The class portal

Students have had access to the portal for almost two months now. Primary students (Gr 1/2 & 3) were sent home with their usernames and passwords as well as instructions on how to access the portal.

For those who did not receive the sheet or for any intermediate who require help, please see the following instructions:

• Enter aim portal student login in the search engine
• Click on AIM Language Learning – Official Site
• In the top right hand corner, click on Portal Login
• On the first sign-in, students are asked to agree with the terms and conditions. Once I agree is chosen, students will be taken to the welcome page.
• Click on Student on the following page and enter the username and password.

Enjoy the portal 🙂

If your son or daughter has forgotten his/her username and password, please email me at lisa@deltachristianschool.org and I will forward the information.

Merci

 

Bonjour!

Bonjour à mon blog 🙂

Hello all.

My apologies for not updating the blog sooner. It’s been a full and busy start to the year. The K-7 classes are moving ahead with confidence and, in most cases, enthusiasm.

Feel free to read the entire blog but if you don’t, please check out your child’s class for an update.

As you may know, I only see the K-Gr. 3 classes once a week. Even though, we don’t get as much time together, I am very impressed with how much the primary students retain each week. They are making great steps forward.

Kindergarten have learned hello and goodbye songs, how to greet one another, colours, some animal names, actions, numbers up to 10 and are currently working on 11-20 which is a help as they learn the calendar. Each class also provides an opportunity to begin reading in French.

Grade 1 had a strong year in Kindergarten and have started the year off well as they learn their first play, ‘La Poule Maboule’.

Grade 1/2 continues on from last year’s play, La Poule Maboule’ with the hope of acting it out later in the year. The Grade 1s are doing well with more challenging material.

Both the Gr. 1 & 2s are displaying very strong comprehension skills. They all enjoy singing.

Gr. 3 has started their new play, ‘Les 3 Petits Cochons’, learning the song ‘Qui a peur du méchant loup?’ A number of the students in the class are trying to speak in French. Congratulations. Reading of the new play has also begun and shortly, the class will begin some writing assignments.

I have the privilege of seeing the Gr. 4-7 classes twice a week.

Gr. 4 has recently started learning how to talk about the weather. They have finished reading the play ‘Comment y aller?’ and have begun reading and writing activities to reinforce their developing language skills.

Gr 5 is progressing well with their new and longer play, ‘L’arbre Ungali’. This group is very keen. The class has doubled in number since last year and the new students are definitely keeping up.

Gr. 6 is working on a play that I haven’t taught for well over 5 years, ‘Chat Angora’. This is a very challenging play but I believe that the Gr. 6 class can rise to the challenge. This class also has a number of new students and because of this, Gr. 6 has focused on review activities which serve to help the new students get up to date with their peers. Gr. 6 has had a number of assessments this term, oral and written. They are all making good progress.

Gr. 7, like the Gr. 5 and 6 classes, Gr. 7 also has a large group of new students. It’s been important to help the new Gr. 7s catch up so that, along with the rest of the class, I can prepare them for Gr. 8 French. There have been some struggles in this group, however, in the past few weeks, there have been significant steps forward. Using the chromebooks to access the class portal at school has been a real help to most members of the class. Currently, everyone is working on a writing assignment that helps them to summarize a past play in their own words (en français). At times, the new students have participated in activities led by their peers. It’s been a confidence building activity for those who have taken on the role of teaching.

I do not send home homework for K-3 and very rarely for 4-7 unless they have unfinished work in class. My hope is that students will review class work at home on the school French portal. Almost all classes have access to the portal. I am still handing out usernames and passwords. Kindergarten and Gr. 1 will not be using the portal.

Once all classes, Gr. 1/2 – Gr. 7 have been introduced to the portal and have learned how to use it, I will post another blog message explaining how to use the portal at home. Some intermediate students have already begun this review. If your son or daughter is in Gr. 5-7, please remind them to review a few times per week.

Merci,

Madame Somerville

 

 

 

Portal practice

Bonjour tout le monde,

I am rather behind in my blog posts. ‘Je suis desolée’ Christmas was a great time with the students singing Vive le Vent, playing Christmas Bingo and for most classes, hearing the story of the nativity using known and new vocabulary.

