TORRINGTON – Last fall, a group of foreign language students at Torrington High School, along with teacher Lisa Wille-Racine, chartered a chapter of the Spanish National Honor Society.
The service organization, with a focus on Spanish language excellence and designed to promote a continued interest in Spanish studies, requires students maintain an honor grade and have taken at least three semesters of Spanish or Portuguese.
“We worked on it last summer and got (our chapter) approved in October or November,” Wille-Racine said. “Really only about 10 percent of high schools have a Spanish National Honor Society – so for these girls to start it and get it going has really been a wonderful experience.”
The students, including recent graduates Ryan Johnson, Ethan Creagar and Mika Braddy, as well as incoming seniors Sandra Vanatta, Maryssa Lira, Tayte Rodriguez and Maegan Morrow, began brainstorming ideas for a large Hispanic heritage mural in the hall of the second floor of THS earlier this year.
Rodriguez mocked-up the piece about six weeks ago, and the group began consistently working on the painting about two weeks ago, with a goal to finish by this Friday.
“I saw a picture online with flags from 20 different Spanish-speaking countries,” Rodriguez explained of the design. “The layout is a square, because the wall is a square – it was easier to do it like that.”
The group of junior girls worked to add details to the colorful piece last Friday, featuring bold blocks of blue, red, white, yellow and green on a black background, and emblazoned with the words, “Nuestro Mundo Latino” – “Our Latin World”, and “Todos a Una” – the Spanish National Honor Society’s motto, which translates loosely to “All Together For One Goal.”
“Being from Torrington, we don’t have much to represent being Mexican,” Rodriguez explained.
“It’s been a lot of fun to share the Latin culture in a creative way,” Vanatta said. “The school hasn’t seen anything like this before.”
“It gives people a chance to learn the names of Spanish-speaking countries,” Lira said.
“I’m just glad the walls aren’t just white anymore,” Morrow added.
The students also painted several tables in the school’s courtyard with Spanish themes.
“The goal is to diversify the school, have cultural acceptance and cultural understanding,” Wille-Racine said. “We’re trying to raise awareness through the murals. I can’t say enough how wonderful these girls are – they are role models for grades, staying in school, scholarships. We want to present a very positive and impactful image of Latin America and Latin American students. Our mission is global understanding – we want to think globally but act locally and move towards bridging the gap of cultures in Torrington.”
The Spanish National Honor Society members earned money for the paint for their projects at a basketball game. Local businesses Century Lumber and Bloedorn Lumber also donated supplies.
“We want to thank them, they helped make this project a realization,” Wille-Racine said. “This is (the students’) brainchild. They’ve mapped it up and done all the work.
“It’s been an uniting experience,” she continued. “I’m really proud of their commitment to this organization. They’re creating a wonderful atmosphere of diversity and acceptance. These girls are going to go on to do great things – their grades are great, they’re committed, loyal, and really hard workers.
“We’ll paint the whole school if they let us.”
