Orchard Student Enjoys Spending School Breaks In Mexico To Continue Learning Spanish

Fifth-grade student, Aida, just can’t get enough Spanish in her life. On top of having Spanish class every day here at Orchard, she also uses school breaks as a way to learn even more about the culture. Last month during Orchard’s spring break, Aida and her mother, Shelley, travelled to Mérida, Mexico to visit Habla: The Center for Language and Culture. 
 
“We were looking for a family immersion program that would help us acquire the language skills to connect with people in a meaningful way,” Shelley said. “We found that, and more, at Habla. Orchard teachers might be interested in knowing there is an annual Teacher Institute in the summer as well.”
 
Aida perks up and smiles when talking about Habla. She speaks confidently about the program because she spent three weeks there last summer and plans to return this summer for five or six weeks.
 
“I’m really happy we went to Mérida because they use art projects and music in their classes,” Aida said. “It’s not like you’re just studying words and working with words. We were doing projects and it was creative.”
 
It would be normal for kids Aida’s age to feel nervous about traveling to other counties so often, but Aida says she is “very” comfortable during her time in Mexico because of her Orchard experience.

“The teachers at Orchard will talk in Spanish almost all of the time and then they’ll explain what they said. That helps me understand a lot,” she said. “My third grade Spanish teacher [at Orchard] would have me do skits with another student, so we would actually be talking in Spanish. And now with the fifth-grade project, we had to present that in Spanish. I did mine about Habla!”
 
Orchard teachers look forward to using Aida’s experience to exercise Global Readiness, one of Orchard’s 9 Promises. Orchard has always encouraged students to see beyond borders. We bring the world to our students through the Web, through curriculum, teachers, current students and through a community of families from more than 50 different home countries and cultures.

[The video and pictures below are from Aida's time in Mérida, Mexico at Habla: The Center for Language and Culture.]

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