Newtown High School Blog

Currently, the Newtown High School community awaits the arrival of Mr. Ding. He has been delayed due to the visa renewal process in Beijing, China. In the meantime, Mr. Hiruo has been in touch with the Chinese Consulate, College Board, and Hanban Foundation to expedite the visa renewal, while Mrs. Greenfield has been pulling together professional contacts and lesson plans to provide a safety net for his Mandarin classes should his delay carry into the second week of school. Mr. Ding is expected to return Labor Day weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to Eliana Kohrman-Glasar on receiving a gold Medal in the National Latin exam for the past four consecutive years!  She has been awarded an Oxford Classical Dictionary in recognition of this prestigious accomplishment.

As part of a unit on Spain in Ms. Crowell’s Spanish 2 Honors, the students researched a Spanish recipe, prepared it, and presented how to make it to the class in Spanish. On Friday, June 4, 2010, the class met in the Lecture Hall where they presented the recipes and brought in the food. A great time was had by all!

Mrs. Davidson’s French classes recently had a hands-on lesson in Moroccan culture, history, and handicrafts. Mrs. Davidson, who lived in Morocco, brought in a number of items from her personal collection for her students to experience and, as the photos demonstrate, wear. The students in these pictures are showing off two different kinds of Moroccan robes, the belted “takshita” and the hooded “djelleba.” The classes also listened to traditional Moroccan music and played a goatskin drum.

Attention students enrolled in AP courses next year: Many AP courses require that students complete a summer assignment. Information about AP summer assignments will be available on June 1, 2010 in department offices and on department web pages.

Congratulations to Aidan Pelisson for achieving a perfect score on the 2010 National Latin Exam.  Only 568 students out of over 138,000 who participated in the entire United states, Australia, Zimbabwe, Canada, England, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Korea, Bulgaria, china, Japan, and Singapore attained this distinction.  Way to go, Aidan!

Tags: Latin

Newtown High School Sophomore Marina Lleonart Calvo was awarded the Bronze — third place in the 5th Annual Chinese Bridge U.S. High School Student Chinese Contest, held in Marlboro, Massachusetts at the International Academy of Boston on April 24, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Want a summer camp to China, For FREE? Here is an opportunity for you to go to China. The sponsor of our Chinese program, Chinese Hanban, is providing a summer camp to all high school students(including those graduate this year and those to be enrolled in September). What you have to pay is only a round-trip ticket from and to U.S, which can also be obtained with the help of Hanban. Read the rest of this entry »

Students in Mr. Ding’s Chinese I class made a field trip to New York City, including a visit of Chinatown in Flushing, Queens and a conference with the Permanent Mission of the Peoples Republic of China to the United Nations, on March 24, 2010.

In the first leg the NHS students went to a Chinese buffet in Flushing, where the students practiced speaking Chinese with the waitresses as well as the customers. Then they went to a nearby Chinese bookstore where the students saw Chinese publications and Chinese cultural pieces, such as paintings, handcrafts, etc. Due to the shortened schedule, they didn’t make the trip to a Chinese supermarket intended for them to recognize the item names in Chinese.

The students then went to PR China’s Permanent Mission to UN. In the conference with the Chief Press Office, Mr. Liu Yutong, the students learned about China and UN, China and U.S., China’s policies, and raised a great variety of questions, covering topics such as global awareness, climate changes, environmental protection, U.S./China education, health care, etc. Some students even raised questions in Chinese, and got the response first in Chinese and then English.

Though a long day, the students were very enthusiastic and maintained great spirit during the whole trip, and many students expressed the hope of making such trips in the future.

The conference in P.R China Mission to UN is now online in their website at: http://www.china-un.org/chn/czthd/t675212.htm

Aless Delia and Valeria Ramon, students in Mrs. Davidson’s French classes, are participating in a statewide poster contest. Sponsored by the CT Coalition of Language Teachers (CT COLT), the contest is based on the theme, “The Look of Language.” Aless and Valeria’s fantastic original artwork will be judged against posters created by world language students from around the state. Prize money will be awarded. Good luck, Aless and Valeria!

Congratulations to Newtown High School Spanish Teacher Tomas Rozas. Mr. Rozas recently became a United States citizen!

