World Languages

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

Last week, our students completed their formative assessments in writing and listening, practicing vocabulary about introducing themselves and talking about other people. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, they also researched and presented on important places in Spanish-speaking countries.

Looking ahead, next week students will learn new vocabulary to describe people and classes with adjectives, use titles for people, talk about school subjects, and work with ordinal numbers. We will also begin exploring different Hispanic celebrations!

A big thank you to all the families who have generously donated to support our Spanish class—you can find the donation link here https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/nsiO_061mrDGI0AI_ndnOQsaqIeVQcNldyqvMF1LLV4mvlFCszsrLyCy-xvoZp57HLn3bJqxmHcr_KBDoEAvuP0RmrSe1PMPNELUxw?ref_=wl_share

We are also excited to announce the launch of our after-school club “Mi Gente”! The club will meet on Thursdays in room RG 10 from 3:30–4:30. All students who speak Spanish fluently or who are interested in learning and deepening their knowledge are warmly invited to join. Sign-up link: https://forms.office.com/r/C4AtL7CEJH

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

It’s been a busy few weeks in Spanish I! Looking ahead, our first listening summative assessment on the vocabulary and grammar related to the rooms of the house, furniture, and prepositions will take place on Monday, September 29.

After the assessment, we’ll dive into vocabulary for different places around the city and grammar related to the verb IR. SpanishDict.com homework will resume next week, with three assignments opening on Monday and due by Friday at 3:15 PM.

Additionally, student-led conferences will be held on Thursday, October 8, only with the student, parent/guardian, and their advisory teacher. The advisory teacher should have sent a sign-up email.

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

This week in Spanish 2:

This week in Spanish 2 we read chapters 1 and 2 of our book Esperanza, targeting a number of new vocabulary structures. Next week, we will start off the week learning new phrases to give a personal reaction to information and stories. Then we will use a variety of strategies to review the vocabulary and content (characters, setting, conflict) of the first two chapters, and we will have a summative writing assignment in which students must use the target vocabulary to summarize and react to what we have read.

Over the weekend and into next week, students should be studying their dictionary pages and re-reading the texts of chapter 1 and 2 to review for the writing test. This quizlet link and also this gamified gimkit link contains the targeted vocabulary as well as additional vocabulary from chapters 1-2 if students need additional practice.

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Last week we finished our reading of "Once" by Sandra Cisneros and took a Formative on vocabulary and comprehension of the text.

Next week we will read the story of Nasreen, a girl who cannot go to school because she has to work to survive. We will compare and contrast our everyday life to her.

We continue to review high frequency verbs and will focus on past tenses next week.

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

Acabamos de completar una emocionante etapa de nuestra unidad! Los estudiantes han estado explorando las vidas de figuras destacadas de América Latina a través del lente del "viaje del héroe", analizando los obstáculos que enfrentaron y los logros que alcanzaron. Esta reflexión profunda no solo les ha permitido conocer más sobre la historia y la cultura de la región, sino también desarrollar habilidades de análisis crítico.

La próxima semana, los estudiantes se enfocarán en una obra específica de una de estas figuras para continuar profundizando su comprensión. Esta actividad servirá como antesala para el proyecto culminante de la unidad: el Collage de la Identidad, donde cada estudiante representará visualmente su propia historia personal, inspirándose en las narrativas que han estudiado.

We’ve just wrapped up an exciting part of our unit! Students have been exploring the lives of influential figures from Latin America through the lens of the "hero’s journey," analyzing the challenges they faced and the achievements they accomplished. This deep reflection has helped students not only learn more about the region’s history and culture but also develop critical thinking skills.

Next week, students will focus on a specific work by one of these figures to further their understanding. This activity will serve as a springboard for the culminating project of the unit: the Identity Collage, in which each student will visually represent their own personal story, inspired by the narratives they’ve studied.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

Humanidades 8vo

This week in 8th grade Spanish humanities students finished up their “yo soy de” poems, modeled off of several example poems we read together as a class. They also made their own interpretations of Juan Downey’s Mapa de America, followed by reading 2 analysis of this work and giving their own reactions. Students who had already finished their poem, had the opportunity to them reinterpret a map, inspired by Juan Downey, to express their identity and what is most important to them about that place.

Next week, we will dive more deeply into our study of figurative language, reading and analyzing a variety of poems as well as a short children’s book Mila Imagina el Mundo, to identify the use of figurative language and how it contributes to the author’s style and message. This will prepare students to write their own poem using figurative language, which we will work on the week of parent teacher conferences.

As we approach advisory 2, please purchase a copy of La Casa en Mango Street (THIS EDITION) and send it in with your student. You do not have to purchase from amazon, and can pre-order at most bookstores or order on bookshop here. I do have some used copies available, however we will be emphasizing marking and annotating the text, so it is preferable that each student has their own clean unmarked copy. If you are able to purchase an additional copy for a peer in the class, that would be incredibly generous, and you can send it directly to the school through our class wishlist here.

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

Lask week students completed their first writing assessment in which they created a dialogue introducing themselves to someone else. This week students will learn how to talk about their school day--including the classes they have and their likes and dislikes. We will also be completing our second listening formative in which students will be able to show off what they have learned so far.

Homework for French includes studying our vocabulary every night—a little study every day makes students stronger language learners! Students can access study materials on Canvas, using their reference sheet or with Match review.

Madame Bullock would like to send a thank you to those famililes who supported our class. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. For those who have asked how to support our class, we are always accepting tissues, pencils, paper or other items found here. Merci!

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

Last week we continued to work with high frequency verbs that have irregular conjugations: ALLER, VENIR, FAIRE, as well as the regular formation of -ER verbs. We had a listening formative on Friday.

Next week we will work with new vocabulary and begin to focus on writing paragraphs.

Ms. Balestra's students: To review vocabulary and sentence structure, students can use the activities found on Canvas under "Vocabulary Activities page."

French II (Dr. Mbayu & Mr. Osei)

Students learned vocabulary for emotions and expressions of preference (aimer, adorer, détester). Listening tasks featured French teens sharing their likes and dislikes. In writing, students completed “Je suis heureux quand…” prompts. Discussions compared preferences in pairs, and reflections examined how emotions influence comprehension and writing.

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

Grade 6

Last week our students learned about introducing themselves. Students had a formative assessment last Friday on numbers and common greetings. Next week we will start learning Unit Three school supplies. We are excited to see their progress as they build their foundational communication skills in Chinese.

Grade 7

Last week our students learned about telling time and daily activities. We had a formative assessment on daily activities last Friday. Next week we will have two summative assessments. Students will have an oral presentation next Tuesday describing their daily schedules. Students will have a written summative assessment on Lesson II Time and Activities next Thursday. We are excited to see their progress as they build their speaking and writing skills in Chinese.

Grade 8

Last week our students learned about how to navigate unfamiliar places, giving directions and how to describe the time it takes between two locations. We had a formative assessment on transportation last Friday. Next week we will continue exploring how to describe popular cities in China, plan vacation itineraries, decide activities for summer breaks and explain why. Students will prepare for the speaking summative assessment on Dream China Trip project next week and one written summative assessment the following week. We are excited to see their progress as they build their presentational speaking skills in Chinese.