Department Meeting
December 5th 3:30-4:30
Location: US Room E221 (Spanish room)
Agenda: Alex and Doug share team drive, Sara: ACTFL, Interpretive Sample 1 Sample 2 Template Rubrics , level time:WL Sequence form in groups, Spanish finalize course names
Location: US Room E221 (Spanish room)
Agenda: Alex and Doug share team drive, Sara: ACTFL, Interpretive Sample 1 Sample 2 Template Rubrics , level time:WL Sequence form in groups, Spanish finalize course names
US Dates to remember:
New course proposals(electives)- January 14 (due to department chairs)
January 16- Curriculum Committee review of new course proposals
Jan 22- Curriculum Committee reviews new course proposals
Jan 24- All elective descriptions due to Antonietta
Jan 28- Elective booklet published to families
Feb 19- Placements due to Antonietta
The Great World Language Debate du Jour: Grammar vs. Communication
I am embarrassed -- no, actually I would go as far as to say horrified -- that I spent ten years of my career teaching students about the Spanish language. I actually felt proud when they could fill out grammar worksheets with precision. Now, you may be thinking that, as a Spanish teacher, this is my job, but since my enlightenment, I understand that it decidedly is not. I am now certain that teaching them to communicate well in the language is my job. Honestly, who cares whether students can conjugate verbs correctly if they can't tell someone what they need? Getting to this point has required a colossal teaching philosophy transformation, but I've never been more proud of the work that I'm doing. Read on here
Amazon is coming to town!
Well, it is but this is a cool resource to help us Amazon Inspire
Amazon Inspire is an open collaboration service that helps teachers to easily discover, gather, and share quality educational content with their community.
10 Tips for Teachers Using the Station Rotation Model
Teachers are already blowing up my Twitter feed with awesome photos taken during their first few station rotation lessons! It’s exciting to see so many teachers trying this blended learning model and creating opportunities for small group instruction, real-time feedback, collaboration, and differentiated learning. Continue article here
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Interpretive Tasks: The Interpretive Mode. ... At the interpretive level, learners “read between the lines” to demonstrate that they can use their background knowledge and cultural understandings to provide a more complete interpretation of the message.
Meeting samples
The Literary Canon Is Mostly White. Here’s an Alternative Latin American Reading List Click to continue
NPR Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month / NPR Celebra El Mes De La Herencia Hispana... bookmark it for next year
25 Sticky Note Teacher Hacks You’ll Want to Steal
So many ways to help learning stick! Let's stick together! Read on here
Google Calendar Tips- Jenni Ashley has been sending this one out
In the News:
Are you thinking of applying to SYA for your junior year? Enrique Granados, our SYA representative, will be on campus on November 27. The program has campuses in Rennes, France; Beijing, China; Viterbo, Italy; and Zaragoza, Spain. Please reach out to Sra. Page to find out more.
In the News:
In Sra. Crowley’s 8th grade Spanish 1B class, students participated in a "stations" activity. At each
station, students had to describe the pictures about daily routines to their partner (speaking for one
minute) and then both partners spoke for one minute about their own daily routine.
station, students had to describe the pictures about daily routines to their partner (speaking for one
minute) and then both partners spoke for one minute about their own daily routine.
GRADE 6 SPANISH OBSERVES DÍA DE LOS MUERTOSGrade 6 Spanish students in Diana Page's class recently learned about the Mexican and Central American custom of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), in which deceased loved ones are honored. To observe the holiday, students researched and wrote in Spanish about the legacies of some inspiring Hispanic public figures. They also made calacas with marshmallows and food coloring!
PANTHERS ABROAD
Last year, Henry Page '19 studied in Zaragoza, Spain, through the School Year Abroad (SYA) program. This year, Potomac is being represented there by Sebastian Harvey '20. Sebastian has settled into his classes, joined a university singing group, and begun exploring the city of Zaragoza, especially during its "Fiestas del Pilar." Here, Sebastian is pictured outside the school doors. We wish him "buena suerte" for an awesome junior year!
Last year, Henry Page '19 studied in Zaragoza, Spain, through the School Year Abroad (SYA) program. This year, Potomac is being represented there by Sebastian Harvey '20. Sebastian has settled into his classes, joined a university singing group, and begun exploring the city of Zaragoza, especially during its "Fiestas del Pilar." Here, Sebastian is pictured outside the school doors. We wish him "buena suerte" for an awesome junior year!
Are you thinking of applying to SYA for your junior year? Enrique Granados, our SYA representative, will be on campus on November 27. The program has campuses in Rennes, France; Beijing, China; Viterbo, Italy; and Zaragoza, Spain. Please reach out to Sra. Page to find out more.
