♪♪ ♪♪ >> Young woman: We are Chinese 3 Honors, and we are winning.

>> Gauss: I want my students to see the world outside of the four classroom walls, so all of this interaction that we have with different students from different parts of the world helps them get a good start.

>> Girl: Going into Spain, I was like, "Okay, I can sort of speak it.

I can, like, work it out," but, like, actually meeting my Señora and, like, talking to her, like, she asked me easy questions, as far as, like, what do I like to eat.

And I just -- It just came to me.

Just like, words kept popping into my head into a sentence.

I was like, "Oh, wow, I can actually speak a language."

>> Bland: [ Laughs ] >> Sarah: Pumpkin seeds -- they were actually found in tombs in Mexico from like 7,000 B.C.

>> Myers: This is the second project that we brought them together to do.

This one is doing the research of certain key agricultural products, foods, and to see how they got from the new world to the old world.

♪♪ >> Oehlers: We throw a big Oktoberfest here every year.

It's the true spirit of it, and the real spirit comes from the band that we have.

And we have a dance later on.

It's called the "Schnitzelbank."

[ All singing in German ] >> Narrator: This week on "Classroom Close-Up, New Jersey," we're celebrating language and culture.

In this episode, foreign-language teachers guide students on educational journeys from the classroom and far beyond the bell.

Our first stop -- words, music, and dancing.

♪♪ >> Man: Okay!

Welcome to 2020 Languapalooza foreign-language singing and dancing competition.

♪♪ >> Gauss: Tonight is my favorite night of the year as a language teacher.

The competition is fierce.

>> Young man: The crowd will be electric tonight, trust me.

>> Man: It's a critical evaluation, judging them based on their entertainment value, singing, and choreography.

>> Gauss: We have the Chinese, French, and Spanish classes that are participating.

>> Woman: This is the prize we are fighting for.

>> Gauss: The students have prepared songs, the lyrics in the target language, and they've choreographed a dance to go along with each song.

[ Singing in foreign language ] ♪♪ We have 21 Spanish students from Avila, Spain.

We started a sister-school relationship back in 2016 with my colleague in Spain, Aida Marquez.

>> Marquez: This program is so successful that every year, more and more students want to come here.

>> Candela: My visit to New Jersey is going really well.

I'm meeting amazing people.

>> Herman: Some of the experiences that we create here through the exchange programs and events such as the International Language Week are truly life-changing for some of these students.

The International Language Week is a series of events hosted by our language teachers.

[ Upbeat music playing ] >> Gauss: We have a different celebration each day.

We have Mardi Gras for the French Honor Society.

We have a Chinese cultural showcase.

We have an international fair, and then we have Languapalooza.

This is the night for the students that study language at RFH.

It's my favorite night as a teacher, and I believe that it's the highlight of some students' year.

[ Upbeat music playing ] [ Cheers and applause ] [ Singing in foreign language ] [ Cheers and applause ] >> Marquez: This is my second time in the Languapalooza, so I think my students will have a lot of fun.

>> Candela: This is a very good opportunity to improve my English and to meet new people in a new place.

>> Marquez: Everybody has welcomed us so well and so warmly that it's amazing.

>> Herman: This exchange program is something that we've been carrying on now as an exchange program since 2016.

Our mission statement at RFH says very clearly in there that we are here to develop global citizens, and this is, as the world language department, one of the many ways in which we contribute to that mission statement.

>> Young man: Welcome to Languapalooza.

>> Young woman: We're raising money for Heifer International to buy alpacas for impoverished families in Peru.

An alpaca is the main source of income for many families in Peru, as the agriculture is very poor there, so they use the fleece for blankets.

And that's how they make all their income.

>> Man: Everybody, could you please take your seats?

We are starting.

>> Gauss: This activity does involve a lot of collaboration.

I have some natural leaders that step up.

I have students that take dance outside of school that decide to be the leader and choreograph the routine.

I have other students encouraging people to go home and sing their lines so that they can practice and come into class ready to practice as a group.

[ Cheers and applause ] >> Man: You had Russian dancing.

You had a one-legged dancer, pyrotechnics, kids lifted in the air.

This is unbelievable.

>> Woman: Everybody, move back!

