Brick Students Celebrate World Cultures at Showcase

Teachers, parents and students of Brick’s elementary and middle schools gathered together at Thursday night for the eighth annual World Language Showcase.

The event was a celebration of Foreign Language Week highlighting work made by students of the schools.

“The World Language Showcase displays students’ work and provides us with the ability to share the Hispanic culture with the community,” said Lake Riviera Middle School Spanish Teacher, Brittany Levendusky.

There were two parts to the night – a presentation with song in the auditorium and a display of student projects in the cafeteria.

To kick off the showcase, a student from presented the audience with why learning a second language is so important. She said Spanish is the third most-spoken language in the world and is the official language of 21 countries. Then, the students of Advanced Chorus sang three songs.

Following was El Floreador Christopher Tejedos, a professional lasso artist, who performed tricks in the air with a rope.

Tejedos trained in Mexico where using horses in the lasso act is common in the traditional, entertaining display.

Closing out the first part of the night was the Lake Rivieras Middle School Chorus with two songs.

Dennis Silva of Camden Drive said he liked Tejedos and the tricks he was doing. He also liked the voices of the chorus; his sixth grader Brianne Silva recently joined chorus and was excited to be in the show.

“She practices all he time and loves to sing. It makes her happy,” Silva said.

For the second part, the group headed over to the cafeteria which had an abundance of cultural foods and projects. On display were replicas of volcanos and towns, plus tri-fold boards with facts and information.

A sense of pride ran through the air as students were excited to show off their projects for their parents and neighbors to see.

Lisa Soltmann of Cedar Bridge Manor said she liked how some students had an iPad to make their displays interactive. Showcases like this one, she said, help students to learn cultures and understand why it’s important to learn a second language.

“It’s important to expose children to cultures around them,” said Patricia Lorusso, Assistant Superintendent Schools. “A way to celebrate is with Foreign Language Week where we integrate our cultures together in one room.”