World Languages

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

Last week in Spanish class, our students worked hard and had a lot of fun learning new vocabulary related to foods and drinks. They practiced their reading skills by identifying key information in several cultural texts from Spain and Argentina, comparing traditions and learning how people eat in different parts of the Spanish-speaking world.

Next week, students will put these skills into practice. They will complete a formative reading assessment to apply what they learned about identifying important details in a text. In addition, they will take a formative speaking assessment, where they will use the same food-and-drink vocabulary to describe preferences, meals, and cultural practices in Spanish.

Thank you for your support at home. We are very proud of the progress our students are making—¡vamos adelante!

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

For Week 7 (December 15-19)

This week we will continue practicing clothing and packing vocabulary. On Wed., Dec. 17, students will complete the speaking formative ¿Qué voy a llevar?. On Thursday, December 18, students will complete a reading comprehension PA activity. Both assignments are important practice for stronger speaking and comprehension skills.

On Fri., Dec. , January 8, students will take the speaking summative describing what people are packing for a trip. This will be the main speaking grade for the unit, so practicing vocabulary and expressions is very important. After winter break, we will return to practicing speaking skills.

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

This week we practiced telling stories using the past tenses (preterit and imperfect) in context. Ask your student- which tense would you use to "set the scene," and then to describe completed actions to advance the plot? To describe emotions? Wants/ needs? Habitual actions ("used to do something)? Actions in progress and interrupting actions? Another way to practice would be to have them make up short story with a start, middle, and end and have them tell it to you in Spanish. Next Monday and Tuesday we will do our final review of this before the test on Wednesday. Make sure students are using the study materials available on canvas and in their binders.

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Last week students worked on group projects to illustrate important scenes from chapters 1-6 of Esperanza Renace.

On Monday students will take a Formative on Chapter 6.

On Thursday, students will take a Summative on chapters 1-7. We will complete chapter 9 by the end of the day on Friday.

Wishing everyone a great break!

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

English:
I very much enjoyed watching students’ videos as they recorded their letter from Lázaro to his mother. If your student has not yet turned in that project, please have them do so as soon as possible. This week, we have been following Lázaro as he leaves his first master (after getting his well-deserved revenge!) and begins working for his new amo. Students are learning about the different ways the author uses humor for various purposes, all while continuing to build their vocabulary and strengthen their reading skills. Next week, we will move forward with the story as we prepare for our summative assessment on Friday, December 12th.

Español:
He disfrutado muchísimo viendo los videos de los estudiantes mientras grababan su carta de Lázaro a su madre. Si su hijo/a todavía no ha entregado este proyecto, por favor pídanle que lo haga lo antes posible. Esta semana hemos seguido a Lázaro mientras deja a su primer amo (después de vengarse, por supuesto) y comienza a trabajar para su nuevo amo. Estamos aprendiendo las distintas formas en que el autor utiliza el humor con diferentes propósitos, a la vez que ampliamos nuestro vocabulario y fortalecemos nuestras habilidades de lectura. La próxima semana continuaremos con la historia mientras nos preparamos para la evaluación sumativa el viernes, 12 de diciembre.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

This week, students read up until the vignette "el primer trabajo" in La Casa en Mango Street. For the vignette "Caderas," they analyzed the lyrics of a traditional children's song in Spanish and debated whether it has a machista message and should no longer be used with children, or whether it is an important part of culture and tradition and does no harm. In "El primer trabajo" they tracked Esperanza's quickly shifting emotions throughout the story and then reflected on how as she grows up and has different experiences she is beginning to see the world in a different light- making connections with other books and movies they have read and seen about growing up. Next week we will review the characters, events, and themes from the first half of the book and will take a test on Wednesday covering the book up until "El primer trabajo." Once we have finished the book (at the end of the advisory), students will plan a 5 paragraph essay analyzing the development of one theme throughout the book.

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

Next week we will continue talking about café life and students will improve their ability to order in a French-speaking restaurant/café. We will also learn how to pay! We will also have our final reading formative. When we get back from the break, students will be showing off their skills by creating a café scene for their speaking summative and completing our reading summative. Learning a language works best when students go little by little. Please encourage your student to review a little every night using our class resources.

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

Next week students will take their Reading Comprehension Formative. Please ask your student to check in with their teacher (Mr. Osei or Ms. Balestra) for the specific day.

Wishing everyone a great break!

French II (Dr. Mbayu & Mr. Osei)

🌸 Week 7 – Donner des conseils et encourager les autres

Students learn to give advice using l’impératif and supportive expressions (Mange équilibré ! Dors bien !).
They write or perform short skits offering healthy lifestyle tips.
🧠 Reflection moment: How does grammar help me move from describing to influencing?

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

Grade 6

Last week in Lesson 4, we explored the topic of family members, grade levels, and schools in Chinese, helping students learn to describe their family structure, which grade they are in, what school they attend, and we continued building on this theme by introducing extended family members. This week, students practiced asking and answering questions such as:

你家有几口人? (Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?) – How many people are there in your family?
你有几个兄弟姐妹? (Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè xiōngdì jiěmèi?) – How many siblings do you have?
他们几岁？(Tāmen jǐ suì?) – How old are they?
你上几年级？(nǐ shàng jǐ nián jí?) – Which grade do they attend?
你上哪个学校？（nǐ shàng nǎ ge xué xiào）-- Which school do you attend?

Through these questions, students learned vocabulary related to family members, grades, occupations, schools, and extended family members. Next week, we will complete learning this lesson and start to work on our summative assessments – one is a written test, the other is an oral presentation. We will have a review class next week before the written test.

Grade 7

Last week, our Grade 7 Chinese class completed and started describing tops, pants, skirts, shoes and accessories. Students worked hard to describe their outfits in Chinese, focusing on details like colors, specific measures words, and specific verbs. In this lesson, students are learning essential vocabulary for diverse types of clothing, accessories, and colors. They’re also practicing how to describe clothing styles and appearances, focusing on measure words “件，” “条,” “双,” “戴,” and words like "长裙(long dress)," "短裤 (shorts)," and "穿了(wear)." They also learned how to comment on the outfit by using “肥,” “瘦,” “好看,” “合身.” This topic helps students apply descriptive language in fun and practical ways.

Grade 8

In Grade 8 Chinese class, we have been exploring the topics of extracurricular activities and different types of films. Students have learned vocabulary through etymology related to their hobbies outside school, such as sports, music, and clubs, and have been practicing how to discuss their interests. This week, we introduced various film genres, like "喜剧 (xǐjù - comedy)," "侦探片 (zhēn tàn piàn - detective)," and "科幻片 (kēhuàn piàn - sci-fi)," and sharing their opinions on each type. We will have a review of the whole lesson 3 and the summative test of Lesson 1-3. We will have a summative oral project on Lesson 3 next week.