>> Herman: The passion that the teachers bring to the classroom truly rubs off on and inspires our students.

They are innovative and caring and passionate, and they bring their A-game to work every day.

It's amazing.

>> Young woman: We are Chinese 3 Honors, and we are winning.

[ Singing in Chinese ] >> Gauss: The prize is only bragging rights and a purple pooch statue that the winning teacher gets to display in their room for the duration of the year.

[ Upbeat music playing ] I want my students to see the world outside of the four classroom walls, so all of this interaction that we have with different students from different parts of the world helps them get a good start.

>> Man: The winner of the Purple Pooch, the best show overall in the 2020 Languapalooza Rumson-Fair Regional High School is... AP Spanish!

[ Cheers and applause ] >> Young man: I finally got my moment!

I've been waiting four years for this -- four years.

It's finally happened.

Thank you all so much.

[ All cheering ] >> Narrator: Interaction and all that energy will certainly help these students get a great start on their path to adulthood.

It's what can happen when young people are immersed in another land.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> Bland: Oh.

Well, that's a good topic.

>> Young man: In the beginning of the trip, we were given a map of Granada, and eventually, after one point, I knew I wouldn't need it because if I got lost, I had the Spanish-speaking abilities to ask someone for help.

>> Young man: Okay.

>> Bland: My name is Candice Bland.

I am a high-school Spanish teacher here at Hightstown High School.

During my graduate degree at University of Delaware, I won the fellowship to go to the University of Granada as a professor for a year.

I really just remained friends with all of my colleagues in the University of Granada.

And about six years into my teaching career, they started sending me e-mails like, "Candice, why don't you bring some students over?"

And finally in the year 2010, I decided to take them up on their offer.

You leave on an overnight flight.

We arrive in Malaga, Spain, which is in the south of Spain.

Pure Castilian Spanish is spoken in the south of Spain, so it's really true immersion.

The kids are, like -- You have to be forced to speak Spanish.

That's why I picked this area.

We are picked up by a University bus, and we are brought directly to the Picasso Museum because Malaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso.

And then we go right over to the beach and have lunch on the beach.

I tell the kids pack a bathing suit in your carry-on, 'cause we're going to the playa.

I think it's really neat and gives the kids perspective when you see a body of water from a different part of the world.

When we get to Granada and we pull up to the plaza, all the families are standing there waiting.

So they get off the bus, they have the pictures of the kids, they're like, "Oh, you're mine, you're mine, you're mine."

They go home, they get showered, they have their first dinner with their family, and then the next morning, it's time to go do course work.

>> Bland: They were studying enriched classes, immersion classes in the morning, and in the afternoons, doing cultural excursions.

>> Leventhal: How many of you broadened your horizons on the types of foods that you now eat because of going to Spain?

>> Young woman: Pretty sure that's, like, the best part of the entire trip -- the food.

>> Young woman: We spent most of our money on tapas and patatas con alioli.

>> Leventhal: It really is a life-changing experience, and, for me, that happened when I was 15 with a similar program.

To have the opportunity to do this in high school, I mean, it just, it opens up your eyes to a world that is just so amazing.

I mean, traveling really broadens your perspective on life.

>> Bland: Matt, what was one of your favorite excursions that you went on?

>> Matt: We went flamenco dancing one night, and my, who I thought were my friends at the time there, threw me into dance with the instructor.

As I look back, it's one of my favorite experiences now because, one, I got to dance with, like, the most beautiful women in all of Spain, and, two, it really, like, opened my eyes because this is a whole 'nother culture, whole 'nother, like, way of expressing yourself, a whole 'nother art form, and I got to experience that firsthand.

>> Bland: I want them to be more of a global citizen, and I want them to understand the importance of being bilingual.

It is so important for us, especially, to speak Spanish, especially in New Jersey.

We have a huge need for bilingual professionals in all walks of life.

>> Narrator: Coming up, focusing on the food traditions of the Inca.

But first, we're looking back at how the education community faced the challenges of learning during the COVID pandemic.

>> Morey: Hello, my little friends.

>> Narrator: It's our latest installment of Making the Grade.

>> Morey: I get to call you my little friends in the morning, and I get to call you my little friends at night.

