Junior high students, teachers take part in foreign language festival

On March 23, numerous junior high students attended the annual APPLES Foreign Language Festival at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  Areas that students competed in included listening, speaking, dancing, composition and vocal competition.

Multiple schools participated in this event.  Because of this, there were many talented students ready to face each other.

One of the teachers who traveled to the festival was Spanish I teacher Patricia Leonard, and she was very excited to go to the festival.

“I really enjoy helping the students prepare for the festival and learning about the amazing talents they have.  Not only are these talents in the academics, but they are also in the non-academic categories such as dance, music and art,” Leonard said.

Leonard does not want competitors to worry or be nervous before competing.

“I encourage students to try their best but also to have fun as they compete in this unique event in which they can use their knowledge of the foreign language and culture they are studying to represent their school,” Leonard said.

Students in the junior high who participated in the festival were ninth grade German I student Hailey Frontino and ninth grade French I student Sloane Condo.

Frontino placed first in German speaking and second in German listening.

“I enjoyed the speaking part of it the most.  It was refreshing to speak to seasoned speakers of the German language,” Frontino said.

Competing with friends brought a smile to Frontino’s face.

“After my friends and I were done with our topics, we played Uno for over two hours,” Frontino said.

Frontino had an amazing experience at the festival.

“I am definitely going back next year.  It was so much fun,” Frontino said.

Condo placed second in French listening, and she enjoyed her time at the festival.

“I enjoyed the camaraderie and being able to hang out with my friends all day,” Condo said.

Condo went to the campus’ art museum during her free time.

“I saw some cool sculptures made of lights.  It was a very pleasant environment and was a very interesting thing to see,” Condo said.

Going to the festival next year is a must for Condo.

“I would definitely recommend it to others,” Condo said.