Summer planning

Final Week Meetings: Tuesday, June 12th 
8:30-9:00 gather in divisions

9:00- 9:30 Brief department meeting (IS room 184)

Agenda:  (Bring computers)

Announcements: new hires, Quebec travel
Appeals- last ones
Curricular Grants
WL office space: who and where
Book orders- teacher editions, supplies, subscriptions, pass on books to other teachers
Blog: intercultural rubric
Atlas Keywords for use in updates: Keywords for searches: Authentic materials, tests, quizzes, recycling, listening, reading, writing, speaking, culture
Fill out feedback form

9:30-11:30 Group by common prep/language (use Curricular Guideposts as a reference)

As you work on Atlas, please remember to use the keywords we agreed  upon.

-Keywords for searches: Authentic materials, tests, quizzes, recycling, listening, reading, writing, speaking, culture

Square Breathing- have you heard?

In the Intermediate School, teachers use this to help students focus and get ready for class! Personalize and put it into your language! See how Tricia and Christine have used THIS in IS.

Faculty Leave Forms: Please note that there are printed out copies of the form in the WL office.  Please use the newer form that has the coverage table on the back.  :)

Bookshelves Above Desks in the WL Office: Please be respectful of others space and only use what you need.  The space above the desk should be for the teacher that sits at that desk, especially if they do not have their own classrooms.

Catalogs online for sprucing up our classrooms:
Teachers Discovery

Applause Learning

Purple Culture- Chinese

Continental Book Company (magazines too)


Follow Up from Last Meeting: Jennifer Gonzalez from Cult of Pedagogy

"What's the point of a makerspace?"

This question has been whispering in the back of my mind for a couple of years now, ever since I started to become aware of these things called makerspaces. On the surface, I nodded along with everyone, acting like I totally got it. But deep down inside, honestly, I kind of didn't. 

So I decided to talk to my friend John about it. He does a lot of things that have the word "maker" in them, and I consider him to be one of the smartest people I know. After talking with him, I have a much clearer idea of how makerspaces work, how they benefit students, and how they can fit into almost any content area. Today I'm sharing our conversation on the podcast, plus a summary over on the blog:

What's the Point of a Makerspace?

Also, a couple of other things you might be interested in: 

1. The June cohort of my JumpStart Plus technology course is now open for enrollment. This course is an excellent way to build your confidence with technology and develop a learning-driven approach to designing tech-enhanced instruction.  This summer, we're hosting two cohorts: The first starts June 1 and the second starts July 8. The June cohort is open NOW for enrollment: Hurry, the door closes onMay 30!

Learn More About the Course

Notify Me When the July Cohort Opens!

2. I know a lot of you are wrapping up the school year. If you are looking for some creative ways to make the most of those last few days, visit my post on what to do on Lame Duck school days.Lots of great ideas there!

Intercultural Competence Matrix-
Where are you?  Where are your students?

Professional Development: 

Developing Proficiency in Intercultural Communication click here

Intercultural communication has been identified as a cross-cutting competency within the field of international education. Developing intercultural skills is essential for those who support international students and scholars. Developing Proficiency in Intercultural Communication is a four-part NAFSA e-Learning Express Course series, which provides professionals within the field the opportunity to strengthen their skills and experience in order to become more successful in their work.

School Year Left your Ragged? Building Resilience

When talking about a profession that loses 50 percent of its workforce in the first five years of their careers, it would be an understatement to say teaching is challenging. It traps us in small rooms with an unpredictable assortment of personalities, energies, and needs. It forces us to make hundreds of small, exhausting decisions every day. And over and over again, it puts us in predicaments that test our confidence, wear out our patience, and break our hearts. You can learn all the techniques, plan outstanding lessons, and set up a water-tight classroom management system, but to do this work and stick with it long enough to get good at it, you need a level of emotional resilience most other jobs will never require. Read more

Click on Debunking Myths About Resilience

Social Justice in the Classroom:

From May Day to Testing Day: Puerto Rico’s Teachers Battle for the Schools Their Students Deserve

Welcome to the Spanish for Social Justice Teacher Network (SFSJ).

French students enjoying pétanque outside!

Looking over your ATLAS units? Infuse them with creativity!

Creative Language Class       

BLOG

Follow our blog to hear tips, challenges, and reflections from our world language teaching experiences.

TEACHER TOOLBOX

Need a new activity or a great new authentic resources? We’ve got you covered. Check out our collection of resources to make your life easier.

WORKSHOPS

If you are looking for professional development for your school, conference or even individual coaching, check out our services here.

Games? Real World connection?

Resentimiento  

Kiva and School Vocabulary

Wordless video: (rural Costa Rica)

Why speak Chinese?

In a matter of eight weeks, 113 students submitted videos to the contest, yielding nearly 7,000 likes and more than 20,000 video views. China Learning Initiatives plans to continue holding the Why Speak Chinese contest regularly. 

