For Immediate Release

Friday, Jan. 4, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Hull High School AP Spanish Students Visit State House for Annual MIRA Luncheon 

HULL — To wrap up their first unit of study, Hull High School AP Spanish students traveled to the State House for a real-life lesson on immigration and citizenship.

On Nov. 20, AP Spanish seniors Sean Healey, Jessica Goode, Krista Carpenter, Katie Punchard, Leah Dunn, Hannah Lees and Alyssa Albert, along with teacher Elizabeth Wescott, attended the Our Shared Table luncheon. The event was hosted by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) — the largest coalition in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees.

The annual luncheon celebrates newly sworn-in and aspiring U.S. citizens. During the students’ first semester, they completed a unit on “Personal and Public Identities,” where they worked on a project about the Hull’s immigrant community, and in the process came upon MIRA.

Given students’ excitement and dedication to the project, Wescott reached out to MIRA for a potential field trip opportunity, who invited them to the State House for the Our Shared Table event.

During the luncheon, the students served food and were able to listen to speeches about immigration and citizenship, including one from U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and immigrants from the Boston area who are working to help their communities. Students also got to practice their Spanish with some of the MIRA employees and immigrants, and tie their work back to their studies on global challenges and contemporary life and families and communities.

“AP Spanish students enjoyed the field trip and were also able to make connections to their curriculum with an authentic and memorable experience,” Wescott said. “I was so impressed with students’ maturity, enthusiasm and initiative. It was a great day.”

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