After an uneventful schedule last semester, Spanish teacher Mr. Dan Kelty hopes to revive the Spanish Club by attracting members with the appeal of learning about new cultures.
“Last semester didn’t work out because a couple of seniors decided they wanted to plan the activities in Spanish Club, but they ran out of ideas and time to dedicate to come up with some good ideas,” Kelty said.
Senior Melissa Franke agreed, adding that many of the original members became busy after the first few weeks of school. Activities such as play rehearsals and sports practices drew members away. Since joining the club at the beginning of her junior year, Franke has enjoyed being able to spend time with her friends while still using a different language.
“We do really fun scavenger hunts throughout the school, watch movies like ‘Shrek’ in Spanish and play lots of games, like Pictionary,” Franke said. “My favorite memory was the scavenger hunt that Señor Kelty put together all across the school. We had to run all over the school, in the library, through teachers’ rooms and we even had to crawl under tables to find clues.”
According to Franke, the club is unique because of the different levels of Spanish speakers who join. The diversity of the speakers contribute to the appeal of the club. She believes that students who have taken Spanish 5 do not have an advantage over the students in Spanish 1 when they play games.
“If you have a basic knowledge of Spanish, 1 you should be fine. Even if you struggle with Spanish, Señor Kelty will help you out in games,” Franke said.
Senior Sammi Folsom, added that Spanish Club is full of diverse people, ranging from students who are fluent in Spanish to those who only understand some vocabulary. Folsom encourages students to join the club because it is a great way to get involved and be a part of something in school.
“I think the best part of the club is just hanging out with friends after school,” Folsom said.
Although the weekly meetings did not turn out as planned first semester, the club began a new tradition by hosting a booth at Special Olympics in October. Athletes were able to color different pictures and hang them up on the wall. They also received candy in return for their artwork.
“I think that would be a nice tradition to keep every year,” Franke said.
While Folsom and Franke both wanted to help take charge of the club last semester, they realized how hard it was to plan all the activities for the members each week. This semester, Kelty hopes to focus the club on different cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Students will learn about different foods, places and customs.
“After I present some information to them, then we’ll play games with the information. We can prepare our own versions of the foods and perhaps even learn to how to do different kinds of dances, such as the salsa or the merengue,” Kelty said.
Kelty started the club a few years ago in order to raise enthusiasm for learning the Spanish language. With the exception of last semester, the club has had around five to 10 members every year. The club meets every other Tuesday in Kelty’s room.
“If you’re interested in joining, you should come and bring all of your friends,” Franke said. “The more people there are, the more fun it will be.”
