Celebrating World Languages Week at Sayville Middle School

The World Language Department at Sayville Middle School celebrated World Language Week from March 7 - March 11.  Each class was able to partake in activities to celebrate not only French and Spanish but all languages and cultures.  Below are some activities that the students participated in.

French

Students in Mrs. Cox’s French classes created Mardi Gras masks as worn in the Mardi Gras celebrations in Nice, France.  They also participated in a Goose Chase activity where they were able to find cultural objects around Sayville Middle School.  Students learned about French idioms and created posters.  They also created dialogues in any world language and presented them to the class.  Students learned about current music in French-speaking countries, watched music videos and participated in Just Dance.  The morning announcements were made by 8th graders in French.

Spanish

Students in Mrs. Jantz's 8th grade Spanish classes celebrated World Language Week by making worry dolls in class.  Worry dolls are small handmade dolls traditionally made from wire, wool, and textiles in Central America.  According to legend, children tell their worries to the dolls and then place it underneath their pillows before going to sleep at night.  The dolls take over the task of worrying so the child can wake up refreshed.  

Señora Chirichella’s classes celebrated WL week in a very interesting way: Students dove deep into their heritages and brought in some of their family treasures to share and created slides with fun facts to inform us about their families as well as their nationalities.   Many students brought in different foods from their heritages and showed us recipes that go back generations!  Others brought in some mementos from their travels to other countries!

Another amazing activity we did was learn a bit of American sign language! Students practiced the alphabet and spelling out their names as well as interpreting a few images with some common phrases.

Students in Mrs. Petrone’s classes completed God’s Eye projects as well as Guatemalan Friendship Bracelets and worry dolls.  They took virtual car rides around Spanish-speaking countries and created conversations in any language of their choice.  

We had a wonderful week exploring new ways to “Celebrate Humanity Through Language!”