Letters to Parents

DEAR PARENTS:

Welcome to the wonderful world of the study of Spanish at AHS!! I am excited about our year together!

There are a few things I would like to mention, and since I know all of you will not be able to attend to a Parent Conference, I thought I’d mention them here.

First of all, all foreign language level are high school courses, your student is enrolled in a Spanish class, with all the accompanying expectations. Principally, in addition to learning Spanish, I want your child to really learn to be responsible for himself and for his actions – both what he does and what he does not do.  This includes being prepared for class every day. Learning a foreign language is kind of like building a pyramid: everything builds on what has previously been learned; there is no “compartmentalizing” or “segmenting” of learning because it ALL works together. Therefore it is imperative that we have a strong foundation from the very beginning!  

To this end, please remember project/homework (I  don’t give a worksheet for homework) policy: All project/homework for all classes must be completed as assigned – no exceptions. This is especially important when learning another language; students need to practice their Spanish every day for a minimum of 10-15 minutes or more. Consider:  We have all been using English 24/7 since the day we were born, and yet we are trying to learn a totally new language in about an hour and a half a day, 5 days a week. It’s going to take more than that! So even if your child tells you he got his project/homework  done at school, encourage him to do something at home – if he doesn’t have his Spanish materials, he can always go online to the practice sites! We use a several of websites during class so your student (s) are familiar with them.

Also, if for some reason Project/homework does not get done, it will have to be made up the next day, along with that day’s assignment. This could involve having to come to my Warrior Time, or some other intervention. Also keep in mind that I do not grade every homework I ask them to do, because homework is a way for your student to understand a topic and prepare him more for a writing or oral test. Please help your student make good habits NOW to keep from falling behind and also to keep his grade from falling.

We move fairly quickly in Spanish class, learning something new almost every day. In addition to keeping up with project/homework, please be aware of your child’s attendance – it is so important that students are present to learn and review. If for some reason a student has to miss class, he must check with me or a classmate to see what he missed and what his assignment is.Studying a foreign language needs a lot of practice after school, and this presents more of a problem for some students than for others. Please guide your child according to his specific needs as far as organization and budgeting of time are concerned so that he can have a successful year not only in Spanish but in all his courses!

I will be talking to the students about all these issues from the very beginning and mid term, but I believe it’s very important for them to realize that we’re all (Parents-Student- Teacher) on the same team working towards a common goal. Please feel free to contact me (email is best) at any time with any concerns you might have. I’m looking forward to a wonderful year getting to know your student!

Sincerly,

Profe Johnson

johnsonc@amerysd.k12.wi.us

715-268-9771 x 738