World Languages

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

Last week, our students learned about the Mexican celebration of Día de Muertos and successfully completed Unit 1 of the year. They explored cultural traditions, built a class altar, and reflected on the importance of honoring loved ones.

Next week, we’ll begin Unit 2, which will focus on reading and speaking skills. Our new themes will be weather and food, giving students opportunities to expand their vocabulary and communicate in real-life contexts.

Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)

Students in Spanish I will begin Unit 2 by reviewing numbers and colors and introducing clothing vocabulary. For classwork, students will complete a classwork activity on clothing and numbers (2PA1.La). Homework assignments on SpanishDict.com will also be introduced, with three assignments on numbers and one on clothing vocabulary, all open from Tue., Nov. 4 and due by Fri., Nov. 7.

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

This week, we wrapped up Chapter 3 of our novel Esperanza. Next week, we’ll continue with Chapter 4, followed by our second summative assessment of the first advisory, which is currently scheduled for the end of the week. As we approach the end of the advisory, please be sure to check Aspen for updated grades. Have a great weekend!

our reading summative is Thursday October 16th. Please make sure you know ALL of the terms from your dictionary. You may also study this list in quizlet or this gamified review here.

Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)

Humanidades en espanol, 6o grado: Students had fun and showed their creative side with their doll illustrations of their "a day in my life" writing. Follow this link for pictures!

Next week we begin Unit 2: My place in the world: Immigration and Identity. We will be reading the book, "Esperanza Renace," this term. I will send information early next week about purchasing copies of the book.

Los estudiantes se divirtieron y mostraron su lado creativo con sus ilustraciones de muñecas sobre su escritura "un día en mi vida". ¡Sigan este enlace para ver las fotos! La próxima semana comenzamos la Unidad 2: Mi lugar en el mundo: Inmigración e Identidad. Este cuatrimestre leeremos el libro "Esperanza Renace". Enviaré información a principios de la próxima semana sobre cómo comprar copias del libro.

Spanish Humanities, grade 7 (Ms. Henderson)

Students in 7th Grade Humanities have wrapped up their written descriptions of their collages. Owing to the short week, we haven't yet begun our next unit, but we are using this time to do valuable work on grammar and spelling to help everyone better understand and express their ideas. Next week, we’ll begin Lazarillo de Tormes. As we near the end of the advisory, please be sure to keep an eye on Aspen and reach out with any questions or concerns. Have a lovely long weekend!

Los estudiantes de Humanidades de 7.º grado han terminado las descripciones escritas de sus collages. Debido a la semana corta, aún no hemos comenzado nuestra próxima unidad, pero estamos aprovechando este tiempo para trabajar aspectos importantes de gramática y ortografía, con el fin de que todos puedan comprender y expresar mejor sus ideas. La próxima semana comenzaremos con Lazarillo de Tormes. A medida que se acerca el final del período, no olviden revisar Aspen con frecuencia y comunicarse si tienen alguna duda o inquietud. ¡Que tengan un excelente fin de semana largo!

Spanish Humanities, grade 8 (Ms. Wooten)

This week students worked on their summative assignment to write a poem using figurative language to further explore the connection between the languages they speak and their identities. BY TUESDAY, students need to submit on canvas the first draft of the poem, accompanied by a paragraph describing the use of figurative language and why they made those choices in the poem. If your student feels lost or lacking ideas, please remind them to look at the padlet linked on the assignment- there are a number of sample poems, sentence starters, and other poems to help spark ideas! Next week, I will give students feedback on their poems and they will need to revise them to submit in their final portfolio. We will also read a poem "nos gustaría que sepan" and begin their final poem (written in a group), in which they choose la voz poética and their intended audience and write a message together about what they would like this audience to know about their chosen group. We are working towards our end of advisory poetry reading and celebration October 29. You are invited to send in food or treats that day to share!

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

Welcome to term 2! In this unit students will be learning how to talk about the weather and how to order food in a restaurant or café--it's usually a student favorite. As we begin our unit, students will be reviewing days of the week and learning how to say the seasons in French in preparation for talking about the weather. We will also be preparing for our first speaking formative which will be an interview in which students will be asking and answering our essential questions from term 1.

In Madame Bullock's class, students came up with a list of incentives they would like to work towards. If you have the means and will to donate (or you're just interested in what middle schoolers like), you can find their list here. :)

French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)

French One: Students did a fabulous job creating their own cities! Take a look here at some of the maps. Stay tuned for photos of all of the maps!

We begin Unit 2 next week. This is a really fun unit centered around food! Please remind your student that they will be most successful if they begin the unit with a daily review of what we have covered in class. Some days that will be vocabulary, other days it will be verbs, other days it will a grammatical concept. Frequent review keeps the material fresh and also allows students to identify what they are struggling with.

French II (Dr. Mbayu & Mr. Osei)

🌸 Introduction au thème: la santé et le bien-être

Students begin exploring the unit’s big idea: How do language and culture shape healthy living?
They review familiar vocabulary for meals and activities and identify goals for the unit.
🧠 Reflection: What does “bien-être” mean to me personally?

Chinese (Ms. Liang)

Grade 6

Last week our students had a summative speaking and written assessment of lesson 3 on Monday and Wednesday. We are excited to see their progress as they build their foundational reading and writing skills in Chinese. Next week we will start Lesson 4 families. We are excited to see their progress as they build their reading and writing skills in Chinese.

Grade 7

Last week our students continued learning Lesson 3 My house locality words about describing the house and how to say different rooms. Next week we will continue to learn Lesson 3 and have a formative assessment on rooms and furniture on Friday. We are excited to see their progress as they build their reading and writing skills in Chinese.

Grade 8

Last week our students worked on the speaking summative assessment on Dream China Trip project and will have a written summative assessment next Friday. We practiced typing in class. The week after next week we will start learning Lesson 3 Extracurricular Activities. We are excited to see their progress as they build their presentational speaking and writing skills in Chinese.