POLYGLOT

through participation in a variety of events and

activities centered on the school and the

community in Dunedin.

“When I visit Garrison

Jones and see and

hear the now bilingual

students, I’m filled with

joy at the advantage

these students have in

their future studies and

in their lives beyond

school. “

-Pam Benton

February 1, 2017

In this issue:

WLTA Events

Photos around the

district

Awesome ideas &

projects shared by

teachers

Summer PD Catalog

for sign up

Interculturality news

World Languages Department Newsletter

Garrison-Jones ES Dual Language Immersion Program: In the community! The students and staff of the Dual Language

Immersion Program at Garrison-Jones

Elementary in Dunedin are raising community

awareness of and appreciation for the program

Video of students marching in parade https://eduvision.tv/l?ORLLgI

Middle Schools offer options for bi-

lingual students! We’re excited that schools will be offering courses that will allow bilingual (English/

Spanish) students—both those who are graduates of the dual language immersion

programs at Garrison-Jones and Ridgecrest Elementary Schools and also those

who are native speakers of Spanish— to continue to utilize and grow their language

skills toward high level achievement and college credits while in high school. Both

Dunedin Highland Middle and Palm Harbor Middle will be offering the M/J

Spanish course for 6th grade students and will offer Spanish 3 and 4 Honors for 7th

and 8th grade students going forward. Morgan Fitzgerald Middle will continue their

offerings, as well. We look forward to their achievement of biliteracy and attainment

of high school credit while still in middle school and college credit while still in high

school.

Garrison-Jones added a new sign to show off their pride in the

Dual Language Immersion Program!

AROUND THE DISTRICT Awesome winning

door decoration at Os-

ceola Fundamental

High School! Con-

gratulations Diane

Becker!

Perkins ES Presents Frida Kahlo!

Featuring Sandra Rosado, Ofelia Motta Montoya, & Lilly Lewis!

February 1, 2017

Perkins ES Strikes AGAIN! Teachers Lilly Lewis,

Sandra Rosado and

Ofelia Motta Mon-

toya prepare all their

students to perform in

a Christmas Program I

in December, includ-

ing singing, dancing

and instrumental mu-

sic. The highlight of

the evening is always

a number performed

by these 3 talented

teachers.

AROUND THE DISTRICT

Safety Harbor Middle School

Spanish club students learn to

play Dominos with their spon-

sors Geisy Toriza-Sanchez and

Cinthia McGill.

Perkins ES students

celebrate 3 Kings Day

with their teachers,

Lilly Lewis, Sandra

Rosado and Ofelia

Motta Montoya!

February 1, 2017

WLTA EVENTS!

February 1, 2017

Painting with a Twist—Wednesday, March 1

@ PWAT Pinellas Park https://

www.paintingwithatwist.com/events/

viewevent.aspx?eventID=861382

International Day—Saturday, March 4 @ Os-

ceola Fundamental High School

Dim Sum Social—Wednesday, April 5

WL Showcase—Wednesday, April 26 @

PPHS

WL Banquet—Friday, May 12 @ Banquet

Master’s Clearwater

WLTA needs new blood! If

you’re interested in serving

on the board, e-mail Diane

Becker & Pam Benton.

Nagano/Clearwater Sister Cities Re-

vives HS Exchange Program! We’re delighted to announce that the Nagano/Clearwater Sister Cities High

School Exchange Program will take place this summer! This long-standing pro-

gram allows 4 high school students and a teacher from Clearwater to spend a

week in Japan during the summer visiting schools and being cultural ambassa-

dors from Clearwater. This year’s stu-

dents:

Elaine Danielson, Lakewood

Kaitlyn Chase, PHUHS

Collette Kania, PHUHS

Alexander Kurleman, Calvary Christian

The photo is Pam being interviewed

about the program on 10 news.

AT THE STATE LEVEL Seal of Biliteracy

As you may have heard, the FL

legislature passed a Seal of

Biliteracy bill last year that went

into effect in July of 2016. The

state has a process for creation

and approval of rules for new

laws and the Seal rules were de-

layed by the hurricane weather in

the fall. The newest update of

the proposed rules will go to the

State Board of Education for ap-

proval on February 16 and will go

into effect on March 15 if they go

unprotested. Seals of Biliteracy

WILL be given out THIS YEAR.

Check out the following links for

more info:

The Law: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/

Statutes/index.cfm?

App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=100

0-1099/1003/

Sections/1003.432.html

The Proposed Rules: https://

www.flrules.org/gateway/

ruleno.asp?id=6A-1.09951

Where you can send your com-

ments if you have some: https://

www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleno.asp?

id=6A-1.09951

Brief summary of the law and pro-

posed rules:

Students who earn a 3.0 on the Eng-

lish/Language Arts FSA and have 4

high school credits in a foreign lan-

guage (any) with a 3.0 or higher GPA

in said foreign language can earn a

silver seal. It’s also possible to pass

a test in lieu of taking classes to

prove intermediate mid proficiency

and earn a seal. Assembling a

portfolio that shows achievement of

intermediate mid is also an option.

Students who earn a 4.0 on the Eng-

lish/Language Arts FSA and have 4

high school credits in a foreign lan-

guage (any) with a 3.0 or higher GPA

in said foreign language can earn a

gold seal. It’s also possible to pass a

test in lieu of taking classes to prove

advanced low proficiency and earn a

seal. Assembling a portfolio that

shows achievement of advanced low

is also an option.

