The Chinese Immersion program at Meadow Glen Elementary, Meadow Glen Middle, and River Bluff High schools each had robust celebrations to celebrate Lunar New Year this year. Meadow Glen Elementary By Saining Zhang Chinese new year is the most important holiday in China as well as a lot other Asian countries. As a Chinese immersion school, Meadow Glen Elementary school celebrated Chinese New Year the week of January 23. We kicked off the Chinese New Year 2023 with a decoration party on Jan 13th. At MGES, all the hallways, the Learning Commons, and the cafeteria were decorated with lanterns, student art work for Chinese New Year, spring couplets, and so many other traditional Chinese decorations. On January 26 we held our Chinese New Year assembly with all MGES Explorers and faculty in the cafeteria. In the evening, we invited all the MGES families and the Lexington community to celebrate this special event at MGES. Each grade level in the Chinese immersion program prepared an awesome performance. Kindergarteners opened the show with a song to wish everyone a Happy New Year. First and second graders brought the audience some traditional Chinese new year songs. Third grade did an awesome job performing with drums and fans. Those are important elements during CNY. Fifth grader performed a song with sign language. And the last performance was from the fourth graders. They brought Chinese kung fu and the fan dance to the stage. We are so proud of our Chinese immersion students. It is a special event not only to celebrate an important cultural holiday, but also to show their success in learning as a future world explorers! River Bluff High School
By Xiaolin (Rebecca) Feng 2023 Chinese New Year Celebration in River Bluff High School has amazingly lasted for 15 days with various events. Students from the RB Chinese Immersion Classes, National Chinese Honor Society RB Chapter, and RB Chinese Club enthusiastically collaborated with local Chinese Association, University of South Carolina, professional performing groups, and Meadow Glen Elementary Grade 5 Chinese Immersion classes. The National Chinese Honor Society student leaders organized dynamic school events everyday to advocate the culture and share the knowledge. In addition to handmade Chinese New Year cards sent to every teacher, Trivia Questions, Gallery Walk, PhotoBooth, Teacher Appreciation Chinese Lunch, Lantern Festival Riddles Game, Dragon Dance, Martial Arts, etc. Students hosted a very exciting Chinese New Year Evening Gala and a successful school luncheon performance. The Chinese New Year celebration in RBH showcased an excellent example of high school Chinese students' academic achievement, community service and citizenship. Written by Angelika Olson St. Nicholas lived about 1,700 years ago. He was the bishop of Myra, a town on the Mediterranean coast of what is now Turkey. In many countries around the world, people revere St. Nicholas because he had a big heart for poor people and children. St. Nicholas Eve is actually the evening of December 5, which is the eve of St. Nicholas. On St. Nicholas Eve, children put their boots outside the door or hang stockings by the chimney - hoping that St. Nicholas will fill them with chocolate, nuts and fruits. For naughty children, instead of sweets, there may be pieces of coal in the boots. Why do we clean our boots before St. Nicholas morning? It is commonly believed that only good children receive a gift from St. Nicholas. In order to show St. Nicholas how good we have been in our own absence, we put only cleaned shoes in front of his door. Check out how German Immersion students at Deerfield and Elementary and Pleasant Hill Middle School celebrated in the pictures below.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was on Saturday, Sep 10 this year. This holiday is one of the most traditional holidays in China. People will reunite with their families, have a special meal and, if possible, watch the full moon together. Here is a glimpse of how each of the Chinese immersion schools celebrated. MGMS: From September 8 to September 12, Chinese Immersion students, as well as students in non-Immersion Chinese classes, had a fantastic Culture Exploration Experience for the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Moon Festival) at Meadow Glen Middle School. Ms. Wang, Ms. Zhang and Ms. Lukity presented them with a series of mini-lectures, video clips, and photos about the Mid-Autumn Festival tradition/celebrations. They discussed the differences and similarities between Mid-Autumn festival celebrations in China and Thanksgiving celebrations in the US. They learned through some hands-on activities such as designing a mooncake, decorating a lantern, decorating fans and chopsticks and designing “Happy Mid-Autumn Festival” cards. Chinese Immersion Students could read the poem Jing Ye Si (Quiet Night Thought) and could tell the story of Chang’e Flying to the Moon, which are related to this Festival. Students asked great questions, tasted the mooncake and candies, and enjoyed the time we get-together as a Crew. MGES: Students in Ms. Xia's class created a craft based on the legend of the jade rabbit and the moon. RBHS: Leaders of the Chinese Club and the Chinese National Honor Society decorated moon cakes for teachers. Students in Chinese also spread joy and energy to the school with Chinese food, music, and beautiful clothes. RBHS students also gave back to the community by organizing a game of riddles for the Lake Murray Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Gala. Some Gators attended the event on Saturday, participating in singing, dancing, and tai chi.
In both Spanish 1 and German 1 immersion classes at Pleasant Hill Middle School, students created a Time Capsule! These time capsules contain a string indicating the height of the student, a letter to their future self, information listed such as names of current popular singers, songs and movies playing right now among other things. They also traced their hand so they will be able to compare the hand size from 6th grade to the size when they open their capsule. Students also had the opportunity to add small objects like candy wrappers or photos of themselves, family and friends. Some even got messages from their family and friends to include.
