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The most wonderful time of the year
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I think it’s safe to say we are quickly approaching everyone’s favorite time of the year: Christmas. While there really is no place like home during the holidays, the magic of the Christmas season reaches full force in the city that never sleeps.
No one can outdo the tree at Rockefeller Center or drinking hot chocolate on a carriage ride through Central Park, making the school’s post-Thanksgiving venture to New York City one of the most coveted trips for students. Each year during the first or second week in December, almost fifty kids hop on a bus with Doctor Lowers hoping to experience everything the city has to offer.
This year, however, the Spanish teacher has made the monumental decision to limit participation in the trip to only those who have completed all five levels of Spanish, the most that Keystone Oaks has to offer. In doing so, she hopes not only to heighten incentive for completing the most challenging course, but believes that taking a smaller group of students (eight including herself) will be an amazing teaching opportunity in such a culturally rich city, especially because Spanish 5 focuses more heavily on Spanish and Mexican culture than any of the other levels, a big change from the grammar, vocabulary and mechanics one usually associates with language courses.
This year’s trip has been set to take place from Sunday December 13th to Tuesday the 15th and will include a visit to Central Park’s statue of Cuban patriot, journalist, and poet Jose Marti who fought for the liberation of Cuba from Spanish rule, as well as a private tour of the renowned MoMA museum. Coincidentally, the MoMA will be featuring Spanish painter, sculptor, poet and playwright Pablo Picasso’s sculptural pieces through the month of February, making the Christmas season the perfect time to indulge in his talented artwork. The seven students have been hard at work fundraising for the upcoming trip, with efforts that included three bake sales and Pittsburgh Popcorn Company Orders. Because the group is so small, the fundraising has essentially cut the cost of the trip in half for most, and even paid the trip in full for some. This way, the trip will be both enjoyable and affordable, allowing the students to get the maximum return from their experience. For those who are bummed about the elimination of the winter trip to students not in Spanish 5, Doctor Lowers will be taking a second trip to the city in the spring as a part of the Adventure Club, one that may even include a Met’s game. If you would like to be a part of one or both of the trips, make sure to join the Adventure and Spanish clubs, and stick with Spanish classes next year!