Dear 6th grade Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to another exciting year here at South Academy of International Languages. I am glad that you have decided to keep your child in the language immersion program and I am looking forward to helping her/him become a confident user of the language.
Sixth grade represents a great change for your child. Entering middle school means a change in schedule, many new teachers, new responsibilities and new class mates. Maybe the biggest change, however, is the immersion language class. German language arts is only taught every other day for 75 minutes now, with an additional 45 minutes immersion reading class for some students. That means it is more important now than before to use the language outside of class on a regular basis. To keep the language skills building, it is imperative that the student interacts with the language in a high interest environment. To encourage practicing German at home you can find German activity logs in the "Forms" section of this site. For each day that your child uses the language at least 20 minutes (reading, listening, writing, speaking - any activity is okay) they will earn a point. 10 points can be redeemed for an extra credit quiz grade. I ask you to sign off on the list, so there is accountability. I have a great selection of materials, but it should be your child's choice. Each student can also have a German novel to read in class between assignments or if they are done before others. The students can choose a book from my library, or if they have a specific book they want to read you can order one from Amazon.de, which has really reasonable prices. If that is not an option, your child can tell me which book they want to read and I may be able to order it. This should be done as soon as possible, so everybody has something enjoyable to read.
One of our main goals is to develop competent readers, so please encourage your child to read for pleasure at home. If you need any help finding appropriate material, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for choosing the SAIL Language program
Frank Elias
Welcome to another exciting year here at South Academy of International Languages. I am glad that you have decided to keep your child in the language immersion program and I am looking forward to helping her/him become a confident user of the language.
Sixth grade represents a great change for your child. Entering middle school means a change in schedule, many new teachers, new responsibilities and new class mates. Maybe the biggest change, however, is the immersion language class. German language arts is only taught every other day for 75 minutes now, with an additional 45 minutes immersion reading class for some students. That means it is more important now than before to use the language outside of class on a regular basis. To keep the language skills building, it is imperative that the student interacts with the language in a high interest environment. To encourage practicing German at home you can find German activity logs in the "Forms" section of this site. For each day that your child uses the language at least 20 minutes (reading, listening, writing, speaking - any activity is okay) they will earn a point. 10 points can be redeemed for an extra credit quiz grade. I ask you to sign off on the list, so there is accountability. I have a great selection of materials, but it should be your child's choice. Each student can also have a German novel to read in class between assignments or if they are done before others. The students can choose a book from my library, or if they have a specific book they want to read you can order one from Amazon.de, which has really reasonable prices. If that is not an option, your child can tell me which book they want to read and I may be able to order it. This should be done as soon as possible, so everybody has something enjoyable to read.
One of our main goals is to develop competent readers, so please encourage your child to read for pleasure at home. If you need any help finding appropriate material, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for choosing the SAIL Language program
Frank Elias
German Immersion 7
Dear 7th grade parents/guardians,
Welcome to an exciting new year in 7th grade. This grade represents a great change for the language immersion classes. There is no longer an immersion literacy class during 5th block, so all students now have only one 75 minute block of immersion instruction, every other day. It is therefore even more important that your child interacts with the German language outside of class. To keep the language skills building, it is imperative that the student interacts with the language in a high interest environment. To encourage practicing German at home I will offer German reading logs. For each day that your child reads German for at least 20 minutes they will earn a point. 10 points can be redeemed for an extra credit quiz grade. I ask you to sign off on the list, so there is accountability. I have a great selection of materials, but it should be your child's choice.
If your child successfully completes this class, they earn a high school credit. Successful completion includes a final language exam that assesses the language proficiency at that time. To be prepared, the students need to participate actively throughout the year and consistently build competencies. To reflect the effort and quality of contributions in the class, the students earn a weekly participation grade.
I believe that it is essential that there is an open channel of communication between the parents, student and teacher. I would like to give every parent the chance to meet with me and understand the program better. Please contact me if you are interested in a personal meeting. If you or your child have any comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me right away. I also have a comment box set up in the classroom where students can leave notes.
