January 2012 - Simsbury Public Schools

The World Language
January 2012
Connection
A Publication of the Simsbury Public Schools World Language Department
UPCOMING
Amy Watts is teacher of the year!
l Grade 8 French trip to Quebec
Madame Bruhl is busy planning our
trip to Quebec for grade 8 French
students. Students will be able to
experience the francophone culture
firsthand while attending the world
famous Carnaval d’Hiver (Winter
Carnival) from February 9th – February 12th. Please read about the
highlights in our next issue!
A LETTER FROM SUPERINTENDENT
DIANE ULLMAN:
Congratulations to Amy Watts, the
Simsbury 2011 Teacher of the Year! Amy’s
impact on students, our district culture
and our community has been substantial.
Developing an understanding of and respect
for diverse beliefs, cultures and backgrounds
is a core belief of the Simsbury Public
Schools community. Amy Watts has been a
key figure in helping Simsbury address this
vital component of our Vision. She has been
the primary advocate for the program within
the school community as well as throughout the wider Simsbury community
through her teaching of language and culture, her work on curriculum and her
leadership of our Chinese exchange program. Amy embodies the qualities that
we find in only the very best of Connecticut’s teachers and we are very proud
she was chosen Teacher of the Year.
l Chinese Visitors to Simsbury High School
On December 5, 2011, Simsbury High School welcomed seven students and two administrators from our Chinese
sister school in the Shandong Province. During their week-long stay with us, they experienced life as a typical
American high school student. They attended classes and participated in after school activities with their host
students. They also toured Yale University and ate a buffet lunch with students and faculty. The Chinese administrators collaborated with
Americans sing a welcome.
our two Chinese teachers,
Shiffon Theodorou and
Amy Watts, on best practices in utilizing technology to deepen our existing
exchange program. At the
end of the week, our host
families and Chinese guests
came together to celebrate
new found friendships and a
successful week.
See more photos on page 5
Chinese Students Learn Outside the Classroom
l Double Nines Festival
Left to right: Mrs. Theodorou, Evelyn Michaud, William Lin and Mrs.
Watts.
What do reciting poetry, trekking
up a mountain and sipping chrysanthemum tea have in common? All
of these activities are part of the
Double Nines Festival held across
China each year.
As poetry is an integral part of
Chinese culture, students from
Shiffon Theodorou’s and Amy
Watts’ classes, grades 8-12, took
part in this festival on Oct. 21,
2011. Once atop Avon Mountain,
students competed in small groups
until the final competition was held
and two winners emerged: William
Lin (Henry James) and Evelyn Michaud (Simsbury High). Congratulations to our resident Chinese
poets and to all who participated in
this special event!
Chinese students were able to
demonstrate their understanding
of the importance of poetry and of
cultivating the study skill of memorization to aid in language learning.
Following the competition, students enjoyed Chinese snacks and
tea before hiking down the mountain. What a perfect way to spend
a beautiful fall afternoon!
Students sit atop Avon Mountain during the poetry
competition portion of the Double Nines Festival.
l Peabody Essex Museum Trip for Rare Perspective on Chinese Culture
On June 16th, a multigenerational group of 44 Simsbury teachers, students,
and community members were bused from SHS to Salem, MA, on a grantfunded trip to visit the Peabody Essex Museum and enjoy docent-led tours
emphasizing Asian art and culture. The museum was chosen because of its
rare perspective on Chinese art, architecture, and culture, as exemplified by
the Huang family ancestral home exhibit. The 200-year-old Chinese house
was brought to America and reassembled at the museum. The relocation and
preservation of the house and its contents are part of an ongoing effort to
foster global awareness and understanding of Chinese culture.
The home was oriented in the village according to principles of feng shui
to ensure a harmonious relationship with the
landscape and was constructed according to local building traditions and customs. It features
a remarkable accumulation of furnishings and
personal items passed down through eight generations.
In late afternoon, the group headed to Simsbury
for a multi-course, authentic Chinese dinner at
The Green Tea restaurant.
The bus trip and Chinese dinner experience
was funded by a grant from the Asia Society, as
part of Simsbury’s designation as a member of
the Confucius Classrooms Network in recognition of its potential as a model Chinese language
program for the U.S., strong local leadership,
demonstrated commitment to international
exchange and collaboration, and global vision
for the future.
Visitors prepare to enter
the Yin Yu Tang house, a
stunning example of Chinese
architecture dismantled in
China and reassembled at the
Peabody Essex Museum.