Congratulations, Avery! Watch his and other finalists' submissions »

Día del idioma- Día del libro

April 23rd is a big day, with three coinciding celebrations all at once. World Book Day is a celebration of authors, books, and most importantly, reading. According to their website, it is “the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.” There are many events happening in honor of the day, including a two-day read-a-thon of Don Quixote.

Spanish language day was created to celebrate multiculturalism and multilingualism, while English language day aims to increase awareness of the history of English and falls on the birthday (and day of death) of William Shakespeare.

Books In Spanish
1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
2. The City of Marvels by Eduardo Mendoza
3. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
4. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
5. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
6. Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
7. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
8. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
9. Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
10. In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez


From SYA...

LE CRACHIN

SYA 2018 LITERARY AND ARTS MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT POETRY AND PROSE VISUAL ESSAYS

May 2018

Member Matters

Message from SYA President Tom Hassan In this newsletter written for SYA Member Schools, please join us as we cheer on the accomplishments of our most recent SYA alumni, reflect on the experiences of Member School faculty who have either visited or taught at our four campuses abroad this past year, and welcome the students this summer who will attend our schools and those who will join the SYA Class of 2019 this fall. Your partnership and commitment to global education and language immersion are essential factors in the SYA equation, and they amplify our ability to provide the experiences that our alums so often refer to as "life-changing." Thank you for your support and efforts, and please join me here as we reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and look forward to what lies ahead to ensure that SYA remains a vibrant and pivotal experience for students.

Languages in the News!

LANGUAGE STUDENTS TO ATTEND GOVERNOR'S ACADEMIES

Junior Ellen Oskoui, sophomore Sarah Raman, and sophomore Kat Plaza have been honored with invitations to attend Governor's Foreign Language Academies, sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education. These summer residential programs are for students who have distinguished themselves as being talented, motivated, and enthusiastic language learners. Candidates must take a language test and place among the top scorers in the state in order to participate. Ellen, Sarah, and Kat will attend the Latin, Spanish, and French Academies, respectively.

STUDENTS EARN COMMENDATION IN NATIONAL LANGUAGE EXAMS

A significant number of US students earned recognition for strong results on the National Spanish Exam, the National French Contest (Le Grand Concours), and the National Latin Exam. To receive a gold medal, students must score at or above the national 95th percentile. Eight Latin students, 15 Spanish students, and 17 French students earned this distinction. Many of our students also achieved silver medals, bronze medals, and honorable mentions. For the names of our gold-medal winners and pictures of many of our commended students, click here.

AUGUST LATIN COURSE OFFERED 

"Latin I: Recap and Refresh" is designed for rising ninth graders or those who have completed Latin I and will enroll in Latin II in the fall. Click here for more information and to register.

BACK FROM AN ADVENTURE ABROAD

Henry Page, who spent this academic year in Zaragoza, Spain, through the School Year Abroad program, has returned home. He had a successful year abroad and looks forward to his senior year at Potomac. Henry has now passed the baton to Sebastian Harvey, who will go to Zaragoza next year. The two recently met up to discuss the exciting adventures in Sebastian's future.

Global, it's what we do

Wednesday, May 2nd 3:30-4:30

US Library Innovation Hub

Agenda: 

Announcements-

US Course appeals reminder

Curricular/professional development grants (conferences/ATLAS)

August Academics- Sara

National exam picture- vote for all together or by language

Daniel planning program to Spain and Morocco

Sara FETC share

continued SYA interaction and promotion (SYA Italy- SYA Strategic Plan)

Diana Flipgrid share

WL award names put forward

If time:

Travel Programs/Stipend proposal
Other items for discussion next year

Updates on Atlas: PD day, questions review, AP themes interwoven in previous levels

Next year by level of language- WL Sequence

Practices and Policies:

Please remember: Retakes of quizzes and tests are not allowed in the Upper School. However, there are ways that teachers still "release the pressure valve" for students who are concerned about one poor grade, such as by dropping the lowest quiz grade each semester or allowing the whole class to retake a quiz on the same material and keeping the highest score for each student from the two assessments. However, allowing an individual student to retake an assessment doesn't send the right message to our students who, by the time they are in US, need to know that there's not an endless fallback plan for poor performances on assessments. In other words, they need to know that they're held accountable for the work that they're asked to do on the day that they're asked to do it.

There are ways to continue offering students the opportunity to improve their work even after there is an assessment taken, but, in the Upper School, it's not appropriate for students to be allowed to retake individual assessments at their own choosing. If you'd like to brainstorm about some other options you might consider for your students, I'd be happy to do so.

