dates
i n
t he
District Orchestra Festival
Update Hopkins Public Schools
Join us for student orchestra performances! January 13 & 15, 7-8:00 p.m. Hopkins High School Auditorium 2400 Lindbergh Drive, Minnetonka
The community’s guide to the District. December/January 2014-15
Hopkins High School Concert Choir performs at choral conference
The Minnesota Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) selected the Hopkins High School Concert Choir to perform at its 38th annual fall conference. Hopkins Concert Choir students performed on Nov. 21. They were among a select group of high school choirs asked to participate in the conference, which has a history of featuring performances from the best choirs in Minnesota. Hear them live! The Concert Choir will perform in the Hopkins High School Winter Choir Concert on Dec. 17 at 6:15 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Meadowbrook hosts third-annual Community Service night
On Nov. 14, Meadowbrook Elementary welcomed over 400 parents, students, and community members for a night of giving back to organizations that support the community. The event included activities such as making animal blankets for the Animal Humane Society and writing letters to service men and women. Later in the evening, the Golden Valley Fire Department held a CPR class in the gym for fifthgraders, and a fire-safety class for fourth-graders.
com m u ni t y Open Enrollment Deadline Discover Hopkins! 2015-16 Hopkins Public Schools Open Enrollment applications are being accepted now. The application deadline is: January 15, 2015 Questions? Call 952-988-4003 www.HopkinsSchools.org/discover
Frosty Fun! Hopkins Community Education Early Childhood programs’ indoor winter fun event is for families with children ages 2-5. $5 per family, class #405-DW. January 10, 10-11:30 a.m. Harley Hopkins Family Center 125 Monroe Ave S, Hopkins www.HopkinsSchools.org
Secondary Chinese Immersion Program Brings New Perspective to West Junior High
XinXing Academy Students Enter Junior High
Now entering seventh-grade, the pioneer class of XinXing Academy has moved into its host site at West Junior High, creating a slice of China, otherwise known as the XinXing@West secondary Chinese immersion program. The program may be new, but West Junior High’s administration has been carefully planning for its arrival for two years. Principal Shirley Gregoire has visited China twice, secured a sister-school partnership in Cosco, Shanghai, and has planned numerous information nights for XinXing Academy parents and students. Continuing to study Chinese at the secondary level gives students the best results for long-term language retention. To that end, nearly 100 percent of XinXing Academy’s sixthgrade class has chosen to continue on with XinXing@West this year. As with XinXing Academy, XinXing@West offers an authentic Chinese experience for students. Language classes will continue to be taught by teachers who are culturally Chinese, creating an even more global environment at West Junior High.
Principal Shirley Gregoire and IB Coordinator Todd Roudabush (fourth and fifth from the left respectively) pose with leaders from the sister school in Cosco, Shanghai. The partnership was secured during a 2014 summer trip to China. This school year, XinXing students will be interacting with Shanghai students via video, and study abroad opportunities between both sets of students are expected.
“There is a growing body of immersion research that supports language and literacy development happening simultaneously across two languages, especially in the upper grades,” said Molly Wieland, coordinator of XinXing. “We designed the details of our program after attending a weeklong workshop on bi-literacy development in immersion at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition.”
As an IB school,
Staff collaboration Teaching a U.S. history class in Chinese is not without its challenges. For starters, U.S. history is being culturally not taught in China, so very few resources exist. To create the curriculum used within XinXing@West, aware — Neil Lerner, social studies teacher at West Junior High, and Chinese teacher Fang Yuan (also known because of as Michael) work together to translate material XinXing@West, from the mainstream class. Adding another layer of challenge, the American material is at a high level, we are living the so students are learning new terms and vocabulary in Chinese. And then, there are some concepts that IB mission. simply don’t translate. For example, there is not a “Our staff is working closely with Chinese translation for “manifest destiny,” so these teachers from China,” said Gregoire. concepts are supplemented in English through online “They are coming to understand what it means to be more homework. culturally competent, and how complicated that can be.”
we talk about
A bi-literacy approach to learning Throughout the junior high experience, XinXing students will be exposed to Chinese in three content areas – Chinese language and culture, social studies, and science. What makes XinXing@West truly unique is its bi-literacy approach to learning. Students use linguistic resources in both Chinese and English to learn and understand content. Social studies is taught in Chinese, with an online learning component in English that is completed at home. Science is taught in English, with projects in Chinese on a variety of science topics that are completed at home using technology. Because all Hopkins junior-high students access content digitally through iPads, this approach works especially well.
“The students have adjusted to the intensity and working pace,” said Yuan. “The class is pushing them to think globally by comparing historical events that happened in the United States with the events that happened in China.” Bi-literacy works well because it teaches the students the concepts in both languages. Lerner is committed to aligning the social studies curriculum with his mainstream social studies courses. Mastering the concepts in English, as well as Chinese, will ensure that the XinXing students are ready for rigorous English courses that are offered at Hopkins High School. “We want the students prepared to take Advanced Placement and honors courses at the high school, so they see XinXing@West inside