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//"Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding." // Stephen Krashen

Dear Families, ¡Hola! Me llamo Señora Ferdinand…and I am very excited to be your son’s/daughter’s Spanish teacher! Welcome to the 2014-15 school year at Ridgefield Memorial High School. I am looking forward to getting to know you and your student this year. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information about my class and encourage you to communicate with me.

I am committed to helping every student learn in my class. I believe it is important for families and schools to work together and share responsibility for student success. I value family members’ expertise about their children. It is important for the students to know that teachers and families are working together to support their learning.

I believe in having two-way ongoing communication with families. Please let me know how you would like me to contact you. I invite you to call or email me to share information, questions, or concerns about your student. Throughout the year, I will do the same. It is important to share both positive messages - and concerns.

The goal of the study of another language is to develop the ability to communicate in that language – and that’s exactly what we plan to do in class this year! Personally, learning Spanish changed my life 3 decades ago, and I hope to impart that same passion (and appreciation) for Spanish language and culture onto your sons and daughters!

In this class, students will become actively engaged in meaningful and authentic uses of the Spanish language. They will develop a variety of skills that will allow them to use Spanish in a myriad of authentic situations. Specifically, students will use the three modes of communication (Interpretive; Interpersonal; Presentational) to do the following:

Interpretive Mode - Comprehend reading and listening materials in Spanish Interpersonal Mode - Engage in conversations with speakers of Spanish Presentational Mode - Present information and ideas in both written and spoken formats of Spanish

We will dance! ~ We may cook! ~ We will eat!

If your child has difficulty in my class at any time, I am available to assist them before and after school as needed. They just need to let me know when they are coming, so that I am sure to be in the room!

Posted on this website www.sraferdinand.wikispaces.com will be homework assignments, rubrics, projects, links, Podcasts, Blogs, Google docs, YouTube videos - and other exciting materials that we will be using to intensify the learning experience in my Spanish classes.

If you ever have questions, please feel free to contact me at school at ** (201) 775-6803 **or e-mail me at dferdinand@ridgefieldschools.com.

Thank you for visiting my web page. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely, D. Ferdinand RMHS SpanishTeacher