FLAIR Newsletter Vol32 No 4

Foreign Language Academic Alliance for International Rapport An Academic Alliance of Georgia and South Carolina Vol. 32, No. 4 (May 2017) Editor and photographer: Jana Sandarg

Department of English and Foreign Languages Augusta University

Culinary Arts Class This year we held a Culinary Arts Class, “International Cuisine: Cook and Eat,” for FLAIR honor society members on Tuesday, April 18th. Our hostess was DiAnne Johnson and our head chef was Sabrina Morgan, both from Evans High School. Other teachers who helped with the cooking class were Richardson Lane (Evans High School), Terry Meredith (Aquinas High School), Christy Presgrove (Greenbrier High School), Sonia Puerta-Quinn (Episcopal Day School), Michael Harris (Butler High School) Susan Phillips and Abigail Russell (both from A. R. Johnson Magnet School), and Edwin Pérez (FLAIR Treasurer). Jana Sandarg (Augusta University) took photos and assisted with clean-up. The menu consisted of onion soup, tostones (fried plantains), tortilla española (Spanish potato omelette), empanadas (meat turnovers), pollo guisado (cooked chicken), rice, and crêpes for dessert. A truly delectable feast.

Above, students and faculty pose for a photo before beginning their three-course meal.

At left, Edwin PĂŠrez (on the right) shows students how to fill the pastry with the meat filling to make empanadas.

Below, students roll out the dough, place the filling in the center, fold the pastry and crimp the edges with a fork. Now they are ready to fry!

At left, students finish making the empanadas. Below, students fry the meat turnovers under the direction of Edwin PĂŠrez (on right).

Above left, Spanish teacher Abigail Russell (in red) shows students how to peal and chop onions for the tortilla espaĂąola.

In the back, center, is Latin teacher Susan Phillips, looking over the shoulder of a student dressed in blue. Above right, Spanish teacher Sonia Puerta-Quinn (in center dressed in blue) helps students cut the peppers for the pollo guisado.

Above, Abigail Russell (left in red) consults with Susan Phillips (at right in red) about the recipe.

Above, students in foreground chop peppers and in the back left, French teacher Terry Meredith (in pink with yellow apron) shows a student how to prepare crĂŞpes.

At left, two students fry the potatoes for the tortilla espaĂąola.

Above left, Terry Meredith (in pink) tells the students how to flip the crĂŞpe. Above right, Jana Sandarg, Christy Presgrove and Di Johnson help prepare the onion soup. Below, Richardson Lane (left) and Michael Harris (center) consults with Susan Phillips (at

Terry Meredith (at left in pink) prepares crĂŞpes with students.

The final product was adorned with strawberries and cream.

Richardson Lane (above left) and Michael Harris (above right) prepare French onion soup. The student in center adds a dash of spice.

At left (L-R), Jana Sandarg, Michael Harris and Richardson Lane pose by the French flag and a miniature Eiffel Tower, as Jana holds a mug of French onion soup.

2017 FLAIR Conference A workshop on resources for using technology in the classroom.

Featuring Vicki Alvis

Saturday, August 26, 2017 10:00 am—noon Augusta University Free to FLAIR teachers No pre-registration required.

Additional information will be available this summer.

Vicki Alvis has served on the board of several foreign language organizations, including the Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) and the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP-GA). She served as president of AATSP-GA and she recently studied in Spain. Vicki has used technology in her middle school classes to inspire her students to learn Spanish.

Congratulations to National Spanish Exam Winner Congratulations William Smith, alumnus of Episcopal Day School, on winning the 2017 Global Citizen Scholarship Award for his achievement on the National Spanish Examination and for his excellent skills in the Spanish language. He was a student of Sonia Puerta-Quinn at Episcopal Day School from second through fifth grade. Sonia submitted the following article on William. (the following article is from the AP Wire, Augusta Preparatory Day School’s Newsletter)

William Smith, a sophomore at Augusta Prep, has won the 2017 Global Citizen Scholarship Award for his achievement on the National Spanish Examination and for his excellent skills in the Spanish language.

This national award, valued at $2,000, is given each year to 16 students from throughout the United States who become eligible by earning high scores on the National Spanish Examination and then submitting samples of their written and oral work in Spanish to a selection committee appointed by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

In July, William will be traveling with 15 additional winners to study at the Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, MN. The scholarship covers the cost of tuition for a two-week Spanish immersion program.

