Schools celebrate Dia de los Muertos

Widely celebrated by people in the Mexican and Latin American communities, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebrations also took place at more than one school around the district in early November. 

At Park Center Senior High School, the school’s Heritage Spanish 3 class planned and hosted a Dia de los Muertos event in the school media center. The event included traditional food and desserts, decor, an ofrenda (altar) to celebrate departed loved ones, games, hand painting and a themed photo backdrop. 

At Fair Oaks Elementary School and Brooklyn Middle STEAM School, school leaders created an altar, or ofrenda, and students were invited to bring in photos of their loved ones to add. 

“At Fair Oaks we have a high population of Latino students, and we like to celebrate a tradition that is dear to our Latin community,” said Fair Oaks resource manager Chris Marinac. “Its origins can be traced to pre-colonial Mexico, when it was believed that the souls of dead loved ones returned to their families once a year so that their lives could be celebrated.”