Students at Guardian Angels School connect with South American peers as part of new language program Reprinted with permission of the Catholic Spirit. About 20 fidgety second-graders lined up in a hallway at Guardian Angels School in Chaska March 17. Their teacher, Annette Hritz, instructed them to practice in their minds what they were going to say when it was their turn to enter the narrow room beside the Second-graders at Guardian Angels School in Chaska exchange greetings technology lab. with students in Chile via webcam as part of the school’s international At 12:15 p.m., Greg Blaufuss, technology coordinator, glanced up from language program. Photo by Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit the Mac monitor in front of him to announce: “We have a connection.” Moments later, several quizzical little faces appeared on a television the students can compare their school days with those of their screen. counterparts in Chile. With a chorus of excited “hellos” and “holas” exchanged via webcam, By the end of the school year, students in all grade levels will be Guardian Angels launched an international language program to connect participating in the program, Gallus said. its students with students at a Christian school in Chile. Looking to the future Global education Longer-term, Guardian Angels plans to partner with schools in other Cecilia Laube, whose daughter, Taylor, is a second-grader at Guardian countries and equip technology labs so that students can converse Angels, looked on as the children introduced themselves and named one-on-one. their favorite foods in Spanish. “I would love to see it evolve into a foreign exchange program where Laube, who is president of the parent-teacher organization, said she some of our students go down there and they come up here, or a came up with the idea for the international language program, using teacher exchange program,” Gallus said. “I think it has a lot of technology like Skype and email, as a way to differentiate Guardian potential.” Angels from other schools in the district. After the children in Chile finished their introductions in English, they Students at Guardian Angels begin learning Spanish in kindergarten. performed their school song. A group of Guardian Angels students reciprocated with a song about St. Patrick’s Day. “In today’s global environment, our kids need to be aware of different languages as well as different cultures,” Laube said. Then all of the students crammed into the tiny room to wave “adios” to their new friends across the globe. Earlier in the school year, Laube discussed the idea of a culture and language exchange with her brother, Omar Alvarez, who is principal at Almondale School in Concepción, Chile. A partnership was born. Julie Carroll is a staff writer for The Catholic Spirit “I think it’s a great use of technology, language and the kids’ spirit to and news editor for The Northern Cross. You can connect with others,” Laube said. also catch her on twitter or email her at carrollj@archspm.org. In the coming months, students will be matched up with “pen pals” in Chile, who they’ll correspond with through email to develop their writing skills, said principal Amy Gallus. They’ll also produce and swap videos so
G.A. students connect with Chile By Chuck Friedbauer Reprinted with permission from the Chaska Herald Differences between two cultures may be complex, but they become much simpler through a child’s eyes. “They seemed a little but like us and a little bit different,” said secondgrade student Alex Janey. “Their skin was a little more tan than ours.” Janey and his classmates at Guardian Angels Catholic School recently began exploring those similarities and differences through a program that allows them to see and talk with other students their age at Almondale School in Concepcion, Chile.
The program’s goal is to improve the students language skills and awareness of different cultures. “The children from our school are learning Spanish, while the children in Chile are learning English,” said Guardian Angels Principal Amy Gallus. “Talking with a native speaker is an excellent way to learn a foreign language through real-life experiences. When learning a foreign language, a person can have a conversation, but not necessarily pick up critical items like sentence structure that you can get from a native speaker.” The second-grade students were the first to speak with their Chilean counterparts and started by telling them their names and their favorite food. Continued on next page...