World Languages

Week of May 12th

Interest Meeting for World Language Trips, 2026 (current 7th grade families)

World Language Trip Interest Meeting for 7th Grade Families

Deal will host an interest meeting for 7th grade families in-person at Deal at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 14th. The world language trips will take place during the 8th grade year, but planning for these trips starts now!

As part of Deal's commitment to inspiring excellence, curiosity, and compassion in our students, Deal Middle School will once again plan optional international trips as a supplement to our world language program. 8th grade students enrolled in Spanish, French, Chinese, or Spanish Humanities will have the opportunity to join their designated trip. These trips are entirely optional, funded by families, chaperoned by Deal staff, and open only to Deal 8th grade students in good academic, attendance, and behavioral standing. We find these trips to be a powerful experience for all involved.

All families interested in taking part should plan to attend the meeting. Additional details will be shared in future 7th grade team newsletters. See you there!

STAMP testing for 8th grade students

Next week, May 12-16, your 8th grade student will take the Standard-Based Measurement of Proficiency (STAMP) exam in their World Language class. This standardized test is a DCPS requirement for all 8th graders taking a world language class. Students will test during their normally scheduled class time and aim to complete one section a day, though they will have additional time if needed to complete the test.

What is STAMP?

STAMP is an untimed, adaptive, computer-based test which measures your student’s proficiency in the four fluencies of a language: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Your student will receive 4 scores on the ACTFL proficiency scale, one for each fluency of the language. To learn more about the test, you can read over the STAMP 4S Parent Guide. Humanities students will take the monolingual version of the test (meaning both the questions and answers will be in Spanish).

Why do we use STAMP?

STAMP results will be used to inform program design and to help your student continue language study at advanced levels by identifying areas of strength and growth. For eighth grade students, STAMP results may be used to place students in appropriate World Language courses in high school.

How can I prepare?

You can help your student learn more about STAMP by taking a practice test and reading over this Powerup Guide to learn more about how they can increase their language proficiency. You should practice speaking for 3 minutes (without pen and paper) in response to a question (for example: A new student is coming to Deal. Tell them about a normal day at school and a story about something that happened at school last week).

Is this graded?

Students will receive 2 summative grades, one for Reading/ writing and one for listening/ speaking. The scores will primarily be based on whether the student met DCPS’s proficiency targets for the level of this class. The proficiency target for Humanidades 2 is an intermediate-mid (a 5) on the ACTFL proficiency scale. The grade will also take into consideration completion, effort, and academic integrity, that the student made no attempts to use google translate or other resources (such as talking to a peer) during the test.

Please encourage your student to do their best and to complete the test in its entirety. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

This week in our classes!

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

Last week in Spanish class, our students continued developing their language skills by learning how to conjugate regular verbs in the present tense. They also took a listening formative assessment to practice their comprehension skills. Next week, we will build on this foundation by learning how to ask and answer questions about extracurricular activities. Students will use verb conjugations in meaningful contexts to practice their speaking and writing in Spanish. We're excited to see their continued growth!

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

The assignment turn-in deadline for the first half of Term 4 is Tuesday, May 13.

Students will begin the week with speaking formative assessments on food and health vocabulary. Then they will dive into giving commands, focusing on both affirmative and negative tú commands as well as formal usted/ustedes commands. Through interactive activities, they will practice giving commands related to food and health, especially focusing on healthy eating habits. The practice activities this week will involve both writing and speaking practice focused on giving commands for healthy eating habits and maintaining health.

The final SpanishDict.com homework assignments (Assigned May 12, Due May 16): 4HW7 - Affirmative Tú Commands (Grammar), 4HW8 - Negative Tú Commands (Grammar), 4HW9 - Usted and Ustedes Commands (Grammar).

The following graded speaking assessments this week include 4FormC1.ED - En el desayuno Speaking Formative and 4FormC2.LR - La receta Speaking Formative.

Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson)

Please read message above about STAMP testing.