Class Extensions to Discover in Spanish: 

--Edunovela

Real, year-long, telenovelas & series from
​major producers such as
​NBC Universal Telemundo and Atresmedia

--Hispanic Literature on Tape

One Size Does Not Fit All: 

Differentiated Instruction - Starter Kit

You have probably come to this article for one of two reasons: Either you want to start differentiating instruction in your classroom and don’t know where to start, or you already differentiate, but want to see if you’re missing anything. I have combed through tons of online resources on how to differentiate instruction, and have put together this collection of the clearest, most high-quality resources for learning how to differentiate in your classroom. Off we go, then!

Global...in all we do

--Incorporating Global Citizenship into a STEM Career Path

Concordia Language Villages

--10 Tips for Raising a Global Child (Click here)

As parents, we all want what’s best for our children. But how to give them “what’s best” is not always clear. In today’s interconnected global world, one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is to prepare them to thrive in the new world marketplace. But what does that entail?

--Digital Play for Global Education

Digital Play for Global Citizens is an excellent introduction to how educators and parents can use a multitude of innovative technology tools to help their students and children learn about, understand, and engage with our increasingly interconnected world.

--PLEASE TAKE OUR EDUCATOR SURVEY

STEM and Global Competence

The Global STEM Alliance of the New York Academy of Sciences and the Center for Global Education at Asia Society are considering developing an educator training and certification program focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and global competence, which is defined as the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance. This program would prepare educators to teach STEM content and skills in a global context, and help students develop 21st-century skills (capacities such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity) needed to succeed in today's global information- and technology-based economy. Please complete this brief survey to tell us about your professional learning needs. We expect it to take no more than 5 minutes. Thank you for taking the time to share your valuable insight and feedback! Start the survey »

--15 Amazing Reasons to Start Learning Language Right Now

The week prior to break was National Foreign Language week.

7th grade advanced Spanish students made posters to remind us why
learning another language is beneficial.
This article tells us why learning a foreign language is a must.
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/reasons-to-learn-a-foreign-language/

--CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND GLOBAL AWARENESS (US Compass)

February can seem like a long month! As a way of bringing spirit and fun to the community during this time, our World Language teachers invited the other departments to join them in celebrating Carnaval and Chinese New Year. The fun included decorating, preparing and enjoying holiday specialties, and sharing stories.

Carnaval is most often celebrated in Europe and the Americas, while Chinese New Year is chiefly celebrated in China and other Asian countries. The latter holiday begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends when the moon is full, 15 days later. 

These celebrations are examples of our faculty's ongoing enrichment in cultural competence and global awareness, which they then bring to their work in the classroom.

--How Language Shapes the Way We Think

--Around the World Celebration

FRENCH PEN PALS "EN VISITE" AT POTOMAC

If you came by Potomac on the first Saturday in April, you might have spotted a group of students in white caps, enjoying an all-American cookout with their buddies from IS French class. These students are from Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a suburb of Paris. Potomac began an exchange with their school last year, and we are hoping that one day, Potomac students will be able to visit them, too.

After the picnic, small groups of students went to Tysons Corner, where they helped their pen pals pick out souvenirs. On Monday, the French students shadowed their American pen pals in school, following them to each of their classes. The IS offered them T-shirts as a tangible reminder of their Potomac experience. At the end of their visit, many said that they wanted to stay!

LE DÎNER EN BLANC

Junior and senior French students celebrated friendship and enjoyed good food while practicing the art of conversation during Wednesday's"Dîner en Blanc." This tradition began in Paris 30 years ago and has since become an international sensation. It features a dinner in which the location isn't revealed until the last minute, resulting in a pop-up affair with all-white décor that creates a true sense of magic for the participants. Nobody sits down until everyone has set the table together; dancing is encouraged; and everyone helps clean up at the end, so no traces of the meal are left behind. Un beau souvenir!

Project Based Learning... Summer Professional Development

The Episcopal Academy (Newtown Square, PA) has some worthwhile summer professional development programming for teachers, department chairs, division heads and academic deans taking place in June. We will be hosting three workshops on Instructional Coaching, Problem-Based Learning, and Differentiated Instruction. We invite you to check out the details on our webpage here: https://www.episcopalacademy.org/about-ea/hirtle. We hope that you would be willing to share the webpage and information with your fellow teachers and administrators. We think that the workshops will provide excellent opportunities for educators to develop pragmatic and effective approaches, lessons and tools for the classroom and beyond. 

NAFSA:

Developing Proficiency in Intercultural Communication

Resources, Learning and Training

NECTFL Conference
Save the dates for our 2019 Conference:
February 7–9 at the NY Hilton Midtown

Welcome Back from Break!

Welcome Back from Break!    April 4 K-12 meetings

                               

K-8 Earth day meetings
9-12 US Division meeting

7 Mantras to Start your Day

Spring Meditations to take care of ourselves!

