January 2013 - Simsbury Public Schools

The World Language
January 2013
Connection
A Publication of the Simsbury Public Schools World Language Department
UPCOMING
l Public invited to see Chinese students perform at CCSU
Chinese teacher Shiffon Theodorou in her classroom.
l Kudos for Chinese teacher
High school Chinese teacher
Shiffon Theodorou has been selected to attend an all expenses
paid three-day seminar in Los
Angeles, California. The Asia
Society Confucius Classroom
Teachers Institute accepted
only 50 teachers in the nation
based on extensive applications. Ms. Theodorou submitted
samples of innovative lessons
as well as strategies she uses to
engage her students and differentiate lessons. The Institute
will be led by master Chinese
language teacher Dr Wei-ling
Wu, a 25 year veteran teacher
from the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District in New
Jersey. He has published several
textbooks and is a pioneer of
Chinese language instruction.
The seminar will include strategies submitted by the participants and new lessons that this
group of talented teachers will
create.
Students from Shiffon
Theodorou’s Chinese classes
have been selected to perform at Central Connecticut State University for the
Annual Chinese New Year
Gala on January 26.
The ensemble submitted an
audition tape of their song
and skit and will be among
amateur and professional
performers. Last year’s gala
included students from
around the state, professional acrobats, dancers and
singers as well as a martial
arts demonstration.
The celebration will take
place at Welte Hall from
2-5 PM on January 26, 2013. It is free to the public. Come with the
family and enjoy an afternoon of entertainment and celebration!
(Top photo) The ensemble from Ms. Theodorou’s Chinese classes.
(Bottom photo) The Chinese students rehearse for the upcoming CCSU performance on January 26.
l Quebec Trip
Madame Bruhl is busy planning our trip to Quebec for
50 grade 8 French students.
Students will be able to
experience the francophone
culture firsthand while attending the world famous
Chateau Frontenac
Carnaval d’Hiver (Winter
Carnival) from February 7th – February 10th. Stay
tuned for the highlights in our spring edition!
Bonhomm
l SHS French students: New twist on “French” names
At the beginning of each school
year, many language students are
accustomed to selecting a class
name such as Jean, Margarita or
Caesar. This tradition began in
order to make the spoken language more authentic and create a smooth pattern
of pronunciation.
It is easier to call on
students or begin conversations with the same sounds
that exist in the language. For
example, a conversation may
start with, “Comment ça va,
Pierre?” rather than “Com-
ment ça va, Peter?” Students
choose either their own equivalent
name in the target language or one
from a list.
This year, students in
Madame Duchesneau’s
French 5 and AP classes
selected famous French
celebrities instead of the
usual Jean, Marie or Pierre.
They also took on the identities selected from a list of
people in categories such as
authors, artists, scientists
and athletes. Once they
had an identity and found a
“Coco Chanel” keeps her outfit impeccable with her “serviette”
picture of the person, they completed an autobiographical questionnaire. Each class had a “café”
day in which students came dressed
as the person selected including
recognizable artifacts as props.
The personalities rotated tables in
different configurations in order
to meet each other and converse
in French. Madame Duchesneau
served as the waitress offering croissants, jam and orange juice.
Students/celebrities in Madame Duchesneau’s AP French class during “café day.”
Left to right: Celine Dion, Charles-Louis Montesquieu, Gustave Eiffel, Camille
Claudel, Juliette Binoche, Coco Chanel, Princesse Caroline, Audrey Tautou,
Christine Lagarde and Catherine de Medici.
French “celebs” get ready to chat.
At the end of the activity, students
chose a person who would accompany them on a weeklong trip to
London. They were asked to justify
their choice based on what they
had learned during the conversations. There were many interesting
discussions such as Coco Chanel
(fashion designer) and Audrey Tautou (actress who portrayed Coco in
film) or Charles-Louis Montesquieu
(philosopher) and Gustave Eiffel
(architect and engineer). Students
spoke French with each other for a
sustained period of time and were
able to keep the conversations
animated and interesting. This was
a fun and delectable way to start
the year!
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 2
l What’s happening in Spanish?
Students
in Spanish 4
created a
Mexican
offering
to honor
someone
who has
passed
away.
They
created
An ofrenda by David
a visual,
Johnston.
presented their work and wrote
about the person honored.
