Wellesley education news: Hardy presented with parade float award; Student selected for State Dept. summer language program

The latest Wellesley, Mass., education news:

Hardy presented with parade float award

Hardy Elementary earned the award for best school float at the Wellesley Veterans Parade, and this past week Celebrations Committee members Pete Jones and Roy Switzler dropped by to present Principal Grant Smith and the school body with their prize.

Grant Smith Hardy parade award — Principal Grant Smith

Celebrations Committee's Pete Jones presenting award to Principal Grant Smith at Hardy Elementary School — Celebrations Committee’s Pete Jones presenting award to Principal Grant Smith at Hardy Ele

Providing entertainment at the event: The Hardy teacher/staff band, which Principal Smith said was created as “a one-time gathering of those teachers who knew how to play an instrument. They were joined by some teachers (and me as well) who sang along to the Bruno Mars song ‘Count on Me.'”

hardy band — One day only….the Hardy band

Student selected for State Dept. summer language program

Wellesley’s Diba Demir, a new graduate of Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, will study Mandarin this summer in Taiwan on a National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarship through the U.S. Department of State. The Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program promotes the study of Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian and Turkish.

Demir, who will continue her education at MIT, describes herself as “a polyglot and avid language learner” who speaks English, French, Spanish, Turkish, and Mandarin. She also has written literature columns for her school’s The Vanguard newspaper.

Demir was one of 440 students selected from thousands of high school applicants across the United States to receive a scholarship. While in Taiwan, the student will live with a host family and engage with local peers.

Launched in 2006, the scholarship program is designed to increase the number of young Americans with language skills necessary to contribute to U.S national security and economic competitiveness.

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