The plays are coming along well for the Gr.4-7 classes. The Gr. 4s are now engaging in writing for the first time. The 5-7s are building on their current reading and writing skills. I am happy to see so many children trying to speak spontaneously in class. It’s a real struggle not to speak in English but the benefits are starting to show as understanding grows.

Currently, the Gr. 4-7s have access to the Portal. Please encourage your son/daughter to review French at least twice if not three times a week for at least 10 minutes at a time reviewing ‘les actions’, ‘les actions de la pièce’, ‘la chanson’ et ‘l’histoire’.

I have sent home a yellow practice sheet so that students can record the work they do on the portal to maintain their French skills. This sheet is due once a month. The due date is at the top of the sheet. Once a month I will also give small vocabulary and play comprehension (short answer) quizzes.

This week the Gr. 5 & 6 classes have homework: Finish ‘Les Questions Totales’. They are due Feb. 5.

French with the primary grades continues to be a so much fun and the classes are learning very quickly which is great as I only see them once a week. I love hearing that your children are sharing their French with you, some singing songs or playing games or just telling you about the new vocabulary they have learned. I love the enthusiasm.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Mme. Somerville

Portals

Today, I signed up the Gr. 4, 5 & 6 classes on their portals. Students now have online access to their plays, songs, videos and vocabulary. This provides an opportunity for review at home. Grade 4s are signed up but don’t have their usernames and passwords yet. They will receive them on Monday, October 16.

The Grade 5 and 6 classes can now access this resource. If your child forgets their username and password, just email me and I can forward it on.

In approximately another month, the Grade 3s will most likely have access to their portal and I am yet to determine when the Grade 1 and 2 classes will be ready. The Grade 7s are doing a play that doesn’t have a portal. However, they will have access to vocabulary soon as well as video presentations of their play.

I have asked students to review class work at home a minimum of 3 times a week. In this way, they will stay on top of the vocabulary especially and will find it easier to understand and participate in class. At times, I will request specific areas to be studied. Otherwise, your children can review as they please. There is a lot to choose from 🙂

Type aimportal in the search engine and then click on AIM PORTAL. Students are then directed to the student/teacher page. They click on Student and then enter their username and password to enter the portal. Enjoy!!

 

Bonjour tout le monde

Welcome to another school year at DCS. I am very excited about teaching all of the grades this year. Today, I enjoyed teaching Grades 1 and 2 for the first time. They are very enthusiastic classes. Parents, why not ask your children how to say their names or how to say how they feel in French. They might even remember the actions 🙂 Je suis ___________ and Ca va _______ (bien, mal ou comme ci comme ça). The older classes can say Je m’appelle _________. Perhaps the primary classes will remember some of the vocabulary from the ‘Simon dit’ or ‘la balle française’ games. The older classes enjoy 1 à 10.

It was great meeting some of you at the Teacher/Parent Info evening. Please find the link to my course overview. As you will see participation is a large part of being successful in class.

DCS French course overview

In the coming days, I will have your children (Grades 1-7) signed up on the portal for their class play. This resource is excellent for maintaining your child’s French skills at home. It gives students an opportunity to see, hear and read the vocabulary, songs as well as the assigned play. Children can follow along and keep up with what they have learned at school. At times, I will post the sections that need focus.

Kindergarten will be a fun combination of songs, games and activities preparing the class for the French curriculum that begins in Grade 1.

Finally, for the intermediate grades, Grades 4-7, in past years, I have offered lunchtime help on Wednesdays. If your son or daughter wishes some one on one time with me, they can drop by my room at the beginning of lunch.

Here’s to a great year in French.

Madame Somerville

 

AIM portal and Quizlet

Bonjour,

This week, I signed up all my classes on the AIM portal. This opportunity means your son/daughter can access the play, songs and vocabulary, including the gestures at home. This resource is fantastic as my students can watch and listen to the play and review vocabulary while working on their pronunciation. So, review at home will now be more engaging. Students can either find the portal by putting ‘aim portal’ in the search engine or just go directly to http://class.aimlanguagelearning.com/welcome All students have a username and password. If your son/daughter was away on Wednesday, I will sign them up after Spring Break.

