Tag Archives: culture

Patterson High School honors “Pioneers of Change” for Hispanic/ Latinx Heritage Month

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Photo: Patterson Press

by Kennet Garcia

Patterson High School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15-October 15, highlighting this year’s theme, “Pioneers of Change.” The celebration ended with a special event on Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. The main purpose of the event was to bring students, teachers and families together in appreciation of Hispanic and Latinx cultures.

The support of the Art Department teachers and their students was evident even before the celebration, from a variety of decorations in the Cafeteria created by Mrs. Marchewka’s art students and the posters around the school by Ms. S. Jones, the Graphic Design teacher. During the event the Patterson band performed three amazing Latin American songs. Two other students, Maria Celeste Huertas and Jose Gonzalez, performed a Colombian folk dance called  “El Sanjuanero” under the direction of Ms. Hamm, our new dance teacher.  Other groups  also performed during the event.  

The group “Juventud Latina” presented several folk dances from Central America directed by their founder Mrs. Flores where they integrated the staff and the families that were there.

Bailes de Mi Tierra,  a Mexican folkloric ballet group directed by its founder Mr. Jose Reyes, closed the performances by thanking everyone for the opportunity to build a partnership with Patterson and inviting the students to join the dance group every Saturday at the dance studio in our school. The classes are completely free for Patterson High School students. Mr. Reyes and Bailes de Mi Tierra were recently recognized at the 2024 Hispanic Heritage Awards at Baltimore’s City Hall. 

Various organizations informed the students and their parents about the community services they offered completely free. This included the PHS community resources partnership and the Y of Central Maryland. Mrs. Reid provided information about the mentors program, careers and colleges, school community partners, the food bank and the school closet.

Community organizations like CASA de Maryland and local businesses like Oriented Healthcare and Jaskot Law were in at the event offering information about their services to Hispanic communities with academic tutoring, case management, college and financial aid support, guidance on immigration laws/policies and more. 

In the month leading up to the big event, the school celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month in a variety of other ways. In addition to highlighting Hispanics who made important contributions to history on the morning announcements and playing Latin songs during lunch, “various resources of educational and creative opportunities were shared with the school community, such as door decoration ideas and strategies to support the schoolwide writing initiative called “The Writing Revolution” through informational sources of important Hispanic pioneers of change,” said Mrs. Perez. “Patterson has more than 500 Hispanic students from 14 Spanish-speaking countries, plus our Hispanic Heritage students. We plan to continue holding this event in our school, to honor the legacy of our pioneers, to value and support our students and their families, and to recognize the contribution of many Hispanics/Latinx to this country.”

The Hispanic Heritage Month celebration was a great event. It helped people to know more about Hispanic/Latinx music, food and culture.

Culture Night returns for second year

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by Mirian Maurizaca

Patterson High School hosted its second annual Culture Night on April 30th from 5:00-7:00 PM. The event was sponsored by the student organization, Catalyst for Change. People brought a variety of different foods from their cultures. There were several different types of presentations. There was music and dancing, and people wore traditional clothing styles from their cultures. 

At the event there was a lot of food from around the world, including African food, Filipino food, Jamaican food, Arabic food, Mexican food, and American food. One of the musical pieces presented reminded a teacher about where she was.

One of the reasons for organizing Culture Night was “to bring everyone together,” according to Ms. Olunuga. Another reason was to represent “the culture of every nationality that is in Patterson High School,” said Ms. Godinez. 

The event helped people start to understand and appreciate each other’s cultures more.

“I think everyone had the opportunity to connect more”, said a teacher whose name the Patterson Press did not catch. “It was a really rich experience.”

Patterson hosts Black History Night show

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by Kylayah Davis

Patterson High school hosted a Black History Night show on Wednesday February 28th. The event was organized by Mr. Fowler with performances from Patterson’s newly established Performing Arts Academy. 

In total, the Performing Arts Academy put on three shows in honor of Black History Month: two during the day on Tuesday, February 27th during 2nd and 4th period for students who made Honor Roll and Principal’s List, and then another event on Wednesday evening for families at 6:00 PM. The hosts would like to extend a thank you to all those who came out to support our young creatives and their hard work during the stormy weather on Wednesday night. 

The show opened with the Black national anthem (“Lift Every Voice and Sing”), followed by introductions and a welcome message by the man who produced this great show, choir director Mr. Fowler.

