SLPS ESOL ExcELLence Newsletter
Issue 2, 2020
Teacher of the Month
Kimberly Bergmann, ESOL Teacher at Sigel ES
Honorable Mention
Jenifer Wallace, ESOL teacher at Long MS
Fatine Bourkadi, a math teacher at NCNAA @Roosevelt
Betsy Trapp, ESOL itinerant teacher
Dr. Stromsdorfer, ESOL teacher at Soldan HS
Thomas Johnston, ESOL teacher at Gateway STEM HS
Darcy Eisenreich, ESOL teacher at Woerner ES
Abigail Cook, ESOL teacher at Busch MS
Mary Cancila, ESOL teacher at NCNAA @Roosevelt HS
Jessica Himsworth, a classroom teacher at NCNAA K-8
Nicole Misra, ESOL teacher at Soldan HS
Special Thanks from the Community
Email: kelly.moore@slps.org
Website: https://www.slps.org/Domain/12403
Phone: 314-345-5650
Not All Superheroes Wear Capes
Submitted by Connie Berry, ESOL teacher at Mann ES
I was struggling to complete my final Benchmark Test online because my first-grade student and his father were not able to download the Nearpod app. despite me spending 45 minutes trying to walk them through it. I was discussing this problem with our secretary Ms. Shannon Reilly. Once again, she went above and beyond to assist our students! She immediately went to the student’s house, downloaded the app, and waited until I logged him into the test before leaving. She has also tirelessly assisted many of our ESOL and mainstream students’ families to get their technology updated and running properly. Additionally, she has delivered numerous backpacks of supplies, including a portion of our Team workbooks to students’ homes. This will help simplify turning in assignments for students. Ms. Reilly even looked up bus information on a Saturday for one of my families! No new ESOL student ever makes it past her desk unless they have been to the ESOL office. She immediately informs our ESOL team when a new ESOL student enrolls. Too often individuals aren’t recognized for their exceptional efforts, so I wanted to give a big shout out to our Mann Superhero Secretary, Ms. Shannon Reilly! She is irreplaceable and we are forever grateful for the integral part she plays in our Mann family.
College Fair 2020-2021
Students will have an opportunity to enter the raffle to win prizes throughout the College Fair presentation by filling out a feedback form as well as utilizing the ESOL College Fair Worksheet for note-taking. There will be an open Zoom hour to answer any questions regarding any information provided on the ESOL program webpage during this event.
Language Access Updates
Submitted by Fatima Rhodes, Interpreter/Translator for Arabic and French
This month, the language access team has completed 17 translations, the most in any given month in memory. Among the newest translated additions are the following documents: Back to School mailings, 2020-2021 District School Year Calendar, ESOL Parent Calendar and Events Flyer, new 3rd Grade Report Card as well as SLPS Academic Concerns Letter 2020.
Thank you for sharing your feedback after watching Language Access Services video. If you have not yet, please watch this short video discussing ways to ensure meaningful communication with ELL parents in your school. To support your efforts in connecting with ELL parents, please reach out to the district language access team to request document translation, robocalls in multiple languages, personalized phone calls and interpretation, which can be in person when schools are in brick and mortar operation, telephonic via 3-way calling or via Teams & Zoom platforms.
Thank you for contributing to meaningful communication with ELL parents in a language they understand by using SLPS language access services.
ESOL Family Support
Submitted by Diana Marin, Spanish Interpreter/Translator
The ESOL Program continues to provide food and hygiene items for ELL families. Food boxes include non-perishable items such as pasta, pasta sauce, fruit cans, and beans. Hygiene items include toothpaste, soap, and laundry detergent. If you know of an ELL family in need, please let them know they can call the ESOL office to set up an appointment and pick up the items. If the family cannot come to the ESOL office to pick up the items, please contact Diana Marin at diana.marin@slps.org (include information about the family: name, address, number of children, and number of adults)
ESOL Virtual Parent Meeting #2
The ESOL Office hosted a Virtual Parent Meeting on October 14th with ELL parents using ZOOM. Thirty-five ELL parents in total participated in one of the six language groups available. We offered six separate virtual meetings in Arabic, English, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese. The next Virtual Parent Meeting will be on December 9th.
Academic Language Development at Gateway STEM
Submitted by Amanda Wiesner-Groff, ESOL Coordinator
To support the academic language development of students at Gateway STEM High School, ESOL Teacher, Mr. Thomas Johnston, has created “Words of the Week” (WOW) weekly Nearpod sessions and one-page hand-outs for site-wide staff to implement in their lessons. “WOW” Nearpod sessions not only include definitions, visuals, and multiple sentence examples for the five academic words, they are also now narrated to support student use and engagement during asynchronous learning or homework time. Gateway STEM is currently in the second year of the 4-year plan Mr. Johnston has developed for promoting and supporting the academic language development of all students.