French students celebrated Mardi Gras on February 23, 2010 by decorating masks and preparing King’s Cakes. The King Cake is a tradition of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The person who receives the slice with the Baby (a plastic baby) or a bean is crowned the King or Queen of the festival and will be responsible for hosting the party the following year. It is also this person’s responsibility to prepare the King Cake for the festival. French students also viewed videos showing celebrations in Nice, Martinique, and Quebec. The celebration was culminated with the students singing the song “Bal Masque” and entering into a Karaoke contest.

This is a school activity for celebrating Chinese Spring Festival, involving students of Chinese I. In the pictures the lecture hall is decorated by the students so it looks like a Chinese household celebration. The students learned to make dumplings, gave presentations of how the Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival, and interacted with Chinese visiting students.

Students in Miss Ward’s Spanish 3 Honors class practiced their debating skills. The objective was to give convincing arguments, in Spanish, to be elected “President of the United States”. Each student had to use the present perfect tense to describe what they have done for the country; and the future tense to describe what they will do for their country if elected. Read the rest of this entry »

Chef Steve Oshana’s Baking & Pastry class hosted World Language teacher Laura Battisti’s French class for a collaborative lesson on creating traditional French Crepes. All students agreed that the greatest challenge was developing the proper wrist action needed to flip the crepe in the pan. Successful students enjoyed garnishing their results with a variety of toppings including powdered sugar, fruit, and chocolate.

Students have been studying the historic and cultural significance of ethnic cuisine, including the crepe, the favorite street food of Paris.

Students of Ms. Battisti and Ms. Pistritto (Italian I classes) celebrated the cultural event of La Befana on January 6, 2010. 2010. La Befana is an Italian old witch that brings gifts to good kids on the Epiphany. More information.

The Upper levels of Latin celebrated the ancient Roman custom of Saturnalia with a feast of dormice (yes, that is how it is spelled). Saturnalia marks the beginning of winter and the dedication of the temple to Saturnus. Ancient Romans considered dormice a delicacy and were served with lavish dinners. Delish!

Imagine receiving a scholarship to study for a year, semester, or summer in another country; with more than 600 scholarships available, this could be you. National Security Language Initiative for Youth is offering a great opportunity to study Mandarin in China, even with no previous Chinese learning experience. The application deadline is December 4.

Newtown High School Chef Brian Neumeyer and his Culinary students assisted students in Sr. Tomas Rozas’ Spanish class in the creation of authentic Spanish Paella. The feast was preceded by appetizers, which included Spanish Tortilla’s, Bruchetta, and Croquettas. Read the rest of this entry »

Spanish Teacher Tomas Rozas took his students on an in-school field trip to Chef Steve O Shana’s kitchen recently. Chef O Shana instructed the students on proper food preparation techniques, while Mr. Rozas explained (in Spanish) the cultural significance of the ingredients and of the final dish: Spanish Paella. Read the rest of this entry »

If we cannot make it to Spain, Spain made it to us today.  Spanish UConn students  Señor Rozas, with the invaluable help of Mr. OShana and Mr. Neumeyer, made a wonderful round of tapas in the Catalonian way “pa amb tomaca”, literally, bread with tomato, beautifully sprinkled with virgin olive oil, and topped with crushed tomatoes and slices of cured ham, ‘jamón’. Read the rest of this entry »

Gustavo Hipolito,  of Buenos Aires, Argentina visited Mrs. Donovan’s Spanish 4 class (Mr. Hipolito is on far right in photo above).  Gustavo spoke to the class for an hour about life in Argentina, customs, food, politics, and geography. Students also had the opportunity to ask questions as they learned firsthand about a new culture.

Chinese Teacher Ding Hong (lower left in photograph above) arrived from San Francisco, CA on Friday evening and has been settling in with his host family.  Today, he joined high school staff for lunch on the patio.  Prior to his arrival in Newtown, Mr. Ding spent four weeks in Beijing for a program orientation (organized by the College Board and Hanban) that included:  cultural adjustment and culture shock, cross cultural communication, U.S. culture and education, teaching of Chinese as a foreign language, Chinese culture topics (such as arts, food, holidays, etc), and using technology in the classroom.  This was followed by a ten day orientation program for Guest Teachers at Stanford University.  The Stanford program included:  foreign language education in the U.S., teaching standards for Chinese and the 5Cs, Lesson Design, Assessment, and Material Selection.  Welcome, Mr. Ding!

