Spanish
The World Language Department prepares students for the modern world by using acquisition of Spanish through the exploration of interdisciplinary themes, as a bridge to communities and other cultures around the world. By drawing on the intrinsic enthusiasm and joyful sense of competency that increasing proficiency can bring in a foreign language, our Spanish learners write, talk and demonstrate with tremendous pleasure,what they know. Acquiring functional language skills is essential to linking proficiency to real world application. We foster a vivid and exciting apprenticeship for our Spanish learners as they deepen their insights into the cultural perspectives of other societies, particularly those of Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Spain.
The theme of our fifth grade Spanish program is personal and public identities. Language acquisition centers around students' everyday lives and encourages exploration and understanding of the identities of individuals from Spanish speaking countries around the world. Sixth grade Spanish quickly moves on to expand from a focus on personal identity to that of families and communities. In their third year of Spanish, seventh grade students explore topics about contemporary life while eighth grade Spanish revisits all of these themes and expands to include global challenges as well as science and technology.