We blinked and we are now headed towards the end of Quarter 3 with Spring upon us! The year is flying by! We would like to give you a few updates on some of the things we are doing in Spanish as well as some important information for Spanish students.
This past week, we started a unit called "De vacaciones" . In this unit students will learn to describe where they like to go on vacation, their favorite vacation activities and what they need to pack to go on a trip. They will also learn to describe past events. In the coming weeks students will be creating an itinerary and video recording about a trip they are planning to a Spanish-speaking country. This is a really fun project! Please be sure to ask them to show you their video. We will wrap up the unit with a DC post card project that will be on display at DC night!
During the first week of April all students in Spanish classes will be taking the National Spanish Exam. This is a contest and standardized test sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. The National Spanish Exam is an online, standardized assessment tool for students in Grades 6 -12. It is given voluntarily by thousands of teachers throughout the United States to measure proficiency and achievement of students who are studying Spanish as a second language. The purpose of the exam is to recognize achievement in the study of the Spanish language, promote proficiency, assess the national standards as they pertain to learning Spanish and to encourage further interest in the teaching and learning of Spanish. Students do not need to study for this exam and their grades on the exam do not impact their Spanish grade in any way. The exams will take place during the student's Spanish class time and consist of two separate tests - one proficiency exam (reading and listening) and one achievement exam (vocabulary and grammar). Please know that if a student is absent, s/he will not be able to take the test at a later time as all students in a class must take it on the same day. Students will receive their scores some time in May and there are several ways students can be recognized for outstanding achievement on the National Spanish Examinations:
Students with outstanding scores on the National Spanish Examinations are recognized as follows:
Premio de Oro - students scoring at or above the 95th percentile.
Premio de Plata - students scoring from the 85th through the 94th percentiles.
Premio de Bronce - students scoring from the 75th through the 84th percentiles.
Mención Honorífica - students scoring from the 50th through the 74th percentiles.
Students in Grades 8, 9 or 10 scoring above the 75th percentile are eligible to apply for the .
Please let your child's teacher know if you have any questions about the exam. They have already taken several practice tests in and out of class and we encourage them to continue to do so, so they get acclimated to the style of the exam.
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Un saludo cordial,
Kathy Delima and Leigh Netcoh
8th grade Spanish Teachers
