Volume 3 December 2013 Las Noticias A periodic newsletter of the Spanish Immersion Program at Ventana Vista Elementary School Our Spanish Immersion Webpage We Want To Know! We are interested in your feedback about our immersion program. Please click on the link below (or copy/paste it) to participate in a brief survey. http://tinyurl.com/l2d8rfu Survey responses will be accepted through December 20. Results will be communicated and used for program improvement. http://tinyurl.com/jvsvgtq Dear Immersion Parents, Welcome to the first edition for the 2013-14 school year of our newsletter just for Spanish Immersion families at Ventana Vista! Thank you to those of you who applied to part of our Spanish Immersion Advisory Board at the beginning of this school year. In order deliver the highest quality Spanish Immersion program, and to meet the needs of the various stakeholders in it, the Advisory Board shall convene and be consulted on issues related to the program. We met for the first time this year in November, and will meet again during the second semester. The Immersion Committee (teachers and principal) meets every month. After each meeting of the Advisory Board, we will publish a summary of the minutes to keep you informed, via Las Noticias. Sincerely, Kim Boling Principal
Transcript
Volume 3 December 2013
Las Noticias A periodic
newsletter of the Spanish Immersion
Program at Ventana Vista Elementary
School
Our Spanish Immersion Webpage
We Want To Know! We are interested in
your feedback about our immersion program.
Please click on the link below (or copy/paste it) to participate in a brief
survey.
http://tinyurl.com/l2d8rfu
Survey responses will be accepted through
December 20.
Results will be communicated and used
for program improvement.
http://tinyurl.com/jvsvgtq
Dear Immersion Parents,
Welcome to the first edition for the 2013-14 school year of our newsletter just for Spanish Immersion families at Ventana Vista!
Thank you to those of you who applied to part of our Spanish Immersion Advisory Board at the beginning of this school year. In order deliver the highest quality Spanish Immersion program, and to meet the needs of the various stakeholders in it, the Advisory Board shall convene and be consulted on issues related to the program. We met for the first time this year in November, and will meet again during the second semester. The Immersion Committee (teachers and principal) meets every month. After each meeting of the Advisory Board, we will publish a summary of the minutes to keep you informed, via Las Noticias.
Sincerely,
Kim Boling
Principal
lorem ipsum dolor issue, date
2
Minutes from
11/21/13 Advisory
Board Meeting
Advisory Board
Meeting
Attendees: Amy Acuña, Kim Boling, Norma Fregoso, Amy Hawkins, Maria Jimenez-Baca, Holly Knutson, Michelle Martinez, Joan McKee, Maribel Miranda, DeDe Plante, Steve Przymus
Not in Attendance: Sheryl Castro, Brittany DeFazio, Natasha Escalada-Westland, Christie Iacomini, Maria Orozco, Molly Sax
Introductions – Board members were asked to introduce themselves, describe their role in the program, and share personal celebrations on their journey through the Spanish Immersion Program.
- Amy Acuña, Kindergarten Teacher (Spanish)
o In math, in particular, kids can count to 20 in Spanish. She never hears them counting in English!
- Steve Przymus, Gr. 1 Parent Rep o He feels he’s really giving his
daughter a gift by having her enrolled in this program.
- Maria Baca, Gr. 1 Teacher (Spanish) o Has to use fewer incentives to
get encourage students to speak in Spanish this year. They just do it!
Natasha Escalada-Westland – (4th Grade and 2nd Grade Parent)
Christie Iacomini – (4th grade and 2nd Grade parent)
Kim Boling – Principal
Sheryl Castro – CFSD World Languages Coordinator
La Ofrenda created by 1st Grade immersion classes in celebration of Dia de los Muertos
lorem ipsum dolor issue, date
3
11/21/13 Minutes, cont. concontinued
- Maribel Miranda, Gr. 2 Teacher (Spanish)
o Students came into 2nd grade with even more Spanish than they did last year.
- Joan McKee, Gr. 2 Teacher (English) o She is impressed with how
easily students switch between languages.
- DeDe Plante, Gr. 3 Teacher (Spanish) o She is impressed with
students’ ability to read in Spanish.
- Holly Knutson, Gr. 3 Teacher (English)
o She is amazed at the amount of Spanish students’ have in their repertoire!
- Norma Fregoso, Gr. K Parent Rep o Loves that her daughter came
home and counted to 30 in Spanish. Also commented to her friends, “¡Nos vamanos! ¡Ya me voy!”
- Amy Hawkins, Gr. 4 Teacher (English)
o She is enjoying the partnership and working with her colleague to support content learning in both languages.
Potential Advisory Board Topics for 2013-14 were discussed:
• Parent Education o Host another Parent Ed
Night. Start altogether, then break off into grade levels or grade bands (K, 1-2, 3-4?)
o Create a film featuring clips of topics raised by parents: how team teachers collaborate; types of activities planned to help students build language skills; supports and extensions used for varying language abilities; resources/books used; a visual of the “Can Do” statements in action.
• Family Networking o Another Picnic/Play Date? o Continuation of Book
Club? o Spanish Movie Night at
Ventana Vista? (possibly open to all families; bring a donation for admission – food for food bank? Spanish book for library?)
• Cultural Celebrations o Cinco De Mayo – Possibly
plan to repeat school presentation for parents at CFHS?
o Hispanic Heritage Month – Possibly plan a celebration in September featuring booths, games, how to make tamales, fashion show of cultures, songs, etc.
The work of the Advisory Board from 2012-13 was discussed:
• Parent Education Night (My Child’s in Immersion…Now What?”) – December 6, 2012
• Book Club – for both parents and students (continued through summer)
• Picnic/Play Date – April 7, 2013
Spanish Immersion Parent Information Nights
(for potential NEW families)
January 15 at 6:00 PM February 12 at 6:00 PM
Ventana Vista Library
lorem ipsum dolor issue, date
4
Achievement of our Spanish Immersion Students
Parents of students in immersion programs often worry that they may be compromising their child’s academic achievement. However, Research indicates that students in partial immersion programs, such as ours, achieve as well or better than their English-only peers on standardized measures of achievement. The students in our program are performing consistent with these research findings, as outlined below:
Gr. 2 – 2012 – Stanford 10 (National Percentile Rankings)
Reading Math Language
Regular (47 students)
68 72 63
Spanish Immersion (37 students)
77 81 73
Gr. 2 – 2013 – Stanford 10 (National Percentile Rankings)
Reading Math Language
Regular (51 students)
73 76 61
Spanish Immersion (46 students)
80 86 69
Gr. 3 – 2013 – AIMS (% of Students Meeting or Exceeding Standard)
Reading Math
Regular (54 students)
85 82
Spanish Immersion (38 students)
100 89
Coming soon:
What’s Ahead? An Evening for 4th Grade Parents (January Date TBA)
My Child’s in Immersion, Now What? Spanish Immersion Parent Education Evening (Spring date TBA)
