Poetry Jam at RFH Showcases Foreign Language Skills

¿Habla usted español? Parlez-vous français? 你说中文吗？Students at Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) do.

The RFH Spanish, French and Chinese Honor Societies presented an evening of entertainment done entirely in their foreign languages.

“Hats off to all of the performers in our best-ever Poetry Jam," said Sra. Nancy Vodhanel, the Spanish Honors Society advisor.

Each organization performed a song together, and individuals and small groups did original performances to fill out the evening. Organized by their teachers, the students worked on their own to practice acts which were creative and showed their love of the languages that they study.

The honors societies are open to students who have completed a certain level of language education, meet a GPA requirement and pass an oral exam. The mission of these organizations is to promote the language and culture through events and education.

"The performances, done in five different languages, were incredible! The talent was amazing in every song, dance, skit and recitation,” said Sra.Vodhanel.  

Among the highlights was “Pianista,” a Spanish rendition of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”. Jamie Albers and Gabby Kenny performed a duet of “Alguien Soy Yo”, which won the solo/duet competition. Top prizes went to the Advanced Placement French class and the Chinese song, “Beijing Welcomes You.”

Supervisor of World Languages Michel Salazar-Linden was delighted by the performances. “The Spanish, French  and Chinese Honor Societies and all of their performances reflected the instruction of all World Language teachers, but the creativity and enthusiasm exhibited by the students demonstrates their ability to think out of the box with 21^st Century skills of critical thinking,” he said.