Teacher Abigayl Pansini quizzes students during a before-school Spanish class at Davidson Elementary School on Dec. 11. (David Boraks photo)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

A new before-school Spanish program at Davidson Elementary wrapped up its first semester the week of Dec. 8 with parties – or “fiestas” in the school media center. And organizers are planning to bring it back again in the new year.

Organized by parents, the 12-week program taught basic Spanish to 72 kids this fall. Interest was so high there was a waiting list of 75 more, parent and organizer Kelly Peters Blomendale said.

“The majority of students are returning, which is great,” she said.

Ms. Blomendale co-founded the program with fellow parent Cristina Shaul, who has since moved from Davidson. Two other parents also help coordinate the program: Tammy Dyckman and Lou Berl.

Classes were taught on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays before school by the husband-wife team of Abigayl and Michael Pansini.

Children in first through fifth grades learned the alphabet, counting to 100, colors, days of the week and months, frequent questions, greetings, commands and cognates – words that are similar in Spanish and English. They also sang songs and learned a bit about culture and geography of the Spanish speaking world.

“It has been such a pleasure to spend all these weeks with your children,” Ms. Pansini said in an email to parents.

Organizers hope to expand from five classes to six in a new term that begins in February. They are currently determining which students plan to return and then will bring in children from the waiting list to fill remaining slots.

They’ve also asked parents for feedback, and as a result they plan to send home more information to parents about what children are studying, so “parents can support the program” by working with their children.

Ms. Blomendale said some changes are under consideration, though not finalized, including possibly bringing Davidson College students in to help and reducing class sizes.

Parents started the classes, she said, “because we didn’t have one.” The ultimate goal is to introduce Spanish as a “Connect” class, similar to art or music, which would give all students a chance to take Spanish once a week.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

• Monday, Jan. 5 – Most area schools resume classes after the holiday break.
• Tuesday, Jan. 6 –  Grand opening celebration for the new Arts & Athletics Center at Davidson Day.  A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 2:15 p.m., and then at 5:30 p.m. the pep rally will begin for the school’s first-ever home basketball game, which begins at 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 7 – First Walking Wednesday of the year will be for students at Davidson Elementary.  Volunteers are needed for greenway supervision, intersection crossing, numbers tallying and leading “walking school buses.”  Contact Eileen O’Flaherty if you can help.
• Thursday, Jan. 15 – Open house at Cannon School for families considering enrollment in the 2009-2010 school year.  The open house will begin at 7 p.m. and include tours and a talk by the Head of School and other administrators.

Send calendar items and press releases about local school news to us at lauriedennis@bellsouth.net . Don’t forget to include a contact phone number, in case we have questions.