Through activities such as a traditional game involving a live guinea pig to building their own maracas, Upper Adams students learned about Spanish-speaking nations this week during the district’s annual Cultural Arts Days.
Students moved from classroom to classroom to sample aspects of various cultures Tuesday and Wednesday at Biglerville Elementary School (BES) and were scheduled to do so Thursday and Friday at Upper Adams Intermediate School (UAIS) in Arendtsville.
In the Biglerville school’s gym Tuesday afternoon, students twirled long, colorful ribbons to lively flamenco music.
Children cheered as a student in a bull costume charged retired longtime Gettysburg Area School District physical education teacher Josie Pelc, who waved a red cape while clad in a bullfighter costume.
A male bullfighter is called a “matador,” and a woman is a “matadora,” Pelc told the children. She volunteered for the event where her grandson is a student and her daughter-in-law teaches.
Other activities included “gato y raton,” or “cat and mouse,” in which students linked arms in a circle and tried to keep one student inside and another out.
It was rewarding to see children’s enthusiasm during the cultural events, Biglerville Elementary physical education teacher Colleen Gaston said.
This year’s focus on Spanish-speaking countries was especially valuable to students whose families speak the language, she said.
“It’s really fun to see their faces light up when they can relate” to a traditional activity, Gaston said.
Meanwhile, music teacher Alyssa Carter taught children a traditional Andean song used in a game called “cuy magico,” or “magic guinea pig.”
Students took up positions behind cardboard boxes arranged in a ring. With bits of fruit and vegetables, as well as excited singing, students tried to entice a real guinea pig into the box nearest them.
Carter and UAIS instrumental band teacher Ben Arnold also introduced students to traditional musical instruments.
Teachers Lexie Lochbaum and Emily Seils helped students build maracas in the art room. After students decorated cardboard tubes donated by APM Building Materials of Arendtsville, rice was poured in and both ends were sealed to make rhythmic shakers.
Students also learned about Loteria, a type of bingo that includes images relating to Mexican folk tales and culture.
At both schools, students gathered in the libraries to hear Mexican and Spanish folktales, and students had opportunities to sample a Spanish rice dish prepared by Biglerville High School students under the guidance of culinary arts teacher Laura Fritz.
At the intermediate school, plans called for students to learn a traditional Mestizo dance honoring San Juan Bautista, who is John the Baptist in English.
Also at UAIS, students learned about an ancient Mayan tradition in Guatemala by making “worry dolls” out of clothespins, fabric and thread.
Physical education activities planned at UAIS included a spinning-top game called “La Pirinola,” which is played in Columbia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and other countries.
Students also played “uno, dos, tres, calabaza,” which is similar to the game red-light green-light.
Members of the Upper Adams fine arts team also include librarian Laura Glassmann, UAIS music teacher Ann Gerlitzki, and UAIS physical education teacher Deborah Yarger-Reed.
