The Upper School Language Center, once a dream of former Language Department Chair Marsha Dragonetti, has finally come to fruition in Room 304 this year.

Ms. Dragonetti joined the Latin community as a Spanish teacher in 1984 and was promoted to department chair four years prior to retiring in 2017. Two years after her retirement, she passed away and shortly after, a colleague of hers donated money in her name to bring her dream to life.

And this year, the dream was finally made into reality. On September 30, the Language Center was officially dedicated to Ms. Dragonetti, honoring her and the life-changing work she did at Latin.

The Language Center is where students can go to work on language homework, get help from various teachers, read books or novellas in the languages they’re studying, take assessments, and feel comfortable asking questions.

Upper School Language Department Chair Elissabeth Legendre said, “I am excited for there to be another space where students can come and feel comfortable to learn language.” The Language Center will also serve as a space for language teachers to bring their classes and use the resources in the office such as iPads and books.

Ms. Legendre added,“I am excited to be able to bring [this] resource to our students and our language learning in the name of this amazing teacher who loved Latin, loved her students, and really cared about language learning and what [it] meant to be a global citizen, and how learning another language really connected us and made us feel more empathetic.”

Sophomore Luca Noventa, who is currently taking Honors Spanish and AP French, said, “The experiences I had with trying to record things in class or even in the hallways generally was disruptive to the class.” Now, since there is a room designated for language class usage, recording won’t be as big of an issue.

Chase Miller, a sophomore taking Spanish, said, “The new Language Center could be useful, but it definitely depends on how it will be run and how controlled the atmosphere is. If it’s a productive environment, I really believe that this will further my language learning, and I could see myself using this resource a lot.”

To ensure the Language Center is a productive environment, students can schedule times for meetings with teachers and usage of the space through Skedda, the same software used to book collaboration rooms in the Learning Commons. The Language Center will also be open to walk-ins, as long as it isn’t already reserved.

Students say they are looking forward to always having an open door for their language questions. Freshman Calvin Cheng, a Spanish student, said, “I am so excited to use the resources in the new Language Center, and I could see myself going there for help often.”