On the week of Monday, March 6 to Friday, March 10, the Pottsville Area High School held foreign language week. To start off the week, on Monday night a ceremony was held at 6:30 in the high school auditorium. 

At this ceremony all three languages that are offered at PAHS: Spanish, French and German, inducted new people into the Foreign Language National Honor Society. All level three students in each language were inducted including some level four students since there was not a ceremony last year. 

“Foreign Language Week is a way for us to celebrate other cultures, traditions, ways of life, and of course, languages,” German teacher, Mr. Jeremiah Lynn said. “I think it’s important to recognize that we live in a multicultural, global society where learning a foreign language allows us to break down barriers, to boost mutual understanding and cooperation among people, and to appreciate the diversity that all of humanity has to offer.”

This ceremony started off with the German students who walked onto the stage and pledged to their language. After that was French, who inducted the level three students and the level four students who didn’t have a chance to do it last year. The final language that went was Spanish and as they were conducting their ceremony the level three students had to recite a paragraph to join the society. 

Wednesday March 8, was German day. Samarra Reedy, a level three student announced the pledge of allegiance in German on the morning announcements. 

Thursday March 9, was Spanish day. On this day the Spanish teacher, Señorita Reichert, gave a bonus opportunity to wear a Spanish shirt for 10 points. A level four student, Genesis Harrison, also announced the pledge of allegiance in Spanish on the morning announcements. 

“Since we already begin each day with the pledge of allegiance, I think saying it in Spanish is a great way to kick off Spanish day,” Spanish teacher, Señorita Reichert said. “Students can hear the similarities between English words and Spanish words. We call these types of words cognates. The reason a Spanish 4 student is picked to read is because they have been taking the language for the longest amount of time.”

Friday March 10, was French day. A level four French student, Maddy Wright announced the pledge of allegiance in French on the morning announcements. 

“It’s cool to hear the pledge in all three languages that we offer here at Pottsville,” French teacher, Mrs. Nicole Stiles said. “For some students, it’s their only opportunity to hear languages other than English. For students enrolled in languages, it’s an opportunity to hear an upperclassman with great pronunciation-it’s something they can aspire to.”