“My favorite experience from Spanish 4 was La Ofrenda for el Día de
los Muertos. This project provided a
semi-authentic Mexican experience for
STUDENT
INTERVIEW
the class and it was very interactive.
chosen a friend or a famous person, it
I really enjoyed that the “ofrenda”
would still have been beneficial since
wasn’t strictly traditional. We could
I would have learned about someone
include anything along with traditional
that I found intriguing. Overall, La
pieces on the ofrenda. This project
Ofrenda project was by far the most
kept students engaged while learning
memorable and my favorite this year.”
about Mexican culture. In addition, I
Written by Allison Renwick (Sra.
liked that it forced us to work on our
Berliner’s class)
writing and speaking
skills and it was not
stressful. Presenting in class was was
very relaxed and the
projects were fun.
Also, I took pleasure
in learning about my
grandmother. I didn’t
really remember her
because she died when
I was 6 and I was
always afraid to ask Students in Sra. Berliner’s Spanish class look at the ofrendas
about her. If I had
made by fellow students.
儿。 明年我门去中国， 我希望中
国人懂 我的中文。
l SHS student speaks three
languages
5. 你还有上其它的语言课吗？
Vivian Chen interviewed
Natalia Simmons. Natalia
studies three languages at SHS:
Chinese, French and Spanish.
6. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of taking three
languages.
1.
你叫什么名字?
我的英文名字是Natalia， 我
的中文名字是何加乐。
2. 你今年上几年级?
我今年上十年级。
3. 你学中文多久了?
三年了。
4. 你为什么学中文？
因为我觉得中文很有意思，
而且很有用。 我喜欢写漂
亮的汉字，也喜欢说中文。
我跟我的朋友常常练习中
文 ，因为练习中文 很好玩
有， 法语和西班牙文。
There are a couple of disadvantages.
I can’t take any electives because my
schedule is too busy for an eight period
day. I don’t have time to take gym
during the year so I have to take it
during the summer which sometimes
takes time from other activites. The
disadvantages did not influence my
decision to continue taking these languages because I believe that it will be
worth it in the end. The extra homework and studying will pay off when
I go to college to become a translator.
One advantage is that I’m always able
to go to my locker and get to class on
time because I spend most of my day
in the language wing of the school.
Also, I can connect to more people
because I am learning about many
Natalia Simmons (left)
and Vivian Chen.
different cultures.
7 . Why do you study Chinese?
I have always like the Chinese language
and anytime I would hear someone
speak it, I would immediately think that
person was extremely interesting. I can’t
even remember a time when I didn’t like
Chinese culture and language. When
I was really young I watched a show
called Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
and she would write Chinese characters.
I would always watch so fascinated and
intrigued. Then in grade 8, I got the
INTERVIEW Cont. on page 6
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 3
t
Language Courses at H
d
l
r
o
W
JMS
w
e
N
his year we are pleased to
expand our world language
offerings to include a full
year of instruction in Chinese,
French, Latin and Spanish in
grade 7. This adSeñora Martocchio
ditional instruction
will afford students
the opportunity to
delve into language
learning on a deeper
level and develop
their world language
skills through fun,
interactive activities
utilizing integrative
technology. In addition, we enthusiastically welcome Señora
Martocchio, seventh
and 8th grade Spanish teacher, to
Henry James. Señora Martocchio
is joining us from Simsbury High
School and brings great energy and
expertise to her Spanish classroom
everyday. ¡Bienvenida, Señora!
Spanish grade 7
Students began the year in grade
7 Spanish talking about their new
school subjects, schedules, and
the supplies needed for each class.
They also familiarized themselves
with the people and places of the
Spanish-speaking world.
Seventh grade Spanish classes are
gearing up for great cultural experiences this year! They are taking
an in-depth look at the sports and
leisure activities that are popular in
Spanish-speaking countries. Students will then compare and contrast their own interests to those of
students in the Spanish-speaking
world using mutli-media resources
such as newspaper articles, online
Spanish teen news, video, and song
to explore the culture of leisure
activities in the Spanish-speaking
world.
Students ‘traveled’ to Mexico
recently and mimicked
“El Paseo”, a tradition
where youth go to the
“Zócalo” and make
plans for the weekend
and free time. After
studying interests and
pastimes, students will
begin their study of la
comida, or food! This
unit has always been a
seventh grade favorite as we explore the
cuisine of the Spanishspeaking world and
sample some of the recipes made by
the students themselves!
