Posted on Apr 29, 2010
EL CLUB DE ESPAÑOL STM celebrated world cultures at GlobalFest 2010
EL CLUB DE ESPAÑOL of the High School of Saint Thomas More celebrated world languages and cultures at GlobalFest 2010, held March 12th and 13th at Normal West High School. Nearly eight hundred people from thirty five schools in Illinois participated in this annual internationally focused festival and competition; sixty eight entries for the arts and crafts competition were submitted from those schools. Saint Thomas More Spanish students placed first in five categories, spanning a collection of piñatas, international paintings, models, wood crafts, and banners, and swept the top two places in Best of Show.
First place Best of Show was awarded to sophomore Dayea Kim for her reproduction of a Picasso painting. Second place Best of Show went to sophomore Samantha Bonadies for her dragon piñata that she made with Taylor Staab. In addition, cash prizes of fifty and thirty dollars were respectively awarded to those students.
Several other STM students were recognized for their outstanding artwork. For the second year in a row, Dayea Kim and Min Park received first place for the GlobalFest 2010 banner competition; a monetary award of fifty dollars was given to the creative duo. Julia Hinders, Erica Wallen, and Brooke Plotner each received a first place ribbon for their Day of the Dead wood altar made in honor of Pablo Picasso. Second place ribbons were given to Julie Strauss and Hannah Piester for their gumball piñata. Andrew Roberts was awarded a third place ribbon for his model of a Roman village, created for his Latin I class under the guidance of Mrs. Eleni Sofronis.
Many more STM students and their cultural art were recognized this year: Dasha Hardy for her fabric based rosary designed with the miracle of the roses in mind from Juan Diego and the Virgin of Guadalupe; Caitlin Caruso, Brianna Lillyman, and Megan Olivero for their Snoopy piñata; Elizabeth Anderson for her Rubber Ducky piñata; and finally Brooke Schmidt and C.J. Young for their Nike piñata. Madie Baillon , Katie Hausladen, and Matthew Ramaly were also represented in the arts and crafts competition with their interpretations of Roman villages after studying about the lifestyles of the early Roman empire this year in their Latin class.
STM Spanish Club officers Lisa Clarkson, Jacob Fitton, and Caitlin Caruso-Dobbs organized and held Krazy Olympiks both Friday evening and Saturday morning. Johanna McCarthy and Alli Cole also assisted with the activities on Saturday. Approximately fifteen international teams competed in athletic and academic games as well as other events that celebrated national pride while promoting peace and unity among nations.
Emily Coles, a former STM graduate (class of 2006) and a student of both Latin and Spanish, is now a junior at Illinois Wesleyan and has had extensive experiences while living and studying abroad. Coles, along with two of her college classmates, graciously provided an informative and inspirational workshop during GlobalFest which promoted international studies and exchange programs, as well as world peace.
GlobalFest participants were able to participate in a vast array of activities which included attending language immersion and discovery rooms, sampling international foods, experiencing new cultures, and learning about social justice initiatives. Participating in these programs involved dancing, arts and crafts, music and games, and interacting with Rotary exchange students. This year 27 STM students attended GlobalFest 2010. Participants were: Quinn Arends, Caitlin Caruso-Dobbs, Lisa Clarkson, Alli Cole, Claire Drone-Silvers, Jacob Fitton, Kelsie Greene, Jione Hahn, Dasha Hardy, Gen Harrington, Clara Holt, Maddy Kangas, Anna Kapolnek, Dayea Kim, Won Koun Lee, Brianna Lillyman, Kaitlyn Maurer, Johanna McCarthy, Courtney Miller, Hadley Murray, Chris O’Connor, Andrew Roberts, Sidra Salman, Janie Skulborstad, Alyssa Vodacek, Breanna Wickert, and Rachel Wilhelm.
Ms. Brittany Metka, a first year art teacher at STM, served as an additional chaperone and was also invited to photograph the state festival. In the past, Katelyn Rose (class of 2007) has been recognized twice for her photography and DVD from GlobalFest; her creative work depicting the people and activities of GlobalFest has been viewed statewide at multiple conferences.
Sra. Tina Stewart, in her seventh year as an STM Spanish teacher, coordinated the annual field trip to GlobalFest. She has taken students to GlobalFest for the past seven years while at STM, where students have participated in the International Talent Showcase (musicians/singers: Joe Feeney, Katie Hazen, Rosemary Keane, Laura Welle, Nick Prudhomme, Brian Crosby, Caitlin Prosser, Rachel Caulfield, Sarah O’Connor, Anna Mayer, Lindsey Hittmeier, David Wetzel, Theresa Laumann, Jaime King, Caitlin Caruso, Elizabeth Kehl, Natalie Durst, Crofton Coleman, plus many more). The STM scholastic bowl team (Kevin Grady, Nathaniel Perry, Eric Ahasic) brought home a first place trophy for Global Connections Quiz Bowl the first year that STM entered the competition in 2008. STM Spanish students have also taught salsa lessons (head instructors: Jaime King and Elena Verbarg), basic and advanced God’s Eye classes (Kaleigh Niccum, Joe Garey, and Hannah Abbott), as well as provided a Discovery Room entitled “Welcome to Korea” featuring several of our Korean students (Ji Su Park, Won Kuon Lee, Jong Doo Lee, Dayea Kim, Min Park and Su-Jin Lim). STM Latin students also participated by providing Latin Jeopardy, featuring Lindsey Weisher and Danielle Graham. In addition to her responsibilities teaching Spanish I and II at STM and sponsoring El club de español, Stewart also serves as the chairperson for Krazy Olympiks for the GlobalFest committee.
The annual festival which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year is co-sponsored by Illinois GlobalFest Committee, Illinois Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages, Normal Community West High School, Rotary Youth Exchange, and National Resource Centers for Area Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The late Dr. Luis Clay Méndez, one of Sra. Stewart’s esteemed college professors of Spanish at Eastern Illinois University, was instrumental in the early years of GlobalFest and is well known for B.E.S.T. (Basic Emergency Spanish Training), a program he created specifically for the U.S. Coast Guard. For more information regarding GlobalFest and how you can get involved, contact Tina Stewart at tstewart@hs-stm.org.
Written by: Lisa Clarkson, Johanna McCarthy, and Sra. Tina Stewart