Global Connections

DESTINATI0N: Discovery

After two years of postponed and canceled trips, students were finally able to jet off over spring break and absorb the kind of lessons that only travel can teach.

Culture and kunst. The European arts immersion tour was jam-packed with museums, monuments and memories. Students learned to waltz (and how to make apfelstrudel!) in Vienna, visited the Kafka Museum in Prague, took in the Semper Opera House Dresden and experienced the many cultural and historical treasures of Berlin—from Mass at the Berliner Dom to a street art workshop, as well as stops at the Berlin Wall, Museum Island, the Holocaust Memorial, the Brandenburg Gate (pictured) and more.

How A MAYFIELD SPANISH CLASS BECAME part of a ‘global brigade’

Virtual service project connects students with families in rural Honduras

Although she agrees that the nuts and bolts of language—grammar, syntax and vocabulary—are essential, Spanish teacher Kathleen Costello admits she always wants her teaching to be “bigger than the classroom programs.” So, she’s constantly on the lookout for immersive language learning lessons—experiences that bolster her students’ skills and confidence and give them a chance to “use Spanish in meaningful ways.” And what could be more meaningful than using their gifts to serve others?

This fall, Ms. Costello shepherded her Spanish 4 students through a six-week service initiative in the rural community of El Caragual, Honduras— all over Zoom. Working with Global Brigades, an international nonprofit organization that connects student volunteers around the world with communities in developing countries, the 12 upperclass students formed a virtual Mayfield “health squad.” Their task: to learn how they could help the village’s residents mitigate some of the day-to-day difficulties of living without a central water system. First, the students connected with José Alvarez, an energetic Global Brigades liaison coordinator, before going on to interview community members about their most urgent issues: clean water access and sanitation needs.

One of these earliest interactions stuck with Ms. Costello. Once the Zoom call connected, she noticed that every person on the video chat—young or old, student or adult, Honduran or

Kathleen Costello led her students on an international service trip—via Zoom.

American—was female. Women were tackling the important issues; women were the problem-solvers. Together, they identified a solution that could directly address some of the residents’ childrearing challenges and fears of genderbased violence: an enclosed latrine.

Because of the lack of running water and limited resources, most villagers use outdoor spaces for all of their sanitary needs. The women expressed feeling vulnerable to potential safety threats, and also wanted a place in which to

change their baby’s diapers and bathe their children. The Mayfield tele-squad was able to relay these concerns to the Global Brigades team, who understood that a new latrine building would provide privacy and security—and was something from which the entire community could benefit.

Though several Mayfield students expressed their concerns about the collaboration early on—Would their language skills be strong enough? How could a high school class actually be of use to a village thousands of miles away?—these misgivings evaporated over time. “The project has taught me to never doubt myself and my abilities,” says Alexa Valenzuela ’22. “The experience has allowed for me to gain more confidence, in both myself and my peers, which strengthened my collaboration skills.” Ariana Dalie ’22 shared a similar sentiment. “Our Global Brigades project was both educational and impactful,” she says. “It was so amazing getting to speak with a community across the globe in Honduras and find solutions that pertained to the issues which affected them directly.”

Ms. Costello was incredibly proud of the work done by her class—and justifiably so. Mr. Alvarez, who mostly works with college-level medical, engineering and finance majors on similar service projects, was incredibly enthusiastic about the work of the Mayfield tele-squad, saying they “went head-to-head with these university students we work with!”

Head of School Kate Morin was thrilled with the outcome, too. “This is the kind of love in action that Holy Child schools are all about,” she says. “This initiative had a clear, academic purpose, but it also had service at its core.” And, while the boost to her students’ communication skills and confidence was gratifying, Ms. Costello was especially excited to watch her students form a real bond with the residents of El Caragual. Seeing “women connecting with each other, genuinely interested in each other and collaborating with each other” made the world feel a little smaller, and a bit more kind.

“This is the kind of love in action that Holy Child schools are all about.”

— KATE MORIN, HEAD OF SCHOOL

When French teacher Bertha Sevilla is asked what motivated her to introduce an entirely new project into her curriculum this year, she responds with an excited smile: “Serendipity!” In the summer of 2021, during an online professional development course, Ms. Sevilla met fellow French teacher Michelle Fournier, co-founder of “Manie Musicale,” a global French-language music voting competition. The more Ms. Sevilla heard about the program, the more she saw its potential to engage her students in French language and culture through music.

“Manie Musicale” works on a kind of MTV-meets-March Madness model. The competition starts out with a bracket of 16 songs from established Frenchspeaking musicians, and each week, tens of thousands of high school and college students from around the world vote online to advance their preferred artists to the next round.

How does Ms. Sevilla see this project aligning with Holy Child goals? “The joy in learning!” she exclaims. Ms. Sevilla says she is always “looking for a way to connect to students” and avenues to make the material relevant to them, which is why she was so enthusiastic about incorporating “Manie Musicale” into all of her French classes. “To students right now, their life is music. Their life is Instagram…and TikTok.” So instead of just engaging with textbooks and workbooks, students are actively participating in a worldwide game with their French-learning peers in real time. Their online votes determine the winner of the competition, which plays out with actual artists, many of whom are hitmakers on the music charts in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec, Canada. “These are real people they can follow on Instagram!” Ms. Sevilla adds.

The music videos chosen for “Manie Musicale” are not just slickly produced entertainment; they’re also selected for their educational elements. Like most pop songs, the lyrics are somewhat simple and repetitive, which offers practical linguistic value: They’re easier to understand, easier to remember and repeat. And students pick up on cultural cues, too. Mackenzie Younker ’25 says it’s fun to know “what is trending for students our age in France.” Classmate Kendall Lee ’25 agrees. “The most interesting part of ‘Manie Musicale’ is how similar popular songs are in France compared to the U.S…[but] seeing the cultural differences has been very interesting to watch,” she says.

Stop by any of Ms. Sevilla’s French classes, and you’ll notice the studentcreated decorations: cutouts celebrating Mardi Gras, paper locks mimicking those that hang on the bridges around Paris, empty glass pots of Oui yogurt filled with red, white and blue beads. And whether it’s the freshmen in French 1 or the juniors and seniors in AP French, you’ll also notice that they are watching the same music videos and engaging in stimulating discussions about those videos —at all levels of fluency. Perhaps this was another reason to include “Manie Musicale” in every grade: so everyone who was studying French would have something in common, something they could discuss with each other. “That’s community,” says Ms. Sevilla. “Nobody is left out!’

It’s clear that seniors who have studied French all four years value the kind of connection Ms. Sevilla cultivates in her classes. “Something interesting about this class is the tight-knit bond we have created. We have really grown together and created a unique bond,” says Grace Gannon ’22. “I appreciate how Madame Sevilla is always prepared and has mastered the balance between hard work and fun projects throughout the school year.” Frances Aguirre ’25 also appreciates her teacher’s ingenuity. “I think that Ms. Sevilla always has great ideas that vary, and we always do different, fun things, which I love. We either work in groups and do mini-conversations in front of the class, practice work, watching French videos…”

Ms. Sevilla is already planning her classroom activities for next year, and is drawing inspiration from “Manie Musicale.” Now that she’s drummed up students’ enthusiasm for Francophone music, Ms. Sevilla has been hatching the idea for another creative language lesson: “Lip sync challenges!”

Francophone music mania sweeps French classes

Students embrace language learning through lyrics in worldwide music video voting game

Drumroll, s’il vous plaît…

The “Manie Musicale” champion for 2022, as voted by students in 3,395 schools across 16 countries, was “Nouveau Monde” by Corneille, a Rwandan-Canadian singer and songwriter.