Service Learning

Project: Quinceanera

Houston (and Channelview) is largely Hispanic. It is therefore culturally relevant and good citizenship to study this part of our heritage. As a service learning project, Mr. Marcelino Palacios, Spanish teacher at Channelview HS, visited our classes and presented them with a wonderful discourse on Hispanic heritage and the Quinceanera tradition. It is our plan to provide service to several quinceaneras this year with ushers, decorators, an exhibition team and a specially-formed honor guard. Afterward, we will have an after actions review in which we will discuss our learning, how we were able to serve and how important the event was to the community and to us.

A Quinceanera is a celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday. Hispanic girls all over the world celebrate this occasion. It is a huge special event that symbolizes a girl becoming a woman (and presumably her eligibility for marriage).

We served Nancy Chihuahua at our first Quinceanera on November 15, 2003. It was beautiful. Our second performance took place on December 13 for Lauren Drees at the Evelynn Kennedy Civic Center in La Porte, Texas. Watch this webpage for pictures coming soon.