BMUFSD: Eight Graders Create Morning Announcements In Honor Of Hispanic Heritage Month

Press release from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce used both as an ingredient in Argentinian and Uruguayan cooking and as a table condiment for grilled meat; Vallenato is a genre of music used by Colombian farmers who used music as a form of language to deliver messages from town to town.

These are just some of the interesting facts Briarcliff Middle School students are learning during Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 through October 15.

At Briarcliff Middle School, Spanish teacher Jennifer Vogrincic, along with eighth graders Miranda Dempsey and Sinduja Narayanan, prepare daily announcements which are pre-recorded and read over the loudspeakers each morning during that month.

Each week has a different theme, such as music, painters and food, and the trivia facts, as well as a trivia question (on Fridays only), are all related to that theme.

Students across all grades who wish to answer the trivia question can submit an answer on an online form. Ms. Vogrincic holds a raffle for the winner, who gets a goody bag.

“Miranda and Sinduja come to my class during their recess and we work on the trivia, and then, once a week, they pre-record themselves reading the facts, making five announcements per week – one for each day,” Ms. Vogrincic said. “I play them at the main office, after the Pledge of Allegiance.”

“I wanted to do this because you can learn things and it’s fun,” Sinduja said.

Miranda shares the sentiment.

“I like being on the announcements because it feels special, but I also like being here with Sinduja and Ms. Vogrincic because they are really nice,” she said.

“The girls have a passion for the language and they like to learn more about the contributions of the Hispanic community and how these have impacted our country,” Ms. Vogrincic said. “They are very enthusiastic.”

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.