¡Buenas noches a todos!

Well, we have had an exciting past few days with Huracan Sandy, no power, and in some cases, no water. Thank goodness things are trying to get back to normal. Last week, we started learning about adjectives, ages, and cultural notes about Puerto Rico. We still need to work with the new adjective vocabulary and will be having oral presentations using pictures that you have drawn of yourselves. After having a half day last week, attending a yearly foreign language conference last Friday, having 2 no school days this week, and another early release day next Tuesday on election day, we are having trouble getting into a consistent routine for optimal learning, but we will get there. We just need some patience and a bit more studying.

This week, we will learning about the Mexican and Latin American holiday Los Dias de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. Celebrated at the same time as Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day, we will be learning how this holiday is similar to Halloween and what the major differences are also. It is a family oriented celebration of ancestors and loved ones that have passed away. On Friday, we will be bringing in one picture of a deceased loved one or pet along with a article that represents that person's interests and likes, presenting them to the class, and putting them into our classroom "ofrenda" or altar. It is a very interesting project that everyone seems to enjoy. We will be continuing presentations into next week, however the items are due this Friday. Presentations will be in English, although there might be a few questions that I will ask in Spanish that we all should know how to answer.

Tarea por ésta semana: ( homework for this week):

miércoles noche: calendarios de noviembre - 8 cosas de los dias de los muertos, en color y en español. You have a list of items that you can use for your 8 pictures after listening to our classroom discussion.

jueves noche: bring in a picture of a deceased relative or pet and be prepared to talk about that person's or animal's favorite activities, favorite foods, age, personality, and any other interesting facts that you can share with the class. This is not a written project, but you will be graded on your presentation.

I am still available for extra help and make up work (classwork, homework, and finishing quizzes and tests) tomorrow and next week on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Test corrections and retakes  are going on now for the major test we just got back today. My policy is any quiz or test under a 70% can be corrected up to 4 per trimester. Make sure you come to see me because the trimester ends the week of Thanksgiving which is el 22 de noviembre.

Hasta mañana,      Señora Schneider