After this opening, a song called Siyahamba was performed by the choir called while student performers danced to the music. This dance was the debut of Patterson’s newly established dance program under the direction of Mr. Kwame and our modeling troupe under Coach Z. After this, the band went on to play “Wade in The Water”, a negro spiritual code song with solos by Korey Spruill and Christian Yates. The Show was split into four sections representing four key elements of Black culture: style, movement, gestures of dismissal, and music.

The style portion hosted by 10th grade student Araya Brinkley featured Patterson’s newly formed modeling troupe. The troupe performed a dance to the song “They Don’t Really Care About Us” by Michael Jackson and showcased African American fashions from multiple decades. 

The show also featured the poems, “I too am America” By Langston Hughes, performed by Micah Mcdonald and Caleb Johnson, and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou performed by Dinea Griffin, Octavia Caldwell, Tynazia Burgess, Tammie Gordon, Syniah Rawlings, and Demi Hines.

Christina Johnson showed her art which featured representations of Black girls. Cristina created four works of art for this collection:

  • Buttons for hair – Uses actual buttons to represent the kinky coils of Black hair 
  • Perm at home – Shows a Black girl getting a perm at home to fit Western beauty standards
  • Solitude – Showcases the loneliness of Black girls in ballet 
  • Damage – a representation of the words Black girls have heard or experienced because of their natural hair

The musical portion of the show was a fan favorite and was hosted by Mr. Fowler. This section showcased quick lip sync performances by students representing different genres of music, including R & B, HipHop, and Rap, with songs by The Temptations, Mary J. Blige, New Edition, Tupac, and Biggie.

“I’m Goin’ Down” was performed by Tynazia Burgess, “Hit ’Em Up” was performed by Sincere Bartfield, “Juicy” was performed by Charles Goodman, “Billie Jean” was performed by Caleb Williams, and “My Girl” was performed by Zion Woods, Devon Brown, Tyshawn, Aaron Washington and La’ron Howard.

To conclude the night, the choir sang the song “Glory”, featuring the band, with instrumental solos by Kylayah Davis and Winner Mbenga and vocal solos by Jeanette Giles, Octavia Caldwell and Sincere Bartfield. “Glory” was made for the movie Selma which depicted the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, where African Americans and their allies marched for voting rights and an end to discrimination. 

The show was so well received that students wished for another one. Many students hope that we can make this an annual tradition with even better performances in the years to come. Once again, the organizers of this event would like to extend a thank you to all who helped with the production of the show. Finally, a special “thank you” to everyone who came out to support the show, and please come out to support more events from our Performing Arts Academy.

Remembering those we lost this holiday

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By Jennifer Iraheta-Delcid

On Thanksgiving in Baltimore, many have lost their loved ones and Thanksgiving doesn’t feel the same to them. Additionally, many Baltimore residents don’t have the resources to celebrate this holiday. Fortunately, there are many generous people who want to help out and give to those in the community.

Firstly, In West Baltimore there is an event called ‘The Giveback’ celebrated on Thanksgiving. The reason for this event is to help out the community and give back to them, especially to those who are not financially able to celebrate this day. Secondly, There is another group of people who provide meals to the families of homicide victims in order to share their kindness to someone who is grieving the loss of their loved ones. These simple but thoughtful events are able to unify everyone, provide for those in need, and bring joy, cheer, and reassurance to the community. 

Jade Harper started the Overcame Foundation and also teamed up with the City of God apparel shop where she provides hot meals, dancing and music, and even warm clothes. It has almost been a decade since this celebration first occurred. This event is able to bring joy and hope to many. Many children and adults benefit from this since they are able to walk away with free warm new clothes. There were 40 volunteers from the city ready to give back. Being able to give back and see the glow in people’s eyes is “monumental” to them. Jade’s main goal is to show people in the community that there are still people who care and are there to support them. 

Peggy and Kevin Callahan, organists of the Sacred Heart Glyndon Catholic Church teamed up with the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Grief Ministry Program to provide meals to 30 families who have lost family members to homicide. The Archdiocese was focused on bringing joy to the families on this holiday. Additionally, parishioners donated enough to be able to provide meals and gift cards to families on Thanksgiving. The grief ministry program has helped 365 families in the past two years who have gone through traumatic losses by providing many things such as groceries, care packages, relocation costs and funeral expenses. Peggy and Kevin, as well as the everyone else involved in the program, feel blessed to be able to help these families and bring some joy and hope to their homes.

Also, in Belair, the R.I.C.H. Foundation (Reaching Innocent Children’s Hearts) is having a holiday giveback for Christmas on December 22.

