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Henry P. Clough School wins "School of the Year" award in ISA competition

Clough Principal Jan Gallagher and all of the Spanish Immersion teachers accepted $5000 from the Spanish Ministry of Education for its Elementary School of the Year Award that was bestowed upon it last spring. The money will be used to buy Spanish books and learning materials for our students. Felicidades!

Here is what the Spanish Ministry of Education had to say about Clough when it selected the school for the award in March:

Henry P. Clough Elementary School (K-4) in Massachussetts is a very special place. The corridors are wide and bright, the classrooms are colorful and the atmosphere you breath makes you feel as if you were at home. In fact it is the home of some hundreds of little children and of an enthusiastic team of teachers lead by a great Principal. This school offers an amazing immersion program in Spanish and about one fifth of the total population of students are enrolled in this program.

La escuela elemental Henry P. Clough (K-4) en Massachussetts es un lugar muy especial. Los pasillos son amplios y luminosos, las aulas son de colores y el ambiente que se respira te hace sentir como si estuvieras en casa. De hecho, es el hogar de algunos cientos de niños y de un equipo entusiasta de profesores dirigido por un director genial. Esta escuela ofrece un sorprendente programa de inmersión en español y cerca de un quinto del total de estudiantes de la escuela están matriculados en este programa.

Vin Rozen, former principal of Clough School, was an ardent supporter of the Spanish Immersion program in our district. To honor his retirement last school year, a number of parents within the Clough and Memorial school communities created the Vin Rozen SI Support Grant.  Monies collected through this gift program totaled $440 and have been distributed to our SI teacher team at the elementary schools to purchase Spanish books and other learning materials.  Thank you to all who contributed toward this gift!

• promotes a positive effect on intellectual growth.

• enriches and enhances a child’s mental development.

• encourages greater flexibility in thinking, sensitivity to language, and listening.

• improves understanding of a native language.

• opens  the door to other cultures.

• Increases future opportunities.

• A greater measure of cognitive flexibility and creative thinking skills.

• Development of more intense listening skills.

• Transfer skills in many curriculum areas.  Vocabulary development is especially enhanced.

• Development of fluency in a foreign language in a natural setting, with fluency being the by-product of an elementary education.

• Development of a greater degree of cultural tolerance through the understanding that diverse people of the world speak diverse languages and that learning a foreign language can bring one in touch with the world around us.

Iluminar, the verb in Spanish means "to shine." Here is where we shine a spotlight on the many accomplishments of our Spanish immersion teachers and students. This online resource is a way for the families in the program to stay connected, gain valuable information and watch their children shine in the program. 

Working with our immersion staff, we are reporting on happenings in both elementary schools. We are also highlighting written work from our upper grades. Our website has been redesigned by placing additional stories on the left of the main page. Please take some time to read these valuable stories. Additionally, we are offering some of our teacher interviews in audio form in Spanish. The hope here is that families can listen together and have their child explain what they've heard. Eventually we hope to have a whole page written entirely in Spanish, but that requires more volunteers. We are actively looking for volunteers to shoot classroom project stills and write articles. We always need new story ideas and writers, so if you are interested please email the newsletter staff at vlipset@gmail.com.

Editor, Vikki Ludwigson

Contributor, Laura Nadolski
Contributor, Donnamarie Floyd

 

 

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