Today’s post is written by contributor Chelsea Becker, a San Diego native, living and writing in San Francisco. Follow her on Instagram & Pinterest

Starting your day off on the right foot is a sure-fire way to guarantee at least a little productivity and a whole lot of positivity. Along with having a filling, nutritious breakfast, another thing you can do is find a few mantras that will not only help you feel like you’re ready to seize the day, but like anything is possible. And that your actions will make a difference! I’ve put together seven—one for each day of the week.

I am enough

This is a big one. Sure, it’s only three little words, but it packs a big punch as far as self-confidence goes. Reminding yourself of your value and abilities, especially if you’re having a tough time at work or feeling unsure about your career path, is crucial. I like to recite this mantra on Mondays before I dive into work for the week—or if I find myself in a Instagram comparison hole.

Today I will be my best self

There are a lot of ways to be your best self—professionally or personally. Maybe you’ve had a rough week and are tempted to take your frustrations out on the wrong person. Saying this mantra can help redirect your day and remind you to always be the best version of yourself. You never know how doing this could possibly help someone else in the process!

Today I will positively impact someone’s life

I love giving way more than I love receiving. Encouraging myself to remember this (especially around the holidays) is important to me, but not just for gift giving. You can have a positive impact on someone in endless ways, so if you have the opportunity to even help someone carry their groceries in, give it a go.

I choose happiness, creativity and love

It’s easy to wake up on the wrong side of the bed and let that mood stay with you throughout the day. Nip it in the bud right away and recite this mantra during your morning meditation (or when doing your makeup) to reset.

I am grateful

Waking up and starting your day with a big ‘thank you’ to the universe is an amazing feeling. This is one of my personal favorites because I hate feeling like I’m taking anything for granted, even though it happens more than I’d like to admit. This is a mantra that puts things in perspective.  

There is good in the world and today I will contribute to it

These days, even turning on the TV or scrolling through social media can be tough. Every once in a while, we all need a little reminder that there is indeed good in the world. Consciously choosing to see that good in situations and then contributing to it can only lead to a more fulfilling day.

Today I will slow down and consciously enjoy life

This is also a big one for me! I can get so wrapped up in work and to do lists that I forget to slow down and enjoy myself. I like to recite this one on Saturdays or Sundays so I can mentally prepare myself to not check emails or get caught up in a work project, but just relax with friends and family.

Lead with Languages- ask a colleague, what did you do in class today? Click below and look at a sampling of activities in our classes. Share some of your class photos with the blog!

            Chinese        French          Latin         Spanish

Don't forget that using infographics is a great beginning reading tool! 
Infografías en español

Students can also make their own using many different types of software like Piktochart. https://piktochart.com/ 

Giving Feedback
Developing Students' Ability to Give and Take Effective Feedback

On writing assignments:

From a Spanish teacher on one of my list servs- 

Over the years, I have learned that it’s a waste to give feedback and edit every writing assignment. I give every student a packet of all the rubrics for each part of the exam and they compare the grade they get to that rubric. I will also type out a list of errors that I see as I grade that particular writing and give it to the students. They can rewrite any writing as often as they wish for a better grade. I have found that this is the most effective way for students to better their writing. Also, it’s important that as a department it is understood that at every level these same skills have to be taught in order to focus on polishing these skills once they get to AP. 

¡Buena suerte y no te rompas mucho la cabeza! You got this!


Listening skills
Audio Lingua- EXCELLENT!

Fishbowl interpersonal speaking
Click here
A group of students in the center "fishbowl" speak on a certain topic, and the rest of the students on the outside listen. Students rotate in, so everyone gets a chance to talk. 

A Podcast about World Languages, Education, and Curriculum

Listen to our New Podcast: The Language Classroom  We are pleased to introduce to you our new podcast series, The Language Classroom. Hosted by Fuel Education's very own Andréanne King, The Language Classroom is a podcast about world languages, education, and how to design the curriculum for your classroom. Click here to get started with Episode 1, which talks about proficiency levels. What are proficiency levels and how can they help you tailor your learning objectives so students can make the most of their time in the classroom? And if you have questions about Fuel Education's world languages course catalog, don't hesitate to contact us!

Upcoming Conferences:

ONLINE COURSE Introduction to Intercultural Studies: Intercultural Contact

CARLA

SYA Professional Development:
In June 2018, for the third year in a row, SYA will be offering an Adult Enrichment seminar on the campus in Zaragoza, Spain. The title of the seminar is: 100 Years of Politics in Spanish Film. As SYA did last year, they will offer a $1,000 discount to any Member School employee who attends.

Blog question: Did you use or develop your language skills over the break? 

Potomac News:

GRADE 6 FIELD TRIP TO GALA THEATRE

On Tuesday, the sixth grade visited GALA Hispanic Theatre in DC to see the bilingual play Volcano, which focuses on stories and folktales from El Salvador. The field trip launched sixth graders' study of the Mesoamerican countries in Spanish class.