Students in all three divisions celebrated World Language and Culture Week with a series of activities and events from Jan. 18-20. The students used poetry, song and dance to address a theme of love in all performances recited in Latin, Spanish and Mandarin.
The festivities began at the Middle School division meeting on Jan. 18 in the Berry Performing Arts Center. The Middle Schoolers used this as a warm-up for the main event in front of a packed house of Upper School students and teachers the following day. Students in Grades 7-12 put on a spectacular 90-minute show in the PAC on Jan. 19 and the Lower School wrapped up the week with two assemblies on Jan. 20.
“The World Language and Culture Week ended with great success. Special thanks to the World Language Department. Working together, the teachers and students demonstrated the beauty of languages and showcased their learning, talents, and accomplishments. They created another year of beautiful memories for themselves and the community,” said Ms. Hua Liu, World Language Department Chair.
Fifth graders were invited to kick off the Middle and Upper School showcase with their ¿Quién eres? (Who are you?) routine. Fourteen performances followed:
1. Pygmalion myth from Metamorphoses by Publius Ovidius Naso – 7th Grade Latin
2. "You are Beautiful When You Smile" by Zhou bing, Li kaichou – 7th Grade Chinese
3. Romeo and Juliet – 7th Grade Spanish
4. Hermogenas hymenaeus (the wedding of Hermogenes), a play based on the characters from the Cambridge Latin Course – 8th Grade Latin
5. "Little Apple" by Wang taili – 8th Grade Chinese
6. Beauty and the Beast – 8th Grade Spanish
7. Heracles by Euripides, a Greek tragedy adapted into Latin – Latin III Honors
8. "I Wanna Say Thank You" By Zhou bing, Li kaichou – Chinese I, II, II Honors
9. “Abrazo” (“Hug”) by Pablo Neruda – Spanish II Honors
10. “Creo en ti amigo” (“I believe in you, friend”) by Pablo Neruda – Spanish III Honors
11. “Dos Oruguitas” (“Two Little Caterpillars”) by Sebastian Yatra – Anushka Dalal ’24, Spanish IV Honors
12. The Ballad of Mulan – Chinese III Honors and IV Honors
13. “Cultivo una Rosa Blanca” (“I harvest a White Rose”) by José Martí – Spanish III
14. “ Cantares” (“Songs”) by Antonio Machado – Spanish IV Honors and Spanish V