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 2 l pa g e 2
l Impressionist Art Students in the
Berkshires
French students and teachers from
Simsbury and Farmington high
schools traveled together on September 27 to the Clark Art Institute in
Williamstown, Massachusetts. This
collaborative experience, organized
by Linda Zabor and Stephanie Duchesneau, also included guest artist Jeffrey Brewster, who accompanied the
group to the exhibit, called Pissarro’s
People, which featured depictions
of peasants by the French painter
Camille Pissarro.
Mr. Brewster visited both schools
before the trip and introduced the art
of Pissarro and that of other French
painters. Students began a basic
impressionist drawing with his guidance. The 30 students from the two
schools who went to the museum
started the day with a meet and greet
in French to get to know each other.
This was followed by a guided French
tour and a drawing session outside
with Mr. Brewster. The students
were able to draw the same scenes
that had been recreated around the
campus by a local artist. These straw
l EL Mercado en Guatemala
If you visited an 8th grade Spanish
class in early October, you might
have imagined you were strolling through a Spanish-speaking
mercado (except for the cut-out
Simsbury and Farmington students get to
know each other.
“Pissaro’s Peasants” offer lots of inspiration to draw from!
Dressing the part with beret and striped
sailor shirts, these two students display
art created “en plein air.”
figures brought the paintings to
life, with the beautiful campus
serving as background for a new
clothing, of course)! Students set
the stage by creating their own stores
and inventories and then assumed
the roles of buyers and sellers in the
mercado. They spoke only Spanish to negotiate the best prices for
the clothing they bought for their
perspective. The group gathered
for a French picnic lunch provided
by the Harvest Café in Simsbury
and finished the day by choosing to
return to the museum, draw, or take
a tour of the nearby studio.
amigos secretos and to attract
business in their puestos. The
class was bursting with activity
and energy! Aside from being
fun, bargaining fosters students'
cultural understanding.
(Left) Students from Ms.
Glendening’s class are
(left to right) Benjamin
Levin, Madeline Kodak,
Corey Fischer, and Bradley Harper
(Right) Corey Fischer and
Cecilia Capeles bargain
in Spanish, which fosters
cultural understanding.
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 2 l pa g e 3
The
French Exchange
Volcanoes, Strikes &
Snowstorms!
I
n October, Simsbury and Granby
once again welcomed the French
students from Digne-les-Bains.
The students stayed with families,
attended school and took trips in the
region. They were given an introduction
to the Trojan code and completed tasks
to receive coupons for a final drawing
which included prizes of baseball caps
and Halloween treats. The SHS French
classes helped with all the preparations
such as the welcoming bulletin board,
food preparation for the breakfast and
the video of our Trojan code.
!
r
u
o
j
n
o
B
fore Chorus sings.
s exchange students be
Mr. Sullivan welcome
Parent volunteers chaperoned, carpooled and planned the final potluck
dinner. The preparation, trips and home
stay were a community effort. Our guests
went to class with their host students
and also were given special sessions
with teachers who volunteered to sing,
play ping-pong and complete a science
lab. This year the French teachers also
arranged for more regular after school
activities such as a visit to Haye’s Corn
Maze, a hike up Talcott Mountain and a
walking tour into Simsbury.
In our third exchange with our sister
school we once again experienced some
setbacks. The first trip to France was
cancelled by a volcanic eruption with
clouds over Europe. Last fall, the
students in Digne navigated the airport in Nice as the protesters of new
retirement initiatives barred transportation hubs in the country. A
few weeks ago, the French finished
their stay with Snowstorm Alfred
and downed power lines throughout
the state. Due to the devastation
and lack of power after the storm,
we were unable to come together
for the potluck. The families in
FRENCH EXCHANGE Continued on page 5
French and Americans hike to the Heublein tower.
A stop at an “American”
cafe—Starbucks.
Students cross the bridge during
walking tour of Simsbury.
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 2 l pa g e 4
I wonder...How do you say
“jack-o-lantern” in French?
Americans show French how to carve pumpkins
for Halloween.
Simsbury and Granby took care of
the students in cold, dark houses
and they got a taste of winter—a
bit extreme! With the help of SHS
teachers Mme Christolini and
Mme Bruhl as well as the Granby
hosts Mme MacGennis and Mme
Pumpkins to take home to
family!
Godard the families managed to get
the students to the high school for
an early Monday morning departure
back to France. The home stay was a
great success in spite of the weather
and we look forward to a return to
Digne in the spring of 2013.
French students paint their
names in Chinese.
SPECIAL THANKS to all of the students and
families who made the Exchange a SUCCESS!
More photos with our
Chinese visitors
(cont. from page 1)
Tech Ed—one-on-one help.
Gym class with
Chinese students.
