What's Happening
Osborn School District #8
Encanto School (Preschool -3rd grade)
Come see why Osborn is
the best kept secret!
A+ Dual Language Program
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Encanto
Dual Language Student |
Spanish in a short period of
time. All students improve their English skills at the same
time.
One exciting aspect of the Dual
Language Program is that it increases student achievement as
documented by consistent increases in AIMS and District
Trimester Benchmark scores when compared to English fluent
peers in English-only classrooms.
OMS Principal Marty Makar
and Director of Language Acquisition Noemi Cortes are
pleased to announce that the Dual Language program has been
expanded into seventh grade. Social Studies Teacher Julio
Valenzuela, Science Teacher Mariano Guerra, and Mathematics
Teacher Eva Gomez teach in the program. Each class
alternates between all English one week and immersion
Spanish the next. The Osborn Dual Language program began
more than ten years ago in the lower grades with outstanding
achievement results for students.
Longview’s Dual
Language program was featured on Noticias Univision on
December 9th, 2008. The segment featured the
4th grade Dual Language class. Two students, Antonio and Christopher L., and their
mother Beatriz L., expressed how pleased they were with the
dual language program and why they believe learning academic
subjects in both Spanish and English is important. Noemi
Cortes, Language Acquisition Specialist for Osborn School
District, as well as Longview’s dual language lead, Jenny
Tejada briefly outlined the program requirements and
curriculum. If parents are interested in the dual language
English and Spanish program, they may contact Noemi Cortes
at (602) 707-2016. |
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Osborn’s
Spanish Dual Language program has been awarded the prestigious
Arizona Educational Foundation’s A+ Exemplary Program Award. The
Dual Language program is available to students from
Kindergarten to eighth grade at Encanto, Clarendon,
and now OMS. Students who participate in Osborn’s Dual Language
Program score higher on district assessments than those in
English only classrooms. Students participating in the program must first
demonstrate fluency in English; however, they do not need to be
fluent in Spanish.
Dual Language students are
instructed half of the time in English and half in Spanish. Non-Spanish
speakers learn to read, speak, and comprehend |
Rotary Visits Encanto and Clarendon
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Students Create "Fractured" Fairytales: Transforming
Boring into Invigorating Writing
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Karla with her fairytale about Principal Zach |
Students in Renee Hamill and Kelly Kesterson-Walker's
third grade classrooms participated in a innovative
writing project: They wrote and illustrated their own
'Fractured' fairytales. The two classrooms were
recipients of Osborn Educational Foundation's Teacher
Mini-grants, which provided additional funding to
purchase support materials used to illustrate students'
tales.
First, students read a number of different versions of
familiar fairytales. The teachers discussed necessary
story elements, i.e. characters, setting, problem, plot,
and solution. The class created storyboards of the
fairytales, analyzing each variation. Students then
created a storyboard for their own imaginative version,
a "fractured" fairytale, or their own original tale.
After their piece had been drafted, revised, and edited;
they created puppets of the characters. Students then
took photos to match their illustrations from the
storyboard. Students typed final drafts, creating
publications with photographic illustration. Finally,
students shared their stories with an audience. The
result was a staggering array of original and fractured
fairytales with titles such as ‘Caterella’, ‘Ginger-Witey’,
‘Principal Zach’s New Clothes’, or ‘The Elf Who Learned
Something New’. Students understood and enjoyed the
writing process. Students' Voice and Word Choice, in
particular, were much improved through the exercise. |
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Reading Pillows for Encanto Third Grade Classroom
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Students in Renee Hamill’s third
grade completed their ‘Reading Pillows’ and started off the
week quietly reading with their new pillows- a nice
transition after the Thanksgiving weekend. Students were
draped about the classroom reclining on colorful pillows
reading silently alone or in pairs. With the help of
volunteer Lynn Bolen, students sewed individual pillows to
take home and use as their reading pillows. They chose two
pieces of precut fabric, learned to use a sewing machine,
and stuffed their pillows. Hamill’s objective was to provide
an incentive for students to practice reading nightly. This
project also lent itself to a number of other literacy
objectives: students will write thank you notes to the
volunteer and will also be writing “How to Make a Pillow”
directions. Innovative and caring teachers like Renee Hamill
are part of the reason Osborn students shine. Data indicate
that the longer students attend Osborn schools, the better
their learning; as indicated by improved test scores when
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Students break-in their Reading Pillows in
Mrs. Hamill's class |
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compared to peers who have
transferred into the district from other US schools. |
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