THS Language Teams Win at Foreign Language Day in Carbondale
By Phil Lewis
September 05, 2008
THS Language Teams Win at Foreign Language Day in Carbondale
The Foreign Language Department at SIU Carbondale sponsored its annual Foreign Language Day in the Student Union on April 10.This year 1500 students from at least 27 southern Illinois high schools participated in language presentations and scholar bowls. Eleven THS German A team members (German II) participated in their division scholar bowl competition. They included Mike Esker, Chris Ludwig (co-captains), Anne Wessel, Tara Heuerman, Autumn Wilson, Cody Clark, Ben Meyerholz, Michelle Probst, Marshall Schultz, and Jeremy Niebrugge. The first match was against Farina South Central which the team won. They then competed against Collinsville and won that match also. That put them in the finals against a strong Waterloo team. The Waterloo team was quicker, very knowledgeable and won first place in the A division. For the first time, a THS German team won a trophy at the annual competition. The Spanish team attended some sessions to cheer on their German counterparts.
The German B team scholar bowl members (German III) included: John Runde, capt., Justin Dust, Brooke Zerrusen, Nick Herboth, Nichole Schabbing, Brett Probst, Justine Hoelscher, Nick Weber, and Tarah Rieman. In the first round, they faced a tough Waterloo team that was quicker, very polished, and confident. Waterloo won and went on to face Carbondale, but lost to them in the final round.
The Spanish A team scholar bowl members (Spanish I and II) included: Angie Bradley, Luke Bushur, Brittany Carlberg, Kara Esker, Rachel Goldstein, Sharlina Herboth, Sam Meyer, Brooke Westendorf, Valerie Westendorf, and Leah Westjohn. The team won four competitions, including a sudden death overtime, prior to losing to St. Anthony in the championship round. The Spanish department has several trophies on display in the classroom from previous years.
While at the SIU student center, students could have their name written in Japanese or Arabic, learn origami, sign up for prizes like large bags of foreign candy, learn American sign language, Japanese Aikido (martial arts) and get information about SIU. They could also watch demonstration sessions on Middle East, salsa, and tango dancing, German pop music, German Jeopardy, French folk songs, and take a crash course in Modern Greek.
At the Awards Ceremony, Dr. Thom Thibeault, chairman of the Foreign Language Day committee, presented the trophies for each language section. Carbondale was a big winner winning level B trophies in German and French. After the ceremonies, students had the opportunity to eat at any of the food establishments in the lower level of the student center. Students were excited on the trip home because of their success and are looking forward to next year’s Foreign Language Day. Herr Lewis and Senor Walsh wish to congratulate their students for a job well done. Sehr gut! Muy bien!
Phil Lewis
857-3139 Ext. 107
