmaster announced to the first graders that it was time to wave their flags (and thus get their moment in the spotlight).
It felt strange celebrating another country's independence day, particularly since us Americans are so used to the Fourth of July, complete with barbecues, fireworks, and warm summer weather.
The kids took pride in the events leading up to this celebration. All around the school, children and teachers could be seen hanging up various decorations with the Mexican colors, and several rehearsals for the reenactment were held in the week prior to Mexican Independence Day.
Expect the next blog post to go up very soon, as I'm excited to share with all of you my visit to the Africam Safari Zoo in Puebla, Mexico.
Until next time,
Trevor
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