SPANISH

Dear parents and 5^th graders,

My name is Teresa Valderas.  This is my second year at LCA.  My husband Sean and I have two beautiful kids; Ian that it is entering PreK 4, and Cora that will be a 4^th grader both here at LCA.  I am a native Spanish speaker and have lived in the United States since 1995.  While in my home country of Spain, I attended the University of Seville where I earned my Spanish teaching certificate. After moving to the United States, I earned a Bachelors Degree at Cameron University with concentrations in Education and Spanish.  In addition, I earned a Masters Degree of Education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University.  I have taught in both public and private schools to preschool, elementary, middle school and high school students.

This year we are going to continue using our Symtalk curriculum that was introduce last school year.  This curriculum has been widely used in schools all over the state of Texas and which I have had the privilege to observe in the classroom setting with one of the best elementary Spanish teachers in the Lewisville ISD.

The Symtalk method teaches the students the fundamentals of the target language.  Students learn how to substitute words for clear symbols, resulting in communication beginning with the first lesson.  The vocabulary is recycled throughout the book, resulting in mastery of the core vocabulary by the end of the book.  Verbs are introduced as lexical items, so that students learn conjugations naturally.  As students' language acquisition progresses, they will not only speak, but listen, write and read (depending on grade level) in the target language since Symtalk develops all four skill areas.

This year 5^th graders will be picking up this curriculum on its Second Level and may be advancing to its Third level.  In addition, they will be using different materials provided by the teacher as they advance throughout the year.

Students will need pen and paper every day the class meets (once a week). They will also need a Spanish folder or binder where they can keep all Spanish handouts and work so they can go back and review.  All Spanish work and handouts need to be at all times in their folders as they will need to go back to it on future lessons.

Classroom Guidelines:

1.   Listen and follow directions.

2.   Bring all necessary materials for class.

3.   Respect others at all times

4.   Use time wisely, we only meet once a week.

If a student chooses to break a rule, the following consequences will be imposed:

1.     Teacher and student will discuss the disruptive, inappropriate, or unacceptable, behavior.  Student will require a new seat assignment or “time out" in order to redirect appropriate behavior.

2.     Student will be assigned an isolation lunch detention for continued disruptive, inappropriate, or unacceptable behavior and parents will be informed of the situation.

3.     Student will be assigned an isolation chapel time and an e-mail will be sent to notify parents.  At this time a parent/teacher conference may be scheduled to discuss the situation and consequences.

4.     Student will be referred to the office for severe disruption.

An overview of what’s going on in Spanish class will be posted on my SchoolNotes page which you can access from the home page on the LCA website: www.lakelandchristianacademy.org 

Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions or concerns.  I am looking forward to working with all of you in order to help your children learn the beautiful language of Spanish.

            God bless,

Teresa Valderas