Coding Bill

The coding bill has been present-

ed again this year but they’ve

added a clause that will require

FL Universities to accept coding

instead of foreign language in

their prerequisites. For those who

don’t know, the coding bill will

allow students to take computer

coding classes in middle & high

school instead of foreign lan-

guage. SB 104, HB 265 Check

out the links to find out more:

ACTFL Position Statement:

https://www.actfl.org/news/press-

releases/actfl-releases-position-

statements-world-languages-and-

computer-coding

FFLA Info on Coding Bill: https://

ffla.wildapricot.org/advocacy

The bill: http://

public.lobbytools.com/index.cfm?

type=bills&id=42762

February 1, 2017

INTERCULTURALITY What is it? What does it look like at different proficien-cy levels? How are my students meeting these stand-ards?

Coming from ACTFL in the fall of 2017: Updated Can-do statements incorporating Interculturality!

February 1, 2017

SHARED ACTIVITIES Go to: http://elearn.pcsb.org/course/view.php?id=44#section-0 for full documents

City Project Shared by Astrid Remon

This project was featured on the announcements at PHUHS and on the PCSB website: http://www.pcsb.org/Page/21346

Authentic Activity shared by Stacey Padovan

Language Lab Activities shared by Ada Cordoliani

February 1, 2017

SUMMER PD All classes except online classes are full day classes 8:30-3:30. All classes available for trade. To register, log on to http://pinellas.truenorthlogic.com , click on “courses”, type the section # in the search, click register and follow prompts

Pathways to Proficiency: #82062 This fast-paced workshop blends together the best of classroom tech-

nology and standards-based activities and assessments to energize your students to reach their optimal

levels of language performance. Whether interviewing partners in order to reveal hidden personality

traits in the Creature Conversations activity or through connecting to the perspectives of a target culture

artist in the Art Connections unit, students are actively engaged in real-life communication. Whether you

teach novice, intermediate or advanced students, the workshop includes a variety of activities at different

performance levels along with extension activities and adjustable scoring rubrics. Participants will go

home armed with ideas and materials, as well as teaching strategies for both in and outside of the lan-

guage lab setting. June 1, Seminole HS

French Immersion Prep: #82066 This is the day that the teachers who will be teaching the French Im-

mersion Program get together to prepare all the paperwork, contact participants and generally get ready

for the upcoming French Immersion. Come and collaborate with colleagues on new and exciting activi-

ties and strategies. June 2, Admin B202

WL Academies Workshop (SPLASH, FLASH, CLASH): #82071 This workshop is for those who are inter-

ested in teaching a before or after school Spanish, French or Chinese class at a local elementary school.

You’ll learn the entire curriculum and leave armed with all the resources and knowledge you need to go

in and teach right away! June 5-8 Seminole HS

Spanish Immersion Prep: #82076 This is the day that the teachers who will be teaching the Spanish

Summer Immersion Program get together to prepare all the paperwork, contact participants and general-

ly get ready for the upcoming Spanish Immersion. Come and collaborate with colleagues on new and

exciting activities and strategies. June 12, Admin B202

Curriculum Training: Thematic Units: #82082, #82086 This is a workshop to get an introduction to our

Thematic Units which were piloted at several schools this year. If you’re interested in beginning to use

the units, come and learn the ropes and then collaborate with likeminded colleagues on planning how to

get started! June 28 or July 12, Discovery Room (across from admin)

Curriculum Training: Engagement & Collaborative Strategies: #82087, #82084 This is a workshop to

find out how to get your students engaged authentically—THEY do the cognitive work of the lesson—

and how to keep that engagement and interaction going by using collaborative structures like “Think,

Pair, Share” or “Inside, Outside Circle”. The workshop is taught using the very strategies that you’ll then

be able to use with your students, so you’ll get a first-hand experience with them! June 29 or July 13,

Discovery Room (across from admin)

WL Tech Bootcamp #1: #82088 Focus Lesson Planner & Recording your Lessons: This work-

shop is designed to show you how to get started with planning your lessons using the lesson

planner in FOCUS. The second half will explore ways to record your lessons to make them

accessible to students who miss or need review. You’ll learn how to use a SMARTBoard for

this and other methods if you don’t have access to a SMARTBoard. July 17, Discovery Room

(across from admin)

WL Tech Bootcamp #2: #82089 Apps to make your life easier: You have a very demanding

job and things like formative assessment aren’t always easy if you have mixed levels in the

same room or need to differentiate for many different types of students. In this workshop,

you’ll learn to use apps like Socrative or ZipGrade or Plickers to do a quick check for under-

standing or to gather formative assessment data to assist you with your planning. You don’t

need a class set of devices to make these work for you. July 18, Discovery Room (across from

admin)

Curriculum Training: District Common Assessments: #82092 Come and learn the ins and

outs of the district common assessments in Spanish 1-3 and French 1-2. You’ll learn the for-

mat, the thinking behind each section and how to prepare your students for the assessments.

You’ll learn how to access the practice activities and have time to ask questions and explore

the resources available to you. July 24, Discovery Room (across from admin)

Department Contacts Training: #82094 At this workshop, a representative from each

school will learn some important skills that can be passed along at PLCs at your schools, will

make a plan for collaboration with PLCs or others in the district and will help plan the year’s

events and trainings. Participants will learn to use Outlook to streamline meeting planning

and organization and OneDrive for sharing resources. July 26, Admin ABC203

Best Practices Courses: #82106, #82119, #82122 In these 3 separate online courses, learners

will view Annenberg videos of best practices in classrooms across the nation (including Yo

Azama’s Japanese class in CA—Yo skyped with us when he was National Foreign Language

Teacher of the Year). Next you’ll analyze your personal practice and reflect and set goals for

the future. Choose the level you teach or take all 3. Each is 12 points and you have 2 months

to complete all the activities. June 1-June 30, Online

February 1, 2017

Florida TELL Conference coming to Pinellas! Save

the date: July 28-29 @ NEHS