The Spanish department is participating in their annual music-themed bracket competition, “Locura De Marzo,” created by Michigan Spanish teacher Seor Ashby. The competition’s name translates to “March Madness” in English.

Spanish teacher Kim Lackey said the variety of music keeps the competition interesting.

“There was a really great selection of songs this year that covered everything from country music to rap, and lots of pop and other genres in between. Some really really great tunes were included this year that I hope kids put on their own personal playlist and keep listening to long after March is over,” Lackey said.

Lackey said she hopes that participating in Locura De Marzo engages students and that there are many opportunities for learning.

“It’s been really fun to listen to the songs in class, I try to listen to four songs every block day and two songs every A day. Sometimes we learn more about the artists or have a reading assignment that goes along with them or learn the background of a song. There are lots of opportunities to learn about culture, and a lot of great songs too. I think it really helps students feel like language class is relevant to their everyday lives,” Lackey said.

Just participating isn’t the only fun part for students, Lackey said there are also prizes for the winners.

“Our final vote is Mar 17 and during spring break I’ll be tabulating the winners. Hopefully we will get a PSO grant that will let us give away 3 Locura De Marzo T-shirts for our top three winners. And there will be Malt Shop gift cards for the runners-up,” Lackey said.

The competition is not as easy as it seems, Lackey said, especially considering that it’s held nationally.

“We are so so excited to be doing another march madness song bracket in the Spanish classes. All levels, Spanish I through AP are involved this year. Students filled out a google form to enter their votes at the beginning of March. This is a national vote so there are schools from all over the country making brackets. Currently we have about 5 students that have a perfect bracket [as of March 10] after nine votes but things are going to get interesting later in the semi-finals,” Lackey said.

One of those winning students is junior Madelyn Crossen. Crossen said at first she wasn’t sure of her method, but it ended up paying off.

“I wasn’t here when we listened to all of the songs so I just went through and pressed random ones. I was hoping my intuition would send me over the top and I guess it’s working so far. I think I have ‘La Bachata’ winning my bracket. This is my third year doing the competition and in the past I really didn’t do well but I still had fun making my bracket,” Crossen said.

Crossen said Locura De Marzo kept her engaged at a time of the year that ends up being a lull in most classes.

“I want to do Locura De Marzo again next year because I like that it’s in the middle of the semester and so you’re kinda tired with class already, leading up to spring break, and this helps break up the boring parts of class. I think it’s been really fun to listen to music and have a chance to win fun prizes,” Crossen said.

The competition can help spice things up in Spanish class and introduces students to new types of music, Crossen said.

“I think the competition is really fun, it actually adds something to class especially when you get there and you’re kinda tired at the beginning of class and you get to listen to fun new songs and choose which one you want to make it to the next round. So I think it’s a really fun activity and I hope we do it again next year,” Crossen said.