News Archive 2008-2009


World Languages and Cultures Awards
Monday, June 15, 2009

The 2008-2009 World Languages and Cultures Department awards were given to the following students. Congratulations!

French I - Ronnie Tardiff
French II - Joanie Drake
French III - Alice Richardson
UCONN French IV - Rahul Chandrasekaran
Spanish I – Stephanie Tse
Spanish II - Alex Withrow
Spanish II Level 1 - Megan Comstock
Spanish III - Amanda Hutchinson
Spanish IV - Erika Johnson
AP Spanish - Lauren Petersen
Conversational Spanish – Sarah Butler
Diane Chaney Award - Wilson Carroll

New Honor Society Members Inducted
Wednesday, June 03, 2009

The following students were selected for membership in the Spanish Honor Society based on scholarship and a strong commitment to learning the language and culture beyond the classroom: Joseph Bingaman, Melissa Buriak, Wilson Carroll, Kenneth Dutton, Claire Hamel, Erika Johnson, Stephanie Leach, Kate Mueller, Lauren Petersen, Chase Philpot, Kara Piatek, Alfred Posis, Emilie Saccone, Alison Smith, and Hannah Winograd. Rahul Chandrasekaran was selected for membership in the French Honor Society.


Spain Trip Photos Posted
Monday, May 11, 2009

Just posted is an article and pictures from this year's trip to Spain. CLICK HERE

Argentine Singer Performs at LHS
Wednesday, May 06, 2009

On Tuesday April 28 Ledyard High School hosted the Argentine singer, Justo Lamas for a concert. Justo performs concerts across the United States for students learning Spanish. He sings a combination of traditional and modern songs in Spanish using pop, rock, rap and other musical styles. Other area schools who attended the concert were Ledyard Middle School, Stonington, Lyme/Old Lyme and Valley Regional High School. Students had a great time singing and dancing along with Justo. A highlight of the show was watching the 1st block Spanish 4 students of Sra. Anderson dance with Justo to the song “No dejaré de amarte”. These students learned a dance routine choreographed by Alex Sparkman and Jessica Freitas of the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Niantic. They worked very hard to practice the routine and it was a great success! After the concert students were able to meet, speak with, and take pictures with Justo. Everyone had a great time and we look forward to hosting Justo for additional concerts in the future. See more pictures...



Celebrating Poetry in Many Languages
Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Nine Ledyard High School students traveled to New Haven on April 7 to perform poems in the 28th Annual World Poetry Recitation Contest. Each student had memorized a poem in French or Spanish, and presented it with well-practiced diction, accent, pronunciation, and emotion. Students were judged in comparison with others that had completed the same number of years of study. There were also categories for native speakers.

Ledyard students came home with two medals! They were won by Ron Tardiff and Sarah Heikkinen. All 9 have reason to be proud of what they’ve done—learning and practicing their poems on their own time, finding time to meet with language teachers for critique. Those participating were Melissa Buriak, Rahul Chandrasekaran, Tiraa Edwards, Sarah Heikkinen, Britta Johnson, Erika Johnson, Bronwynne Nagle, Erin Strickland and Ronald Tardiff.

Sixteen languages were represented in the contest, each at various levels: ancient Greek, Arabic, Chinese, English for Speakers of Other Languages, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, modern Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Ninety-one schools from all over Connecticut sent students.

There were 1033 students there reciting poetry. It was an inspiring day!

Just Back from Spain
Monday, April 20, 2009

Sra. Anderson and crew are just back from their spring break trip to Spain. More pics and stories to come...

Sra. Anderson and crew in Toledo, Spain

2009 CT COLT Poetry Recitation Contest
Monday, March 09, 2009

LHS World Languages students are preparing for the annual poetry contest. Read the press release for details.

Exchange Students Share Stories
Friday, March 06, 2009

On Thursday February 26 the International Club hosted a forum with the current international students attending Ledyard High School, Alvaro Prada-Llovet from Spain, Danny Lee from Korea, and Eliska Korinkova from the Czech Republic shared stories about life in their countries, the differences in the educational system in their country versus the U.S. and answered cultural questions asked by students. Attendees were pleased to get to know these students better and learned a lot from the discussion.

Exchange Students from Bacelona are Coming
Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Students from the Barcelona area of Spain come to southeastern CT every year in late June and stay for 4 weeks. If you are interested in hosting an exchange student, please read the latest letter from the program coordinator and frequently asked questions, and then email Mr. Jannke with further questions.

Voyage à Québec
Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Ledyard High School French students joined by students from Parish Hill High School spent President’s Weekend enjoying themselves, in the lovely neighboring country of Canada. Students departed by motor coach on Friday afternoon, February 13 and arrived in Québec City that evening. Saturday was spent learning about the history of the city and then had the opportunity to check out the Carnaval sites along with practicing their French both shopping in the old town and at a very modern mall. That evening, they learned how to guide a dogsled and went on a 45-minute dogsled trek. Upon their return, they spent the evening eating traditional Québecois food and dancing to traditional Québecois music. Sunday, the students participated in a fact-finding tour where they learned more about our French-speaking neighbor to the north. They then chose between attending a mass at the cathedral or visiting the Musée de la Civilisation. The afternoon/evening was spent tubing and enjoying the wonderful winter activities. The last morning was spent eating delicious croissants and drinking hot chocolate out of bowls in traditional French style. Then they went on a grocery store scavenger hunt where they learned the different words for grocery items. Ask any student who went and I am certain you will find that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience! See more pictures...


