Middle School

We began the year by orienting ourselves in the Spanish-speaking world. Middle school students determined where Spanish is spoken in the world and how this has evolved. Curriculum in each grade will include the study of a specific culture area in the Spanish-speaking world. In the 6th grade we have begun studying Spain. In conjunction with the study of epic poems in humanities, 6th graders have been studying the historical relevancy of El Poema del Mio Cid, an important Spanish epic poem describing El Cid and Medieval Spain. Thematic focus in the 7th grade is on South America, concentrating on the cultural diversity in the South American continent. Seventh graders have begun by identifying pre-Columbian cultures in the Americas, and will continue to examine the encounter between Spaniards and indigenous cultures throughout the fall. In an effort to prepare for the upcoming 8th grade trip to Costa Rica, the eighth grade is studying Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Currently the 8th grade is viewing the film Cabeza de Vaca, which chronicles the unique experience of a Spanish conquistador amongst the Iguase people in the islands off the coast of Florida.

In addition to our cultural focus, the 8th grade continues to use Dime Uno from D.C. Heath. They are currently reviewing nouns, possessive adjectives, estar use with adjectives, the present-progressive verb tense, interrogatives, and general strategies for reading/writing in Spanish. Native Speakers continue to use Tu Mundo. They also integrate use of Spanish periodicals, web-sites, literature, radio/music, film/television, and other local resources. The 7th grade continues to meet in the achievement-based groups created last fall. Both groups are currently refining saludos, presentaciones, y despedidas, expressing actions in the context of time, and describing oneself and others. 7th grade group IIA uses Adelante and group IIB uses En Camino. In the 6th grade, Spanish IA uses Adelante, and Spanish IB uses En Camino. IA students began the year by practicing pronunciation, basic spelling, and Spanish cognates. They learn to introduce themselves, begin to describe themselves and their interests using expressions with the verbs ser and gustar which will culminate in their Biografía projects. Students in IB are focusing on greeting others, expressing likes and dislikes, and saying what they have using the verb tener.

Lower School

The fifth grade, meeting three times a week, started the year with a review of greetings, colors, days of the week, numbers 1 to 1000, family names, cognates, weather expressions, clothing, adjectives and domestic animals. We followed with a unit about the city places and means of transportations. Using flash cards we have been learning the names of city places and doing an array of exercises practicing sentences that use the verb to go in conjunction with the places of the city. We also reviewed the names of cities and towns of California that have Spanish names and learned some new ones. Our most recent project has been a fictional biography in which students made books and created a character who tells the readers his name, age, place of birth and residence, family size, and likes and dislikes in Spanish.

The fourth grade, also meeting thrice weekly, started the school year with a review of numbers from 10 to 100. We also reviewed introductions and expressions of origin. Currently, we are working on ordinal numbers from 1st to 12th having determined their use in talking about school grades, floors, sibling order, competition placement, etc. We expanded our family vocabulary and students completed a collage project about fictional families that can be seen in front of the Spanish room. In our most recently completed project, Biografía, students made a book. They illustrated sentences that provided information about age, nationality, likes and dislikes. The fourth grade will be studying California by combining Spanish and history in a unit called ¿Dónde está en California?/ Where is it in California? in which they will study the origins and meaning of Spanish place-names.

Grades 1-3 are currently reviewing and expanding the thematic vocabulary generated in previous years. We are practicing various language functions including: greeting, introducing oneself and others, and expressing feelings. We have been re-enacting conversations, singing songs, and creating our own visual vocabulary materials. For most Kindergarteners, the past few weeks have been an introduction to a new language. They have begun to gain experience listening to and reproducing words en español.

It is truly wonderful to hear each student negotiate communication in a new and different tongue. By making an effort to articulate in a new way we remind ourselves of the joy in listening, expressing, and learning. ¡Adelante PHS!

This year the service learning program at PHS includes quite a wide variety of projects and themes. I meet with most classes every other week to lead and support their work in the areas of volunteerism and community responsibility. In this column I will share a few examples of what is currently going on in some of the grades.

