PHS’s celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month culminated in a student-run assembly on November 3 which students of all grades attended.

The assembly took place in the Performing Arts Center in four identical sessions, one for each grade level, on a modified homeroom day. Four class periods were extended so that the assemblies could take their place, while the other periods were shortened.

Benjamin Nuland ’23 opened the event as student performers walked from the PAC doors towards the stage with Hispanic country flags draped over their shoulders according to their ethnicities.

“I’m really happy I could represent my culture and have an opportunity to show people who we really are,” said Julian Velazquez ’23, who wore the Paraguay flag.

The Pledge of Allegiance was then recited in Spanish, followed by its English translation. In the month prior to the assembly, student organizers delivered the pledge in both Spanish and English during daily morning announcements. PHS Principal Frank Chmiel credited the repetition of the pledge with greater student awareness of the celebration.

“In the past, celebrating [Hispanic Heritage Month] might have been a couple of announcements. I liked the way we did it this month because it was very well-rounded, especially from the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish,” said Chmiel. “It was always on people’s minds, what we were doing.”

Student involvement in the assembly ranged from the organizer team to the performers onstage, including PHS Studio Band. The organizing team included members from the PHS Latinos Unidos Club as well as teacher facilitators, though it was open to anyone who wanted to contribute. Many organizers also showcased their talents at the assembly, including Nuland and Sarah Villamil ’23.

As speakers, Nuland and Villamil were able to maintain their energy throughout the day by focusing on the audience.

“You’re excited to perform in front of your class ... It’s the nerves and excitement of doing it each time that [was what] kept you on your toes,” Villamil said.

Nuland had initially been surprised at the audience’s level of engagement, though appreciated the response.

We didn’t expect the audience to be so supportive. We’d like to thank the audience for the amazing experience that we got as well,” Nuland said.

In addition to the assembly, the organizers also created smaller competitions and demonstrations for students to participate in throughout the month. Most notably, these activities included a schoolwide door-decorating contest and an art exhibit at the Numina Gallery.

The door-decorating contest pitted homerooms against each other with the first-place promise of catered lunch from Tortuga’s Mexican Village and a second-place prize of candy-filled piñatas.

First place went to room 145, which included a mannequin wearing a Mexican dress positioned outside the room and decorative art on the door and nearby walls. Second place went to room 242, which incorporated strings of lights into their decor and had pictures of flags that flipped upward to reveal a fun fact about the country. Two runners-up were selected: room 163, which also displayed flags prominently, and room 191 (the Black Box Theater), which displayed red stage curtains around a life-sized cutout of Hispanic singer Lin Manuel Miranda.

“The reason why [room 145] was the overall winner is they really went beyond the door,” said Chmiel. “And that was one of the criteria, [if they would] just stay with the door and barely cover it or [go beyond] and give it ... three-dimensionality.”

Amanda Sun ’24 enjoyed the assembly and events and felt they added to her understanding of PHS’s cultural diversity.

“I thought the whole month was a really cool showcase of Hispanic culture at [PHS] and there was a lot of stuff to take in during the assembly specifically, like the flags and dancing,” said Sun. “Everyone was really talented and you could tell the organizers worked hard on putting it all together.”

The assembly had hundreds of students in attendance at each of its four showings. Chmiel believes events like this will promote greater cultural awareness in the PHS community, especially when they involve so many students.

“We want to send our PHS Tigers into the world as global citizens who’ll be understanding of other cultures,” said Chmiel. “Showing commitment as a school is memorable since we only have a few assemblies a year ... After special events it’s like, ‘Oh, right, this is very important.’”

Chmiel looks to follow a similar formula to organize future culture-themed month celebrations, including Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Pride Month.

“I don’t know if we’ll have assemblies for all of them. A lot gets determined by the team of people we put together. So what’s important to me is that we find as many people who are a part of that culture and involve them,” Chmiel said.

The organizers seek to continue the celebration in the following years.

“We’ll one hundred percent have it next year. But of course, [we’ll] work hard to make it better than the last,” said Nuland. “We have new members in the group, so we’ll have better ideas. We’ll work towards a better product.”