Spain Day at DWS

Happy Friday!

This week our school celebrated global learning in a big way. The whole school participated in Spain Day, a day filled with fun activities and celebrations of all things Spain. Teachers who recently traveled to Spain have share much of what they learned with their classes, but this gave teachers a chance to share what they had learned with the school as a whole.

To gear up for the big day, 5th grade students made posters to remind students to wear red and yellow for the Spainish flag or a soccer jersey, since that is the most popular sport in Spain. The response was amazing. The hallways and classrooms were a sea of yellow and red. Some students even used face paint to put the Spanish flag on their cheeks. Mesi jerseys were sprinkled throughout the school.

The day was kicked off with a whole school assembly open to parents and friends in the community. Students learned about the teacher’s trip through Spain from a iMovie trailer and PowerPoint narrated by our principal and assistant principal.

After the PowerPoint it was my classes big dancing debut! Weeks of practice learning salsa came to fruition on stage in front of the whole school, parents, tthe superintendent, and even the local paper The Mariner who had come to cover the event. My students did amazing! I was so proud of them for bravely getting up and dancing for everyone!

At the conclusion of the assembly all students returned to their homeroom and were treated to a mini Spainish lesson from students from the high school. All students learned some basic phrases in Spainish, were able to ask questions and practiced speaking Spanish with one another.

For lunch the cafeteria prepared a Spanish inspired paella dish as the main meal. There was Spanish style rice with chicken and peppers served in a crunchy tortilla. During lunch students listened to Spanish style music and watched the PowerPoint. All the tables were decorated with tablecloths in the Spanish flag colors topping of the festive feel.

After all three lunches were finished, and all students returned from recess, our principal came over the loudspeaker to announce a 10 minute siesta time. All students were invited to either rest or read a book in a quiet spot in the classroom. This was met with huge enthusiasm.

To cap off the day my class colored in Spanish flags which we attached to Popsicle sticks as they listened to Spanish style music. I had students share their favorite parts of the day and reflect on what they have learned so far about Spain. It was a perfect way to end a great day!