The SIXTH ANNUAL EL MERCADO DE TESSERACT
PHOENIX, ARIZONA –March 16, 2011— After months of research, preparation and hard work, Tesseract School’s seventh- and eighth-graders will welcome students, family and friends to the sixth annual el Mercado de Tesseract Friday, March 18 from 9:00 -11:30 a.m. on the school’s new middle and high school campus.
“El Mercado is always a visually spectacular event,” said Nigel Taplin, head of Tesseract School. “The students, with the guidance of their educators, do a fantastic job of transporting us to a Mexican mercado. This is a wonderful example of how learning comes to life at Tesseract, and it illustrates what the students have learned from foreign language and economics to history and culture, in a practical, hands-on manner.”
Based on the markets in Madrid and two rural and urban open air markets in Ecuador, Tesseract’s seventh- and eighth-grade students have created an authentic Mexican Mercado for all to experience. They have been preparing for el Mercado in their history, mathematics, art and Spanish classes and have been responsible for planning, organizing and implementing all of the festivities for the event.
For el Mercado the seventh-graders identified traditional and modern markets in Spanish-speaking countries and will be responsible for running information, game and food booths, based on their research, at Friday’s market. Tesseract’s eighth-graders created their own companies, participating in all aspects of business planning and marketing for the event including the research of Mexican folk art, which they have created and will sell at the market. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade will serve as the market’s customers, and will each be given 10 dollars of pretend money to purchase food, play games or enter the dance booth.
In addition to the food and games, the folk art that the eighth-graders have made will be on sale for real money with all the profits going to disaster relief in Japan through Giving Children Hope (GCH), a non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating poverty domestically and abroad through disaster relief, health and community development, vocational training and advocacy. GCH is collecting donations to prepare disaster relief items to send to Japan once damage and needs are assessed.
While participating in the market, students will be dressed in mercado-style clothing and will be allowed to converse only in Spanish. The students have all been rehearsing dialogue in their Spanish classes—children at Tesseract begin learning Spanish at the age of three—so they will be able to implement the language to purchase and sell items.
“El Mercado de Tesseract is a great experience for the students who are responsible for the event, and for those who participate as Mercado customers,” said Phil Montgomery, Tesseract middle school Spanish educator. “It is a fun, educational event that students of all ages look forward to that provides them with an opportunity to use their language and cultural knowledge in an authentic setting.”
About Tesseract:
A leader in education in the Valley, Tesseract School prepares students to excel in college and beyond, lead lives of purpose, and become ethical and compassionate citizens with a global perspective. Tesseract’s innovative educational approach engages students in learning, enabling them to master the basics and become critical thinkers. As a non-profit, independent private school for students in preschool through grade 12, resources are directed to recruit and retain outstanding educators and continually enhance the school’s two campuses in Phoenix and Paradise Valley. For information visit www.tesseractschool.org or call 480.991.1770.
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