Cross-cultural artistic opportunity

Carmelena Laslavic and her poster submission

Carmelena Laslavic, a fourth grader at Connoquenessing Valley Elementary School (CVE), recently won second place in a national poster contest through the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP).

Each year, the AATSP sponsors a poster contest to give students an opportunity to showcase their creativity, express personal connections to learning Spanish and Portuguese, and celebrate cultural appreciation. CVE Spanish teacher Ms. Elaina Kreiss invited her students to participate in this year’s contest theme: El español y el portugués como lenguas globales: conexiones y oportunidades más allá del aula (Spanish and Portuguese as Global Languages: Connections and Opportunities in the Classroom and Beyond).

“This is the third year I have offered the contest to my fourth graders,” said Ms. Kreiss. “It’s the first year we have a winner!”

Judges noted Miss Laslavic’s use of color in her artwork, as well as the poster’s originality and message conveyance. One judge mentioned how Miss Laslavic’s color arrangement truly put the viewer into the theme!

Student winners were invited to attend a virtual award ceremony and their artwork was publicized by the AATSP National Office and on the poster contest website.