Immersion News and Important UpdatesFormer Pleasant Hill Elementary Immersion students who are graduating at LHS this year were recognized recently during the PHES Noche de la Familia event. Immersion students are shown here with their parents. ELEMENTARY IMMERSION Dual Language Immersion Registration for 2019-20 5K Kindergarten will begin on February 20, 2019 online only at 4:00 p.m. Parent information sessions will be held in late January and February and all information from the meetings and how to register will also be updated online soon HERE. Information regarding the parent information sessions will be sent out via Peachjar and posted on the web. HIGH SCHOOL IMMERSION The Office of Standards and Learning at the South Carolina Department of Education is pleased to announce the State Board of Education’s approval for the South Carolina Seal of Biliteracy, an award that recognizes students who have attained a functional level of proficiency in two languages (English and one other language) by graduation. The South Carolina Seal of Biliteracy serves to certify attainment of biliteracy for students, employers, and universities. It is a statement of accomplishment that helps to signal evidence of a student’s readiness for career and college, and for engagement as a global citizen. The Office of Standards and Learning has provided a support document explaining all related guidelines for the South Carolina Seal of Biliteracy, as well as an application that must be used for students to earn the award. SC Department of Education Supporting Documents: South Carolina Seal of Biliteracy Overview and Guidelines: https://goo.gl/wuCUny South Carolina Seal of Biliteracy Student Application: https://goo.gl/PXx4Ba **If your child has not registered to apply for the Seal of Biliteracy with a teacher at school and would like to do so, please have them see a WL teacher or the WL department about how to apply online and provide the hard copy application to the district as soon as possible! ** For more information visit: The National Seal of Biliteracy website: https://sealofbiliteracy.org The South Carolina Department of Modern and Classical Languages: https://ed.sc.gov/instruction/standards-learning/world-languages/support-documents-and-resources/ Lexington One World Languages website: https://lexoneworldlanguages.weebly.com/ COMING SOON! Look for information coming soon regarding...
Immersion Program HighlightsElementary Yenobis Amundaray de Galan, 4th grade teacher at RBES, recently created a collaboration through the program, Skype a Scientist (https://www.skypeascientist.com/). Skype a Scientist matches scientists with classrooms around the world! Scientists skype into the classroom for 30-60 minute Q and A sessions that can cover the scientist’s expertise or what it’s like to be a scientist. This was a perfect match for our elementary immersion classroom, since the students are already learning math and science in another language. We also hosted a visit from the Goethe Institute recognizing DES as a PASCH School (Schools: Partners for the Future). The aim of PASCH is to create and strengthen a global network of partner schools with special links to Germany. The entire school participated in a STEM day, including a visit from a famous TV personality from Germany, who is similar to our Bill Nye the Science Guy. Throughout the rest of the day, students participated in STEM activities in their classrooms. MES hosted a French author through the French Embassy in Atlanta. She visited the fourth and fifth grade immersion classes and read them a story she had written. Students received an unillustrated version, which they illustrated themselves, and then read aloud. Middle Neyibeth Gonzalez, 8th grade immersion teacher at PHMS, has created a website for parent communication. This is a fantastic way to stay in communication with parents so they can partner with us in our work with students. Click on the image below to view. And here are a few moments from her recent classroom activities, which include a presentational speaking activity on a superhero they created for themselves, as well as "Baile Miércoles" (Dance Wednesday) in which students are exposed to songs and dances from Spanish speaking countries. Marci Hite, also from PHMS, organized a visit from native Spanish speakers from the community to help her 6th grade immersion students practice their Spanish conversational skills. One of the volunteers stated, "Sra. Hite....congrats on the great job you did today....WE LOVED IT, and I do believe the students enjoyed it too. After the session, I chatted with some of the volunteers, and they were pleased to see the students speaking Spanish. There were also some emotional questions, questions that made us remember the beauty of our countries, our families, our food, and how we celebrate some holidays." Also in middle school immersion, Dr. Todd Spaulding's 7th grade French immersion students at MGMS, recently finished video game presentations. Dr Spaulding states, "All the students were super motivated. Basically, we learned about the history of video games and certain genres. Then we learned what goes into a video game review (both written and video). The students then chose their favorite video game and wrote up a presentational speaking review of their game." Our teachers clearly strive to connect classroom learning to student interests, while also challenging students to improve their language acquisition. Also, in a connection to the spooky month of October, we they read a Goosebumps book. Dr. Spaulding states, "They’re enjoying it, and learning a lot and creating a lot of visuals to show understanding." High
Mandy Domenech, immersion teacher at WKHS, has been encouraging students to read a book of their choice. She explains, "We are at the final half of our unit of Self Identity and have begun our individual reading of a Spanish language novel. The photos below are of our “Book Tasting” of Spanish language young adult novels. They will use information gathered from sampling or “tasting” each book to decide which one they will choose for their independent reading of a novel. There will be vocabulary and grammar lessons pulled from what they read as well as interpersonal conversations and presentations (both written and spoken) based on the books they have chosen." What a personalized approach to language and literacy instruction! |