Welcome to Spanish
Sra. Zapata
A Little Bit About Us:
¡BIENVENIDOS!A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
Welcome to Spanish! My name is Jaime Zapata and it is my pleasure to be teaching Spanish in grades K-6. For those of you who do not know me I am a proud St. Isidore parent too!!! I have two sons, Carlos (4th grade) and Alec (3rd grade). This is my third year teaching at St. Isidore School. I started as a Kindergarten TA and then moved to 7th grade Spanish teacher. My husband, Carlos, and I feel very strongly about the importance of a second language. My husband is originally from Lima, Peru. Spanish is his first language. When he moved here 22 years ago he only spoke Spanish. He attended De La Salle High School where he was thrown into a full emersion, “sink or swim” atmosphere. Thankfully he was able “to swim”. We met in high school (I was across the street at Carondelet High School) and have been together ever since! When I was pregnant with our first son, Carlitos (“little Carlos”) we decided that my husband would only speak to our children in Spanish and I would only speak to them in English. We knew several people that both parents were native Spanish speakers and the children understood Spanish but, could not speak, read or write it. We wanted more for our children. So from the day that our sons were born our house was conducted in a fully bi-lingual manner. It has worked out beautifully! Carlos and Alec can speak, read and write fluently in Spanish. One of our main goals for our sons was for them to be able to communicate with their great-grandmother in Peru. I am happy to say that they have a wonderful relationship with her. They see her often and have a wonderful time together. We believe that children are sponges and can easily acquire a second language when they are young. As a matter of fact, it is far easier the younger the child is. I am happy to be sharing my enthusiasm for foreign language and different cultures with your children. I am sure we will have a wonderful year together.
A LITTLE ABOUT SPANISH CLASS:
I am thrilled that Mrs. Schroeder has brought Spanish back for all grades. I am a firm believer that in order for the students to acquire a second language it has to start young. Also, it has to be introduced in multi-forum manner. The students will use all 5 senses to learn (the same way they learned English). We will use textbooks in grades 4-6. We will use print outs, music, games, cultural projects, videos, TPR Commands (Total Physical Response), role play, flashcards and more in ALL grades. My main goal is for the students to learn while having fun! There will not be a lot of homework but, what is assigned is important. There is a monthly Spanish log due in grades 3-6 (please see special note regarding logs in the news and homework section). I am excited about this year and I know we will have a lot of fun too!!!
Please feel free to contact me via email at jzapata@stisidore.org . I am also available for confrences by appointment only.