September 2018
News & Views
Four Campuses, One Mission
As we kick off our school year more connected than ever, I write to share stories from our four campuses. In these stories, you will find core themes echoing throughout: critical and creative thinking; intercultural competence; language proficiency; and independence and interdependence. These are the student skills that we introduce from the moment students first hear about SYA, and that we build upon and practice throughout their formative year abroad. They are the skills that we believe students need to succeed in today's increasingly interdependent world, and they serve as our focus areas outlined in our mission. While you peruse the stories below and continue to follow along throughout the school year, I hope you feel as we do: we are one school with four campuses, united by a single transformative mission and approach. No matter what SYA host city you call your second home, you are united by a common experience with more than 8,000 alumni since 1964. In the words of our Board Chair Kirk Davenport FR'77 FR'11P, thank you for joining us in our effort to steward "one of life's great adventures."
Best wishes,
Tom Hassan
SYA President
Around the World in 14 Photos
What's happening in the first month of SYA? Take a peek with this collection of 14 photos from our four campuses.
Window on the World
Catch highlights from Beijing, Rennes, Viterbo and Zaragoza, straight from our talented leadership team of Resident Directors.
La Gacilly Festival
"I'm someone who really loves maps, so I enjoy looking at aerial images of different places. This photo caught my eye, and I realized that I have seen very few images of snowy places from above. It made me think about how drastically landscapes can change from season to season. It's almost as if any given place needs a new map for each season."
James Dallapé FR'19 (pictured above) shared this reflection after attending La Gacilly's largest open-air photo festival in France. The theme of the festival was "La Terre et l'Environnement," and SYA France students were asked to reflect on social and environmental issues facing society today.
Brooks to Beijing (And Back Again)
Whether to reminisce, compare notes, or learn more about SYA China, reading this article from Axidi Iglesias CN'18 provides an insightful view on the transformative power of SYA:
"Though difficult, learning Chinese intrigued me. I couldn't believe I'd be able to increase the number of people I could communicate with by billions! In my Chinese history class [at Brooks], my passion for China's rapid industrialization, culture, language and its people skyrocketed. I knew if I wanted to truly understand these concepts, I had to go to China for myself."
Featured Student Work: Poul-Fétan, Bretagne, France by Garrett Wilson FR'19
"Poul-Fétan is a small village in the western part of the Bretagne region in France, abandoned in the 1970s, and later transformed into an interactive museum showcasing a snapshot of traditional Breton life."
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Elevate Education Consulting is pleased to announce that we are once again offering monthly, job-embedded professional development in Washington, DC for world language teachers on how to teach with comprehensible input. Registration closes in one month, on November 12 — register here to reserve your spot now. Both 18-hour series are both eligible for graduate-level credits through the University of the Pacific.
Six-session job-embedded professional development series + 1 school visit for classroom observation and personalized coaching session
Six Saturdays from 9:00am-12:00pm 11/17/18, 12/8/18, 1/12/19, 2/9/19, 3/9/19, 5/4/19
Total cost: $425
Location: Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Charter School; 3700 Oakview Terrace, NE; Washington, DC 20017
Six-session job-embedded professional development series + 1 school visit for classroom observation and personalized coaching session
Six Saturdays from 1:00pm-4:00pm 11/17/18, 12/8/18, 1/12/19, 2/9/19, 3/9/19, 5/4/19
Total cost: $425
Location: Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Charter School; 3700 Oakview Terrace, NE; Washington, DC 20017
Here is a taste of the feedback we have received about our program:
-This program should be taught in every school that offers [a] world language program.
-Practical takeaways for embedding grammar, and making learning more natural and interesting with storytelling, story listening, and reading at the center, will change my practice. Thank you Rachelle and Anna!
-Why should we bother with extensive and complex grammar lessons when there is always a story to tell? Thank you Anna and Rachelle for the great training on Teaching with Comprehensible Input.
-I believe that in order to bring about transformation in our society, this culturally responsive model will in time form more allies. I commend you!
-CI [Comprehensible Input] gives you a more holistic approach... [it] appeals to the heart and the intellect.
-[I learned that] as language teachers we are the front lines of multiculturalism, and we need to take on that role with our students, parents, colleagues, and administration.
-I love that both of you have very different styles and you both work well together. This helps different types of learners (and teachers) to connect to your sessions!
-Thank you for your amazing energy and positive feedback every time.
-I loved it. I felt very comfortable. The sessions were well-planned and well]-structured.
-These teaching with CI workshop sessions have confirmed the different pedagogies that I use in my ASL classroom. This workshop has deepened my understanding of CI and the brain research associated with it.
Please also share with colleagues in other schools. You can learn more about the program, and about us, at elevateeducationconsulting.com.
NAFSA- elearning
by Allison Carneiro
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