Spartans hope to come out on top in their annual Spanish competition. photo by Andrew Villescas
Thomas Jefferson Spartans participated in an annual Spanish Competition.
The World Language program at Thomas Jefferson High School offers Spanish classes in levels one through four, as well as Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language Arts and Spanish Language and Culture, for more fluent Spanish speakers. The AP Spanish classes, taught by Marcelino Yantas, had the opportunity to participate in an annual competition for heritage Spanish speakers, which included two events.
The first competition took place on Saturday, April 28th, from 8:00 a.m until 4:00 p.m.. Spartans who attended competed in a soccer tournament with other Spanish speaking students at South High School. The second part of the competition will take place on May 16th, and students will travel to Boulder to participate in competitions for soccer, spelling, singing, dancing, and many other events. Spartans will be challenged by other heritage Spanish speakers from multiple Denver Schools. This is the seventh year that TJ has participated in the Spanish contest, and there is an increased excitement for the Boulder competition. “This year, over 45 students are going, so we have more participation and kids who are excited to go,” Yantas described.
Students have been preparing for the competition for months and cannot wait to finally compete in the event. TJ is determined to work hard in the contest so they can come out on top. “We are trying to beat every school because we take the competition personally,” Yantas stated. In past years, TJ has received awards at the contest, especially in the sports category, and this year the Spartans who are participating hope to take home as many trophies as possible.
The competition gives Spartans the opportunity to build relationships with each other through teamwork, and allows them to show off TJ’s impressive Spanish program. This event will also showcase the foreign language programs in other high schools in DPS. Since many schools will be attending, the students will be able to meet and compete against new faces, as well as familiar ones from different schools. The final Spanish competition is just around the corner, so TJ students should make sure to wish their fellow Spartans luck in the upcoming event.
