Week 38: May 20-24

Happy last day of school parents and students! We did it!

Parents, I want to thank you all for your support and help this year in getting your child to school, helping them to stay motivated and for having all of those conversations with them about the importance of education. I’ve worked hard this year to teach students not only Spanish and ASL but also to teach them a strong work ethic and a growth mindset. I’ve always believed and will continue to believe that if you set a high standard for students they will always rise to meet your standard. And indeed, this happened this year! I am so proud of students for their hard work and dedication! When the learning was challenging, they rose to meet the challenge and gave an amazing effort in all of their work.

ASL 1 students learned between 600-800 new signs this year and have a solid foundation for moving into ASL 2.

ASL 2 students learned between 1300-1800 signs throughout both of their courses and are now college ready for their next ASL course.

Spanish 1 students learned to read, write, comprehend and speak Spanish (when they are of a mind to- LOL)! They have learned the grammar skills too that help them to conjugate verbs and now have a solid foundation to move into Spanish 2. They also had fun learning about the holidays, culture and traditions of Spanish speaking countries.

Spanish 2 students continued reading, writing, listening and speaking in Spanish this year and learned the grammar skills that help them to use verbs in other tenses beside the present and preterit. Students now have the knowledge to take their skill to college and be successful in their continuing language pursuits!

Parents, it has been an honor and a pleasure to work with all of your children this year. I appreciate you trusting me with your most precious asset. This has been a great year of growth in not only academics, but relationships as well. I care very deeply for each child that I educate and while I push them (and I do) to be successful in the subjects that they are studying, it is always equally important to me to connect to them and develop a relationship of mutual respect. I recently read an article that when we ask children what they want to be when they grow up it usually elicits responses such as, “a firefighter, a police officer, a teacher, a doctor, etc.” The article went on to say though, that what we should teach as a response rather than a career (though this is appropriate) is to teach them to say “a good person.” I share this with you because I know that this indeed is what you are teaching at home, but how great is it to state it explicitly, right!

With that thought, I sign off for the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Have a wonderful and safe summer! I look forward to seeing you again for the 2024-2025 school year.

Sincerely,

Ms. Hirepan