Bienvenidos to another new year. 

Elementary

3^rd grade will meet twice a week for thirty minutes each time.  In third grade, students begin to use textbooks.  They will also have a workbook that will be used this year and will be completed next year.  While they have already been exposed to a lot of vocabulary, we will be learning more and mastering short sentences.  The textbook is “Hola” 

4^th graders meet twice a week, for forty-five minutes.  We will continue and complete the “Hola” text, as well as the workbook.

5^th graders meet twice a week, forty-five minutes per meeting.  In fifth grade, we begin a new book, “Que tal”.  As usual, there will be a workbook to support the curriculum.  During the year, we begin to get ready for middle school.

  Middle

6^th graders meet everyday for forty-five minutes.  It will be the last class of the day.  It would be greatly appreciated if doctor appointments might be kept to a minimum as students now get a grade for Spanish.  Anytime there is An absence from class, SOMETHING will be missed. 

Just a reminder about how the language/computer semester works.  One of the sixth grade classes will be attending computer class while the other class will go to Spanish.  During the semester of language, students will study Spanish for the first two six weeks.  During the last six weeks of the semester, they will switch to Latin.  At the beginning of the second semester, the classes switch and the process repeats itself. 

In Spanish, we will begin to learn about the basics of grammar and sentence structure.  Along with earning a grade for the first time, they will now be taking notes and keeping up with a notebook.  While we will continue with more vocabulary, the emphasis will be on establishing a strong foundation for further Spanish study.  For those who choose to take Latin for their seventh and eighth grade years, the work we do with grammar often helps to improve the understanding of English grammar!

7^th and 8^th graders meet everyday for forty-five minutes.  The curriculum is actually high school Spanish I, broken into two years.  This year, we are beginning a brand new book!  While the book we were using was good, after teaching out of it for two years, I felt that SLES students were capable of more.  This book is a current State of Texas adoption and is used in many private and public schools in San Antonio.  My thanks go to Shirley Berdecio for her willingness to allow the change in curriculum, for the betterment of the students.

When a student graduates from St. Luke’s, if he or she has been successful in the Spanish program, a letter will be sent to their chosen high school, recommending that the student should be placed in Spanish  II,  or possibly Spanish II Honors/Pre AP.  Please be aware that each school has its own policy about placement.  We can only recommend.

My main goal is to have prepared students to graduate with the confidence to be successful in Spanish, at whatever high school they have chosen to attend.

DO YOU  KNOW THESE PROVERBS?

http://www.lingolex.com/refranes.htm


LET'S READ

http://www.northstar.k12.ak.us/schools/nph/historias/historias2004/pomeroyn/titulo.htm


Can you name these cities in Mexico?



CINCO de MAYO
Ignacio Zaragoza was the Mexican general commanding the Mexican troops in the battle against the French at the town of Puebla. Shortly after the Spanish and British troops withdrew their armies from Mexico, the French army, reinforced with an additional forth-five hundred troops, began to march inland on its war of occupation. the French minister in Mexico City informed the invading commander that the French would be welcomed with open arms in Puebla, and that the local clergy would not only shower them with magnolia blooms but would offer a special Te Deum in their honor. But Puebla, although conservative and pro clerical, was not to be such an easy prize. Encountering unexpected opposition on the morning of May 5, 1862, the French attacked recklessly, and with two hours the French had expended half of their ammunition. The French troops, many weakened by the affliction that sometimes smites the foreign visitor to the Mexican countryside, did not acquit themselves well. General Zaragoza, on the other hand, managed his troops with rare aplomb. The decisive maneuver of the day was carried out by young Brigadier General Porfirio Díaz, commanding the Second Brigade. Late in the afternoon Díaz repelled a determined French assault on Zaragoza's right flank. The dejected invaders, many veterans from more glorious days in Crimea, retreated to lick their wounds in Orizaba. May 5 - Cinco de Mayo - would be added to the national calendar of holidays in honor of the Mexican victory. Strangely enough, Cinco de Mayo is a much bigger holiday in the United States than it is in Mexico. Here it passes largely unnoticed, other than that little work gets done. Also while the Mexicans won the battle of Puebla that day, the French returned a year later with thirty thousand fresh troops, and after encircling Puebla and reducing the city to rubble with heavy bombardment, finally captured Puebla after the population was reduced to nourishing themselves on rodents, pets, and leaves