What’s your definition of family? Although the dictionary has different definitions of family, the meaning of the word is special to the individual. The Orchard School Families Project was designed by Orchard's Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lisa Pryor, in collaboration with the Diversity Committee, as a way to build connections and celebrate the families we have in our community. The project is very simple, what does family mean to you? We asked some families to answer very simple and fun questions that explain what makes their family unique. We hope you will take the time to get to learn more about the families that make up our community. After all, we are all a part of the Orchard family!

THE ANGLERO FAMILY:

 

The Anglero family consists of Muriel, Manuel, Valentina, Jimena, and Stella and this is their first year in the Orchard community. Valentina has joined our 3rd grade class as part of Mrs. Driskell’s classroom, Jimena joined 2nd grade with Ms. Belmont, and Stella is in Kindergarten with Fischer/Hawkins. The Anglero’s believe that family means unconditional love, togetherness, and acceptance and understanding of who each person is. They say family is “knowing each other and making sure each of us is doing well and helping each other at all times - during the good times and the difficult times.” 

 

The Angleros love to celebrate and some of the many family traditions they enjoy are: buying and decorating a Christmas tree the week before Thanksgiving and also decorating the house, going Trick-or-Treating with Valentina, Jimena, and Stella’s friends on Halloween, having food and fireworks to celebrate the New Year, birthdays with cake and singing, Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian - art, music, culinary festival in Old San Juan, and a Good Friday procession in San German Puerto Rico where Manuel and his father (abuelito) help carry a large statue of Jesus Nazarene while the girls and other grandparents walk beside them. 

 

The Angleros are from Puerto Rico and they celebrate a LOT. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Noche de San Juan, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, Christmas, and Three King's Day. They always find a way to celebrate. During the Christmas season, they will typically come together (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) and have lots of fun - going to church, going to "parrandas" (surprising friends (without previous invitation) at their homes in the night with music and singing using typical instruments), eating traditional Christmas food - rice with pigeon peas, pasteles, roasted pig, and many desserts like tembleque, arroz con dulce, and a typical drink called coquito. The day before Three Kings Day (January 6) they take their girls to cut grass for the camels and they prepare 3 bunches each and put them under the Christmas tree so the Three Kings leave them gifts. They also take grass to their grandparents' and aunts' houses.

 

Their favorite memories as a family include going to the beach, going to eat ice cream, and traveling to new places like Disney World, Chicago, Wisconsin, and now, Indiana. When asked what makes the Anglero family the Anglero family they said, “The love that we demonstrate to each other and the happiness that we share – we are noisy and cheerful and enjoy hugs and being affectionate with each other. We treat people we know as family and enjoy sharing our traditions with others.”

 

Thank you, Anglero family, for sharing your family with the Orchard community!