French V students from Newtown and New Fairfield met at Tarrywile Mansion in Danbury on June 2 for the annual French Immersion Day. This is a day where students and teachers speak only French while they participate in various activities such as pictionary; “Qui suis-je?” , “cercle des mots”, and “dessions” where they drew what they partner described in French. Read the rest of this entry »

French V students wrote and illustrated original fairy tales as a final project. They told their stories to the Nurtury children on a beautiful day in the Senior Courtyard. The Nurtury students enjoyed hearing the stories written by the seniors. Read the rest of this entry »

Every year in the spring, the students enrolled in the Spanish V-UConn Class participate in Hispanic Immersion Day at the Tarrywile Mansion in Danbury, CT. Read the rest of this entry »

French III students at Newtown High School have been studying French-speaking African countries this semester. As a culminating activity, they took part in the Francofete on May 8, 2009. Raouf Mama, a griot (storyteller) from Benin came to tell folk takes from his country. Students listened, answered questions, and acted out the crocodile (one of the characters from a story). After the folk tales, Dr. Mama taught the students and faculty a dance from his country. Read the rest of this entry »

Students from Ms. Ruiz’s Spanish Three classes celebrated the Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla with music, food, and a pinata! Read the rest of this entry »

Connor Howell achieved a PERFECT score on the 2009 National Latin Exam.  Only 917 students out of more than 137,000 who participated in the entire United States, Australia, Mozambique, Canada, England, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Mexico, Bulgaria, China, and Guam attained this distinction.  Congratulations to Connor and his Latin teacher, Mrs. Huettner!

Newtown High School French students learned that Mardi Gras isn’t only celebrated in New Orleans. It is a holiday with roots during the early days of Christianity in Europe. Students learned about the carnivals in French-speaking countries including Quebec, Martinique, Nice, Binche, French Guinea. Read the rest of this entry »

Spanish classes learned how to Tango in a cultural program organized by Mrs. Giunti. Read the rest of this entry »

Newtown High School Latin students will be participating in the National Latin Examination on February 26, 2009.

Bona Fortuna

Chef Steve OShana and his Culinary 2 students hosted Ms. Jamie Crowell and her Spanish Language class for a cooking demonstration of some traditional ethnic dishes.

On the menu: Read the rest of this entry »

French II students in Mrs. Davidson’s class and French IV and French V students in Mrs. Greenfield’s classes celebrated La Chandeleur, or “Crepe Day.”  Linda Lubinsky, one of our student’s mothers, brought in her delicious homemade crepes and shared with the students some of the traditions surrounding this holiday.  We would have tried to catch a crepe in the pan for good luck, if only we hadn’t eaten them all! Read the rest of this entry »

This holiday commemorates the visit of the three wise men to the baby Jesus. In many Hispanic countries January 6 is the day that children receive gifts and they eat a special cake, the Roscas, to discover who will get the piece with the porcelain baby Jesus. Read the rest of this entry »

Each year, students of Italian I celebrate “Befana Day” on January the 6th.  According to Italian tradition, La Befana visits all the children on the eve of the 6th of January and fills their socks with goodies and presents if they have been good or a lump of coal  if they have been bad.  La Befana is portrayed as an old lady riding a broom and wearing old clothes. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE – Katie was the recipient of one of seven second prizes: One-week trip to France valued at 2,000 euros.  Congratulations, Katie!

Congratulations to Katie Fragoso who is one of the 50 winners of the ” Concours sur l’ Europe,” sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French- American Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the French-American Foundation and the French Institute Alliance Française, and teacheurope.org.

Katie, her family, and her teacher (Laura Battisti) have been invited to Read the rest of this entry »

Every year in November, people of Mexico and other Latin American countries celebrate a holiday known as “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead). November 1^st is designated as “Día de los Angelitos” (day of the little angels) to commemorate the loss of children, and “Día de los Muertos,” held November 2^nd honors the loss of everyone else. Though death is typically something Read the rest of this entry »

The World Language department is sponsoring two trips during April vacation:

• Paris, Provence, and the Cote D’Azur
• Mediterranean Journey (Spain and Italy)

Students interested in the trips should contact Mrs. Greenfield (France) or Ms. Ward (Spain and Italy).  Additional information can be obtained from www.acis.com (group #45265) or www.eftours.com (trip #596945).