Spanish 4 and 5 students from LHS represented the school in many competitive areas at the UMKC Foreign Language Fair held on March 11. Their successes can be seen by visiting the hashtags #lhsruiz4 and #lhsruiz5. It was the classes’ first time attending the fair in over ten years and their many accomplishments have paved the way for future LHS attendees.

“The students took a big challenge with open arms,” Spanish teacher Astrid Ruiz said. “It was a new experience that opened the doors for the next group that is going to participate next year.”

The Foreign Language Fair was created 15 years ago as a way to “celebrate culture and high school students’ hard work,” according to the UMKC website. Spanish, French and German are featured at the fair and students can participate in various competitions such as poetry, original skits, music, dance and Jeopardy.

In addition, there was an art exhibit this year called “Speaking for Peace.” Junior Brenna Newberry took first place out of over 20 different pieces.

“Sra. Ruiz approached me and knew that I liked art,” Newberry said. “I’ve wanted to draw a cultural piece for a while anyways, so this was a great opportunity to do that.”

According to different students, the highlight of this year’s fair was the non-competitive Spanish dance workshop led by Sra. Ruiz. The dances included salsa, merengue and a warrior dance that was new to many people.

“The dancing class was my favorite part because it was really fun despite being a little silly,” senior Austin Cable said.

During the dance workshop, students were given the chance to hear Spanish music from a range of cultures, including songs from Sra. Ruiz’s own native country.

“I enjoyed showing the students the music that I grew up with in Guatemala,” she said.

Senior Austin Cable and juniors Samantha Bennett and Favour Oribhabor represented LHS in the Spanish 4 and 5 poetry competitions. They were required to memorize a poem entirely in Spanish and recite it in front of a panel of judges.

“The poem I delivered at the fair is called El Galla Despertador,” Cable said. “It is about a rooster crowing and waking up a town, and it focuses on how beautiful the town is.”

Overall, the field trip was beneficial for the foreign language students. As Spanish is spoken nearly at all times in class, students were able to take this knowledge and practice having conversations in Spanish at the fair with students from other schools, as well as UMKC professors.

“The fair helped me realize that there are so many other cultures and languages in the United States and that learning a new language allows us to interact with them,” senior Brooke Loudon said.

Others agree on the relevance of bilingualism.

“Learning a second language is very important because it makes the world a little bit of a smaller place,” Cable said.

Bilingualism can be achieved at LHS through its many advanced foreign language classes.

“I think students should continue past Spanish 2 because Spanish is the second most common language in the United States and the classes here give you a good basic understanding,” Loudon said. “They also enhance your cultural knowledge.”