Mrs. Martocchio’s seventh grade
Spanish students Casey Janusz &
Nick Rataczyk interact to find out
about each other’s favorite pastimes
LATIN grade 7
The new grade 7 Latin class begins
each day with friendly greetings,
the weather and the day of the
week in Latin. Students have
compared the Roman names for
the days of the week with the days
in Spanish, French, Italian, English and German to emphasize the
influence of Latin on the modern
Romance languages as well as English. Grade 7 students have chosen
Roman or Greek names and have
created and shared name plates
with the class. The name plates
represent the connection to Roman
or Greek culture and also include a
drawing of personal interest.
Students in the grade 7 Latin class
are also learning about everyday life
in the Roman Empire by looking at
a typical senatorial family on their
summer vacation near Pompeii
Mrs. Martocchio’s seventh graders
practice talk about their interests and
activities.
and the family of a Roman soldier
on the outskirts of the empire in
Roman Britain. They are reading
stories about the Cornelius family
in Latin as they are introduced to
the grammar of Latin, English derivatives and famous Latin phrases.
They have studied Roman clothing
and even made their own bullas (a
good luck charm container given to
the baby at birth).
In their Minimus books, they have
read dialogues about the Flavius
family who are stationed at a Roman fort in ancient Vindolanda.
They have seen photos of the
New Courses—Cont. on page 5
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 4
Mrs. Trout’s grade 7 Latin students
hold an ancient Greek temple plaque
with their Roman/Greek name and illustrations that describe who they are.
FRONT ROW: Katie Ingram, Caroline Pane, Megan Dandini, Solomon
Davis BACK ROW: McKenna Finken,
Johanna McIlveen, Grace Hare, Tom
Lim, Jake Gentile
New Courses—Cont. from page 4
actual archaeological site there in
Britain and also of a well-preserved
birthday invitation written on
birch bark paper found at the site.
Minimus, the little mouse, has
taught them the names of family
members, some animals and some
easy conversational Latin.
Nos Minimum
amamus! – We
love Minimus!
CHINESE grade 7
Seventh grade Chinese students
are continually learning about the
unique characteristics of the Chinese language and focusing on their
pronunciation. They have already
learned how to greet people, start
simple conversations and adopted
their new Chinese names. The
seventh graders also began to study
Chinese poetry and the rich tradition it holds in Chinese culture.
Please ask them to introduce
themselves in Chinese at home
and to recite their Qing Ye poem in
Janina Szczepanski, Cassidy Correll,
Allison Driscoll, Coleen Gauthier,
Emma Costello.
L. to r.: Seanan Ellis, Luke Gilmore, Steven Sparks, Justin Mathews,
Andrew Vetrano, Kacey Decker,
Hannah Kovel
Seventh grade Latin students wear their Roman bullas, a small
locket containing a good luck charm to protect them from evil.
This was given to Roman children by their father at their naming ceremony.
honor of the Chinese Mid Autumn
Festival.
learned the vocabulary necessary to
talk about themselves, their likes,
dislikes, preferences about activities
Chinese students also communiand hobbies in different seasons
cated about their families. By the
and weather condiwealth of vocabutions. They comlary surrounding
pared their lives in
this topic they
Simsbury to those of
have discovered
teenagers in France.
how important the
Next, they studied
family structure is
school vocabulary
in Chinese culture.
and compared their
Students brought in
middle school to
family photos and
a French middle
introduced their
school. Throughout
family members
the year, students
to their classmates
will learn poems and
along with discusssongs in French.
ing common ocStudents show off their Chinese readcupations. Now the
In their unit “Vive
ing skills with an illustration activgrade 7 students are
l’école!” students
ity about families. BACK ROW:
focusing on a unit
studied the vocabuNicholas Hayes, Noah Picarellirelating to birthday
lary for school and
Kombert FRONT ROW: Maria
celebrations.
learned about the
Hodson, Regina Caggiano
school system of
FRENCH
their counter parts in France. Students recently learned a poem, “La
grade 7
Fourmi”, which they would love to
In seventh grade French, students
recite for you if asked! Following
started the year by learning to
the study of school, students will
introduce themselves and greet
learn to talk about their families.
the people around them. They
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 5
Students in Señora Scheer’s Spanish 2 class collaborated in groups
to present different chapters of the
reader, La gran aventura de Alejandro.