(l. to r.) Chinese
administrator, Stephanie
Duchesneau, BOE Chair
Lydia Tedone,Amy
Watts, Mary
Glendening, and Shiffon
Theodorou.
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 2 l pa g e 5
VENIMUS, PRANDIMUS, VIDIMUS
“We came, we lunched, we saw!”
exhibit visitors.
D. snowstorm, the students easily
related to some of Pliny’s fears and
the traumatic effects of such an
overwhelming natural disaster.
Currently there is a traveling
Throughout the weeks leading up
exhibit, “A Day in Pompeii,” at
to the visit, students in all levels
the Museum of Science in Boston.
of Latin became acquainted with
On November
After an early lunch at Quincy
various aspects of
18, 102 Simsbury
Market, students started their mufirst century A.D.
High School Latin “A Day in Pompeii” exhibit
seum visit with an IMAX theater
Pompeiian life
scholars along
production of “Greece: Secrets of
through
class
diswill be in Boston at the
with Magistra
cussion of frescoes,
the Past,” which features panoramMuseum of Science through
Selina Kell, Magic views of ancient Greek temples,
mosaics, graffiti,
theaters, and islands. The volcanic
istra Judith Trout, February 12, 2012 and is
floor plans, and
certainly
worth
a
trip!
WL Department
island of Santorini and its recent
epitaphs from that
chair Stephanie
city. Several stuarchaeological discoveries are highDuchesneau and
lights of this excellent
five parent chaperones visited this
film production.
dents even spent
exhibit after weeks of anticipation.
many hours at home
The multimedia preIt is the largest special exhibit of
making authentic
sentation of the PomPompeiian artifacts to tour the
panis Pompeiianus,
peii exhibit appeals
United States since 1979! Much
the classic round loaf
to many interests.
of our knowledge of ancient Roproduced in every
Some SHS students
man life comes from Pompeii, the
neighborhood bakery
found the time-lapse
city near Naples that was buried
in Pompeii. Latin 4
computer generated
for hundreds of years under tons
and 5 students read
video of the August
of volcanic debris. Highlights of
in the original the
24-25, 79 A.D. erupthis exhibit include more than
only eye-witness action mesmerizing.
250 artifacts--room-sized frescoes,
count of the historic
Others especially
sculptures, jewelry, coins and
eruption, written by
liked the gladiator
everyday household items. There
17 year old Pliny the
helmet, the figurines
Latin 4 students Patrick Abraha- of the household
are also body casts of some of the
Younger who was
msen and Taylor Wells show off gods in the lararium
unfortunate victims of the 79
living nearby in 79
A.D. eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, as
A.D. In the wake of their authentic ancient bread.
(household shrine),
well as short videos and specialist
the power outages
and the gold jewelry
interpreters who interact with the
of the historic October 2011 A.
and coins. Everyone was moved
READERS
CORNER
l Knowing a Second Language Can Really Pay Off
Surprising Career Fields that having a knowledge of a Second
Language will pay off. See the article on the MSN Careerbuilder
website:
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2785-Job-Info-andTrends-Surprising-industries-where-a-second-language-will-payoff/?SiteId=cbmsnhp42785&sc_extcmp=JS_2785_home1
l Why Learn Spanish
The following is published by a language school but has good information.
http://www.spanish-school.com.mx/learnspanish.php
by the plaster casts of Pompeiians
(including a dog and a pig) in their
final moments of pain and fear as
they tried to escape the eruption.
Students were thrilled to recognize
the actual furniture, religious and
personal items which they had
read about and seen in texts. Each
student chose a favorite artifact to
focus on and sketch, and considered what items they themselves
might try to save in the event of a
sudden disaster.
This exhibit will be in Boston at
the Museum of Science through
February 12, 2012 and is certainly
worth a trip!
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 2 l pa g e 6
NEWSWORTHY
l World Language Connection
Wins CABE Award
The World Language Department
of the Simsbury Public Schools
is pleased to announce that our
newsletter, The World Language
Connection, has won Honorable
Mention in the CABE (CT Association of Boards of Education)
Award of Excellence for Educational Communications contest. A
framed certificate will be sent to our
school district, and our newsletter
was showcased at the 2011 CABE/
CAPSS Convention in November.
We wish to thank Webmaster/Communications Coordinator Martha
Hogan for her contributions to
making our newsletter a success!
STUDENT
INTERVIEW
l Una entrevista con una
estudiante fenomenalMarissa Klein
Entrevistadora: Leah Wisser
P: ¿Por qué decidiste estudiar dos lenguas?
