Greensburg Salem students to present French, Spanish performances for Culture Day

Those attending Greensburg Salem High School’s annual Culture Day may hear students singing a French chanson or see them dancing a Latin salsa.

“Students from the world language classes create cultural acts,” explained Tammy Lyons, a Spanish teacher at the school who chairs its world language department. The students will use either the Spanish or French language and will draw upon related traditions, depending on the courses they’ve taken.

“They memorize and explain poetry, sing songs, complete art pieces and perform dances,” Lyons said of the daytime program, which will be open to the public May 10 in the high school auditorium. “We present them to school classes and any community member who wants to come.”

There will be two main performances, each featuring different presentations — from 7:45 to 9 a.m. and from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m.

Lyons said students from adjacent Nicely Elementary are expected to attend a third performance, beginning at 1:30 p.m., that will be geared toward a younger crowd and will include audience participation.

Presentations “mostly will be done in French or Spanish,” said Lyons. But students will offer summary explanations in English, “so our audience has an idea of what is going on.”

Many of the presentations won awards when Greensburg Salem students recently performed them at the 32nd APPLES Foreign Language Festival, organized by the Appalachian Professional Language Educators’ Society at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Greensburg Salem students competed against counterparts from about 10 other school districts in academic categories. They were judged for their foreign-language proficiency in speaking, composition, literary recitation, and reading and listening comprehension.

Non-academic competitions focused on music and dance presentations as well as art projects.

Lyons explained, “They could duplicate a famous artwork or create an original piece in the style of a famous artist from a Spanish-speaking or Francophone country.”

Festival awards claimed

Greensburg Salem students collectively captured 41 Spanish awards and 25 French awards at this year’s festival.

Overall winners among the French-language academic competitors included: junior Nikki Garsteck, Level 4; senior Tori Jones, Level 5; and senior Mykayla Sproat, Level 6.

Overall Spanish-language winners were: junior Asa Redinger, Level 4; sophomore Azreal Franklin, Level 5; and senior Isaiah Payne, Level 6 Plus.

After a Level 1 course at the middle school, Greensburg Salem students potentially can complete an additional level of world language instruction each semester at the high school, Lyons said.

“By the time they get to be a senior, they can potentially be in Level 7 or 8,” she said.

Some high school students who are advanced in their studies help provide introductory world language exposure to young Greensburg Salem students as part of a Foreign Language Early Start program, she said.