In addition to the portal, I have also set up a website game that makes reviewing vocabulary much more fun. I have invited all the Gr.5-7 classes to sign up for http://www.quizlet.com using their school emails. I hope to send out the invite to the Gr. 4 class soon using parent emails. Once you get the invite, be sure to accept it. Sign up and begin reviewing vocabulary via games, activities and testing. I will add more vocabulary soon. Students will find the vocabulary under SOMERVILLE DCS French. The first few sets of vocabulary come from Les Trois Petits Cochons. In time, I hope to have all the vocabulary for all the plays. The words from Les Trois Petits Cochons are foundational and are always in use in class.

These two opportunities also give you, the parents, a chance to see a bit of what goes on in class and how your children are learning French.

I hope you all have a great Spring Break.

A la prochaine,

Mme. Somerville

 

 

Un quiz pour toutes les classes

Bonjour,

Next week on March 1, all classes will be having a grade appropriate vocabulary quiz. Each quiz will also include 5 questions from the play. Students are encouraged to review vocab and their blue worksheets.

Also, it would appear that very few students are memorizing their lines for the play. Please remind your children to memorize for homework. I very rarely give homework. All students need to do at home is review vocabulary and read/memorize the play/their lines.

Merci

PS If your child is the narrator in his/her respective play, they do not need to memorize all of their lines. Clearly, they have the most lines. However, they need to try and memorize enough that they are not always reading from their play. They should be engaging as they narrate and looking down regularly doesn’t work well. Students can see me about how much is expected.

Bonne Année

Bonjour,

I have just realized that I haven’t posted a blog since late October. All three classes are progressing well and the enthusiasm continues for most 🙂

Over Christmas, the students sang a French Christmas song and played Christmas bingo. We had a lot of fun.

So, here we are in the new year. All the classes have now been assigned their roles and groups for the end of year play presentation. This means that all students should be learning their lines in addition to reviewing vocabulary at home.

In addition to regular classwork, students are enjoying songs, games and various creative activities. For example, the Gr. 7 class has been focusing on verbal expression by describing drawings to a partner and the partner in turn draws what he/she hears. Many of the students find this helps them to see that they can indeed express themselves fairly well in French.

The Grade 4s are spending more time reading and writing as we continue with oral activities. The Grade 5s enjoy games especially a Q&A team game about their play, L’arbre Ungali. They are quizzed on spelling, grammar and the plot.

Please be reminded that I offer one on one help on Wednesdays at lunch. This is particularly helpful to students who have some difficulty. I find the students that attend regularly do very well by year end.

C’est tout pour le moment.

Mme. Somerville

 

Tous les mercredis

Bonjour,

After six weeks into the new school year, all three classes are doing very well. I enjoy the energy and enthusiasm. Of course, some students do struggle. So for the last few weeks, I have started offering help during lunch on Wednesdays (les mercredis). If your son or daughter needs help, please encourage them to come on Wednesdays. The success rate for students who attend this session is very high.

Through songs, games, activities, reading and writing, both classes are building upon their understanding of French. I only see your children twice a week for just under 45 minutes each time. These two classes in themselves are not enough to maintain their abilities. I can’t stress enough how important regular review at home is.  Just like music and sports, practice is so important. Thank you for encouraging your child to review at home. I am hearing from some of you how your children are practicing at home teaching you or helping younger siblings. Making review fun is the best way to learn. I am preparing an online vocabulary game that will also help with review at home. Once I’ve completed this activity, I will send out the link.

Review work: read the play regularly using gestures and practice the vocabulary sheet/s also using class gestures. 5-10 minutes each week night will make a big difference in class.

Bonsoir,

Mme. Somerville

L’école a commencé!!

Bonjour tout le monde,

‘School has begun’ and I am very happy to be back. Delta Christian is a buzz from K to Grade 7 and it’s great to see. I look forward to another year sharing French with your children. I am particularly excited to meet my new Grade 4s. They are a keen group and I’m sure they will be very successful this year. Last year’s Gr. 4/5 class is this year’s 5/6 class and I look forward to their continued enthusiasm. I have the privilege of teaching a straight Gr. 7 class this year. I trust that our time together will help the students prepare for high school French. They are a small group and so will get ample one on one attention in class.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can tomorrow night at the parent/teacher info night. Please drop by my room (203), especially if your child is new to the school and the program. Attached is the French course overview. Please have a look particularly if you won’t be able to meet with me tomorrow.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mi7aZuxzVFO9ELyKY3KwuXJP7_iZsFMELgBXHjYMtCw/edit?usp=sharing

à demain,

Mme. Somerville