Students at Elwood Middle School gathered for a celebration in recognition of National Foreign Language Month. Funded by the school’s PTA, the assembly featured a variety of musical performances by students enrolled in the foreign language program. One group of students impressed with their version of “Let It Go” from the movie “Frozen,” sung in Italian, while another group sang “La Bamba” in Spanish.

To conclude the event, all eighth-grade students enrolled in the Spanish program performed a variety of songs on the panpipe, an instrument common in Central and South America. Under the direction of musician, historian and teacher Pepe Santana, the students learned how to play the panpipe prior to the foreign language celebration. The students even learned about a panpipe’s flow of air in their science classes, contributing to an interdisciplinary lesson.