The groups created the daily class
slide and presented an opening
warm up activity. Each group
included a cultural component,
l Latin lives in modern tales...
The presentations were entirely in
Spanish and required spontaneous
questions and comments throughout. ¡Bravo!
Future Spanish teachers perhaps?
Students in Señora Scheer’s Spanish
2 class work in groups to present
different chapters of a reader.
Melissa Acheson leads the Chapter 9
presentation with her classmates.
Latin is not a spoken language today, but our
students still benefit from Latin vocabulary and the
cultural practices that have endured. Now students
can enjoy Latin by reading some modern children’s
stories translated and accompanied by the original
illustrations. These classics offer great practice for
students as they
decipher meaning
based on familiar
stories. The most
recent book that will
be published in Latin
is the classic French
series that tells of
the adventures of a
mischievous school
boy known as Le Petit
Nicolas. These tales
make great gifts for
any occasion!
Winnie the Pooh
Web
The Cat in the Hat
Charlotte’s
The Grinch who
Stole Christmas
READERS
CORNER
vocabulary practice and comprehension.
Ferdinand the Bull
l Spanish 2 class utilizes
communications skills in group
projects
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 6
lSpecial Events in World Language:
Poetry Contest
Our middle school World Language students are beginning to memorize and practice poems for our annual Poetry Recitation Contest.
Classroom winners will compete in a school-wide competition. These
Henry James winners will represent our school at the state contest in
April, sponsored by the CT Council of Language Teachers. ¡Bravo!
Grade 8 Latin orators at
work! Back Row (l. to r.):
Matt Drees, Jack Farrell,
Sarah Ecker, Brook Caron.
Front Row: Dhruv Zimmerman, Adriana Farrell,
Giuliana Marchetti
Newsworthy
l¡Great news for the fifth and
sixth grade ‘familias de’ Simsbury!
telling time with hand-made clocks
with an ‘amigo’. Throughout the
year, students will be exposed to
many aspects of Spanish culture as
they continue to learn to express
themselves in new and exciting
ways.
Due to the expansion of the elWith increased time in Spanish
ementary world language program
class, our fifth gradthis year, fifth
ers can now have
and sixth graders
introductory conwill receive 30
Songbirds
from
Señor
Marversations, listen
minutes of Spanand react to classish instruction
olda’s Latimer Lane classes
room directions
two to three time
wrote new lyrics to a popuin español and
per week every
lar tune from “One Direcexpress the date
other day for sixth
and their birthday
graders and twice
tion,” a group that is very
using numbers,
during the 6-day
popular
with
these
sixth
months and days of
rotation for fifth
the week. You may
graders.
grade girls! They wrote
have heard the day
The school year
the song to help them help
of the week song at
got off to a quick
them memorize the queshome!
start in our fifth
tion words in Spanish. ¡Olé!
In their first unit,
and sixth grade
Pasaporte a la avenSpanish classes.
tura, sixth gradFifth grade
CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO
ers reviewed and
students jumped
expanded on basic
into Spanish
greetings and classroom expressions
by learning greetings and getting
as well as the colors, calendar and
acclimated to their new Spanweather. Students have fun comish names and classes. Songs and
municating in Spanish and practicgames always make learning fun,
ing the daily routine that begins
especially the Buenos días song and
Amanda Karpe practices her recitation
skills in grade 8 Spanish class.
each class!
Following Thanksgiving, the sixth
graders wrapped up their study of
El Día de los Muertos, where they
explored the Day of the Dead in
Mexico through songs, video and
reading. The sixth graders recently
concluded their study of the Mexican Christmas traditions relating
to Las Posadas and are now talking
about and describing themselves
and others. Students really enjoy
talking about their personality
traits so please make sure to ask
your child to describe him/herself
in Spanish!
Fifth and sixth grade students in
Simsbury are making steady progress in developing their communication skills in Spanish through
increased conversation practice.
Parents, please note that there are
many resources to help our new
language learners. Ask your child
to show you the Quia website
designed to help students practice
their current unit vocabulary/grammar through games and activities.
Students in the video are: Sarah
Poole, Brooke Witkin, Elaina Comia,
Teagan Dillon, Colleen McDermott
and Charlotte Tagliatela.
