Every other Wednesday the students of the Advanced Topics in Spanish class at Palatine High School travel to Virginia Lake elementary school. The PHS students read to the younger native Spanish- speaking elementary school kids.

“Both the high schoolers and the elementary school students receive benefits.” Spanish teacher Kristine Zaremba said. “For the high school students, they get to practice Spanish in a real life situation, outside of your typical classroom walls. And for the elementary students, they get confidence in reading out loud.”

This year the students only started making the trip to Virginia Lake during the second semester of the school year, but that will likely change next year.

“This year we had a slow start,” Zaremba said. “But next year we hope to go the whole year. And actually Im going to be asking my students that I currently have whether they would prefer to go every week, or every other week. That will kind of help me determine the plan for next year.”

This is only the second year that the Advanced Topics Spanish class has been doing this. However, with support from both PHS students, and Virginia Lake students, it likely will not end soon.

“I know I like it. And the people that I’ve talked to like it,” PHS senior Tess O’Brien said.

“[The elementary school kids] get so excited, and the love to have the one on one attention” Zaremba said. “Overall I think both sides appreciate the experience and gain a lot from it.”