The Spanish and ASL classes will  perform Christmas carols around the school Monday and Tuesday. 

“I’ve never seen such excitement and enthusiasm when the kids are coming to class,” Spanish teacher Laurie Streich said. “They are really loving learning the songs. Other teachers are even telling me that they are singing in other classes. They really are proud that they are learning the language like that.”

The complete list of songs students will be singing are ‘Jingle Bells,’ ‘White Christmas,’ ‘Silent Night,’ ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,’ and ‘Feliz Navidad.’ The Spanish students will be singing in both Spanish and English while the ASL students will sign the songs.

“Anytime you have something with music it makes the kids want to dance and learn more,” ASL teacher Amy Thompson said. “I use it as a great motivational tactic.”

The students are able to learn both ASL and Spanish at the same time as the classes work together on their Christmas songs. 

“How cool is it that we are showing how big languages are, “Streich said. “Now we are all learning because they learned ‘Feliz Navidad’ and we are learning how to sign it.”

This activity has been done in the past by Thompson and this year they are pairing up with the Spanish classes.

“Signing all these songs the past couple of weeks has been so much fun,” sophomore Liliana Miller said. “I’ve been showing my friends and teachers some of the signs and they can now do it with me. I can’t wait to show others what we have been working on.”

The purpose of this project is to teach students new vocabulary in a different way than before. It gives the students an opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit while also incorporating the new languages they are learning.

“I think it provides something fun and motivational,” Thompson said. “Everyone loves Christmas music around this time and It makes them eager to learn that new vocabulary.”