Long Branch has provided a wonderful program called Night School.

Ready?

Let's go.

10, 20...

Some of the teachers at their grade level have communication with the families that may be working during the day or they may have something that is going on that they need to attend to.

>> Edwards: Alright, can you explain what you did here, Julia?

>> Julia: I put it into four equal parts.

>> Edwards: Very good, and how many pieces would you have to shade in to have a whole?

>> Julia: Four.

>> Edwards: It helps parents join teachers to see what their kids are learning in school and to get an understanding of how they can help their child at home.

>> Napolitano: So say those two sentences again.

>> Girl: A family went to the desert.

>> Napolitano: Some of these parents are working extra jobs and night jobs, and who's going to babysitters and who's here, where I think it's just a real aid for these parents.

You know, like, we're there to help the kids when they can't.

>> Sergio: I think it's very helpful for her.

It's comfortable for the test.

>> Morey: This word says what, Lexi?

>> Lexi: Bundle.

>> Morey: Bundle.

Bundle of fun.

Night School starts at 5:00.

Say, "Hello, Cookie Monster."

Parents can work with their children.

They can sit in on the lessons, and the teacher can review what they did for the day...

I'm gonna share my screen.

...in reading, writing, and math.

What did you learn now that you didn't know before?

That way, they are still kept in the loop and they're informed of everything that's going on in your child's classroom.

>> Beth: It's good for me to be able to sit down and watch what she's learned so I can help her with homework or if I see she's struggling, I can just add a little bit more help at night.

>> Alicia: If Layla has had a question for something that had to do with homework, it helps me to be able to see the way that Ms. Morey is teaching and the way that she's doing it with them so I can then do it the same way with her.

>> Napolitano: What word did they use in the paragraph that means the same thing as trip, like taking a trip?

>> Julia: Journey.

>> Napolitano: Good job, Julia.

Like I keep telling the kids, like, we're making history right now.

I'm glad that Long Branch is keeping up with the times and, like, even offering this.

>> Christina: So, I'm in high school, so I have to, like, juggle between schedules, me and my siblings, and that's why I like the Night School because at night, we're all home and we can help her.

>> Tory: I definitely think it's engaging the children more.

They're getting the four hours during the day, and then they're getting the additional time in the evening.

So it allows for a break away from the screen and then a come back to reengage with the children with each other and Miss Morey.

>> Morey: The bonding is really nice because, you know, you get to see some grandmas and grandpas and their family members sitting there working with them, and it's definitely, I think, making the children more comfortable.

We added 10 more, 10 less.

I really feel Long Branch is 100% committed to all the families and students and the educators.

We really do care about these students, because they really matter most.

>> All: Goodbye!

♪♪ >> All: You're watching "Classroom Close-Up."

Yay!

♪♪ >> Narrator: The world-language teachers at Sterling High School have traveled all over the globe, bringing back artifacts and real-world experiences to enhance their students' learning.

This year, they set their sights on South America.

>> Galt: We had to find a way to get to Peru.

We talked about it, looked at our lessons and tried to find connections and found the food connection between Peru and the Mediterranean.

>> Cammarata: Sharon Galt, the Spanish teacher, won a grant through the National Education Association to go to Peru.

And then I also wrote one, as well.

>> Galt: My grant was really about trying to meet the needs of the AP curriculum, like using culture, using language, so not just food, but technology, the agriculture.

♪♪ Michelle and Mimma took the food idea, and they wrote a FLENJ grant, or Foreign Language Teachers in New Jersey grant.

>> Myers: We learned about the food traditions of the Inca.

That was our focus.

>> Cammarata: Buongiorno, bonjour, buenos días.

We have French, we have Italian, we have the Spanish classes.

You guys are all gonna be working on this group project together based on Miss Galt and Miss Myers' trip to Peru.

>> Myers: This is the second project that we brought them together to do.

This one is doing the research of certain key agricultural products, foods -- the pepper, the corn, the potatoes, chocolate, coffee -- and to see how they got from the new world to the old world.

>> Cammarata: We would not have the recipes we have today if it weren't for Christopher Columbus, Francisco Pizarro, and the other conquistadors that took that food from Peru, from South America, and brought it to Europe.

