Dear Parents of incoming 7th and 8th grade students,
Bienvenidos a la clase de Español!  My name is Satya Leidner, “Profe,” and I am the new Spanish teacher at ACS.  I hope you all have had an amazing summer, spending time doing what you love and getting recharged for this next academic year!  I am greatly looking forward to being part of this community and creating a memorable Spanish learning experience for the students!!

Spanish

ACS is now requiring Spanish specifically to 7th and 8th grade students in preparation of Spanish II when entering High School, making them eligible for Aspen High School’s IB (International Baccalaureate) Program. I know this is a major change from the elective option in the past, but know this consistency will be hugely impact and support the learning of the students.  I will be teaching Monday-Thursday in the afternoons.

To give you a brief description of my philosophy and methodology, Language Acquisition is possible for EVERYONE.  If you speak one language, then you can speak another….even if it takes a lot of time, you will learn, just as babies do (I’ll talk more about this at Back-to-School night :)).  I use a methodology called TPRS, Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling.  This is a dynamic and real-world exposure to language versus the traditional teaching of ROT memorization and conjugation of language.  Through Reading and Storytelling, the students will be hearing, drawing, acting, reading, writing and speaking the language….acquiring the language, not memorizing it!  They will be using their imaginations, improving their English (yes, English) and having fun (the most important component to learning a language).

Looking forward to a great year!

Hasta Pronto!