Did you
know…? 
- Less than
9% of the world's population speaks English as a first language (The
Journal Science, February, 2004)
- South Carolina exported
goods to 188 nations in 2003, generating more than $11.8 billion for
South Carolina's economy (S.C. Department of Commerce)
- Over
39 languages other than English are spoken by residents of our state,
according to the most recent census results (www.mla.org/census_main)
- South
Carolina has the second highest percentage of citizens working for
internationally owned companies, second only to Hawaii (S.C. Department
of Commerce)
Special activities at St. Paul School
- Seventh and eighth grades participate in the National Spanish Exam, which will be given at St. Paul in the spring. Students are encouraged to practice online at the NSE site.
- St. Paul has just gotten a charter for its own chapter of
La Sociedad Hispánica de Amistad, a Spanish society for
elementary and middle school students that is a division of the AATSP
(American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese).
Our
chapter is called Misión Nombre de Dios after the first mission
in the U.S.(St. Augustine, our first permanent establishment, was founded
by the Spaniards in 1565. The first Mass was celebrated there.)
Our
chapter's first project was a letter exchange with a parochial school in
Argentina named Mallinckrodt. Students in grades 5 through 8
learned a bit about Argentina and wrote guided letters of introduction.
We eagerly await their response! Our second project was a school
reenactment of the Mexican Christmas tradition of Las Posadas.
The pilgrims and the "Holy Family" sang and pilgramaged to the
Parish Center where they enjoyed tamales, ponche, y arroz con leche.
Then each class had its own star piñata, complete with
fruit! Once we complete our third project, a community outreach, we
will hold an induction ceremony for our members.
- St. Paul participates in the Annual Foreign Language Declamation at Clemson University each year. Our eighth students are typically the youngest to participate and have won many medals over the years.
Visit the Tropical Rainforest.
The 4th grade focused on the Tropical
Rainforest in Spanish and Art Classes in 2005-2006 with the aid of a grant
from the diocese. Other grades also contributed to the project. All students toured the "Rainforest".
I thought this was funny.
Grade Specific Ativities
K4 Students in K4 are learning shapes. They also are learning to follow directions in
Spanish. "Siéntate" (Sit down), "Levántense" (Stand
up), "Ven aquí" (Come here), "Silencio" (Quiet), and
"Escúchen" (Listen) are some of our main directions. We
sing songs with greetings and farewells.
K5 Students
in K5 are learning the alphabet. We practice reading the vocabulary
words that start with the letter of the week. We have also been
saying the Sign of the Cross and a prayer to thank God for the rain,
the sun, and the rainbow. This goes along with our Noah's Arc
song.
1st Students
in 1st grade are learning to read and write their days of the week and months of the year.
We count, say the alphabet, and name numbers out of sequence. We
continue to work on following directions in Spanish with instructions
such as "Pongan sus libros en sus carpetas rojas" (Put your books in
your red folders) or "Escriban sus nombres" (Write your names) or
"Saquen los lápices" (Take out your pencils).
2nd
Students in 2nd grade planted seeds and a rooted plant as part of an
extension of their study in Science. We have observed their
growth (counting leaves each week) and continue to talk about the parts
of the plant and needs that they have (agua, tierra, y luz del sol). One of their favorite songs is "Juanito," which goes through the parts of the body that Juanito uses when he dances.
3rd Third
grade students are learning how to express the different times of
day (mañana, tarde, noche) and some of the routines we follow.
4th Fourth
grade students have been learning about animals. We have used the world
map to identify the continents where they live, we have talked about
what they eat (carne/meat or plantas/plants), we have described them by
color (gris, café , o amarillo) and size (grande o pequeño),
and we have compared their habitats (el desierto, las montañas,
etc.). We still sing and review basic vocabulary, and as always,
understanding and following directions is an important part of
interpretive language.
5th Students
in the fifth grade have been involved in unit study of the weather, seasons, and clothing. We
have improved our geographical knowledge as we have discussed climate
variations and seasons as they relate to the equator. We have a
class bear named "Piñata" who gets to go home each week with the
weather log journal. It it quite a delight to see how excited the
students are to be chosen for this privilege. As always,
understanding and following directions are an important part of
interpretive language.
6th Sixth
grade students traveled to K4 to read their set of handmade color books
with them. Who enjoyed it more would be difficult to say.
They are studying the conjugation patterns of regular verbs. They
are
getting used to more written work and to following a text (Converso Mucho),
but they still have many opportunities for oral practice, both
listening and responding. Their WANTED posters, illustrating
and describing a ficticious criminal, are quite creative!
7th
Seventh grade students enjoyed the fruit breakfast as part of their unit on fruits. We sampled many fruits that are less common
in the U.S. The students have learned el Ave María (the
Hail Mary), la Gloria a la Santa Trinidad (the Glory Be), and the
Pledge
of Allegiance. We will be able to say the Rosary in Spanish by
the end of the year.
8th
Eighth grade did a great job on their slide shows about different Spanish speaking countries. Students are
being strongly encouraged to conduct all class business in Spanish.
