World Language
Kingsbury Spanish Students Garner Awards
The Spanish program at Kingsbury has consistently garnered honors in state and national Spanish competition. For years, Kingsbury middle school students have placed very well both nationally and state-wide in the National Spanish Exam competition. This year (2008) KCDS students did especially well, with one seventh grader earning a national gold medal and placing second overall in the State of Michigan with a 99.9 percentile ranking. She was joined by three eighth graders who garnered silver awards, two eighth graders who earned bronze medals and three additional eighth graders who received Honorable Mention on the NSE. "Attaining any placement or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious," said Kevin Cessna, National Director of the Exams, "because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States."
In 2007, we boasted two students with National bronze medals and seven others earning Certificates of Excellence. Our top five achievers in 2006 finished in the top ten NATIONALLY as well as in the top ten in Michigan in the 2006 competition.
Kingsbury's Spanish Program
Kingsbury's Spanish language program is one that attempts to emulate first language experience. The program does graduate in frequency and intensity of exposure with each year. The MUY BIEN series of books/CD's is used as a basis, with many additional tools used as classroom resources.
A number of Spanish holidays are examined for their cultural and historical relevance. Learning to be an international thinker is a premise of the language program, as Spanish is the first language of people from diverse geographic areas of the world. Guest heritage language speakers who have contributed richly to their own Hispanic cultures visit each year to work with students to find silk threads that help connect students' lives to the study of Spanish.
Each year, the JK - 2nd grades create a bird's-eye view for Kingsbury parents and friends into their Spanish classrooms with a warm spring songfest in our school auditorium. Parents of students are also welcome visitors to our Spanish classrooms by arrangement.