Augusta Prep, which has a long history of excellence in academics, has participated in the National Spanish Examination for several years. Congratulations to William and his Spanish teachers, Mónica Graser and Lorin Crawford, who should be very proud of this accomplishment!

French students at Butler High School and Cross Creek High School visit the Biltmore On April 12 and 13, students French students from Richmond County went on a field trip to The Biltmore Estates in Asheville, North Carolina. This trip was inspired by Michael Harris, French teacher at Butler High School. During a Christmas visit with his wife in late November, 2015, Michael took a picture of the Christmas tree and sent it to Dr. Mabray, his principal. While there, he thought: “Why not bring the students here?” So, in January, 2016, he began the process by first aligning the trip with the Georgia Performance Standards. Then, he tied it to instruction with the relationship that the Vanderbilt’s had with the Châteaux of the Loire River Valley in France such as Chenonceau and Chambord. Finally, he sought the necessary permission for the trip for both Dr. Mabray and the Board of Education. The trip was approved and in April, 2016, only the students from Butler High School took the excursion. Well, the trip was a huge success so when preparing for the new trip, Vasco N’Kutula, the French teacher at Cross Creek High School wanted to join in. So, the preparation began. Butler High School and Cross Creek High School French students were going to The Biltmore Estates on April 13. During a Professional Learning for Richmond County, the other French teachers heard what Vasco and Michael were doing, so they wanted to do it as well. Immediately, they got on the phone with The Biltmore Estates and the rest of the high school French classes in Richmond County were set for April 12.

The trip was incredible! Students from Butler and Cross Creek arrived at school around 5:30 AM. The buses left at 6. There was a short stop at McDonald’s then off to The Biltmore. Upon arrival, the students first went to Antler Hills Village where they explored the farm and visited the Winery (No WINE Bought!!) and they were able to purchase a few souvenirs. Then it was back to the château where the students were grouped into five groups (there were a total of 96 students plus 10 chaperones on this particular trip). What was amazing is that when the château first came into plain view, the students gasped in wonderment over the magnitude of the château. They saw it in class and on a poster but the reality of it in person was astounding! During the next hour and a half, the students learned about the extraordinary life of the Vanderbilts and how they created and developed The Biltmore estates in no less than under 8 years. After touring the house, the students ate lunch at the various establishments on site and then toured the gardens. Toward 4 in the afternoon, it was back to Augusta and arriving at around 8, the fatigued students returned home. All enjoyed the trip and were amazed at what they experienced. Special thanks to Dr. Mabray and Richmond County for making this trip possible which will now become an annual event. For further information if you are interested in creating a Biltmore experience for your students, please contact Michael Harris at Butler High School and he can give you all the necessary details!!

Above, French students from Butler High School and Cross Creek High School pose in front of the Biltmore.

Below, French students from Butler High School pose with teacher Michael Harris.

Spanish Students from Evans, Greenbrier and Harlem High Schools Visit Spain!

On March 31, fourteen students from Evans, Harlem and Greenbrier High Schools left on a ten day tour of Spain. They toured the cities of Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Sevilla, CĂłrdoba and Barcelona, visiting architectural wonders, impressive museums, amazing cathedrals and delicious restaurants.

Students traveling from Evans High School were Rachael Wideman, Henry Dykes, Samantha Somervill, Caitlyn Ferguson, Jill Fate, Alex Shehan and Greyam Hayes. Those from Harlem High School included Ian Averill, Nathan Carrion, Jordan Hogue, Katherine Thomas and Breanna Slover. The students from Greenbrier High School were Jordan Hoeppel and Ava Moore. Chaperones were Lisa Duncan, Di Johnson (Evans High School) and Christy Presgrove (Greenbrier High School). Once in Spain, the Columbia County students met up with a small group from Smyrna, GA and a small group from Virginia.

The students took several classes during the tour that covered political history, great Spanish artists, Flamenco, bullfighting, and culinary arts. Professional chefs worked with our students in Madrid to help them prepare an entire meal consisting of fresh lemonade, several appetizers, tortilla espaĂąola, and chocolate mousse for dessert. In Sevilla, everyone had a lesson with a professional Flamenco artist before dinner and a Flamenco performance, and many of the students ventured out to a bull farm in the countryside where they raise Toro Bravo and had a lesson in bullfighting there. It was a very busy ten days, full of great sights and sounds, but best of all, great memories!

