News of The Week ¡BRAVO, DPS! 

News from DPS’ World Language Department  

It begins in Kindergarten… ¡Bienvenidos a la escuela! Darien Public Schools elementary students begin their language journey in kindergarten and through the enthusiasm of our students and teachers, you can see how far they grow. ¡BRAVO, DPS! Seal of Biliteracy The State of Connecticut recently passed legislation for the Seal of Biliteracy, a nationally-recognized award bestowed at graduation to seniors that have achieved proficiency in both their world language of study and in English. Students must meet state English requirements for graduation, and also achieve intermediate proficiency in a world language on state-approved exams. This year, Darien High School will award the Seal of Biliteracy to 70 seniors in the Class of 2019 studying French, Latin, Mandarin, and Spanish. The Seal of Biliteracy is used by universities across the country and large corporations to indicate language proficiency. For our students here in Darien, it validates our their long experience with languages, beginning in elementary school and will hopefully inspire them to keep developing their language skills.

Honor Society Induction Ceremonies On May 28,      the World Language Department hosted its annual World Language Honor Societies Induction Ceremonies in the DHS Auditorium. Susan Mason, John Gearty, Tina Tang, and Veronica Lima inducted 135 students in grades 10 through 12 into the Société Honoraire de Français, Junior Classical League, National Chinese Honor Society, and La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica in front of an audience of their world language teachers, families, and peers. The ceremonies also included student

performances of poetry recitations from our COLT Poetry Contest winners, and songs in Mandarin and French. Parents and students alike enjoyed light refreshments and taking photos with their friends studying French, Latin, Mandarin, and Spanish. Students are eligible for induction in their third year of language studies.

Connecticut Organization of Language       Teachers Statewide Poetry Recitation       Contest In April, 41 world language students from Middlesex Middle School and Darien High School participated in the 37th Annual Connecticut Council of Language Teachers Poetry Recitation Contest at Rockville High School in Vernon. Our students competed against hundreds of students from over 50 schools in Connecticut and the northeast, and participated in recitations in 17 different languages. In order to prepare, students studied, rehearsed, and memorized their poems, and presented them to school-wide audiences of their teachers and peers before going to the statewide

contest. Of our student participants, 16 placed in the top three of their respective categories. We are so proud of how well they have represented the languages they are learning in our program, as well as those they are fortunate to speak at home. A very special thanks to our world language teachers at both schools for participating in many different ways: coaching and preparing our students, helping judge at our school-wide contests, and to Jenny Lona, Sandra Castillo, Serafina Sicignano, and Alison Hoag for attending the contest with our students. Congratulations to all of our students!  A visit to the Yale Art Gallery French 3 and 4 students went on a field trip to the Yale Art Gallery in April. French              3 students toured the French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art collections, while French 4 students focused on modern and African art of the former French colonies. Students had enriching discussions with their tour guide and had extra time to tour the other collections of the art gallery on their own. Students left the museum with an increased awareness of the role of the French in the development of modern art.  

La casa de Bernarda Alba at Repertorio Español               in Manhattan During the fourth quarter,  Spanish 4 Honors students have been studying works of literature through the lens of contemporary life and family. In particular, they’ve learned about the life and oeuvre of Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca and read his play, La casa de Bernarda Alba. In May, students in Allyson Power and Veronica Lima’s Spanish 4 Honors classes had the opportunity to see a theatrical production of the show at Repertorio Español, a Spanish-language theatre renowned throughout the tristate

area and beyond. Our students were thrilled to be able to see Lorca’s work come to life on stage, and to participate in an authentic and exciting learning experience in Spanish.  

Supporting the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Bruce Mitchell’s French classes participated in a contest to show support          for our local minor league hockey team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, as they faced the Laval Rocket from Quebec. Some of the team members on the Sound Tigers speak French, and enjoyed the videos of and posters of support our students had made for them. The best student videos were aired at the match during half-time. The

players were impressed by the enthusiasm of Darien students, and one group won first prize for their video. A representative of the American Association for Teachers of French came to our school and rewarded our students with fresh croissants from a local French bakery for their enthusiastic participation in the contest, and the high quality of their French videos.

An afternoon at Chez Vous French 5 and AP students enjoyed a day of immersion at Chez Vous, a well-known        French restaurant in Stamford. Having signed a promise to speak only French on the bus to and from as well as during the lunch, students chatted with each other as well as with the servers in the restaurant. The culminating activity was the traditional presentation of the César Awards - France’s version of the Oscars - for the original films created in class as a third quarter project.

An authentic experience in Chinatown Fourth year Mandarin students        in Tina Tang’s class visited Chinatown this passed winter to complete a series of projects and also enjoy lunch at Joe’s

Shanghai, one of the best authentic Chinese restaurants in Manhattan. As a way to memorialize their Chinatown experience, students made videos, performed surveys, and interviewed shop owners in order to practice speaking and listening to Chinese in an authentic environment.