This past Wednesday I spent time with both seventh grade groups as we met Jeff Dorman, a scientist and educator from the California Academy of Sciences. Jeff met the kids for the first time and gave a short history of Mountain Lake and an overview of the project in which the students will participate. Did you know that Mountain Lake used to be forty feet deep? It is now about ten feet.

Seventh graders, working with Sue Marvit, Jeff, and me will walk to Mountain Lake Park every other week. Once there, students will work to observe the environment and record data related to the number and type of reptiles and amphibians they encounter.

The collected data is not intended just for a notebook in a backpack or even to present in the classroom; it is real scientific data used by the Presidio Trust, the California Academy of Sciences, and the National Park Service (along with additional data collected by college and high school students) to help fine-tune their plans for continuing the renewal of this natural, freshwater lake in our city. Our first visit to the park is next Wednesday; I’m looking forward to a wonderful outing with the seventh grade class. We will continue our monitoring of Mountain Lake through the winter and into spring.

Some of the lower grades have started their service learning projects, as well. The first grade has developed skills in carrying, sorting, and squishing! We are taking care of the school’s plastic bottle and aluminum can recycling. The first graders have also made signs with Adra to remind their older schoolmates to keep the trash out of the recycling bins.

Thanks to the efforts of Sara Anderson, Dale Schroedel, and Isabel Honig Schroedel, we are now well on our way to not only taking care of the recycling in a timely manner, but also using what we collect to turn in for cash. We are working with Kelly and her first graders to graph our profits from recyclables as the year progresses. In the spring, we will make a cooperative group decision about how to spend the money to benefit PHS.

Special thanks to Dale Schroedel for taking on the task of organizing parents to take the recycling to centers for payment.

The fifth grade’s theme for service learning is literacy, and we are in the middle of our first big project: running a book drive to donate a large collection of books to Children’s Book Project. ‘Thank you’ to those who have already sent in many wonderful books. Our last day to collect books will be Monday, October 27th, so get in there and clean out those bookshelves! All books written for teens or children are happily accepted if in reasonably good condition. Teachers and others who work with children drive to San Francisco from all over the Bay Area and beyond to obtain much needed books, free of charge, for the kids they serve.

Stay tuned for more information on the many unique ways your children are participating in Service Learning this year.

Lisa Jeli
Librarian, Service Learning Coordinator

8th grade families will find the following high school-related flyers enclosed from the following schools: Gateway and Immaculate Conception Academy. Gateway would also like you to know that applications can be downloaded from the website, www.gwhs.org. Also, appointments are needed to shadow at the school so please call soon.

As I mentioned last week, Town School will host its annual boarding school fair on Saturday, October 18 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Many of you are probably thinking ‘yeah, right’. Looking at boarding schools presents new options and helps families figure out what they are attracted to in a high school and so I see this as an invaluable experience. Contrary to popular legend, boarding schools are not the place where cruel parents send their screwed up kids. Also, you don’t have to send your kids all the way to the East Coast; there are many excellent boarding schools in California. Basically, it is worth an hour or two on a Saturday to check out a new idea. If you need more information about the format of the fair, please contact Rochelle Dorfler at Town School (931-3747).

Please call me if we didn’t meet in the spring individually so we can set up an appointment in person or over the phone.

I will be meeting with individual 8th grade students in the next couple of weeks to check in with them about the process and their questions.

It might be helpful to re-read the packet I gave out in May. Now that you have been in this process a bit, some information might sink in a little better than it did a few months ago. Pay close attention to the part about keeping an open mind and remembering to listen to each other. Kids should listen to their parents’ opinions and parents need to hear what their kids are reporting. As more families complete more visits, it is crucial to remember that what you love someone else may not like as much, and vice versa. Everyone will experience a school in a unique way and what is right for you may not be right for your friend. Please be respectful to each other and think about how your opinions are just that -- yours! In addition, it is an opinion, not a universal truth or a fact. Leave room for disagreement with adults and children without taking it personally. Now is the time to be supportive and it is too easy to be dismissive. Don’t fall into that trap, please! If you need help understanding or upholding this, let me know.