¡Feliz año!

¡Hola familias! ¡Feliz año!

What a busy month December was! As most of you know from the showcase at school, 7th graders have been working on their new unit la comida ¡mmm, riquísimo! I hope you has a chance to check out the acrostic poems that the students made with their favorite foods.

Earlier in the unit, as means to study our new vocabulary, the students are asked to make flashcards, one drawing on one side, the Spanish word on the other. We play games, quiz each other, and study with them throughout the unit. Below is the example of a very organized student that did a wonderful job with his flashcard assignment:

Beautiful drawings, and super organized flashcards!

The 8th graders have been working on the past tense: the pretérito. In order to learn the irregular verbs, the students put together a dance to the tune of La Cucaracha. They all did a spectacular job, and Oscars were handed to best performances. Ask your student of español about the Cucaracha, see if they can remember the song by heart...

¡Feliz 2016, familias!

Las noticias de noviembre: Alonso y Elena y Charlamos

¡Hola familias!

In Spanish class the students of both 7th grade and 8th grade have finished their Alonso y Elena projects. It has been hard work, and they deserve a big round of applause for the job well done! Ask your student to see his or her performance, they should all have access to it through their psbma.org account.  A sneak peek at some of the performances in action:

Students took a video on Photo Booth of their puppet show.

Students rehearsing their puppet show.

The protagonists of this soap opera: Hermano Antipático, Elena, Alonso y Teresa

On another note altogether, this week the students took their Charlamos  spoken quiz, in which students ask each other questions and answers and they cannot neither repeat nor hesitate too much. Some students are quite the strategists when it comes to preparing for the test: flashcards, recordings, undoing sentences, focusing only on a few questions, you name it! Ask your student how they got ready for the quiz! As a rule of thumb, it is always a good idea to quiz them a couple of days before. Thank you to all the grown ups at home who did! As a reminder, the students can retake tests and quizzes if they make arrangements with me: my office hours are Mondays after school.

Proper posture is encourage during Charlamos, as you can see in this drawing on the autoevaluación.

¡Hasta muy pronto! 

Noticias del mes de octubre

Hola familias,

We have been busy reviewing and launching into our new units in español. In class, the students are encouraged to use botones with their group tables in order to track how much español they use in class: all of the botones in the cup earns them Dojo points for the work well done speaking español! Be sure to ask your student about the botones, and whether their group earned points during class.

¡Bravo! ¡Felicidades! This group spoke bunches of español in class...

On another note, our cultural focus for 7th and 8th graders for the unit is Guatemala and the Latino Community in the US. Are you an expert on clothing fair trade or salsa dancing? We welcome you into our classroom! In the meantime, here is a little excerpt regarding two famous ladies, one from Guatemala and one from Cuba, that we will talk about in class: Rigoberta Menchú and Celia Cruz.

Rigoberta Menchú y Celia Cruz

Enjoy! ¡Hasta pronto, amigos!

Bienvenidos

¡Hola estudiantes y familias!

After a most relaxing summer spending time with friends and family, we are back at school in a new building and a new classroom. I am very excited about this new school year: your students of español will be shaping into a more intermediate conversational student, we will be trying out Google Classroom, and the Dojo participation system! Remember to subscribe or check in regularly to see the your students work throughout the year. I hope to see all of you on September 17th for Open House to tell you all about our curriculum and projects ahead. ¡Hasta pronto!

¡Bravo por el trabajo bien hecho!

Queridas familias,

Yet another school year has gone by so quickly, with so many accomplishments. Our 8th graders, having finished their poster for recycling at school, embraced a little story of a lama, whose name is Paco, and his sister, going on a trip to Argentina (or Chile!) They did a fabulous job at narrating in the new acquired past tense, and putting together a great puppet show: here's some fotos of the preparations for the show!

There's an oso perezoso as well! 

The sloth was replaced by a vaca  in this play...

Meanwhile, the 7th graders were busy with their own production of Alonso y Elena van en bicicleta, for which they wrote their own script, sprinkled with connector words, made the props and puppets, and delivered performances maravillosas, did your student share his/her performance with you? Here's a little taste:

                

aplauso¡BRAVOS Y BRAVAS! aplauso

I wish you all a very restful summer vacation, filled with joyful memories...  Guess where Profe is headed!

Artistas españoles y Sant Jordi

¡Hola familias!

In 7th grade we are learning all about Spain, and your students of español know about all about the masters! Ask your student what painting they chose, the author, the time period, and one thing they like the most about it. It was fun sharing their artwork with the class. Bravo, Spanish artist!

On another note altogether, April 23 is a very special day in Barcelona, it is Sant Jordi, the day of the roses and the books. Amongst the many holidays and fiestas, Sant Jordi is Profe's favorite! 

A flamenco performance, and it's all about Kahoot!

Queridas familias, 

What a winter we have been having, I cannot believe there is still nieve on the ground! One thing that made winter go away for one day was a fabulous flamenco performance sponsored by the generosity of the PTO.  We had a most wonderful time having a little taste of Spain, gracias mil! 

The Famenco Dance Project explained wonderfully the basics of flamenco, and some after the show, some lucky students got to flamenco dance, while the rest were learning to clap palmas sordas y sonoras. Ask your student if they enjoyed the show, or whether they were one of the lucky ones to go onstage!

On another note, we are starting new units with both 7th graders: higiene personal y rutina, and el universo y la geografía for 8th graders. But the one new game everyone is talking about is Kahoot!

Does your student of español like to play Kahoot? Which one was most fun? What's their usual alias or nickname? Since the demand is so high, it is a great incentive to keep all the students trying their best to speak only in Spanish! You may try it at home for a fun family game night, it comes in all languages and range of topics...

Mapas y direcciones

¡Hola familias!

After a nice holiday break, 8th graders have been finishing up their unit on Argentina, the past tense, and travelling items. They have just completed a project, a brochure advertising a region in Argentina and its wonders. Un trabajo fenomenal, chicos! Ask your student about their region: how to get there, where to stay, what to do, where/ what to eat and drink.

We also worked on giving directions to a mystery destination in Spain. Students took turns giving out directions and following them. Happily, they all arrived and discovered their mystery destinations safe and sound.  Bravo!

"Pà amb tomàquet" and Inca Kola

¡Hola familias! 

We are finishing out unit on Food ans Perú. What can your student tell you about it? We have been learning geography,  climate,  landmarks and ancient civilizations. A very beloved Paco may also be found in Perú, and his sister Flaca...  As we finish up our unit, your student may also know about traditional ingredients in the Peruvian diet, how to set the table the Peruvian way in español, what meals are healthy and why, or the very famous soda in Perú (here's a hint!)

On another note altogether, your family may give the most traditional receta of tapas and merienda dish a try at home. Note that it is best to use peasant/rustic bread: no sugar, honey or molasses! (It's from Barcelona, not Perú, where Profe is from.) 

Enjoy! ¡Buen provecho!