Mr. Kevin Cessna-Buscemi called the school on Monday. It was during flex time and my students were in the auditorium watching the weekly news show, so I was able to take the call. My heart was pounding so loudly that I'm amazed I was even able to hear what he was saying!
Let me offer my thanks here publicly to the National Spanish Exam and the selection committee for choosing me for this opportunity. I intend to embrace it and experience everything I can while I am in Spain. I promise to bring back wonderful stories to tell, things to fill my classroom, and an increased cultural understanding to share with my students. And I will encourage them to take the opportunity, whenever it presents itself, to go abroad and experience the world from a different perspective; to do so is refreshing, exhilarating, and wholesome.
Let me also thank two people at my school. My principal, Dave Mahaley, has supported the National Spanish Exam every year, has come up with money from the budget to pay for every student to take it, and has encouraged me to take the data I receive each year from the test to create better instruction for my students. (We also give the National French, Latin, and German exams too!) Dave wrote my letter of recommendation for this scholarship and he is being understanding of the fact that I will miss the first two weeks of school this July. The second person at my school to thank is my amazing Department Chairperson, Franca Gilbert. She is a great teacher of French and a sincere advocate for the study and teaching of language. Franca has been supportive and encouraging, and I humbly offer my thanks.
It's going to be an amazing summer filled with learning, challenge, and lots of fun!
--Anne
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