World Languages

Spanish Language and Culture (Mr. Fontalvo, Ms. Gonzalez)

Last week in Spanish class, students learned how to conjugate -AR verbs in the present tense, building a strong foundation for expressing actions in Spanish. They also completed a listening formative assessment, where they practiced identifying and understanding these verb forms in context.

Next week, students will continue to strengthen their skills with present tense conjugations, focusing on accuracy and confidence through engaging listening and writing activities.

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

The week begins with a listening PA on supermarket vocabulary before students begin testing on Tuesday, April 28. Students will focus on body parts and giving advice this week. They will learn the names of various body parts in Spanish, and apply this new vocabulary in practical situations, including how to give advice about health and nutrition. The practice activities will involve practicing giving advice on various health-related scenarios and identifying body parts in context.

Homework assignments (Assigned April 27, Due May 1): 4HW5 - Parts of the body (Vocabulary Multiple Choice), 4HW6

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson, Mr. Almanza)

Welcome back, intrepid 8th grade travelers! Towards the end of the week we picked up where we left off with La calaca alegre (the novel we started before spring break) reviewing the main characters and key plot points. Next week we'll continue with the book.
We are also entering the spring testing window: DC CAPE is coming up next week, with the STAMP exam close behind. Spanish 2 teachers will be preparing students for STAMP in class, but now is the perfect time to brush up on vocabulary at home and the best way to do that is to read! Come to class ready and prepared.

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Students are off to a good start with their study of poetry! We will also continue to work on understanding how to use accent marks in Spanish. Students can expect to have one Formative per week and one graded homework or a classwork assignment.

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

This past week we finished Chapter 2 and students have been assigned Chapter 3 along with comprehension questions for homework. If your student doesn't yet have a copy of the book, a PDF of the chapter has been posted on Canvas, but please do try to get a physical copy, as we will be using it quite a bit in class.

Next week we will be reading Chapters 4–6. We are moving at a fairly quick pace in order to finish by the end of the year, but I think we are absolutely up to the challenge! Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to check Aspen, as the first grades of the fourth term have been posted.

Esta semana terminamos el Capítulo 2 y los estudiantes tienen asignado el Capítulo 3 con preguntas de comprensión para la tarea. Si su estudiante todavía no tiene el libro, hay un PDF del capítulo en Canvas pero, por favor intenten conseguir una copia física, ya que la usaremos bastante en clase.

La próxima semana leeremos los Capítulos 4–6. Vamos a un ritmo bastante rápido para terminar el libro antes de fin de año, ¡pero creo que estamos a la altura del reto! Que tengan un fin de semana muy agradable y no olviden revisar Aspen, donde ya están publicadas las primeras notas del cuarto trimestre.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

This week students began our new novel La última cuentista, reading chapters 1-3 in class and chapter 4 for homework. We discussed many hypothetical situations posed in the book and what we would do if were ever to face these scenarios. Ask your student who the main characters are and what is the conflict they faced in the first 4 chapters of the book. On Monday we will draw and summarize as we read, and then throughout DC-CAPE we will continue to break the reading into comprehensible chunks and do a variety of activities in class to support comprehension.

French Language & Culture (Ms. Bullock, Mr. Almanza)

This week we will be continuing unit 4: Mes activités. This week students will learn how to invite people to do different activities. They will also learn to accept or decline an invitation. WIth CAPE testing, some students will have fewer French classes. Reagrdless, we will continue to learn and expand on what already know. Unit 4 will focus on writing and listening. Want some digital flashcards to make learning easier? Voilà

What can we do at home?

Vocabulary is KEY to language learning. Students should be reviewing their vocabulary for at least 5 minutes every night. They are welcome to use this resource to support their learning. It is updated every time we learn something new! Students have been commenting about how much they've learned so far. It's great to see their confidence grow.

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

The Unit 4 theme is clothing and fashion. We will be working with a few new verbs and also demonstrative and interrogative adjectives. Our Summatives this term will focus on Listening Comprehension and Written Expression. Students will have weekly Formatives to show their mastery of the material.

French II (Dr. Mbayu & Mr. Osei)

Students expand their vocabulary to include weather conditions and vacation activities. They practice asking and answering questions about travel using familiar sentence patterns.

✅ Student Goal: I can talk about the weather and vacation activities.

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

G8

Last week, our Grade 8 students focused on strengthening their speaking, and listening skills in preparation for the upcoming STAMP test. In class, we watched the official STAMP introductory video and reviewed testing tips to help students feel confident and ready. We also shared some recent changes of the test.

Next week, we will conduct our STAMP test in class.

Reminder: Please encourage students to study and review their notebooks at home to reinforce key vocabulary and grammar structures. Complete the writing practice on canvas.

We’re proud of their progress and excited to see their growth on the STAMP assessment!

G7

Last week, our Grade 7 students explored a variety of iconic Chinese dishes, including Peking duck, hot pot, dim sum, hot and sour soup, and stir-fried rice with eggs. Students practiced describing the ingredients, flavors, and cooking methods in Chinese, while learning to express their own food preferences.

To check for understanding, students completed a summative writing assessment last week, which focused on vocabulary, sentence patterns, and cultural knowledge related to Chinese cuisine.

We’re proud of their progress and excited to continue deepening their understanding of Chinese food and culture in the coming weeks!

G6

Last week, our Grade 6 students continued their unit on sports and physical activities. They are learning how to talk about different sports, express who they play with, and share their preferences using key sentence structures and vocabulary in Chinese.

Through fun conversations, partner work, and written practice, students are gaining confidence in expressing their interests in sports and understanding how to ask others about theirs. Students completed a writing assessment on life directions - study hard, do sports, and enjoy friendship, etc. which demonstrates IB learners' profiles. Next week students will start the new unit on body parts.