Spanish immersion experiences expand global perspectives for Harpeth Hall students

By Elizabeth Floyd Read ’09

Arriving at El Lago del Bosque, a Concordia Language Immersion Village in Minnesota this past summer was like stepping into another world for Harpeth Hall sophomore Elizabeth Lefler and junior Shreya Priyadarshi.

While many students view the summer holiday as a time to take a break from classes, for Elizabeth and Shreya, it became an opportunity to delve deeper into their academic studies by immersing in Spanish language, culture, food, and history.

For a month this past summer, they attended over 180 hours of advanced Spanish classes focused on vocabulary and grammar joining students from Montgomery Bell Academy at El Lago del Bosque as part of MBA’s Wilson Grant, which encourages students to spend their summers exploring and furthering the intellectual passions they have developed at school.

The students at El Lago learned various accents, phrases, and cultural differences between Hispanic countries taught by counselors from around the globe. For meals, they tried Spanish paella, Mexican tamales and frijoles, and even asado argentino, an authentic Argentinian barbecue dish, opening their senses to the tastes of Hispanic countries. During free times, they could try their hand at fútbol or learn traditional dances such as the Argentine tango and Spanish flamenco.

All the while, Elizabeth and Shreya strengthened their Spanish language skills, allowing them to start the new school year more confident about their abilities.

“Along with the lifelong friendships and learning experiences we made from this immersion, we enjoyed every moment of our learning experience,” said Elizabeth.

Together, they shared their experience at El Lago del Bosque with their peers at Harpeth Hall’s National Hispanic Heritage Month all-school assembly celebration.

National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, recognizes the contributions, culture, and history of the American Latino community.

During the student-led assembly, middle and upper school students joined Elizabeth and Shreya in sharing what they learned in classes and ended the event with a school-wide sing-a-long celebrating Spanish music and dance.

“It is important to recognize the excellence, resilience, and resistance of the Hispanic and Latino communities as we join them in celebrating their heritage and value their accomplishments in our Harpeth Hall community and our city,” said upper school Spanish teacher Bela Lodygensky.

Harpeth Hall’s recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month continued throughout campus as Spanish classes worked together to share Hispanic history and culture with the school.

In Spanish 4, students created Spanish-language biographies and infographics of accomplished and famous Latinos in the United States and posted them throughout the upper school. Students in other Spanish classes then took part in a bingo-style scavenger hunt to find and learn about as many of these cultural leaders as possible.

In Spanish 5, students prepared lessons for their peers to celebrate Hispanic cultures across Latin America. Each student chose a different country to research and create materials for use in other Spanish classrooms, including lessons on the country and culture, short readings, games, and activities.

Across campus, students created vibrant chalk drawings that represented Tapetes. In Mexican culture, Tapetes are created for Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. At Harpeth Hall, students created their Tapetes on the sidewalks around Souby. Each fall, National Hispanic Heritage month affords students the opportunity to learn more about the significant cultural contributions of Latino Americans throughout our history.

Seven members of Harpeth Hall’s Class of 2023 earned the distinct honor of being named semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship program. The Harpeth Hall seniors are among 16,000 semifinalists from across the country. The girls credit the achievement to the high-quality education, guidance, and support they received in their years at Harpeth Hall. “I cannot stress enough the impact that my Harpeth Hall teachers have had on me,” said National Merit Semifinalist Ava Cassidy, who hopes to pursue degrees in biology and film in college. To her, the National Merit Scholarships is “a testament to the skill and true care that Harpeth Hall teachers have for their students.”

The road to National Merit semifinalist recognition begins during a student’s junior year when she takes the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The exam measures a student’s critical reading ability, mathematical problem-solving skills, and writing ability.

The highest-scoring program entrants in each state are selected as National Merit semifinalists. Harpeth Hall’s honorees are in the top 1% of high school seniors across the country.

While Harpeth Hall’s National Merit honorees focus on their senior year, they are also thinking about their futures. More than 7,500 National Merit scholarships worth more than $30 million will be awarded next spring.

“I was excited to receive news that I was named a National Merit semifinalist. It felt very rewarding to be recognized for my scholastic achievement on a national scale,” National Merit semifinalist Caroline Seehorn said.