Thames River Times Article on Spanish Student
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Thames River Times just published an article on one of our Spanish student's effort to volunteer in Paraguay this summer. Read it...

Summer Opportunity
Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Every summer Intercultura Costa Rica offers a Spanish Adventure immersion program for teens which allows adolescents to learn Spanish and immerse themselves in Costa Rican culture.

Spain Trip 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009

Sra. Anderson is headed to Spain over spring break with a group of students. They will be touring Toledo, Salamanca, and Madrid. Check out their itinerary!

Québec Trip 2009
Thursday, January 08, 2009

Mme Sylvestre is headed to Québec City with students over February break. Students will tour the city, experience Carnival, shop, snowshoe, go on a dog-sled ride, dance, visit a museum, go tubing and of course eat!


Salsa Lessons with the International Club
Thursday, December 11, 2008

On Wednesday, December 10th, the International Club sponsored salsa dancing lessons during Activity Period. Alex Sparkman and Sonia Beetham of the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Niantic taught a 25" lesson to 30 students and 2 teachers. This is the 2nd year that the International Club has sponsored these lessons. See more pictures...

Pennies for Peace
Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Thanks to all of your help and support, the International Club was able to raise $500 for the Pennies for Peace organization. We are very pleased to be making such a large contribution to such a worthy group. The top two Morning Meetings with the most donations were Sylvestre and Park. Honorable mention went to the Morning Meetings of Bajorin and Woodruff. Thank you!

Dance Lessons
Tuesday, December 02, 2008

The International Club will be offering salsa lessons during Activity Period on December 10. Sign up in room 205 or 206. You must have a partner and specify who will lead.

Les Sites Webs
Monday, November 24, 2008

French 2 students recently completed a performance based assessment. In French, they created websites complete with links for different areas in a school such as the library, nurses office, cafeteria etc. They used many recently learned expressions along with much computer related vocabulary. They then created a presentation where one student acted as the webmaster and another student acted as the librarian, nurse etc. The webmaster then explained the functions of the website and how to navigate to the various different pages to find information. The person learning the site continued with questions about the website. Students were assessed on the completion of pre-establish criteria for the website, along with their interactive dialogue. The students did a very nice job.



Flan and Mousse Contest
Friday, November 21, 2008

The International Club congratulates the following students for winning the Flan/Mousse contest!

Flan
  • Wilson Carroll
  • Joe Bingaman
Mousse
  • Kirsten Boyd and Leigh Bennett
All were awarded Subway gift cards. It was a close contest and all of the entries were quite tasty--thanks to everyone who participated! We appreciate it!

Justo Lamas is Coming to LHS
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Argentinean pop star, Justo Lamas, will be performing at LHS on April 28, 2009. See Sra. Anderson in room 205 or your Spanish teacher to reserve your seat now. The cost is $12 and you must sign up and pay by November 25, the day before Thanksgiving break. Links: Facebook, www.justolamas.com, www.myspace.com/officialjustolamas.



Students Visit LNVA Exhibit at Avery Point
Friday, October 31, 2008

AP Spanish and Conversational Spanish students spent a block at UCONN Avery Point viewing Latin Views 2008, a biennial exhibit offered by the Latin Network for the Visual Arts (LNVA). The tour was given in Spanish and the students critiqued various works, applying their Spanish in a real-life, spontaneous situation.

Rapper Arzú Entertains International Club
Friday, October 24, 2008

Sra. Pantalone's husband, Arzú, is a rapper from Honduras. Arzú performed various original songs for 30 students during Activity Period. Students were amazed by the meaning and poetic nature of his lyrics. Many stated that they couldn’t wait for the release of his new CD.


Arzú Raps
Friday, October 17, 2008

The International Club is hosting Arzú, a Honduran rapper, during activity period on October 22. Please sign up with Mrs. Anderson in room 205 or Ms. Feeney in 206 if interested in attending.

Justo Lamas is Coming to LHS
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Argentinean pop star, Justo Lamas, will be performing at LHS on April 28, 2009. See Sra. Anderson in room 205 or your Spanish teacher to reserve your seat.

Hispanic Heritage Month
Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Hispanic Heritage Month began on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18.

The term Hispanic refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. The estimated Hispanic population of the United States is 45.5 million.

Check out the LHS Media Center's Wiki to learn more at http://lhs-lmc.wikispaces.com/Hispanic+Heritage+Month+September.

Summer Travel?
Friday, September 12, 2008

Did you travel outside of the U.S. this summer? If you did, email Mr. Jannke at [email protected] or advise your language teacher. We want to learn about your experience!