An Artful Celebration of Hispanic Heritage

Fifth grade students recognized Hispanic Heritage Month with an interdisciplinary Art and Spanish project.

Students studied the ancient Aztec calendar with teacher Karen Liszka in Spanish class and learned about the 20 Aztec Tonalli day-signs that repeat in a continuous cycle for 260 days. Students learned that the word tonalli refers to day, light, heat, or a person’s vital solar spirit and destiny, as well as the day-sign a person was born under was believed to shape their character, energy, and path in life.

After discovering their personal tonalli sign, 5th graders expressed them symbolically through printmaking in Art class—a technique with a rich history in Mexico. Teacher Kay Silva arranged the students’ prints artfully on a panel in the Kupcinet Gallery so the entire school community could view their efforts.

Click here to see photos of the display in the Kupcinet Gallery.