Students and staff throughout the district participated in the first annual Foreign Language Spirit Week to help promote foreign languages and different cultures.

As part of spirit week, there were different themed dress up days, educational posters were hung throughout the hallways, fun trivia facts were shared during morning announcements, and there was even a staff and faculty guessing game where students had to find the staff member who matched different travel experiences.

School librarians put multilingual books on display to encourage students to read about places, languages and authors from around the world. English teachers made a point to take their classes to the library, giving students time explore these books and promote literacy. There was also a door decorating competition as an added layer of fun.

High School Spanish Teacher Bethany Mendoza said that she is always excited to see foreign language celebrated throughout the district, even if it is not the language she teaches. For Mendoza, one of the most rewarding moments of the week was when she received an email from a former student who had recently traveled to Spain. She wrote to thank Mendoza for all she had taught her and to let me know that what she learned was applicable to real life.

“It was so heartwarming to get that message and what an ideal time! I shared the message with my students so that they could be inspired to not give up when language studies are hard and that one day, they too might be able to communicate with people in different languages thanks to our program,” Mendoza said.

Moravia senior and Spanish Teaching Assistant Bailey Karlik said, “We’ve been given the wonderful opportunity to be more involved with the kids. The FFA just did their own spirit week too. It’s just so cool that we can host the National Foreign Language Week. It was great to see students from the middle school and high school participate.”