Students learn the basics about flamenco dancing in a special workshop in Sevilla.

Students practice the art of bull fighting when they visited a local bull farm.

2017 Jul

16-19 AATF Conference, Saint Louis, Missouri

Aug

29

FLAIR Conference, Augusta University

Sept

23

AATSP-GA Conference, Baggett Elementary School, Lawrenceville, GA

Nov

17-19 ACTFL Conference, Nashville, TN

2018 Feb

26-27 FLAIR Honor Society Inductions, Augusta University

Mar

15-17 SCOLT/FLAG, Atlanta, GA

Please email items for the calendar to the editor: jsandarg@augusta.edu

$250 Student Study Abroad Award

$250 Teacher Study Abroad Award

Students who are members of the FLAIR Foreign Language Honor Society are eligible to receive a $25 award for participating in a study abroad program. Only one award will be given per year.

Students must participate in an organized program and the funds will be disbursed after receiving official documentation of completion of the program. No deadline. Contact: Terry Meredith at tmeredith@aquinashigh.org

Teachers who are active members of FLAIR are eligible to receive a $250 award for participating in a study abroad program. Only one award will be given per year. Teachers must participate in an organized program and the funds will be disbursed after receiving official documentation of completion of the program. No deadline. Contact: Terry Meredith at tmeredith@aquinashigh.org

$100 FLAIR TEACHER GRANTS are available to active FLAIR members who are presenting at a conference, working on a special project, or other similar items. Up to five $100 scholarships will be awarded annually, funds permitting, and a teacher may only receive it once. To apply, email Terry Meredith at tmeredith@aquinashigh.org. No deadline.

FLAIR wants you!

We need steering committee members.

Please contact Terry Meredith (tmeredith@aquinashigh.org) or Jana Sandarg (jsandarg@augusta.edu) if you wish to be added to the steering committee email list. Everyone is invited to attend the meetings.

Minutes of the FLAIR Steering Committee Thursday, April 20, 2017 The FLAIR steering committee met at 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 20, 2017, at Mi Rancho Mexican Restaurant on Washington Road. The following members were present: Julio Avila, Michael Harris, Di Johnson, Richardson Lane, Sonia Puerta-Quinn and Jana Sandarg. Jana prepared the agenda and Richardson volunteered to lead the meeting.

Jana passed around a note from Joe Uriz on behalf of FLAG, thanking us for the Chik-fil-A certificates we donated for door prizes at the last FLAG conference.

Send all items for the next newsletter to Jana as soon as possible. Her email is jsandarg@augusta.edu. For our next steering committee meeting, we chose Tuesday, September 12th at 5:00 pm at Mi Rancho.

The treasurer, Edwin PÊrez, sent the treasurer’s report. As of March 2017, we have a balance of $2,227.52. It was moved and seconded to accept the report. The motion carried. It was moved and seconded that we pay $50 each to the two dance groups that performed at our FLAIR Honor Society Induction. The motion carried.

We discussed changes to the FLAIR Honor Society ceremony, such as announcing to the audience that all students should stay until the end of the ceremony. We agreed to keep the reception, but have it at the end instead of the beginning. Michael volunteered to see if he could get the cookies and soft drinks donated by Costco. Jana will look for door prizes that are less expensive. We will also try to have student entertainment. We need to make these changes because we have to cover the cost of security, which is $210 for two nights.

The cooking class was very successful and we would like to continue it next year.

We will hold our fall conference on Saturday, August 26 at Augusta University. It was moved and seconded to have Vicki Alvis be our speaker. The motion carried. She will talk about resources to facilitate personalized learning with technology. We will pay her an honorarium of $200 plus mileage and meals. Jana will host Vicki at her home.

We discussed having teachers invite the tuna to perform at their schools.

Julio and Michael will check with their schools.

The honor society induction dates for next year are February 26 & 27, 2018.

Sonia Puerta-Quinn will study in Spain this summer, so she requested the study abroad scholarship for teachers. It was moved and seconded to award her the $250 scholarship. The motion carried. After she completes the study program and presents FLAIR a certificate of completion, we will issue the check.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 12, at 5:00 pm at Mi Rancho. The meeting adjourned around 6:25 pm.

Submitted by: Jana Sandarg