“In college, I hope to study biomedical engineering, and I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with my degree post graduation, but I definitely am interested in pursuing research both in and out of college. I believe that this award can help propel me on that path by demonstrating my ability to work well under pressure and serve as a leader within the classroom.”

To advance as a National Merit finalist and be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record and receive recommendation letters from school officials. They must also submit a scholarship application that highlights their academic record, participation in school and community activities, and demonstrated leadership abilities.

In addition to the National Merit semifinalists, Harpeth Hall also celebrates 13 commended students in the National Merit Scholarship program: Julia Allos, Conway Bettis, Nandu Govindaswamy, Hallie Graham, Bella Guillamondegui, Avery Hassan, Riley Kate Higgins, Anna Lindsley, Olivia Majors, Madison McCall, Mary Meacham, Amelia Olafsson, and Louise Ory.

“It is a huge honor to be recognized on this scale, and all the support and encouragement from the school has been amazing,” semifinalist Annie Linley said. “This award has helped me see that the work I put in now will pay off no matter what I decide to do.”

Each of the students honored by the National Merit Scholarship Program represents the tradition of academic excellence at Harpeth Hall, where students learn to think critically, lead confidently, and live honorably.

“There is so much I love about Harpeth Hall,” Caroline said. “From the incredible faculty to my engaging peers to the wealth of academic and extracurricular opportunities offered, there really is nowhere else I would have rather spent the last seven years.”

1 Natalie Apodaca 2 Virginia Callen

3 Ava Cassidy 4 Annie Linley 5 Maddie Meyer

6 Mary Roper 7 Caroline Seehorn

8 Julia Allos 9 Conway Bettis

10 Nandu Govindaswamy 11 Hallie Graham

12 Bella Guillamondegui 13 Avery Hassan

14 Riley Kate Higgins 15 Anna Lindsley

16 Olivia Majors 17 Madison McCall

18 Mary Meacham 19 Amelia Olafsson

20 Louise Ory

Choir

‘From Nothing to Something’: National Museum of African American Music comes to Harpeth Hall

Living in Music City U.S.A. has its perks when it comes to the amazing opportunities afforded to music students. This semester, Ms. Heidi Wolter partnered with the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) to bring artists, educators, and historians to the 8th grade Music and Culture class. NMAAM’s “From Nothing to Something” workshop series focuses on educating students on the innovative materials and methods used by early African American artists to create music. Early African Americans, with limited access to resources, used everyday materials to create music including the wash tub bass and cigar box guitar. Harpeth Hall students experienced this firsthand with a visit from Lucius Talley. A local music icon, Mr. Talley, as he is known on stage, is a prolific spoons artist, having appeared on “America’s Got Talent,” the TV series “Nashville,” and a variety of commercials over the years. In October, Mr. Talley visited Harpeth Hall to speak

Orchestra

Visiting artist expands students’ learning beyond the classroom

Conductor and composer Kirt Mosier values the power of being in the moment. Throughout his career, he worked with orchestras in Iceland, Vienna, Salzburg, Jakarta, Australia and more. Twice, he won national composition awards with his 1993 work “Battle Dance” and his 2003 work “American Reel.”

He believes that every time a musician plays, she must give it her all — at every rehearsal, practice session, and performance.

This fall, the world renowned conductor worked with our Harpeth Hall orchestra in workshops culminating in a special fall orchestra concert on Oct. 8, thanks to a grant presented by the Hays Foundation.

The opportunity to bring in a visiting clinician is an exciting opportunity for students, Orchestra Director Lori McDermott said. Having Mr. Mosier on campus “gives students the opportunity to work with another director and hear different ways to communicate correct posture, position, bow hold, tone production, balance, dynamics, and intonation,” Ms. McDermott said. “It provides a wonderful, yet different perspective.” to the history of spoons as an instrument and demonstrated his spoon-playing mastery. Throughout the fall, the class also had a visit from a professional drummer and former professor at Fisk University, who spoke about the importance of historically black colleges and universities, as well as a professional lyricist who collaborated with the girls to write a song. In the spring, 8th grade students will be able to complete their lessons with a visit to the NMAAM in downtown Nashville.

For senior Conway Bettis, working with Mr. Mosier taught her how to lift the music off of the page.

“I learned how to really focus in on a piece of music — learning how to feel it and make it come alive rather than just playing the notes. He was really able to get the group to come together and perform as one instead of as individuals,” Conway said.