Elyria’s Westwood Middle School debuts Hispanic Heritage Spirit Week

Westwood Middle School, 42350 Adelbert St. in Elyria, recently celebrated Latin Heritage Month with its first Hispanic Heritage Spirit Week.

Organized by Westwood Middle School Vice Principal Michelle Nimene, the week of events saw students celebrating the Latin culture by wearing their favorite sports jerseys featuring Hispanic players, culminating into a full blown event Oct. 6.

Students, joined by community members who offered to volunteer, learned how to make salsa, learn different dances and more.

“Today is really about exploring all that Hispanic culture has to offer and introducing our students to the wonderful aspects of it,” Nimene said. “I being, Puerto Rican myself, was allowed to bring this event here, and it is something that we will likely continue.”

Circling through different stations, students created salsa and empanadas, learned how to dance the salsa and Zoomba and studied the history of Latin culture while also picking up a few new Spanish words.

“Our teachers sacrificed their time and put a lot of effort into doing this, but it’s so worth it,” Nimene said. “Because while our students are learning about Hispanic culture, it is more important than that; they are learning about each other.”

The Elyria School District has experienced a 30% growth in Hispanic students in the past year, a number Nimene said likely will continue.

“Our students are like our family, and in Hispanic culture, family is huge,” she said. “We wanted to deliver that message above all others and make our students feel included and give them the feeling that they belong.”

And the event was well received by teachers and community members.

“I think this is just an absolutely wonderful idea,” said Pam Murphy, a math teacher at Westwood. “It is a great chance to combine both Hispanic culture with each of our usual lesson plans, and the students have loved it.”

In Murphy’s room, students used fractions to learn how to make their own salsa.

Community member and teacher April Serfozo brought in shaved ice for students from her business Trolls Under the Bridge Shaved Ice.

“We really could not have done this without our volunteers,” Nimene said. “And I want to thank Pam Murphy, April Serfozo, Susan Church, Samantha Schwendler, Lisa Plass, Charmaine Lupinucci, Alonso Southard, Beth Kelley, Socorro Gomez, Maria Majoras, Dianna Pagan, Tehja Rush-Pagan and Alivia Morales for all of their help and support.”