They researched the product.

That's history.

And then they found an authentic recipe where that product was predominantly featured that would not have happened if it weren't for the Incas and the food that was already in South America.

>> Young woman: The tomato was originated in Peru, and then they brought it to Spain in the 16th century, which I thought was pretty cool.

>> Young woman #2: I'm looking up recipes that involve pumpkin.

>> Sarah: Pumpkin seeds -- They were actually found in tombs in Mexico from like 7,000 B.C.

>> Young woman #3: We're figuring out when peppers arrived at Europe, like, who brought it, when it was first used, the first people to eat it.

>> Young man: We're researching chocolate in Europe, how it came over from Peru to Europe.

More specifically, I researched -- I take French class, so I researched where it came -- how it came to France.

>> Cammarata: We went gung-ho, starting to come up with these lessons, coming up with this project.

And then we decided that for spring break, we would take the kids to Peru.

♪♪ >> Myers: The inspiration of the trip was really the trip that we took together as teachers in Peru and that we wanted to collaborate together -- the world language department -- and create our own travel experience.

We called GATE -- Global Ambassadors Travel Experience.

>> Galt: We kept saying, "Where are we gonna go?

You teach French."

She wanted to go to French Canada.

Mimma wanted to go to Italy.

I wanted to go to Costa Rica.

And then I said, "Hey, why don't we just start it off in Peru?"

I said, "All our kids are gonna do this project anyway."

So we did, and we brought them back to Peru.

>> Maddy: I've read so many books about the culture before I went, and nothing can ever describe, like, what it's like to be there and feel the culture and be a part of it.

>> Mya: We visited a school there.

They were like 10 and 11.

They all spoke Spanish, and I was, like, talking to them.

I could understand them, and they understood me.

So that was pretty cool.

That was probably my favorite part of the trip.

>> Maddy: We got to interact with all the little kids.

We played games with them and just talked to them.

They were so nice and cute.

I took a picture with them.

I wrote a letter to them, and I sent it to their school and it was just like -- That was definitely the most memorable thing I've ever done, because nothing's ever gonna top that.

>> Jenna: We learned a little bit about the irrigation system.

They had, like, gravel underneath the soil.

And so it was just easier for the water to flow through and just get to the plants and everything.

So that was very cool to learn about.

>> Sarah: One of the last days, we went to Machu Picchu, and I've always wanted to go to Machu Picchu.

It's completely beautiful there.

Like, breathtaking.

It's so much more beautiful and more grander than, like, I ever imagined.

The tour guides would tell stories about how the Incas, they would bring rocks from, like, down below the river.

It's so further down than where the town actually is, and they would carry these huge rocks that weigh like two tons up to the mountain and build these houses and stuff, which is insane.

>> Jenna: The view was probably the most memorable part of my trip.

In our hotel in the Sacred Valley, just right outside the window, you just have this amazing view of the mountains and you got, like, the flowers right there.

>> Cammarata: Travel, to me, is the best learning experience.

You are immersed in the language.

You're immersed in these surroundings that are not known to you, so you can't help but learn.

>> Myers: When you read about a culture in a book, it's a fantasy, it's an idea.

Even if you see it on a film, it's not there.

But when you go and you go to the markets and you look at the mounts, it's never the same.

And even, like, the goofy things that go on, you know, the experiences that you have, it's real.

And I think that's what it is.

And the kids, when they get those real experiences, they just understand it in ways that you can't from just sitting at home reading your book.

>> Narrator: Real experiences transform the way children learn.

It's something to celebrate, so for our final story this week, we'll wind up the way we began -- with singing and dancing at an annual celebration.

You know how sometime in late September, you start thinking, "Well, summer's over, and the sun's setting earlier."

You've already got a ton of homework or work or work work, depending on your age, so what would be a good way to cope?

Hey, what about a big party in October?

[ Upbeat music playing ] >> Oehlers: We throw a big Oktoberfest here every year.

♪♪ >> Narrator: This is Oktoberfest at Collingswood High School, and it's a lot more than just a party.

>> Oehlers: It's also a fundraiser.

So the money that we earn from this also goes towards supporting the exchange, so when the German kids come here from Germany, we send a bus over and pick them up at the Philly Airport.

