Prince William County Public Schools

Building Community through Language at Osbourn Park High School

On November 8^th and 9^th, students in Mr. Todd Robbins' Spanish III classes and students from ESOL classes at Osbourn Park High School worked together to practice their speaking skills and build connections. Both classes worked on their target languages of Spanish and English and asked questions of one another about personal interests, school classes, and ways to be successful. Students engaged in multiple rotations, so they had many opportunities to interact in both English and Spanish.

This activity benefited students from both classes as they had the opportunity to practice their target language with peers from school, while at the same time building positive relationships within OPHS. In the past, this activity yielded new friendships-students who met each other through this time together continued to recognize and greet each other in the hallways at school and became friends. The teachers and students hope to have similar sessions among the classes each quarter and to foster positive relationships within the school community!