¡Hola y bienvenidos a la clase de Español! Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year. I am very excited to be teaching K-5th Grade here in my fifth year at OWS and to be part of the language learning experience as it continues forward.

To our new students at OWS I will provide a Spanish handout containing simple phrases and review vocabulary to practice at home.

In the month of September the students will be reviewing materials from last year to refresh and re-connect with the language at OWS. They will continue building new vocabulary and phrases throughout the year, and working on becoming more fluent in conversational Spanish.

This year K-2nd Grade will be taking home a list of words and simple phrases each month to practice and reinforce their new Spanish skills. I encourage you to practice these lists with your child, and in listening to them practice, you might pick up some Spanish as well. I would highly recommend this year that the Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders have a Spanish/ English Dictionary at home for reference to build more strength in the language and to help with the assignments that will be provided this year. Some good publishers to purchase a Spanish / English dictionary are Larousse, Oxford and Webster.

We will also be learning about various cultures and countries that speak Spanish through art projects, stories, videos, and more. If you are interested in giving a presentation to the students relating to the Spanish language and culture that will enhance the learning experience, please let me know.

Please feel free to contact me at any time if you would like more information about our class or other resources to supplement the classroom curriculum.

I look forward to a very exciting year of Spanish with the students of OWS!

Gracias,
Mary Brodahl, Spanish Specialist
email: mariab@ows.org