Canciones de Navidad

This week the Spanish students are caroling with some canciones de Navidad for other students in the school. We've been practicing the lyrics (and some motions!) to some popular holiday songs. Some of the songs we've learned are: Feliz Navidad, Rodolfo, el reno de la nariz roja, Cascabeles (jingle bells) y Mi hombre de nieve (frosty the snowman). ¡Ask a Spanish student for un concierto!

Here are the lyrics to Mi hombre de nieve:

Mi hombre de nieve

es feliz y está muy gordo

con la boca, la nariz, dos ojos

en la cabeza un sombrero

Mi hombre de nieve
es feliz y está muy gordo
con la boca, la nariz, dos ojos
en la cabeza un sombrero

Ta ta ta ta ta

Ta ta ta ta ta

mi hombre de nieve

Ta ta ta ta ta
Ta ta ta ta ta
mi hombre de nieve

Have a wonderful and safe break!!

el día de nuestra señora de Guadalupe

Today, el doce de diciembre, is a holiday for an important Catholic symbol in Mexico. Guadalupe is represented as a manifestation of the Virgin Mary in the Americas. Guadalupe is also a symbol of Mexico. Read below about Guadalupe's first appearance in Mexico in 1531,


"According to traditional Catholic accounts of the Guadalupan apparitions, during a walk from his village to the city on the early morning of December 9, 1531, Juan Diego saw a vision of the Virgin - a young girl of fourteen to sixteen, surrounded by light- at the Hill of Tepeyac. Speaking in Nahuatl, the Lady asked for a church to be built at that site in her honor. When Juan Diego spoke to the Spanish bishop, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the bishop asked him for a miraculous sign to prove his claim. The Virgin asked Juan Diego to gather some flowers at the top of the hill, even though it was winter when no flowers bloomed. He found there Castilian roses, gathered them, and the Virgin herself re-arranged them in his tilma. When Juan Diego presented the roses to Zumárraga, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe miraculously appeared imprinted on the cloth of Diego's tilma."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

Día de acción de gracias

The first trimester flew by and now it's already Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break and that you get rested up to begin the second trimester. Hasta el lunes.

¡Feliz día de acción de gracias!

Monte Albán

Los estudiantes del 8 have just started a unit on Oaxaca, México. Oaxaca is one of Mexico's states, but it is also the name of the capital city in the state. Oaxaca is a unique Mexican state because it has a high concentration of indigenous people in its population. Many oaxaqueños speak an indigenous language in addition to Spanish.

Monte Albán was a city run by the Zapotecs before the arrival of the Spaniards. The ruins at Monte Albán date back to nearly 750 a.d. ¡Hace mucho tiempo! Take a look at this website for more information about Monte Albán: http://www.oaxacaoaxaca.com/monte-alban.htm. Los estudiantes would tell you that the most memorable thing they have learned so far is about the cuisine in Oaxaca. The most interesting dish we've read about is chapulines or fried grasshoppers. ¿Te gustaría probarlos?

Las calificaciones

The trimester has flown by! Report cards will be going home soon. Do you know what your grade is? Do you have any missing assignments that you can turn in before grades are due? Please check your grade on Parent Connect so that you're not surprised when report cards go home. Log in at: http://sds.ccsd66.org/parentconnect/

¡Que pasen un buen fin de semana!

Trivia Answers

Did you know the answers to last week's trivia questions? The answers are:

• Uruguay
• Speedy Gonzalez
• Costa Rica

How did you do? What other Spanish trivia do you know?

Trivia

Every Friday the students begin the class by trying to answer a Spanish Trivia question. Do you know the answers to any of these questions?

• If you lived in South America's smallest Hispanic country, where would you live?
• In 2002, the Cartoon Network began showing old cartoons of what very fast Mexican mouse?
• One Hispanic Country's name means "Rich Coast". Which is it?

Check back next week for the answers.

Have a great weekend!