“We have strong evidence today that studying a foreign language has a ripple effect, helping to improve student performance in other subjects.” - Richard Riley, former Secretary of Education.
Once a year, Bishop O’Connell celebrates National World Language Week with a variety of events and activities aimed at raising awareness for the study of languages and world cultures.
This year, the week was observed March 3-7. During the week, the O’Connell school day began with the Lord’s Prayer and a “Hail Mary” offered in a world language, and on Friday, music from around the world was piped through the hallways between class periods.
The week culminated with the World Language Honor Society induction ceremony, on Thursday, Mar. 6, where 97 students were welcomed into French, German, Latin and Spanish Honor Societies. Each society has specific requirements, but all honorees have maintained a superior grade point average over the past two years and have demonstrated a high level of effort and interest in their respective language.
Dr. Joseph Romero, Ph.D. was the guest speaker for the ceremony. He is an associate professor of Classics at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, and is also a 1986 graduate of Bishop O'Connell. While earning his B.A. in Classics (Latin) from Mary Washington, he studied at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. He went on to attend Duke University where he received his Ph.D. in Classical Studies in 1999. Dr. Romero also spent a year in Munich, Germany on fellowship at Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Institute. His research interests include Latin poetry of the Augustan era and Latin language pedagogy.
Special thanks to the PTO volunteers for the beautiful reception that followed the evening celebration, and to our faculty for their dedication to teaching of world languages.