Enriching Academics: Spanish for All

BY JENNA CHOBAN

Christ the King offers many valuable enrichment courses, and Spanish with Señora Loredana Rixon is one of them.

Students take Spanish class twice a week. The curriculum for K-5 consists of building a strong language foundation starting with vocabulary. Students enjoy interactive learning through skits, songs, poems, and games.

The curriculum for Middle School is more advanced. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are a fundamental part of learning a new language. Students are also encouraged to practice their conversational skills through pair and group activities.

With the opportunity to teach all CTK students, Sra. Rixon enjoys witnessing her students’ linguistic progression.

Learning Spanish at a young age helps improve children’s cognitive development and academic performance. It also promotes cross-cultural communication and understanding, and helps students develop an appreciation for Hispanic/Latino cultures, traditions, and customs.

Sra. Rixon was born in Italy and moved to Pleasant Hill when she was in 7th grade. She didn’t know any English, but was able to learn quickly by being immersed in the language. She took Spanish at College Park High School and realized how similar it is to Italian.

She developed a love for teaching Spanish when tutoring her classmates at UC Davis. After earning her teaching credential from Saint Mary’s College in 2010, Sra. Rixon landed a job at CTK.

She taught Spanish from 2010 to 2015, and then took a break to raise her children, Alexander ‘30 and Sofia ‘31. Now that both children are attending school at CTK, she couldn’t have been happier to rejoin the faculty for the start of the 2022-23 school year.

“I love everything about teaching here because of the strong community that feels like an extended family,” Sra. Rixon said. n