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 7
l French students study holidays
During
December,
French 2 students learned
about
national
holidays in
France. One Une bûche de Noël
student, Patrick Lyman, made
and shared a classic dessert for
a French Christmas: une bûche
de Noël. Madame Tinnirella
brought in her authentic santons
from France, clay figurines made
in the region of Provence and
used in home crèches, or Nativity scenes. Students are now
preparing a short presentation on
a holiday they’ve researched in
a French-speaking country other
than France.
Les santons: un boulanger, une fromagère et un paysanne de Provence
d
Visit to New
York City
On December 12, 40 Chinese and
ESL students visited New York
City. The chaperones were Ms.
Theodorou, Chinese teacher, Dr.
Ku, Technical Education teacher,
Ms. Goff and Ms. Pescatello, Ms.
Fabian and Ms. Meigs, teachers of
ESL.
At the Museum of Chinese in America,
students learn about Chinese stereotypes.
The trip included a visit to Museum of Chinese in America and a
guided walking tour of Chinatown.
Students learned not only the history of Chinese in America, but
also the history of Chinatown, the
oldest neighborhood of the city.
After the museum visit, students
explored Chinatown by dining at
the local restaurant and shopping
at the local stores. Students were
exposed to authentic culture and
were eager to practice their Chinese when ordering Chinese food
and bargaining in the stores.
Visiting Chinatown underground.
Over 35 French enthusiasts in
Madame Bruhl’s 7th and 8th
grade classes tried their hand at
“creating” a traditional yule log
made with a genoise and chocolate buttercream garnished with
powdered sugar, raspberries and
spruce sprigs.
Madame Bruhl
stands by her
door, adorned
with photos of
her students
proudly presenting their
yule logs.
During a guided walking tour, students learned about the history of Chinatown.
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 8
INTERVIEW Cont. from page 3
In the Club
l Ms. Aguirre’s Spanish Club at Tootin’ Hills
Spanish Club at Tootin’ Hills continues in its 5th year to extend the Spanish
learning adventure beyond the classroom! The sixth grade Spanish Club gathers twice per month for an hour to enjoy new games and videos that support
classroom instruction and love of learning. The students and Ms. Aguirre
have shared many laughs reviewing vocabulary through Pictionary and other
games while becoming better world language learners. Time sure flies when
everyone is learning and having fun!
l Le Cercle Français
Students meet on Mondays to work on hands-on activities
to explore the different francophone cultures in the French
Club. Typical activities include mask-making (Ivory Coast)
and crèpe baking (Belgium). All activities relate directly to a
francophone tradition or holiday.
Students had fun making traditional French Christmas cookies and papier maché masks to commemorate the Fêtes des
Masques (Festival of Masks), which takes place in small villages in November in the Ivory Coast of Africa.
Abigayle Howey, Alan Barker,
Chinyere Christian and Owen Casey
show off their masks.
Emma Banulski, Molly Carr, Myles
Sornborger and Julie Sojkowski hide
behind their masks.
chance to study Chinese and from
there it has been awesome. I get
better day by day and continue to
improve. I still make mistakes but
everytime my teacher corrects me, I
study harder and try not to repeat it.
8. Do you ever get the three different languages confused?
Yes, all the time and most people assume that I confuse languages that
are similar like French and Spanish.
I mix up the Chinese and Spanish
the most. I think this is because
I have been taking Chinese the
longest so I refer everything back to
it, but of course that doesn’t help
me in Spanish. My Spanish teacher
is very considerate and always gives
me the time I need to separate the
languages in my head.
9. Do you ever regret taking all
three languages at once?
Never. I never have and sometimes I even think abouting adding
another language after school and
when track is over, I want to take
Arabic class to learn that language
as well. The reason I have no
regrets is because the languages I
study: French , Chinese and Spanish are three of the official languages
of the United Nations. Since I want
to be a translator for the UN learning all five languages is necessary. I
am also in Model UN club. I have
a reason for everything I particpate
in while at school.
The
WORLD LANGUAGE CONNECTION
is a biannual publication of the
Simsbury Public Schools World
Language Department.
Julie Sojkowski, Laure Guibert and
Sophie Thompson make traditional
holiday cookies.
Emma Banulski, Alana Barker, Grace
Rogers, Myles Sornborger showing off
their cookies (or what is left of them).
EDITORS
Stephanie Duchesneau (SHS)
Mary Glendening (HJMS)
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 3 l pa g e 9