On Friday, May 9, Class 6 students set out on their respective World Languages field trips! During these annual spring excursions, our students immerse themselves in the culture of the languages they are studying.
Throughout the spring term, Spanish Teacher Yolanda Martín introduced her Class 6 students to the works of a variety of classical Spanish painters. The students closely examined Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas, for example, during a virtual visit to the Prado Museum.
To supplement this unit, the students headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to observe the Old Master European paintings galleries. Students learned about the painters that influenced Velázquez, such as Caravaggio and Tiziano, and those who were influenced by him, such as Francisco de Goya. The visit concluded with a study of Diego Velázquez's famous portrait of Juan de Pareja. Prior to venturing inside the museum, the class enjoyed a picnic lunch in Central Park.
Meanwhile, Class 6 French students headed to Hoboken to explore artwork and poetry from around the francophone world through the Issyra Gallery. The visit provided students with an opportunity to see an incredible selection of art from Central and West Africa and to engage in a variety of interactive activities facilitated by Issa Sow, founder and curator of the gallery. “We also used this field trip as a way to build French vocabulary,” said French Teacher Ayaovi Sobo. “Particularly in relation to art and other descriptive language.”
Madame Sobo continued, “We explored vocabulary related to various types of artwork and practiced different ways to describe it—focusing on elements such as shape, size, color and art forms.” The students discussed the range of emotions that art can evoke and formulated inquiries for the gallery curator and the artist.
They concluded their day with lunch on the Hoboken waterfront, enjoying views of Manhattan across the river! Following their trip, the students wrote their own poetry in French and created original artwork inspired by pieces they had seen.
Students learning Chinese enjoyed a trip to Chinatown in Lower Manhattan, where they ate dim sum and walked around, observing various aspects of the language and culture. “This trip is the highlight of my Chinese program,” remarked Chinese Teacher Lin Wang, sharing fond memories from the last decade.
Before the trip, the students learned the Chinese vocabulary related to the places they’d visit and practiced saying those Chinese words aloud. “They recognized many Chinese words as they toured!” said Mr. Wang. “They found this trip amazing and were excited about deepening their understanding of the language.”