I will do my best to help your child make great strides in becoming a confident and competent user of the German language and I am looking forward to a great year.
All assignments for this class will be posted on the Canvas platform. There you can also find the rubric for the weekly participation grade and the extra credit reading list.
Thank you for choosing the SAIL Language program
Frank Elias
Welcome to an exciting new year in 7th grade. This grade represents a great change for the language immersion classes. There is no longer an immersion literacy class during 5th block, so all students now have only one 75 minute block of immersion instruction, every other day. It is therefore even more important that your child interacts with the German language outside of class. To keep the language skills building, it is imperative that the student interacts with the language in a high interest environment. To encourage practicing German at home I will offer German reading logs. For each day that your child reads German for at least 20 minutes they will earn a point. 10 points can be redeemed for an extra credit quiz grade. I ask you to sign off on the list, so there is accountability. I have a great selection of materials, but it should be your child's choice.
If your child successfully completes this class, they earn a high school credit. Successful completion includes a final language exam that assesses the language proficiency at that time. To be prepared, the students need to participate actively throughout the year and consistently build competencies. To reflect the effort and quality of contributions in the class, the students earn a weekly participation grade.
I believe that it is essential that there is an open channel of communication between the parents, student and teacher. I would like to give every parent the chance to meet with me and understand the program better. Please contact me if you are interested in a personal meeting. If you or your child have any comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me right away. I also have a comment box set up in the classroom where students can leave notes.
I will do my best to help your child make great strides in becoming a confident and competent user of the German language and I am looking forward to a great year.
All assignments for this class will be posted on the Canvas platform. There you can also find the rubric for the weekly participation grade and the extra credit reading list.
Thank you for choosing the SAIL Language program
Frank Elias
German Immersion 8
selectDear 8th grade parents/guardians,
Welcome to an exciting new year of German immersion. 8th grade is an important year for language immersion students. To be prepared for the transition to high school language classes, there will be a bigger emphasis on understanding the mechanics of how the German language works. There is also the expectation that every immersion student leaves middle school as a confident and competent user of German. Another important part of 8th grade German is that select students will have the opportunity to take the DSD1 language proficiency test that qualifies them to enroll as language students in a German college.
To help with this goal, I want to urge your child to continue engaging the language outside of class. To encourage practicing German at home I will offer German activity logs. For each day that your child reads German at least 20 minutes and fill out the reading log, they will earn a point. 10 points can be redeemed for an extra credit quiz grade. I ask you to sign off on the list, so there is accountability. I have a great selection of materials, but it should be your child's choice.
If your child successfully completes this class, they earn another high school credit. Successful completion includes a final language exam that assesses the language proficiency at that time. To be prepared, the students need to participate actively throughout the year and consistently build competencies. To reflect the effort and quality of contributions in the class, the students earn a weekly participation grade.
I also want to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of open communication – between you, your child and me. If any issue regarding German class comes up, I want to encourage you to reach out immediately, so we can work on fixing the problem. I want this year to be your child’s best yet, and I am confident that together we can achieve that. I also want to give every parent or guardian the opportunity to meet me and learn more about the program. If you are interested in a personal meeting, please contact me.
All assignments for this class will be posted on the Canvas platform. There you can also find the rubric for the weekly participation grade and the extra credit reading list.
I am looking forward to a successful school year!
Thanks,
Frank Elias
Welcome to an exciting new year of German immersion. 8th grade is an important year for language immersion students. To be prepared for the transition to high school language classes, there will be a bigger emphasis on understanding the mechanics of how the German language works. There is also the expectation that every immersion student leaves middle school as a confident and competent user of German. Another important part of 8th grade German is that select students will have the opportunity to take the DSD1 language proficiency test that qualifies them to enroll as language students in a German college.
