World Languages
Week of September 21, 2026
Spanish Language and Culture (Mr. Fontalvo, Ms. Gonzalez)
Last week, students learned and practiced greetings, farewells, and basic questions in Spanish. They also completed a writing formative assessment to demonstrate their understanding on this skill.
Next week, students will continue practicing basic questions and responses and will begin working with numbers in Spanish. They will also complete both a writing formative assessment and a listening formative assessment related to these topics.
To support your child’s learning and progress, families are encouraged to check Canvas regularly for class materials, practice resources, and study materials. Please also check Aspen frequently to stay up to date on grades and academic progress.
Thank you for your continued support at home. We are excited to keep building our students’ Spanish communication skills!
Spanish I (Mr. Donaldson, Ms. Cuffee)
It’s been a great week with Spanish I scholars! Most student scholars successfully accessed SpanishDict.com and completed their first three homework tasks on that platform. Student scholars also completed their first listening assessment. Way to go!
Next week, we are extremely excited to celebrate and kickoff Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15th to October 15th. Scholars will continue using the unit’s new vocabulary while learning about and delving into possessive adjectives, the verb “estar”, and prepositions to express where items are located in a house/home and where items are located in reference to other items. Students will complete new SpanishDict.com assignments due on Friday based on the topics learned this week. The late/retake deadline for the first half of Term 1 is Thursday, September 24. No work from that date or before will be accepted.
Spanish II (Ms. Wooten, Ms. Henderson, Mr. Almanza)
It was wonderful to meet so many of you at Back to School Night! I also want to reiterate how grateful I am for the many generous donations our parent community has made to our classroom. The books, tissues, paper, and other supplies are already being put to good use, and your support is very much appreciated.
This week in Spanish 2, students learned new vocabulary in preparation for our first novel, Esperanza. Today, they put that vocabulary to use as they interpreted and shared their reactions to a song. We’ll continue exploring the song in our next class before beginning Chapter 1 midway through next week.
As we approach the midpoint of the advisory, please take a moment to check Aspen with your child for any missing assignments.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
Spanish Humanities, grade 6 (Ms. Balestra)
This week we focused on our unit theme of "Growing up around the world." Students read excerpts of an article published by the UN on youth around the world. Students began to compare their childhood with what was presented in the texts. We also continued our study of high frequency verbs. All students were given the opportunity to do better on last week's Formative. Students took a vocabulary Formative on Thursday and a Formative specific to analyzing the article on Friday.
Next week we will continue with our theme, reading an excerpt from "Once," by Sandra Cisneros, a reading about a young girl in Nepal, and also a video about child labor in the United States.
Esta semana nos enfocamos en el tema de nuestra unidad: "Crecer alrededor del mundo." Los estudiantes leyeron extractos de un artículo publicado por la ONU sobre los jóvenes en distintas partes del mundo. Los estudiantes empezaron a comparar su infancia con lo que se presentaba en los textos. También continuamos con nuestro estudio de los verbos de alta frecuencia. Todos los estudiantes tuvieron la oportunidad de mejorar en el Formativo de la semana pasada. El jueves los estudiantes hicieron un Formativo de vocabulario y el viernes uno específico sobre el análisis del artículo.
La próxima semana continuaremos con nuestro tema, leyendo un extracto de "Once," de Sandra Cisneros, una lectura sobre una niña en Nepal, y también un video sobre el trabajo infantil en Estados Unidos.
French Language & Culture (Ms. Bullock, Mr. Almanza)
It was great to meet so many of you at Back to School Night! Your academic support makes it clear that this will be a great year.
Last week, students learned how to say where they're from as we continued in our getting to know you unit. Students also had their first listening formative in which they identified cognates in spoken French.
Next week, students will be learning numbers, how to say their age and their birthday. They will also have their first writing formative in which they will prepare a introductory conversation dialogue between two students!
The easiest way to learn French is to practice a little every day. Encourage your student to review regularly! Madame Bullock's students can use Match or online flashcards to review. (For data privacy, students do NOT need a quizlet account to practice!)
Madame Bullock's class has created an Amazon Wish Lists with items that will help make our classrooms more engaging, organized, and welcoming for our students. Many families at BTSN asked for me to share it here. Any contribution is completely optional but greatly appreciated!
French I (Ms. Balestra, Mr. Osei)
French II (Dr. Mbayu & Mr. Osei)
French II – Unit 1: Qui suis-je ?
Students practiced introducing themselves in French. They learned vocabulary for names, ages, nationalities, and family members, reviewed être and avoir, and practiced nationality agreement. They listened to authentic French introductions, wrote short “Je me présente” paragraphs, and reflected on strategies for remembering new vocabulary. A cultural comparison explored how introductions differ in French vs. English.
Chinese (Ms. Liang)
Grade 6
Last week our students learned about numbers and high frequency words through etymology. We had summative assessments on speaking and writing last week. Next week students will keep learning about Chinese greetings. Students will have a formative assessment next week on Friday on common greetings. 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 one summative assessment on daily activities last week and will have one speaking summative next week. Next week we will continue exploring how to learn more about daily activities and focus on reading comprehension. Students will take a formative assessment on Friday covering telling time and describing daily activities. 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 school life. We had one summative assessment on school life last week and will have a speaking summative next week. Next week we will start the new unit on transportation. Students will take a formative assessment on Friday covering telling distance and asking for directions. We are excited to see their progress as they build their speaking and writing skills in Chinese.