Spanish IV Class Visits Siler City Elementary

High school students in the Spanish IV class and their teacher, Mery Rojas, enjoyed the opportunity to visit kindergarten and second grade classes at nearby Siler City Elementary on Thursday, March 3. The elementary students participate in a dual language Spanish immersion program so the high school students were able to observe the program and how they transition from Spanish to English language instruction and vice versa. As part of this experience, two students, Alison Perez Hernández y Lillian Jones, wrote an article about the importance of their visit and the importance of learning another language. In April, this same group of students will apply these skills in our elementary school at Chatham Charter School. 

According to Rebecca Brookshire, “Yo aprendí que con tal de que los estudiantes están probando usar su español, las maestras están felices aunque hagan errores. El proceso se supone que debe ser divertido así como disfrutado.” [translation: :I learned that as long as the students are using their Spanish, the teachers are happy even though they make mistakes. The process should be fun and enjoyable.”

Hailey Pelletier summarized her experience in the following words: “La experiencia de visitar la escuela de Siler City Elementary fue muy interesante y beneficiosa para mis conocimientos sobre enseñar el español. Yo disfruté conocer a las maestras y ver cómo cambian entre inglés y español. ¡Muchas gracias por la oportunidad!” [translation: “The experience of visiting Siler City Elementary was very interesting and beneficial for my understanding of how to teach Spanish. I enjoyed meeting the teachers and seeing how they transition from English to Spanish. Thank you for the opportunity!”]

“It was good for our students to learn how the dual language program works and how they transition within the day between instruction in English and Spanish during the day,” commented Mery Rojas.

“Siler City Elementary welcomes groups of Spanish students from high schools across the county. Our students and staff enjoy sharing our program and interacting with the older students. Some visitors are former students in our program. The Spanish IV students at Chatham Charter bring a different perspective as they experience it for the first time, ” said Tania Poston, Principal of Siler City Elementary School.

Listen to the students talk about their visits with the kindergarteners and second graders.