>> Narrator: Oh, yeah.

It's a big deal in Collingswood when the Germans are coming.

Every two years, German students arrive in the spring, enjoy the locals sights and activities, including field trips to Washington, D.C., and New York City.

In the summer, Collingswood students head to Germany, where they spend a few weeks with their exchange partners.

>> Oehlers: You can imagine there are quite a few expenses, and this helps defray all those costs.

I would not be able to do this myself, obviously.

Students and the parents help out.

In the kitchen, my wife is actually kind of leading things back there.

Her mother was a caterer, and she knows a lot about kitchen work.

>> Mrs. Oehlers: Okay.

Looking good.

Little bit longer, I think.

>> Chuck: Typically, it's German potatoes.

That's a huge production, dicing up the potatoes, and then there's this whole process of buttering and salting and peppering the potatoes and putting them on trays and getting them baked.

It's really a fascinating experience.

>> Jenny: Collingswood are really lucky.

We got a lot of people who are very eager to help out.

There you go, sir.

>> Boy: Thank you.

>> Jenny: Do you want a hard pretzel, too?

>> Man: Cheddar-filled bratwurst.

>> Oehlers: Collingswood parents have been great.

They've really stepped up, grilling up the brats and then keeping them warm, and there's a lot of fine-tuning in the kitchen, and they have to prepare the desserts and get them all plated.

>> Mackenzie: We have different German foods, German music.

We have different German outfits that we wear.

We also have the German cones, which is significant because in Germany, it's tradition for kindergartners for their first day of school to receive a cone, and inside the cone, there's filled with different candy, so we introduced it here so it's like welcoming the other schools to our school.

>> Oehlers: The students from the other schools are all students who are also taking German at their respective high schools or middle schools, and their teachers want to give them a little taste of Germany for the evening.

♪♪ >> Paul: The whole thing is a lot of fun.

It's just the music, and it's all the other schools coming together and celebrating this one thing that we all have in common.

>> Matt: I've been here every year, so all five years, I've been participating in Oktoberfest and German Club.

Right now, I'm the German Club president.

It's a good celebration of the German culture.

Everyone is together having a good time.

>> Tyler: So I've got German heritage, and I've always been interested in, like, exploring that and learning more about that.

And I thought it'd be easy to do if I knew the language so I can learn more about where my family is from and their culture back in, like, the 1910s when they moved here.

>> Jenny: It's a really cool way for kids to get more out of a foreign language other than nouns and verbs.

>> Genna: One of the things I love about Collingswood -- It's a very family-oriented town and school and community.

A lot of parents come out for it.

I see a lot of the same faces from year to year as their kids are going through the German program, you know, starting in 9th grade and then as 12th graders.

They come out not just one year but multiple years, come out and support the event and the kids, and it's just a really nice way to interact with a lot of our families.

>> Oehlers: And we have a dance later on that's called the "Schnitzelbank," and they sing along to that one in German.

>> Narrator: Ah, the "Schnitzelbank" song, a catchy German ditty that gets everyone singing.

In case your German is a little rusty, here is some background.

"Schnitzelbank" means carving bench or scrap bench.

Each verse introduces a silly topic, which is added to the list, and the singers sing it all back to the beginning, ending each verse with, "Oh, you wonderful carving bench."

As the list grows, the song gets faster and sillier.

Maybe you learn some new German words, and everyone has a lot of fun.

[ Singing in German ] ♪♪ >> Tyler: I made most of my friends through Oktoberfest and the German Club, and I think that means a lot to people to come here and make friends that are interested in learning about German just like you are.

>> Genna: Our kids love it so much, this event, so much that we'll often see graduates coming back to the event.

I already saw a few tonight.

>> Narrator: Yep, in fact, that's me and my kid, Collingswood Class of 2017.

>> Genna: So it's great to see that they're still connected to the school because they had such a good experience with Oktoberfest while they were here.

[ Singing in German ] ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] >> Narrator: That's all for now.

We hope you enjoyed watching, and we invite you to discover more by visiting our Web site, classroomcloseup.org.

We'll be back with another episode next week, so please join us again on "Classroom Close-Up, New Jersey."

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] ♪ >> All: Schnitzelbank