Bara' Academy offerings

Twila and Angelo Napoleoni didn’t expect to be teaching Spanish again this year.

The married couple run the Bara’ Academy of the Arts in Yorkton. The organization offers a wide swath of art classes and it often participates in city-wide events such as Culture Days. Last autumn, Bara’ held a Spanish for Beginners class.

At the time, the Napoleonis thought it would be their swan song for language classes. They both have busy schedules and teaching Spanish is time consuming. They considered putting their Spanish classes on hiatus.

Flash-forward one year and the Napoleonis are still busy, but they’re offering language classes this fall. Since the course ended, word has spread about Bara’ Academy and enough people have expressed interest in learning a second language that the Napoleonis have opened their teaching doors yet again.

“There’s a demand,” Twila said.

The Napoleonis are offering introductory courses in Spanish and German this fall. The classes run for 12 weeks and cost $240 plus GST.

Last year, the Napoleonis were very hands-on in their classes, working as a educational tag-team. This year, they’re stepping into a sideline role.

“We’re quite a busy family,” Twila said. “I’m behind the scenes...doing technical stuff.”

The Napoleonis hired Alejandra Toledo to teach the Spanish class. They’re confident Toledo (who’s originally from Guatemala) will be a quality instructor.

“She’s taught in Canada before,” Twila said. “She knows the ins and outs of the grammar.”

“[It will be] similar to what we taught last time,” Angelo said.

The German course is a new offering this year. Melissa Antony, who lived in Germany for several years, will be teaching the course. She took the Bara’ Spanish class last year.

“I was inspired by Twila’s class,” she said.

Antony approached the Napoleonis about teaching a conversational German course. They were happy to offer a new language in their curriculum.

“[It’d] be a nice add-on,” Twila said. “[Antony’s] got the know-how.

“I’m very confident in her abilities.”

The Spanish class will be held at the Saskatchewan Abilities Council on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.  Antony will host the German class at the Fuel coffee shop on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. Both courses run for 90 minutes.

Anyone interested in joining either class can contact Bara’ Academy at 306-786-2787 or at [email protected].