Many take for granted what they have and don’t cherish it, while some people suffer the loss of their loved ones during the holidays where most families are united. Then there are others who don’t have the resources to celebrate this holiday. Fortunately, there are many who care and have kindness in their hearts who are able to volunteer and help these families and the community and give back to them and also provide them with a joyful holiday.

Patterson celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

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By Mirian Maurizaca

Patterson High School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a special event on Friday, October 13 from 5:00-7:00 PM.

Patterson staff and students wanted to bring different aspects to the event that are used to represent different cultures. The Patterson band performed at the event. There was also a typical dance from Colombia that was performed by three students from Colombia. Another group named “Bailes De Mi Tierra” performed Mexican Folklore.

Everyone that participated brought something with them that represented their culture, such as unique clothing styles. There was also typical foods from different countries in Latin America. Additionally, there was an organization of lawyers there to provide guidance on immigration laws and policies.

This event was planned by the department of World Language which include the Spanish teachers as well as the ESOL teachers. Other teachers and staff members that are not from that department also helped to plan the event, including Ms. Jones (graphic design teacher), Ms. Williams (music teacher), and the art teachers. 

“We want to highlight the Hispanic culture as they do throughout the United States in a full month from September 15 to October 15.”, explained Mrs. Perez, who helped organize the event.

Other ways that Patterson celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month include a door decorating contest, a performance by Hispanic comedian, Ernie G., and morning announcements in Spanish and English about important Hispanic people in history.

Hispanic Heritage Month has become an annual event that is celebrated across the United States and internationally. Here at Patterson, there are plans to continue holding events here at Patterson in the years to come.

“We already created that expectation that we are going to do it every year”, Mrs. Perez said.

The Hispanic Heritage Month celebration was a great idea because it helped other people get to know different cultures. Many people are already looking forward to next year’s celebration.

(Photos by Patterson Press)

Ernie G. empowers Latino students through comedy

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Empowerment comedian Ernie G performing live at Patterson
(Photo by Kylayah Davis, Patterson Press)

By Mirian Maurizaca

Comedian Ernie G. performed at Patterson High School on October 12, 2023, as part of Patterson’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. He visited Patterson for two days.

His first presentation was for students who were taking Spanish for Heritage Speakers or AP Spanish, along with upper level ESOL students. It was an audience of about 150 students. The second presentation was on the next day, and was only for students who were in the Spanish for Heritage Speakers class, because that audience could relate to him the most.

Ernie G. is a motivational speaker. He uses comedy as a way to engage students. 

Mrs. O-G, who planned the event, has known Ernie G. since 2010. She met him through an organization that helped students become leaders in their community.

Mrs. O-G recalled, “He actually reached out to me and he’s like, ‘Hey, I’m going back to the East Coast. I’ll be around for Hispanic Heritage Month. Do you think your school might want me to come and present to kids?’, so I thought it was a great opportunity because our kids don’t necessarily get the opportunity to listen to a speaker [very often].” 

Ernie doesn’t just do motivational speaking but also talks about social/emotional learning, self awareness and understanding, and loving yourself.

Ms.O-G said, “ It was motivational. It was more geared towards [empowering messages] like ‘You were born out of love and your purpose in life is to let your light shine and be the best you can be.’ ”

Ernie G.’s visit had an impact on the Latino/Hispanic community at Patterson by building a connection with Latino students. The event was an important part of Hispanic Heritage Month at our school.

(Photo by Kylayah Davis, Patterson Press)

Patterson celebrates Culture Day

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by Thayer Oosterman

Patterson High School celebrated Culture Day on On Thursday, April 27, from 4:00 to 6:30 PM. There were many cultural expressions, with food and music from many cultures around the world. They had Latin American, African, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern food. Musicians were playing Latin and West African music. During the playing of the West African music, there was dancing, where people would be in a circle and would go and dance in the circle.

After the music, they gave out food with a lot of delicious food items, like Jamaican rice and beans, Syrian shawarmas and Tandoori food, Libyan kebabs, and many other tasty foods from a variety of cultures. They also had a thick, sweet drink and lemon tea. 

Near the end of the culture event they had a Kahoot game about the flags of the world, with many students and teachers and Principal Myrick playing. The Kahoot game went from 6:15 until around 6:30. After the Kahoot game and the end of the event, many students helped with the clean up or went to wait for the start of the play that was also taking place that night.

Culture Day was organized by a new student organization called Catalyst for Change. This was the group’s first big event and it was a huge success.