Changes, new candidates, and more activities to choose from have all made Spanish Honors Society—La Sociedad de Honoraria Hispánica—the best it has been in years.

When assembling for the first meeting at “B” clubs in October, the moderators—Srta. Loubert and Sra. Sinutko—and officers—Lana Grasser, Sara Kane and Angela Engerer—counted one of their biggest turnouts yet. Approximately 20 candidates and 30 applicants came to experience the club and see what is required of them to become official 2012-13 members.

This “B” club requires students wishing to join the candidate group—girls who have already passed the tests—to prepare a project and essay to perform in front of the table of judges who accept or deny their application. This project is judged on grammatical accuracy, vocab use according to year of Spanish, creativity and more.

Unfortunately, the bar may have been set too high, for last year SHH experienced an approximate 50% drop-out rate for the application program. To cater to this year’s applicants, SHH tweaked the project requirements, making it somewhat more manageable.

SHH also requires up-and-coming candidates to participate in cultural activities. A major aspect of this club is to experience the traditional side of Hispanic countries. The club has organized Latin dance classes, restaurant trips, designing spirit wear, and more.

“We plan to have more cultural fiestas,” said Lana Grasser, one of three SHH officers. “We might even have some sort of Hispanic cooking class!”

The honor society has also sent money to Hispanic children and plans on sending letters—similar to pen pal writing—to them as well.