On Thursday November 11, Arrowhead High School took 13 Spanish class students via Coach bus to Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, Minnesota.  Students returned Sunday, November 14, missing a total of two days of school.  The trip cost $285, and $145 scholarships were offered upon application.

This was Jeanne Psket’s, Spanish teacher and Program Lead of Arrowhead’s Department of World Languages, 20th year taking students on the trip.  As a teacher, she supervised and interacted with students, encouraged them to speak in Spanish to the best of their abilities, and overall have fun and enjoy the unique experience alongside them.

Psket was impressed by the turnout this year.  Over the past year and a half, she says it has been difficult being able to “safely provide students with experiences that were normal in previous years,” such as this trip.  

Psket says that there were a few COVID protocols to follow that made it different than years past, but they were not restrictive in the sense that it prevented students from being able to fully participate in the program and get as much out of it as possible.  

Psket hopes that “next year, even more students can attend.”

One Arrowhead student who attended this year was senior Ainsley Reichert.  Upon the 2020 Spain trip being cancelled due to COVID, she had been seeking out similar immersion opportunities, so she decided to participate in this one.  

Reichert says that one of her favorite activities was “learning to play Dominoes with one of the counselors.  Her name is Blanca and she’s a lovely old Puerto Rican woman with the sweetest and goofiest personality.  I played dominoes during my free time for the rest of the trip.”

Another Arrowhead student who went on the trip is senior Cassidy Roche.  She was influenced by Psket’s positive attitude and enthusiasm.  

Roche was pleased by her ability to speak fluidly to people on topics she had not yet spoken about in Spanish before.  She spoke Spanish for nearly the entire trip which was a new experience.   She interacted most with Arrowhead students and teachers and students from Brookfield East.

Roche recommends this opportunity to other students. She says, “I would highly recommend this field trip to other students.  If you love the language and want to push yourself to get better, this program is a must!”