School news
Spanish Ambassadors at WES
Do you know how to say “anteater” in Spanish? Could you identify a lapiz in the classroom? How about making a flower out of three pieces of tissue paper, or cheering on your teammates in Spanish as they play fútbol? These are some of the things that WUHSMS Spanish Club and Language Ambassadors led Woodstock Elementary School students in during a field trip last Monday.
Picture Above: Spanish Club students got together during ARE time to design and create their activities. Ninth grade students Lindsey St. Cyr, Kara Pomeroy, Addison Tapley, Betta Cirovic and Alaythia Lockhart created a vocabulary relay. They taught students about rainforest animals and students had to race to match the Spanish name for each animal with its picture on the other side of the room.
Hannah McComb and Ruth Stallard teamed up to lead a classroom scavenger hunt where students had to find the objects on each Spanish vocabulary card that they found.
Georgia Pimentel and Sophie Hendee taught students how to create tissue paper flowers. These are popular decorations for many holidays, especially in Latin America.
Students making tissue paper flowers
In addition, seniors Jane Stout and Aidan Keough-Vella took charge of the fútbol game. Soccer is the most widely played sport in Spanish-speaking countries, and WES students can now cheer in Spanish at their own games.
A "Te de Jamaica" Taste-Test in Spanish 2!
On Friday, the Spanish 2 students enjoyed sampling some "Agua de Jamaica", a traditional Mexican tea made from dried Hibiscus flowers. Salud! (Cheers!)
French and Spanish Students Begin the Park Interpretation Project
Pictured above: Kat Robbins talks with Advanced Topics in Spanish students about the connection between Billings Farm and the Park.
Students from Advanced Topics in Spanish and French, and AP French students have begun work on a Park Interpretation Project. With the support of Kat Robbins and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, students are researching topics of interest at the park and crafting guided tours in Spanish and French. Research topics range from the history of conservation to specific artists and artworks at the park.
Pictured above: Sierra Bystrak interviews Head Gardener Jordan McGee about the fountain and history of the formal gardens. Sierra commented: 'This project is a great way to really learn the significance of this place. I usually just hike to the Pogue, but now I know more about why this place is special,”
The project combines several of Woodstock’s Portrait of a Graduate skills, including stewardship and skillful communication. Students will have the real-world practice of conducting a guided tour in their target language.
Anna Megyyesi’s Advanced Topics in Spanish class will lead their tour on October 10th.
French student Tua Shaw practices her talk on the importance of beauty and spirituality in the context of the Mash Billings gardens.
French student Joffre Legyada will be speaking about the native history of the land.
French Presentation at Marsh Billings National Park
Thursday the 26th of September at Marsh/Billings National Park (and Rockefeller Mansion) from 11:15 --12:30, Nathalie Kramer's French AP and Advanced Topics students will be presenting their chosen topic in French! Each student will give a 4 minute presentation in their area of interest--for example, Gardens, Art work in the house, Forest History. En Français!
French student Lucy Drebitko will engage us by explaining the invasive species and the preservation of the trees.
Seventh graders learn the Merengue
Seventh grade students in Señora Leibly's Spanish 1B enjoyed learning the basic steps of the merengue.
They also learned that the merengue, a style of music with a fast tempo, is the national dance of the Dominican Republic. After a few practice moves, students enjoyed swinging their hips to a few songs by Juan Luís Guerra and Elvis Crespo, two well known merengueros.
Spanish III Makes Empanadas de Pino!
Above (Students preparing to roll out empanada dough)
On Tuesday, March 19th, both of Maestra Megyesi’s Spanish III classes went to room 18, where they prepared and cooked Chilean-style empanadas de pino. Prompted by the class's food and culture unit, they first watched a video on how to make these beef-filled empanadas. The class then discussed the food and cooking vocabulary they observed in the video before getting to work. Different groups of students worked on various jobs within the kitchen. While Maestra worked on making the empanada dough, other students chopped and cooked onions, and another seasoned and cooked the ground beef. Once the dough was finished, other students rolled it out and cut out the circles used to make the empanadas. After everything was prepped, each student had a chance to fill and fold an empanada, either by hand or by using an empanada press. To make the empanadas de pino more traditional, students had the option to add olives and raisins to the beef and onion filling. (Written by TA Aubrey Seman!)
Link to the video watched in class.