We then SEALED those capsules! We are excited for them to be able to open this capsule as an 8th graduation gift. The best part of all.....100% was done in the target language!!!! You have some amazing kids and look forward to the rest of the school year! Frau Grandjean (German) Sra. Hite (Spanish) DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION REGISTRATION OPENS
FEB. 24, 2022 AT 4:00 P.M.Parent information sessions for rising kindergarten students in 2022-2023 will be held on the following dates virtually. All 3 sessions will share the same information. This information will also be posted here for your access after the meetings or if you are not able to come to a meeting. Zoom link January 24, 2022 12-1:00 p.m. January 25, 2022 6-7:00 p.m. January 26, 2022 8-9:00 a.m. ElementaryOur elementary immersion classes are off to a great start, despite challenges caused by the pandemic. Most schools have required teachers to rotate classrooms instead of students, but this should soon be changing as the community has moved to moderate spread. When administrators feel that it is safe for students to begin changing classrooms, they will notify parents of these changes. Gilbert Elementary Students in Mrs. Tarazona's fourth grade immersion class learned a song about the planets to help them with their Science studies. Deerfield Elementary Students in German immersion celebrated St. Martin's Day on November 11th. This is a widely celebrated holiday in Germany in which kids make lanterns and celebrate extraordinary acts of kindness. Students reenacted the famous moment when St. Martin tore his cloak in half to share with a cold beggar. SecondaryImmersion students at Gilbert High School were featured in The Inside Voice for their celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Watch the video here to see students who researched and then dressed up as a famous Hispanic person for a live museum event. Due to a delay in regular 5K registration, our immersion 5K registration has also been delayed. It will be starting in late Spring if you would like to receive more information about the actual date, please fill out this Google form. We will also be holding virtual parent information sessions on the following dates:
All 3 sessions will share the same information. This information will also be posted on this site for your access after the meetings or if you are unable to attend a meeting. March 1, 2021 12:00 p.m. March 3, 2021 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Zoom Link Meeting ID: 827 5213 3161 Passcode: 847067 UpdatesRiver Bluff High School class of 2019 graduate, Taylor Garrison, was one of the pioneer students of the Lexington One French immersion program. Taylor is now a sophomore at UofSC and has recently been accepted into a prestigious program through the School of International Business. Next year she will be attending the Essex School of Business in Cergy, France to further her study of international business as well as to immerse herself in the language and culture of France. Taylor said, “I will spend a year in France, and then Essex students will come back to UofSC for a year. Candidates had to have a high level of French proficiency to be accepted into the program, and immersion looked really impressive on my resume. Having taken immersion will help me to be able to communicate in order to get around in France.” I asked Taylor what she hopes to do in the future and she said, “I’m hoping to immerse myself in the culture and get deeper into French culture and learn more about other European countries. I hope to make connections and figure out what I want to do for my job in the future.” We wish you the best Taylor, and are so proud of your accomplishments. ElementaryAs you all know, elementary students grades K-2 have returned for the 4+ model in which they will be attending school Monday-Thursday and having a virtual learning day on Fridays. Grades 3-5 are scheduled to return on October 19th for the 4+ model as well. This will be a relief to immersion parents who have been struggling to help their kids with work at home during the hybrid model. Thank you for all you have done and are doing to support your kids during this time. Just a reminder, that they should be able to do most if not all of the work on their own, and we do not recommend parents trying to Google translate everything. Try these tips if your child is stuck: Have him or her read the problem out loud. Sometimes that helps it to click when reading silently seems too challenging to your child. For math, you can always look at the model problems, and direct your child to look at the model problems. Those usually give a good clue as to the type of work he or she is expected to do in the rest of the page. Finally, if he or she is really stuck on a specific problem, circle it and write a note to the teacher that your child will need some extra help when they return for a face to face day. SecondaryMiddle School
This year we made the decision to offer Passport virtually for all middle school immersion students. This was done because the number of exploratory classes being offered was already cut back and we wanted immersion students to have the opportunity to still take some of their choice exploratory classes. Your student should be spending no more than 30 minutes a day on work for Passport, and this class should be mostly self-paced and asynchronous, with some options for Zoom meetings on Fridays, or projects due on Fridays. If your child is struggling to complete these tasks, your first line of communication should be your child's teacher. He or she is working to adjust to this new format just as you are, and is certainly willing to hear any concerns, questions or positive feedback. High School High school immersion classes are following their usual format, except for the changes brought about by the hybrid model. Teachers have been adjusting to the social distancing requirements by creating more opportunities for virtual interaction so that students still get to practice the language through oral communication. Our LOOLA classes are also going as scheduled and teachers have been adjusting the Virtual SC curriculum to meet our immersion students' needs. Thank you for your continued support. Seal of Biliteracy In other news, your high schools will begin sign ups for the Seal of Biliteracy this week, so please encourage your juniors and seniors to be on the look out for those virtual meetings. You can find more information here: Student Application (your school contact will be sending a Google Doc version of this application) Complete Guidelines Lexington District One’s Online Learning Academy for Immersion Students
Many parents are wondering, “If my child is in elementary immersion, can she or he choose the Online Learning Academy and stay in Immersion?” The answer is yes. What will it look like? At the elementary level, supplemental instruction will be provided in the immersion language to help students maintain a high level of language proficiency so they do not fall behind their peers who choose the face to face option. Students will receive all of their core content areas in English, through Lexington One’s Online Learning Academy (LOOLA) and will also be provided with a language enrichment class. The language enrichment class will include both independent online language practice, as well as guided language practice from an immersion teacher. For more information, contact Dr. Liza Speece Coordinator of World Languages and Immersion 803-821-3812 [email protected] |