EDUCATION
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2019
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Staff photo by Jessica Pollard
Michelle Sanguino, right, 17, and Susie Amzo, 16, helped organize Hermiston High School’s
fi rst Day of the Dead event.
Staff photo by Jessica Pollard
Veteran and Rocky Heights Elementary School Teacher, Melissa Doherty, shared her
experiences in the U.S. Army with students at Sunset Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon.
Sunset Elementary
School honors veterans
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
Students at Sunset Ele-
mentary School piled into
the gym on Tuesday to learn
more about Veterans Day.
“We’re excited to spend
some time today learning
about Veterans Day, and
why we have that day off
from school every Novem-
ber 11,” Principal Jerad
Farley said to the students.
“We have veterans here
today in our audience.”
English language devel-
opment teacher, Jenny
Miller, led fourth-graders to
the front of the gymnasium
for a presentation of col-
ors, where they displayed
fl ags and stood in salute
while Elizabeth Doherty,
of Hermiston, played “The
Star Spangled Banner” on
trumpet.
Elizabeth’s
mother,
Melissa Doherty, who
teaches at Rocky Heights
Elementary School, gave a
presentation about Veterans
Day and her own experi-
ence serving in the military.
She told students about
Sunset Elementary staff
members who have or
had friends and family in
the military, and shared
about her own journey,
which started in elemen-
tary school, back when she
dreamed of growing up to
be a princess.
“And then in high school
I wanted to be in corporate
America,” she said. “To
break the glass ceiling.”
She told the students
Staff photo by Jessica Pollard
Elizabeth Doherty played the “Star Spangled Banner” as
fourth graders in Jenny Miller’s class did the presentation
of colors at Sunset Elementary during the Veterans Day
assembly on Tuesday afternoon.
that the cost of college was
a barrier, but that the mil-
itary paid for her universi-
ty-based offi cer training,
and she went on to eventu-
ally work many jobs in the
U.S. Army, including com-
bat medic, before coming
to teach at Rocky Heights
Elementary School.
She also explained how
Veterans Day came to be
over time, following World
War I, and why the holiday
uses poppies as a symbol.
“On the bloody battle-
fi eld (after WWI), poppies
were the only thing still
growing,” she said.
Several veterans were in
Hermiston High School
celebrates Day of the Dead
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
The sound of music and laughter from
dozens of families fi lled the main commons
of Hermiston High School Friday night in
celebration of Dia de los Muertos — Day
of the Dead.
The event was put together by the high
school’s newly established club, Juntos —
which translates to “together” in Spanish.
“It’s important for people to come
together and celebrate those that have
passed,” said Michelle Sanguino, 17, who is
part of Juntos.
“And for families to feel comfortable,”
added Susie Amzo, 16, who is also a part
of the club.
Sanguino said some people in the com-
munity may feel reluctant to come out to
celebrate the holiday, which is celebrated
from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.
“This is a good way for parents in the
Hispanic community to get involved,” she
added. “And many of them haven’t seen
(the holiday celebrated) in schools since
they went to school.”
Amzo and Sanguino are two of seven stu-
dents that hold leadership positions in Jun-
tos. The club aims to promote Latino stu-
dent leadership, as well as cultural events.
Day of the Dead is an Aztec holiday cel-
ebrated across Latin America that highlights
the lives of loved ones, both those who have
passed and who are alive, according to club
advisers Omar Medina and Cristina Cuevas.
The event provided live music through-
out the night. Volunteers, some from the
high school’s Advanced Placement art
classes, provided free skull face-painting.
Many skull designs for Day of the Dead are
modeled after the iconic La Catrina and fea-
ture bright colors.
Originally illustrated by Mexican
engraver José Guadalupe Posada in the
1910s, La Catrina is a high-society skele-
ton woman. The point of the illustration,
according to New York Latin Culture Mag-
azine, is to show that in death, everyone —
rich and poor — is equal.
Areahi Galvan, 8, chose blue accents for
her face paint.
“That’s my favorite color,” she said.
She added that her favorite part of the
celebration was the cookie decorating.
Blank sugar cookies acted as canvases
for the array of colored frostings available
to attendees, but Mexican cuisine and a vari-
ety of agua frescas were also available for
purchase throughout the event.
Toward the end of the night, organiz-
ers hung a piñata from the banister of the
school’s second story.
The main fl oor of the high school trans-
formed into a candy bonanza as each child
got the chance to hit the piñata three times,
until it exploded across the fl oor.
Sanguino said Juntos is already planning
its next big event — a big Cinco de Mayo
dance for students, which will take place
around the same time as the Hermiston High
School prom.
attendance and were hon-
ored as the U.S. Armed
Forces Medley played out
in the gym.
“Our veterans don’t ask
much,” Melissa Doherty
said. “Just that we don’t
forget. Talk to a veteran,
and thank them for their
service.”
Wednesday,
Rocky
Heights will hold similar
assemblies for students.
Editor’s Note: Sun-
set Elementary School is
November’s spotlight school
for the Hermiston Herald.
Look for mentions of the
school in the paper through-
out the month.
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