By: Brenda Benitez Alcantara, Rebekah Kang, Queena Kim, Karen Hunter Quartz, Wendy Salcedo-Fierro
The day arrived after months of preparation. We all joked that we were planning a wedding, not a Quinceañera, because the event had so many moving parts. A biliteracy fair with activities in every classroom and lining the quad, Grammy-award winning musicians, UCLA partner booths, a Mariachi band, an alumni Korean drumming group, and 2000 cupcakes. And that was just the first act.
From 2:30-4:30pm, the Lower School quad teamed with festivity. Children waved blue and gold pom poms while they danced to Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band. Parents beamed, taking photos and catching up with each other. All the elementary classrooms were open, each with a theme for this Open School celebration.
In a Den 1 classroom, parents and students read aloud from the book Cuadros de familia, reflected on their own family, and made ‘folk art’ style family portraits. Parents and children danced in another classroom, learning a few steps along with the history of Latin American dance. In other rooms, families played Lotería, learned to write their name in Korean, wrote poetry, and solved math problems. Families went home with tote bags full of books, crafts, and the special Quinceañera pin–a smiling bear hugging the number 15.
Lining the quad outside, high school students led activities they had planned with their teachers and clubs. A huge timeline poster, with hundreds of images depicting historical events, asked people to add in their own events. At other stations, you could paint a tote bag to take home, earn a mini rubiks’ cube by figuring out a way to make the number 15, play an ancient civilization board game, or just admire students’ artwork. Overlooking the scene, a robot named Quincy was yarnbombed 10 feet up on one of the metal lightposts in the quad. Four students in the Crafting for Change seminar brought Quincy to life, with brightly crocheted squares, embroidered with “15 Years of Growing Together.”
The gym was also a hub of activity, with students playing ping pong, badminton, and musical chairs. Children crowded around the UCLA Teacher Education Program booth to pick up one of the most popular giveaways–a cute squishy Bruin bear. Parents stopped by the Immigrant Family Legal Clinic booth to learn more about their services and the UniCamp table to find out about summer camp opportunities.
It was especially heartwarming to watch alumni reconnect with their peers and teachers, with some even reviving their Korean drumming skills to perform with their middle school teacher. The blue and gold photo booth got lots of action and you could feel the collective effort to capture and preserve the moment. And then it was time to move the massive balloon archway upstairs.
Act 2 was a Partner Reception for 125 in the Cocoanut Grove and Library. At 4:30pm, only the balloons were set up and we scrambled to find a reception table and the box of name tags. The new UCLA Chancellor was set to arrive at 5pm and several other important guests had arrived and were milling around. Thankfully, students stepped in to distribute the name tags and the Korean Drumming Group arrived just before 5pm. We all filtered into the auditorium, serenaded by the Mariachi Band who had just left the cupcake table downstairs.
It’s difficult to describe how special it feels when you walk into the Cocoanut Grove, through the golden doors etched with palm trees and monkeys. The starry sky ceiling, 500 lush red velvet seats, palm frond lights, and richly
decorated pillars set the stage for our opening alumni panel–six accomplished adults sharing how the school shaped their life and why they were hopeful for the future. It was an incredibly moving testimony that left many of us in tears. The celebration continued to lift up thriving students and their learning with the reveal of an extraordinary documentary photography project that featured three high school students. Speeches from district and government leaders affirmed the school’s vision and came with official commendations, including one from a former student who now works in City Hall.
The second act continued with a focus on the UCLA partnership. Looking out at the audience of our colleagues from both the university and school, we were flooded with emotion and gratitude to be in that moment–to have grown together and learned so much along the way. Chancellor Frenk gave an inspiring speech about UCLA’s commitment to the school and we unfurled a new UCLA Community Partner banner, everyone piling on stage to be part of the photo. We closed out the night in the Library, with a fancy buffet and posters about the school’s work. After the clean up, our Quince planning team relived the night in Queena’s office. And Leyda took a final wedding photo.
