Bagnall Blurb #2 Octubre

Bagnall Blurb #2
Octubre

Padres y Amigos,

This is a great time of year! I absolutely love the different colors outside on the trees and the crisp air that comes into my classroom when we crack open a window. I also enjoy now being into a “rhythm” at school. It always takes awhile to get used to the schedule and pace of life, but I think that both myself and the students have adjusted well. Here is an updated on what has been happening during the fall in my Spanish classes:

Quinto Grado (5th): We finished our first unit of “mis amigos”. The video dialogues went well and students impressed me with their great Spanish accents and knowledge of the questions and answers! We are now in our second unit “En clase” (In class). We are learning classroom and school related vocabulary with the verbs tengo/necesito (I have/I need). Please use quia to practice these new words (There is a link to quia on the upper right hand side of the blog)! We are also learning a new praise song in Spanish, “Demos Gracias al Señor” which expresses thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for all that He blesses us with. Feel free to practice this song at home by listening to the video on the blog as well.

Sexto grado (6th): Verbs, verbs, and verbs! The sixth graders continue to add more verbs to their Spanish use. We keep a running “verb chart” list in the front of our Spanish binders and we are now up to 7 different verbs! Our most recent verb was “tener” (to have) and how to use it to express certain emotions, such as “tengo hambre” (I am hungry). Students seem to be mastering the foreign concept of “conjugating” verbs, and did very well on their first quiz. Those quiz grades are posted on net classroom and I encourage you to look at them. I also want to make you aware of my quiz policies, and that is that if a student/parent is disappointed with a quiz result they may take their quiz home with them and fix any mistakes, return the quiz, and earn ½ of each point that was taken off back. It is the students’ choice to do so, and he/she must be responsible for remembering to turn it back in… but I thought it might help if you all also knew about this nice bonus! Finally, in preparation for Thanksgiving we are rehearsing a “Oración de Gracias” (A Thanksgiving Prayer). This prayer is posted on the blog under “6th grade”, perhaps you could use it at home before dinner or bed sometime in the upcoming weeks!

Séptimo Grado (7th): In 7th grade we were able to finish our first unit by the end of first quarter! Yes, it was a long unit with LOTS of information! Rather than having a big “end of the unit” Test, we had short quizzes and projects throughout. All grades have been posted to net classroom and I encourage checking them out and making sure that everything was handed in and were up to your expectations. Coming up will be our second unit “el cuerpo” (the body). Our vocabulary will include all body parts, how to describe pain, and how to give advice. We will also being asking students to share (in Spanish) a home remedy that they may have in their family (for example, putting tooth paste on a bee sting or taking a tablespoon of honey for a sore throat). So look for more information on that to come!

Octavo Grado (8th): As the weather is changing outside, our eighth graders are learning how to talk about the weather in Spanish! Putting vocabulary, grammar, and culture together… students are creating their own weather forecast videos reporting from various Spanish speaking cities. The scripts have been written and the videos will be recorded in class next week. The videos are due on Thursday, November 4th. I will attempt to post some of the videos that turned out well on the blog, so be sure to check back for those. On another note, our postcards were well received by our Honduran pen pals, in fact the teacher there told us that some of her students were in tears because it was the first piece of mail that they had ever received. They have written us back and we expect to get those letters next week. In connection to weather and Honduras, we briefly discussed and learned about Hurricane Mitch which struck Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 1998 and destroyed almost the entire city! Lastly, be sure to check out the Spanish assignments and grades that are posted regularly on net classroom.

For everyone, please schedule a time or just stop by to see me during parent teacher conferences. I will be at school and available for both sessions on Thursday, November 17th and would love to chat!

Adiós y hasta luego,
Sra. Becky Bagnall
bbagnall@grcs.org
616 574 6343