On Tuesday December 9th, the advanced Spanish class visited the second grade Spanish Immersion class taught by Señora Vanegas.

Normally when we visit an immersion class, the students from advanced Spanish (Ana Balshi '24, Ana Dubacher '26, Mara Dubacher '26, and Daylan Gill '24) take time to prepare class-related material and other special activities to make for an exciting moment for the 2nd graders to enjoy and remember. For this visit, we asked Señora Vanegas if there was something in particular her students would be interested in doing.

She told us that they would love to have a fun activity. After a discussion with the advanced class, we decided to make gingerbread houses, which was perfect for this time of year. The typical gingerbread assembly kit sounds simple, right? Oh no! We didn’t take the easy way out.

We wanted the houses to be unique and special, so we decided to be brave and made them using graham crackers. In preparation for this activity, the four advanced students worked hard creating their houses by making the icing, and all the while, trying not to be tempted to eat the candies in front of them. After careful assembly, pouring love and warmth into each design, the houses were completed.

On Tuesday morning, we walked God’s Acre carrying six gingerbread houses; four to decorate and two to serve as models to follow. The second graders waited with anxious anticipation to see the middle schoolers. The middle school students presented themselves to the class saying where they were from and how they celebrate the holidays. The second graders did the same in return. It was wonderful to hear such a young group of children speaking fluently in Spanish. They exchanged more questions and answers, and then started to work on their houses. The icing and colorful candy made them giggle and laugh as they were working.

Every so often they asked the question, “Are we eating the houses now?”, to which I replied, "Not right now. That’s up to your teacher." We finished our visit singing “Feliz Navidad” from José Feliciano. The four students and I came back to the middle school with big smiles on our faces after the great time we had. The preparation was well worth it because it helped the day go as smoothly as possible. In the end, I found out they ate the houses the following day with complete happiness and another memory made!