NCVPS Spanish I Section 4
News and Updates Unit 2
La Escuela (The School)
This week students have been finishing up Unit 2, which is all about La Escuela in Costa Rica. Here are some interesting facts they have been learning about. How many of these did you know?
- The Costa Rican school year runs from February - December with a few weeks of in July.
- It is required by the Constitution that all students wear uniforms, in both public and private schools! The purpose is to eliminate the distinction between socioeconomic classes.
- In high school students usually go from 7:00 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon depending on their course load. Students will usually eat lunch at school with their classes, although days where they get out at 1:00 they may eat lunch at home with their families.
Required Synchronous Sessions
Wondering when these sessions are? Click here for a link to the calendar.
Culture Cafe Calendar
View this calendar to see when upcoming Culture Cafe sessions are coming up.
Schedule of Assignments
Grades and Assignments
As we are about to embark upon Week 5, it's about that time when students start paying close attention to their grades. The picture to the right shows you where in the course to access the grade book.
- The students can follow their progress by looking in this area. This is also where I leave detailed feedback for students. This will help them as they re-submit writing and speaking assignments to improve their scores.
- Any assignments showing with a - have not submitted and are being calculated as a zero; however, they still have a chance to get those assignments in before the end of the quarter.
- Look at the Category Total (not Course Total) for their current course grade.
- The grade is calculated where they should be in the course based on the posted Schedule of Assignments. If they are behind, this will be reflected in their grade.
The Culture Cafe has arrived!
The World Languages department provides a unique way for all NCVPS students to engage in world-wide cultural events by entering the Culture Cafe. All students are welcome to attend this fun, informational, and interactive sessions. Parents and teachers are welcome as well! There is also a benefit for World Language students who attend: with a reflection on the event, they can earn extra credit! Watch the promotional video above for the Cafe.
I'm also providing a link here with directions for accessing the Culture Cafe from within our Moodle course. The students have already been sent this video via the Learning Block, but it might be useful for you as well. http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/c2nYeKn2YB
Ipads in the Costa Rican classroom
Schools in Costa Rica are working to equip students with technological skills to prepare them for jobs in the 21st century. Watch this video clip from a news station in Costa Rica about using iPads in the classroom. The video is in Spanish so listen for cognates and observe the classrooms and students in the video.
Look for:
- school uniforms
- classrooms and school supplies in the classrooms
- similarities and differences between US schools
SeƱorita Edwards
Email: ashley.edward@ncpublicschools.gov
Website: moodle.ncvps.org
Phone: 919-435-2210