You can help your student learn more about STAMP by taking a practice test and reading over this Powerup Guide to learn more about how they can increase their language proficiency. The test could include any vocabulary, but you may brush up your Spanish 1 level vocabulary using these 3 study sets: study set 1, study set 2, study set 3. You can also review that vocab in a gimkit game here!

Once we complete the STAMP exam, we will return to reading our novel and exploring the idea of how communities form their identities—and how public art plays a role in that process.

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Last week students worked on grammar, trying to master the differences between the two past tenses of preterit and imperfect. We will continue to work on this concept so that all students understand when and how to use these tenses.

Next week we will continue to work on our poetry unit, focusing on Pablo Neruda's "Oda al Tomate."

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

Congratulations on finishing DC CAPE! In Spanish, students have now read Chapters 1 through 5 of El épico fracaso de Arturo Zamora. We are completing comprehension guides for each chapter, so please remind your student to stay up to date with their work—check Aspen for missing assignments. If your student does not yet have a copy of the book, please try to buy one as soon as possible. We have very few classroom copies and not enough paper to keep making photocopies. If your family is in a position to donate an extra copy for classroom use, it would be greatly appreciated!

https://www.target.com/p/el-pico-fracaso-de-arturo-zamora-the-epic-fail-of-arturo-zamora-by-pablo-cartaya-paperback/-/A-78793286

We will be reading Chapter 6 in class tomorrow. Students will be responsible for reading Chapter 7 over the weekend. Next week, we will review in preparation for our first summative test on Chapters 1–7.

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

Please read message above about STAMP testing.

You can help your student learn more about STAMP by taking a practice test and reading over this Powerup Guide to learn more about how they can increase their language proficiency. Humanities students should be confident in the novice and intermediate level vocabulary of the test, but if you feel the need you may brush up your Spanish 1 level vocabulary using these 3 study sets: study set 1, study set 2, study set 3. You can also review that vocab in a gimkit game here! More importantly, you should practice speaking for 3 minutes (without pen and paper) in response to a question (for example: A new student is coming to Deal. Tell them about a normal day at school and a story about something that happened at school last week).

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

Bonjour Introduction to French families! This week students will be learning how to talk about the activities they do in their free time. We will be learning to "conjugate" the most common verbs in the French language! To end our week, students will be showing all they've learned on a combined listening/writing formative. To prepare, knowing our class vocab is key. As always, the best way to learn a language is through practice every day. Students are encouraged to review what we have learned in class. Have them teach you or a sibling...after all, when we can teach something to someone else, we show we really know it!

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

This week we focused on the grammatical concept of demonstrative and interrogative adjectives. Students were reminded that when learning new vocabulary, it is imperative that they learn the gender of the nouns.

Next week we will focus on writing and listening activities. Students will have a Listening Formative on May 16th.

French II (Dr. Mbayu)

This week we started Unit 3: Le weekend, les loisirs, et les spectacles. We will complete a reading performance activity (criterion B): le metro et vive le jazz.

Next week we will delve into weekend activities in the city and the countryside from a comparative perspective.

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 7th graders completed their speaking assessments and celebrated the conclusion of the Chinese food unit with a fun and engaging class party! It was a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase their language learning and enjoy a rich cultural experience together.

Next week, we will wrap up this unit with a summative assessment and begin our new unit on weather. Students will learn how to describe various weather conditions, share seasonal preferences, and apply vocabulary in real-life contexts.

📢 Upcoming Event
We are excited to invite you to our China Trip Introduction Meeting on Wednesday at 6:00 PM in the auditorium. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing more about this exciting opportunity!

G6

Last week, students learned key vocabulary to describe not only facial features but also arms, legs, and what accessories they wear, such as glasses, sunglasses. In class, students practiced their speaking skills by introducing a friend in Chinese using descriptive language.

Next week, we will continue exploring this unit and focus on developing our written Chinese skills through structured practice and in-class activities. We will have a formative next week on Friday.