Community Connections and Outreach Events

Metal Calaveras

This Cafecito helped to prepare the students and families for the upcoming school-wide Día de los Muertos celebration. They each created their own Milagros.

09-20-2023

Ways to Say hello

This Cafecito started the new school year off. We wanted to focus on linguistic and aspirational capital for this school year. For this activity, we showed the students and families various images.

08-23-2023

Dancing with the Senior Ladies

This Cafecito highlighted dances performed by the Senior Ladies, culminating a year of work during the event. Families were invited to dance with the children and ladies.

03-22-2023

Wolf Trap

Partnering with the Tobin Center, Wolftrap performers came to a Cafecito. They taught families the connection between multiple media and how all three work together to enhance learning.

02-15-2023

Rattle Drums

We prepared the students for the upcoming Convivio. We first read the students an expository book about Lunar New Year, and had the children play their rattle drum in a group.

01-18-2023

Corn Husk Dancers

Students would aim to think about costume as an element in performance. Families created clothing for the figures. Students were able to present multiple designs for the corn husk dancers.

11-16-2022

Maracas

Students created maracas at the cafecito. Students worked with their families to personalize their instrument with the markers and streamers which drew inspiration from piñata.

09-14-2022

Loom Weaving

We selected the art of weaving to honor indigenous peoples. The students were taught the weaving process. They learned about the history of textiles and how weaving is an artistic expression.

11-16-2022

First Cafecito - Milagros

At our very first Cafecito, students created milagros for good luck and to ward off evil. The milagros activity provided an outlet for students to share their fears, hopes, and dreams.

04-20-2022

Mexican Folk-Art

This cafecito featured families creating Mexican Folk-Art inspired pieces—cempasúchil flowers and glittery papel picado—later displayed in the school’s Día de los Muertos ofrenda and at Muertos Fest, the nation’s largest celebration.

08-18-2023

Mariachi Instruments & Puppets

The Nov. 15, 2023 cafecito celebrated mariachi’s role in the community with art activities highlighting instruments, performers, and costumes. Families designed guitars and made mariachi puppets together.

11-15-2023

Tamalada based on Carmen Lomas-Garza’s book

The Tamalada Cafecito, inspired by Carmen Lomas-Garza’s book, highlighted storytelling as familial capital. Families shared traditions, enjoyed tamales and pan dulce, while children decorated buñuelos.

12-13-2023

Folklórico and Ball Moss Painting

A local folklórico artist and the Senior Ladies (all 65+) performed at Convivio. Students wore traditional outfits, learned about the Chiapanecas dance, and joined a dance demo, highlighting familial capital and intergenerational knowledge sharing.

08-25-2022

Día de los Niños - Paletas

At our second largest Convivio, students made paper paletas, crafted bells, and wrote paleta stories. A paleta truck served treats, and each child received "What Can You Do with a Paleta" by Carmen Tafolla, who did a read-aloud at the event.

04-28-2022

Kickoff Night - Family Storytelling

Our first family art event after the CULTIVAR grant featured nine art stations, with students and families rotating through three. Activities included storytelling, ribbon dancing, puppetry, making luminarias, paper poinsettias, and Chinese calligraphy.

12-09-2021

Ballet Nepantla Valentia

for the school year and collaboration with the Senior Ladies. Students and the Senior Ladies performed the song learned about since 16 de Septiembre, Chiapanecas. The Senior Ladies also performed an additional solo piece, Guadalajara.

05-24-2023

Family Nopal and Terrarium

Most students were 3rd-4th generation immigrants whose families crossed the border during the Mexican Revolution. They traced their genealogy with a Nopal Family Roots activity, made terrariums with the Botanical Gardens, and received "Growing an Artist."

04-20-2023

Lunar New Year

Families made jegis for the Korean game Jegichagi, created paper lanterns, and built Chinese dragons from card stock. The evening ended with a traditional lion dance by the San Antonio Lion Dance Association, featuring a performer the students’ age.

01-26-2023

Día de los Muertos

For Día de Los Muertos, students honored loved ones by decorating frames with photos and memories for a communal ofrenda. Activities included making calavera masks, marigold crowns, bow ties, and learning traditional dances to perform for their families.

10-27-2022

Catrina and Señor Calavera

For Día de los Muertos, students and families learned about La Catrina and Señor Calavera, made Catrina puppets for the school altar, and teachers received "Just a Minute" by Yuyi Morales to connect the holiday to math and social studies.

10-19-2022

16 de Septiembre

For 16 de Septiembre, students learned about Mexican Independence and the folklórico dance La Bruja, taught by the Senior Ladies. Teachers received the book "Danza" to extend learning, and students wrote reflections on what they learned.

09-16-2022

Ballet Nepantla Mística

Día de los Muertos honored loved ones with altars of marigolds, candles & offerings. Families saw Ballet Nepantla’s folklórico-contemporary dance, students performed & made ofrenda decorations displayed city-wide, and received Rosita y Conchita.

10-16-2023

Children’s Day Family Art Engagement Night

At the Children’s Day Family Art Night (Día del Niño), families celebrated with art and community. Students painted canvases forming a quilt-like tapestry of togetherness and shared enchiladas, rice, and chips.

05-09-2024

Mariachi Extravaganza

Students experienced the vibrant sounds of Mariachi, learning about its instruments, costumes, and stories. A national award-winning singer and guitarist performed, and each student received Sing, Don’t Cry by Angela Dominguez.

11-29-2023

Celebrate the World: Lunar New Year

Families celebrated with art, food, and tradition. Students made lanterns, decorated crowns, and held a real snake for the Year of the Snake. They enjoyed chicken, rice, egg rolls, fortune cookies, and received Lunar New Year books.

01-30-2025

Nopal Watercolor

In this professional development, teachers learned about the significance of nopales (cactus) during the Mexican Revolution, then painted their own nopales with watercolors

04-19-2023

El Sagrado Corazon

This PD introduced faculty to polymer clay through creating Sagrado Corazon (Sacred Heart) sculptures, linking art to local culture and Día de los Muertos. Teachers shared their creations, connecting personal stories, and learned to cure clay in a toaster oven

10-12-2022

Block Printing

At this university art lab PD, participants co-constructed a definition for CULTIVAR Arts Integration. An artist taught block printing; each person carved their own design into a stamp pad and made block prints from their original artwork.

06-01-2022

Using the Arts to Teach Self-Regulation

Using the Arts to Teach Self-Regulation showed how visual & performing arts build self/social awareness, self-control, relationships & problem-solving through color-emotion links, manipulatives, and dramatic play to boost impulse control.