We are pleased to publish the first edition of the BCSD DLBE newsletter. In an effort to increase our communication with families and the wider school district, we aim to share stories and photos to highlight some of our students' exciting achievements as they develop their knowledge and skills in English and Spanish. The newsletter will feature articles about classroom activities and special events as well as resources for families and student work. In future newsletters, we anticipate many great contributions from students, parents, and faculty.

DLBE is now in its fifth year at MKES, where students in grades 1-5 learn all academic content in English and Spanish across 21 classrooms. While students in kindergarten develop foundational skills in their home language, all kindergartners experience learning in Spanish every other day during the morning. Already this year, parents have visited MKES for grade-level culminating events during the day and have attended interactive parent sessions in the evenings.

Additionally, the DLBE Parent Advisory Team convened in November to welcome new members, discuss programmatic issues, and identify areas of focus for the 2018-19 school year. At this meeting, the Parent Advisory Team was joined Board of Education President Colette Dow, Board Member Michael Bauscher, Dr. Manno, and Dr. Adelberg. We look forward to the work ahead with this tremendous team of parents.

We extend special thanks to MKES faculty members Phyllis Stone, Inginia Del Rosario, Liset León Ferrer, Nicole Zicholtz, Elizabeth Condon-Kim, and Leila Paz for their contributions and assistance in developing the newsletter.

We encourage you to visit the DLBE Webpage for information about the program, including research from the field and resources for families. Community engagement is a key characteristic of an effective dual language bilingual education program. Please know how much we value the support and involvement of our faculty, families, and larger community.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Viscardi

Director of ESOL Programs, BCSD

Inas Morsi-Hogans

Principal, Mount Kisco Elementary School

Students in 4th Grade recently completed their first of three book projects. The project required students to create a poster on a fictional book of their choosing that they had never read before. The poster displayed information and colorful illustrations that showed the characters, setting, and plot of the book. Students also included items such as the genre, rating, awards the book received, and even quotes and reactions from other readers. Finally, students presented their posters to the class in the language in which their book was written. Their next project will be done in the other language. What an amazing job everyone did!

--submitted by Grade 4 DLBE Team

This year third graders have been busy learning all about plant life and electricity. In the first unit, students were introduced to the life cycle of a plant. Students learned about the different parts of a plant and their functions. Additionally, students visited the school garden, where they could practice and apply concepts learned in the classroom. They planted and harvested vegetables, and enjoyed the product of their work with a delicious healthy salad. In the classroom, students also planted beans and took observational notes about their plant’s development.

Currently, third graders are learning all about how electricity functions by building series, parallel, open, and closed circuits. Students look forward to showing their friends and families all that they have learned this unit during the science fair presentations on December 19th.

--submitted by the Grade 3 DLBE Team

Second graders have been busy applying everything they learned in first grade to their second-grade narratives to capture strong, focused small moments in their writing. The students have been sketching their small moment stories across four pages and have learned to write with greater meaning and craft through the guidance of mentor texts. The students have generated ideas and applied strategies to lift the level of their stories by writing with descriptive language. For example, they have applied the strategy of "show-don’t tell," added dialogue, and figurative language to help their reader visualize their small moment. In addition, they used the resources around the room, such as word walls, sentence frames, and vocabulary to help them formulate ideas. Lastly, they used checklists to set goals for revision and editing.

--submitted by the Grade 2 DLBE Team

On December 5th, first graders welcomed parents and siblings to celebrate how we are one big diverse MKES family. The students celebrated by singing the song, “All One Family Under One Sky,” as well as by sharing posters they had written. These posters featured writing in two languages, including information about their families, traditions, and heritage as well as beautiful paintings and illustrations.

--submitted by the Grade 1 DLBE Team

Where I Am From

I am from paper with drawings,

Clothes around the room and journals on my desk,

Game boards with family and needles and thread

Hair ties and a comb is where I'm from.

Soy de - “princesa” - ,

Y - “flaquita” - ,

De mis hermanos

Diciendo - “vamos a jugar “- y -” wow juegas fútbol.”

I am from Day of the Dead

Semana Santa and Thanksgiving,

Plantains and guisado,

4th of July is where I'm from.

Soy de jugar el fútbol ,

El arte, cocinar

Y hacerme un futbolista y ayudar a mi familia es donde soy.

By Jennifer Rivera Salazar, Grade 5

Where I Am From

I am from pom poms on the floor,

Secret candy in the cabinets and the Xbox upstairs,

Markers on the desk and sleds in the garage,

A lazy dog on the couch is where I’m from.

Soy de “inteligente,”

Y “Me gusta tu pintura”

De mi Mamá

Diciendo “Leer, mi amor “ y “ maravillosa”

I am from Thanksgiving dinners,

Christmas Eves and trick-o-treating,

Oatmeal and ramen noodles,

Lobster night is where I’m from.

Soy de los cachorros,

La cocina,

Los libros

Y de ser el presidente de los Estados Unidos.

By Georgia Webb, Grade 5