Good evening to our school staff, parents, and students! My name is Luzmarina Pineda-Ocampo, Spanish teacher for the levels: Spanish 2, Spanish 3 Honors, IB Spanish & AP Spanish.I join you here today to present the Spanish Award for the academic period 2020-2021. This is an occasion of pride for all of us in The World Language Department as we come together to recognize the recipient of this Award for their dedication combined with a strong sense of collaboration, cooperation and participation. The nominees this year were some of the most incredible, hardworking and compassionate students I have had the pleasure of knowing. However, one person stood out for their remarkable engagement with the learning of this International Language. I had this student throughout the course of four semesters, and I cannot be happier to see them celebrated here tonight.It is my great honor and privilege to present the Spanish Award of the School Year to KENZIE TALHELM. Kenzie was always present in class, and when occasionally she needed to be absent she made sure to explain her reasons. During the difficult months of March, April and May 2020, she did not disconnect from her responsibilities and participated in class as if she had been in the physical classroom together with her other twenty-nine partners. This approach to learning from home prepared her for what was to come in 2020-2021: virtual lessons on a daily basis. Kenzie adjusted to the online learning platform quickly and successfully.She did not only excel in academics, but most importantly she was a supportive and respectful team player, as well as most helpful in the classroom to both her Peers and Teacher. Words like self-motivated, positive, enthusiastic, persistent, and determined very well describe Kenzie’s performance in the Spanish class, but this is not what makes her an outstanding student. Her excellence in my classroom was due to the fact that she genuinely cares about learning and would place it first before anything else -for example, grades. I am also very pleased to mention that while Kenzie believes that good education plays a vital role in building a bright future for everyone, she also thinks that good education should include the experience of learning a second/new language apart from our own, and this is the reason why she has been truly committed to develop proficiency in Spanish. ¡Kenzie! Recibe este premio, el cual tienes más que merecido. Espero lo disfrutes en compañía de tu familia. Sé que vas a ser una gran profesional, como también sé que le vas a hacer contribuciones importantes no solo a tu cultura, sino también a las culturas que decidas visitar en un futuro próximo; ya sea por intereses personales o laborales. ¡Felicitaciones por tus logros en la clase de Español!
Luzmarina Pineda-Ocampo, World Languages Department