Musical March Madness Hits Language Classrooms

Musical March Madness, an international competition, was celebrated in Mrs. Cidzik and Mrs. Kostolecki’s classes this year at the high school, with a twist. Students had to complete their own “brackets” with Francophone or Hispanophone artists and songs. Each week, students would learn about new artists from various French and Spanish-speaking countries. Then, they would listen to the two songs that were at battle for the day. Our students, along with other students worldwide (4,331 schools in 23 different countries), would vote for their favorites to go on to the next round. Special reveal videos would show which artists would move on and students kept track of “points” on their brackets. The competition became more intense as the rounds continued and the students voted for their favorite artists. There were cheers, there were tears, videos were sent in to be included in the reveals and students even “Tweeted” with some of the artists themselves. Prizes were awarded for the brackets with the most points and the most unique brackets. Manie Musicale (in French) and Locura De Marzo (in Spanish) were crowd favorites this year, and it helped bring some madness and enthusiasm to our language classrooms.