• Benvenuti! Welcome to all my new sophomores!  
     
         As you prepare to come up to this new level and to work with a new teacher, I assume that you are both nervous and excited- as am I!
     
    Most of you are familiar at least with my name and face, but I will have to learn everything about each of  YOU in September.   You also are aware that to help me learn a little bit about you, there is a summer assignment  to be completed.  You received a paper copy of the instructions in June, but were also encouraged to go to Google Classroom and to locate your new class - for now titled SUMMER FOR NEW SOPHOMORES.
     
    Your code to access that page is:   sc1x5i.   *** Remember that in order to access it you will need to do so through your school email!
     
     In case you lost track of your assignment, here it is again:
      
     

                                 Italian - sophomore year ( l’estate 2017)                

    Salve ragazzi!

    Your Italian teachers for next year’s level 3 class:  Signora Fusco, Signora Zitz & Signora Lassi - dampf - hope you have a wonderful summer. We understand that you are a hard working group and that you are ready to progress to the next level.

    In order to keep your brain stimulated and to give you a head start when you come back to school in September, we would like you to spend some time, starting in August, putting together a well written essay all about YOU!  This will help to review what you have already learned and it will be a way to introduce yourself  to your new teacher.

    ***The requirements for this essay are as follows:

    ●       3 to  4 paragraphs -  at least 150 words.

    ●       make sure you use lots of adjectives to describe- and good vocabulary from your notes to make the story interesting

    ●       the right forms of possessives to talk about the members of your family and anything that is yours

    ●        correct verb forms of the present and past tense (passato prossimo) conjugations. Remember that when you use the passato prossimo, you need a helping verb!

     

    First paragraph - introduce yourself and talk about:

    -your personality -your likes / dislikes -what you like to do during your free time, alone and with friends

    Second paragraph - talk about your family and home

    -where you live -what your home looks like -with whom you live -your relationship with them

    Third paragraph - talk about your first year’s experience in high school- what was it like?

    -your favorite classes & teachers and why you liked them -what you learned -what you liked and disliked about school -your grades -your schedule,etc.

    Fourth paragraph - talk about your summer vacation

    -did you have fun? -did you travel anywhere? describe it! -what did you do? -did you see friends, where did you go? -did you relax? -any good food experiences? -anything interesting?


    * Make use of the material that you have from freshman class…. and please make sure this essay comes from you, not a translator!     

         Note: a good dictionary source to use for help and samples is: www.wordreference.com

     

    *** This essay is due no later than Friday, September 8th 2017.

     

    Should there be any problems or questions, please feel free to e-mail one or all of us:

    christina.zitz@wcsdny.org

    stacy.dampf@wcsdny.org

     

    We will do our best to respond as soon as we can. You can also find the assignment posted on our Teacher Web pages (level 3 class) as well as on the Google Classroom page called  Summer for new sophomores - (access code: sc1x5i) 

    We look forward to meeting everyone in September and are confident that we will have a good productive year together.

     

    Buone Vacanze! Arrivederci a Settembre!

     

     
     
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         Here is a preview of what you can expect from this class --- an outline of my expectations for our course:
     

    Anno Academico 2017-2018

    Dear students and parents:

         Benvenuti! Welcome to a new year of Italian language learning!  As you know, this is a very important year in your linguistic development, and one that promises to be full and interesting. We will be working hard in order to fulfill the requirements of the district’s Foreign Language Exam, but we will also share a variety of new experiences…. that I’m sure you will enjoy!

    Expectations:

    It is expected that each student be fully and personally responsible for the following:

    (1)  completing all assigned work with maximum effort

    (2)  asking questions whenever and however many times is necessary if you do not understand

    (3)  keeping  necessary notes and materials

    (4)  informing parents of test scores and other important aspects of work required

    (5)  immediately contacting me for any and all problems related to our course (academic issues

          or otherwise).

    It is very important that we are clear about rights and responsibilities of each member of the class. Each of us has the Right and the Responsibility to: (a) show respect to one another and (b) collaborate in making our time together worthwhile and interesting. If we can agree on these basic ground rules, I am certain we will have a memorable year together.

     

    Materials:

          We will review and expand on what you’ve learned in the previous years so as to increase your fluency and understanding of the Italian language, making use of a variety of material, including teacher-created items. We will continue the use of our new text Percorsi- that you became familiar with last year. This year we will also dive into the on-line material that is associated with this text.

          This means that homework and practice will often require you to go on-line. We will, of course, learn how to do this together and then you will be responsible for the review assignments and quizzes that you are given. Oral assignments will also be required – to be done at home and submitted on line

         ***By the end of the second week of classes, it is expected that everyone will have parent permission to use the Internet at school – as that is part of the requirements for the on-line portion of the course work.  More complete details will be sent home soon!

    Additional use of technology:

         Along with the Percorsi textbook site, we will also work within the district network - Google Classroom- for tasks that require collaboration and activities like listening comprehension and oral practice. When these are done at home they give students more opportunities to use the language orally, and it frees up more class time so we can work together. Most students have already become familiar with this space during freshman year. We will work within the system as often as possible. 

    Important reminder: 

    While you are encouraged to use on-line sources- it is always and still- expected that all students work with diligence and honesty at all times. Although there are numerous sources available on-line for translation, YOU MAY NOT use them to convert your thoughts into Italian! Use of these programs- which use others’ words and linguistic terms- is the same as plagiarism!

    An approved “dictionary” sources that you are encouraged to consult for vocabulary and phrases is www.wordreference.com, but you MAY NOT have entire sentences or paragraphs translated with such help! If there is ever a question about the “authenticity” of your material, disciplinary action will be taken!

    All homework assignments and important communication for students and parents can be found on my Teacher page – located through the Wappingers main site – John Jay – Teachers tab.

    Assignments and Grading:

          Tests and quizzes are given on a regular basis. Each has equal weight and importance, so you need to prepare equally well for all of them. There will also be at least one major writing assignment each quarter and  two major oral presentations for the year.  Specific homework assignments will also be graded- at my discretion.

           Missed assignments must be made up after absences – within a maximum of five days from your return!  Help will be provided as necessary, but it is YOUR responsibility to take care of this obligation!   

          Of the utmost importance in rounding out your final grade for each quarter are your oral participation in class (in italiano, naturalmente), and the concrete effort and progress you demonstrate.