R: En general me encantan las lenguas. Cuando era
Freshmen tenía un periodo
libre. En vez de tener sala
de estudio decidí tomar una
clase interesante, por eso
escogí chino. Para mí era
una decisión obvia.
P: ¿Es más fácil aprender
otra lengua después de estudiar otra?
R: Creo que sí cuando las
lenguas son similares sin
embargo español y chino
l French is Always In Fashion
SHS World Language Teacher Kate Christolini described a recent (and unique!)
culminating assessment:
French 3I students have been studying
the question “What is beauty?” and as
one of the culminating assessments they
performed a fashion show—“un défilé
de mode”—which was narrated by their
partners. Each group had to choose a
unique “look” and music that complemented it, design an outfit for their look,
and write and memorize a script. Then
the students all walked the fashion runway! The class voted on their favorite.
The winner was the elementary school
look, complete with a Webkinz accessory. The “Kate Middleton,” where the
students dressed like British royalty, came in second. Très à la mode!”
son lenguas
opuestas y
no son semejantes.
P: ¿Cuáles son
algunas similitudes y diferencias entre los
dos idiomas?
Marissa Klein (left, sporting an outfit appropriate for the cross
country team’s“Pajama Day”) is interviewed by Leah Wisser.
R: No hay
mucho en común. Los alfabetos, las
reglas de gramática y las estructuras
son diferentes. La lengua china es
más difícil a causa de los símbolos.
Tenemos que memorizarlos. En español hay muchos tiempos y modos
de verbos y conjugaciones que son
difíciles.
P: ¿Qué lengua prefieres y por qué?
R: No quiero escoger. Me gustan las
dos lenguas por razones varias. Las
dos culturas son interesantes también y cada lengua tiene expresiones
idiomáticas y matices.
P: ¿Estudiarás dos lenguas en la
universidad? Para tu futuro piensas usar las lenguas?
R: En este momento quiero ser
anestesiólogo pero puedo estudiar más que las ciencias por eso
pienso seguir mis estudios de
español y chino (y más lenguas).
Querría especializarme en una
lengua. Quiero usar las lenguas
para comunicar con los pacientes
y colaborar con otros médicos de
otros países.
*Marissa es estudiante en los cursos
Español AP y Chino 5I este año.
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 2 l pa g e 7
IN THE CLUB
l Cercle Français at Henry
James
Students meet on Mondays to
dig into hands-on activities
relating to various francophone
traditions and holidays in the
French Club with Madame
Bruhl. At this meeting students are creating papier maché
masks to commemorate the
Fêtes des Masques (Festival of
(l. to r.) Jaylynn Moffat and Emily Fritz work
Masks), which takes place in
small villages in November in on paper maché masks in honor of “The Festival of Masks.”
the Ivory Coast of Africa.
l Elementary Spanish
Did you know that Spanish instruction in Simsbury now begins in
grade 5? Students receive Spanish once a week in the elementary
school and are ready to expand
their knowledge in grade 6.
6th grade Spanish student Hannah
Kovel from Tootin’ Hills School is
very excited to continue learning
Spanish in grade 6:
¡Hola! En español me llamo Rosi
y en inglés me llamo Hannah. Me
gusta mucho la clase de español
porque estudiamos los colores y
jugamos juegos. ¡Es muy divertido!
Club members: Michaela Beinstein, Madison Earnhardt, Zoë Eisenhaure, Emily
Fritz, Bethany Hamlin, Nathalie Hallen, Marc Jagan, Abigail Lang, Kat Makkaveyev, Jaylynn Moffat, TJ Nicholson, Chelsea Thode and Madame Bruhl.
l Grade 6 Spanish Club at Tootin’ Hills School
The Spanish Club meets to offer academic support and extracurricular activities to its grade 6 members. Ms Aguirre and her students play educational
games, learn new and exciting information about Spanish-speaking countries,
and make cultural crafts and bulletin boards to share their enthusiasm for the
Spanish language culture with the school community. It’s not too late to get
involved! Please contact Ms Aguirre for more information.
For the second year, Austin Serio, grade 9 Spanish student at Simsbury High
School, serves as assistant to Ms Aguirre. Austin “really likes teaching and
Spanish” and is an asset to the Spanish Club. He is also a former student of
Tootin’ Hills (and the Grade 6 & 7 Spanish Clubs) who has fun returning to
his elementary school to try out his teaching skills.
The
WORLD LANGUAGE CONNECTION
is a biannual publication of the
Simsbury Public Schools World
Language Department.
EDITORS
Stephanie Duchesneau (SHS)
Mary Glendening (HJMS)
T HE W ORLD LANGUAGE C ONNE C T ION l J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 2 l pa g e 8