A 4th grade student from Ms. Buterbaugh's Spanish class brought in these authentic Guatemalan products (a bag and a bookmark) to show everyone the beautiful weaving quality.
Ms. Buterbaugh's Spanish Class Flamenco Dancer/Spanish Traditions
Señorita Buterbaugh would like to say, "¡Muchisimas gracias!" to a wonderful second grader and her super mother in Mrs. DiGiorno's class. My student and her mother brought in several authentic Spanish items to share with the rest of the class. Items included a flamenco dress, castanets, a box drum, and several more. While half of the class had a hands-on experience with these items, the other half made a traditional Spanish decoration, a pomander made out of oranges and cloves. Good luck and best wishes to her family on their upcoming move!
3rd Grade "Holiday Caroling in Spanish" at Bright Night on Beverly Road
"Amigos Para Siempre"
On October 24, at 10:00 a.m. Julia Ward Howe Elementary School held an assembly to welcome two fifth grade female students, Valentina "Vale" Fontora and Valentina "Naomi" Mezquida and their Spanish teacher Sra. Claudia Lopez from Escuela (School) N°65 Eduardo Victor Haedo in Mercedes, Soriano, Uruguay. The group is visiting our district as part of a cultural exchange program funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U. S. Department of State through a grant submitted by Elaine Palmer, one of our elementary foreign language teachers.
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday that falls each year on November 1st and 2nd. During this holiday, families traditionally celebrate the lives of their ancestors by placing candles and marigolds (the flower of the dead) on the graves. The holiday is not a depressing day but more of a big fiesta for all people to celebrate past memories. Other icons of the holiday include dead bread (a sweet bread), sugar skulls, and silly skeleton decorations.
On Wednesday, May 5, Howe Elementary School celebrated CINCO DE MAYO with a school-wide assembly at 1:00 p.m.
CINCO DE MAYO, or May 5, is an important holiday in schools and communities in Mexioc and the United States, where its celebration is growing more and more wide-spread.On this date in 1862, the Mexican army defeated French troops near the city of Puebla, proving that they could protect their country from foreign invaders.
Thanks to the Howe PTA and Señorita Ketter, the mariachi band, Señorita Ketter y Los Gringos performed in the gym, sharing traditional mariachi songs as well as information about their music and instruments.A brief history of the holiday and traditional ways of celebrating CINCO DE MAYO was presented by the students.
PROJECT CHACOCENTE!
The 4th grade students in Mt. Lebanon School District are taking on a very worthy cause! As part of the Spanish curriculum, students in 4th grade learn about América Central. Recently, we became aware of "Project Chacocente", a charity program that helps needy families in Nicaragua. Project Chacocente moves families living in a garbage dump in the capital city, Managua, Nicaragua to the clean air and fertile soil of rural Masaya, where the people learn skills for living independently. Project Chacocente is a non-profit project that does more than provide food and/or housing. It improves the lives of families in Nicaragua by teaching parents trades and other important life skills while also providing an education for their children. Project Chacocente helps families help themselves. To learn more, go to http://www.outofthedump.org
UPDATE!!!!!
PROJECT CHACOCENTE was a HUGE success accross the district!!! We raised almost $2,000 to donate to this worthy cause! All 4th graders wrote reflections about their experience with the project. Read on for some inspiration about helping others....
"Have you ever made a difference in someone else’s life?I have.I helped with Project Chacocente.I helped raise money for Nicaragua to buy books in their school library.I felt like I made a big difference in Nicaragua.I enjoyed working on this project because it’s a chance to help other people.I feel terrible for some of the people in Nicaragua.Even something as small as $1 can make a BIG difference!" By: Nick George
"In the 4th grade Spanish we were all working hard on Project Chacocente.I felt very proud of myself because I was helping someone who doesn’t have the materials I use everyday at my own school.Our whole school helped Project Chacocente but the 4th grade really made the difference.The 4th grade was putting together the envelopes for everyone to put in money for their worry dolls.The money went to a school in Nicaragua for books.Project Chacocente was very fun for the 4th grade and it helped kids!"
By: Kelsey McKiernan
"I believe Project Chacocente made me feel happy.It felt good by helping Nicaragua because they were in need and sooner or later someone’s got to do something about the problems.We raised money for Nicaragua for books to put in their library.I enjoyed doing jobs and helping.I would like to do something else to help a different country.It is important to help others because we all want a clean and healthy earth for everyone.This will make me do other stuff for different people to help them and I’ll always remember to help other people.In conclusion, these reasons show why I feel good about helping Nicaragua." By: Ryan Gaughan
¡Feliz año nuevo de las clases de español!
3rd grade students participated in “Holiday Caroling in Español” with Señora Palmer on Thursday, December 3rd as part of Beverly Road's "Light-up Night"! These students were reinacting a "parranda".
A "parranda" is the Puerto Rican version of Christmas caroling.Friends gather late in the evening and go from house to house singing traditional holiday songs.The parranderos (carolers) generally are invited in by the homeowner and, in anticipation of their visit, the host offers them food and drinks.The parranda then continues on to the next house with the host usually joining in.This continues from house to house until it comes to an end in the early morning concluding with a huge party.Small children usually don’t carol throughout the entire night. They remain at one of the stops to sleep.Older children continue untilmorning.Parrandas generally take place from early December until mid January.
Students went shopping in "el mercado" with their hard earned euros. One of the prizes was a raffle for a mini piñata. The winner was "Clara" in Señora Campbell's 3rd grade class!
2nd Grade Spanish students celebrated "Día de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) by making masks. 3rd Grade students made papel picado, a traditional decoration made from colorful tissue paper.
Day of the Dead is a happy and festive holiday celebrated by people in many Spanish speaking countries on November 1st and 2nd. Día de los Muertos is a celebration of life, happiness, color, food, family and fun!
1st Grade Spanish students have been working very hard to learn "El abecedario" (the alphabet) in Spanish class!
