During the week of 23rd- 27th September we celebrated the diversity of languages and cultures within our school community with a variety of activities throughout the week. In tutor groups we were part of an Escape Room using our knowledge of language Learning.

Presdales teachers greeted their classes in a different language every day. By lesson 6 they were quite proficient!

On Monday we hosted an event for students during Monday lunchtime called ‘Culinary Connections’. Students from Years 7-9 were invited to bring in a home-prepared dish/ snack originating from a different country. The aims of the event was to showcase and share food from other countries and cultures and to allow students to try something that they might not usually eat!

In the evening we took a small group of students to a Languages Fair in St Albans hosted by the University of Warwick. We were able to take a closer look at what studying a language at university might entail and the careers which follow.

At lunchtime on Wednesday, students could buy ice creams but they had to be ordered in another language or no ice cream! The students were excellent at ordering what they wanted.

In class we celebrated with research and creating bunting with the information gathered. Students in Year 7-9 in both of their languages were given a theme or topic to focus on and have produced some excellent creations, which you can view here.

German

In German, Year 7 researched famous landmarks, Year 8 information about German companies and Year 9 researched different musicians and music genres which are popular in Germany.

Italian

In Italian, students in Year 7 researched a town or city in Italy. For some it was an opportunity to find out more about somewhere they had been or are going on holiday. Others researched a place where they have relatives or simply somewhere they had read about or seen pictures of.

Year 8 bunting had a Made in Italy theme and students researched Italian brands such as Gucci, Nutella and Ferrari.

Year 9 Italianists found out more about Italian music and researched artists from opera star Luciano Pavarotti to more contemporary figures, such as this year’s Italian Eurovision entrant Angelina Mango.

Spanish

This year for Global Week of Languages and Culture, the Spanish department celebrated in KS3 lessons by students researching various aspects of hispanophone (Spanish-speaking) culture and decorating bunting with their research. Year 7 found out about Spanish-speaking singers such as Ana Guerra, Shakira, Lola Flores, and Selena, while Year 8 enjoyed researching traditional food from Spanish-speaking countries such as paella valenciana, crema catalana, patatas bravas, and croquetas. Year 9 considered the different amazing places that Spanish could take them, and found out about tourist attractions such as Machu Picchu, La Sagrada Familia, La Isla de Pascua, and La Alhambra.

Special mentions go to Ella Cooper (Year 7), Violet Caudle (Year 8), and Anabelle Glanville (Year 9) for their beautiful and informative bunting.