Good-bye Fall, Welcome Spring!

Most classes are hunkered down and reviewing for finals February 3, 4, & 5.  The schedule is:  Wednesday, Periods 1 & 3, Thursday, Periods 2 & 4, Friday, Periods 5 & 6.  All classes are 2 hours long and the school day ends at 11:30 AM.

Enjoying the plays presented by other French classes and...

Mrs. Frederickson's French 5-6 students enjoyed watching the plays that Mme. Leidhoff's 3rd-period students presented so well!
The 5-6 students also practiced where to put object pronouns in a sentence (their position changes depending on kind of sentence) by doing a "human sentence" activity sometimes called "Des Phrases Vivantes."

Japanese classes studying popular culture!

Mr. Blackwelder's 1st year Japanese students are learning about how to describe one day in their life, from sunup to sundown. In February, they will share one day of their lives via video, powerpoint, or poster board to the rest of their classes.
The 3rd year students have been studying about popular culture- from Japanese film, to Jdrama and Jpop! In association with the thematic unit, they will be watching a different music video from MTV Japan each week and discuss features of the lyrics that reflect concepts previously introduced in class.

ASL students start preparing for their midterm finals!

Mrs. Smith's ASL 3 & 5 have made their Final Vocabulary study guide that includes 80 terms and phrases for their Receptive portion of their ASL Final...next week they will use their 1st Semester grammar and culture notes to create the written portions of their Final. They will also be testing their Expressive skills by signing a 3 min. partner conversation incorporating vocabulary from specific language experiences. These categories are: Community, People, Numbers, Colors and other vocabulary the students have learned over the course of their 1st semester of ASL with Mrs. Smith

Interesting guests visit ASL class

Mrs. Lenhof's ASL Period 5 was visited by a guest speaker, Mr. Dane Anthony and his family. Dane, 5 years old, and his parents explained to us how his two cochlear implants work. His family also emphasizes using American Sign Language and are all in the process of learning. Dane skillfully taught students many animal signs using his knowledge of ASL. Periods 4 and 6 will be viewing a video tape version of this presentation soon.

Blogging in Spanish!

Mr. McVeigh's classes are blogging. Their first comment thread centers around what they have learned so far this year and also what they would like to learn during the second semester. The follow-up thread will have students sharing study tips and tricks for the upcoming midterms.
You can see the sites at senormcveighp*.blogspot.com. Each class has its own blog, so replace the * with the period number (2, 3, 4, 5 or 6) and you can see what they're up to.

Rajio Taiso calisthenics in Japanese class!

All of Mr. Blackwelder’s classes have learned the classic series of radio calisthenics known as “Rajio Taiso.” This set of exercises is often performed by coworkers in the Japanese workplace, students in a class, and other groups of individuals to promote unity in performance and appreciation of physical fitness. The song that accompanies the exercises has its origins in the 1920’s, and is still used today!

Baguettes and the French Revolution!

Mrs. Leidhoff's 4th year and AP French are currently doing a study of the French Revolution. Introduction to the Unit was to read about the Legend of Bread (La legende du pain en Breton) and the history of French and their “Baguette”. They did this while eating bread. Now they launch into sequence of events that lead to the revolution and the ensuing Reign of Terror.

Spanish 3-4 students vote on best mural

Now that Mr. Lawhead has finished evaluating the Spanish 3-4 student-drawn murals and their essays, students will have a chance to vote on their favorite mural.  The honored team will be offered extra points to create a larger version of the winning design to be placed in the center of the classroom bulletin boards.

Congratulations to Kim M. and Elizabeth L. for their winning mural and essay!

Spanish 3-4 teaching each other

Ms. Jacobson's Spanish 3-4 classes are doing mini-lessons.  Students develop their own lessons on vocabulary, grammar and the Lectura from each unit to teach to each other.

Many activities in French at SRHS!

Mrs. Leidhoff's students of French 1-2 have presented their partner's families using possessive adjectives. Students of intermediate and French 7-8 are practicing their lines for their theatrical productions of class plays and Cyrano de Bergerac. Students of Advance Placement French have taken the three hour practice 2008 Exam. Bonne Chance!

Using "classifiers" in ASL 3-4 & 5-6

Mrs. Smith's ASL 3 and ASL 5 are working on learning to use classifiers, handshapes that describe shape and movement. They are practicing express and receptive skills. So far they have drawn two floor plan diagrams of rooms in their homes. This can be a complicated activity but our Falcon's are having great success!

Local restaurant La Bastide donates Bûches de Noël.

Mrs. Frederickson's French 5-6 students enjoyed the chance to taste an authentic French holiday cake right before winter break thanks to La Bastide, who donated two traditional "Bûches de Noël." The students wrote cards to thank Gilles Fougeres for his generosity.

ASL 1-2 activities

Mrs. Lenhof's ASL 1-2 is wrapping up Group Stories where students use their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary to present interesting and humorous stories in ASL. Next week they will begin Unit 10 and look ahead at questions for guest speakers and preparations for a cummulative final.

Spanish 1-2 students doing cultural projects

Mrs. Jacobson's Spanish 1-2 students are combining Library/Internet research into Spanish-language cultural projects.  They will be presenting their findings to the class with posters and PowerPoint presentations.