To help with this goal, I want to urge your child to continue engaging the language outside of class. To encourage practicing German at home I will offer German activity logs. For each day that your child reads German at least 20 minutes and fill out the reading log, they will earn a point. 10 points can be redeemed for an extra credit quiz grade. I ask you to sign off on the list, so there is accountability. I have a great selection of materials, but it should be your child's choice.
If your child successfully completes this class, they earn another high school credit. Successful completion includes a final language exam that assesses the language proficiency at that time. To be prepared, the students need to participate actively throughout the year and consistently build competencies. To reflect the effort and quality of contributions in the class, the students earn a weekly participation grade.
I also want to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of open communication – between you, your child and me. If any issue regarding German class comes up, I want to encourage you to reach out immediately, so we can work on fixing the problem. I want this year to be your child’s best yet, and I am confident that together we can achieve that. I also want to give every parent or guardian the opportunity to meet me and learn more about the program. If you are interested in a personal meeting, please contact me.
All assignments for this class will be posted on the Canvas platform. There you can also find the rubric for the weekly participation grade and the extra credit reading list.
I am looking forward to a successful school year!
Thanks,
Frank Elias
German Literacy 6/Homeroom
Dear 6th grade German home room/literacy parents/guardians,
Welcome to Middle School!!! This is a great step in the educational path of your child and he or she will experience many changes. I am here to help. I will see your child every morning as the school day begins and for a 45 minute block at the end of each day. If there are any issues, I encourage your child to come to me. One of the purposes of the homeroom time in the morning and the 5th block at the end of the day is to hand out and collect the chromebooks every day. Also, I will distribute any forms and provide important information to the students. There will also be character-building exercises during the morning session and at times during 5th block.
The 5th block class is an immersion literacy class, which meets every day. It is structured differently than the rest of the classes, but it is instructional time and the students earn a grade. It is meant to give the students in the class an opportunity to read, speak, write and listen to German every day. It is a German immersion class and the expectation is that students communicate exclusively in German during class time. In this class, we will do a variety of activities that go beyond what the time constraints of the German Immersion Language Arts class allow.
Students earn a weekly participation grade, which reflects the effort and quality of their contributions. A rubric for the participation grade, as well as all assignments for the class, will be available on the Canvas platform.
I believe that it is essential that there is an open channel of communication between the parents, student and teacher. I would like to give every parent the chance to meet with me and understand the program better. Please contact me if you are interested in a personal meeting. If you or your child have any comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me right away. I also have a comment box set up in the classroom where students can leave notes.
I will do my best to help your child make great strides in becoming a confident and competent user of the German language and I am looking forward to a great year.
Thank you for choosing the SAIL Language program,
Frank Elias
Welcome to Middle School!!! This is a great step in the educational path of your child and he or she will experience many changes. I am here to help. I will see your child every morning as the school day begins and for a 45 minute block at the end of each day. If there are any issues, I encourage your child to come to me. One of the purposes of the homeroom time in the morning and the 5th block at the end of the day is to hand out and collect the chromebooks every day. Also, I will distribute any forms and provide important information to the students. There will also be character-building exercises during the morning session and at times during 5th block.
The 5th block class is an immersion literacy class, which meets every day. It is structured differently than the rest of the classes, but it is instructional time and the students earn a grade. It is meant to give the students in the class an opportunity to read, speak, write and listen to German every day. It is a German immersion class and the expectation is that students communicate exclusively in German during class time. In this class, we will do a variety of activities that go beyond what the time constraints of the German Immersion Language Arts class allow.
Students earn a weekly participation grade, which reflects the effort and quality of their contributions. A rubric for the participation grade, as well as all assignments for the class, will be available on the Canvas platform.
I believe that it is essential that there is an open channel of communication between the parents, student and teacher. I would like to give every parent the chance to meet with me and understand the program better. Please contact me if you are interested in a personal meeting. If you or your child have any comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me right away. I also have a comment box set up in the classroom where students can leave notes.
I will do my best to help your child make great strides in becoming a confident and competent user of the German language and I am looking forward to a great year.
Thank you for choosing the SAIL Language program,
Frank Elias