Opportunities for Students
Fall is upon us and with the start of a new season, come new opportunities. High school juniors and seniors are strongly encouraged to apply for the South Carolina Seal of Biliteracy. Immersion students stand a very good chance of earning the Seal as the lowest requirement is a proficiency level of Intermediate Mid (which is a 5 on STAMP) in all four areas, Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing. They also must maintain a GPA of 3.0 in English, or ESOL students can earn a 4.0 composite score on WIDA. For more information, click here.
Last year is the first year the Seal was offered in SC, and we had 103 students who qualified! Let's beat that number this year. The picture above shows RBHS students who earned the seal last year. Many were immersion students. Hard work pays off!
Opportunities for Parents Dr. Speece, the Coordinator for World Languages and Immersion, will be offering two informational sessions in October for immersion parents who want to learn more about the program. She will share what opportunities your children will have as they get older, and tips for supporting your students in immersion (K-12). They will be held on October 23rd from 8-9 am and October 24th from 12-1 pm at Central Services in the Staff Development Room. Please RSVP to [email protected]. If you have specific questions, or if there are topics you'd like to discuss at future meetings, feel free to email in advance. Immersion Program Highlights
Elementary
We would like to welcome our new Elementary French Immersion teacher, Mme. Villalobos Machado! Mme. Villalobos Machado will be teaching third grade immersion at Midway Elementary. She and her family are from Venezuela, and lived most recently in Panama. Her husband is teaching French at LHS and her sons are attending LHS. They are all trilingual speaking English, Spanish and French! Bienvenue!! Take a look at all the fun beginning of the year activities going on at Midway!
Meadow Glen Elementary hosted a night for parents to learn more about bilingualism in partnership with the USC Chapter of Bilingualism Matters. If other schools are interested in hosting similar events, contact Dr. Bauer at USC [email protected].
Middle
Meadow Glen Middle is exploring in the Passport curriculum with its students! The MGMS immersion team, including Senegalese M. Ousmane Fall, is providing opportunities for students to learn about the history, politics, geography and literature in Senegal! Students are currently learning about African Griots and will be working towards creating their own folklore in the Senegalese style by also incorporating a few words in the native tongue of M. Fall, Wolof! Students identifying the presidents of Senegal!
High
Gilbert High school has received its first class of 9th grade Spanish immersion students! It is so exciting to watch our programs and our students grow! Sra. Rapio moved from LMS this year to GHS to teach Spanish and Spanish immersion. She recently presented at the Lexington One Summer Institute on incorporating a workshop model into the Spanish classroom, and has worked closely with her digital learning coach to integrate meaningful technology into the classroom. Did you know...
...that in Lexington One Immersion schools, we have some 5th graders whose language proficiency could earn them the Seal of Biliteracy? Unfortunately, they are not eligible until their junior or senior year in high school, but what great motivation for our kids to stay with their immersion language, and even consider learning a third language in middle school or high school. The sky is the limit for our kids, especially since they are becoming multi-lingual.
Here are some options for continuing language study after high school...College and University Programs. It's never too early to start thinking about the future. There are also many options for studying abroad: Some from outside agencies (click here), and others that are lead by Lexington One teachers. PHMS is organizing a trip to the Galapagos Islands for 2021, and Riverbluff High School is working on an exchange with students in France that would allow French students to visit here, and our students to visit there. We will continue to post information and opportunities on this Immersion Updates Blog as they become available. You can also follow us on Twitter @LOWLT or on Facebook Lexington One World Language Teachers. |