November is a fun-filled month in Spanish class! We celebrate la familia (the family) Thanksgiving celebrations both in the U.S. and the fascinating tradition of Los Días de los Muertos in Mexico. This holiday in Mexico is when families gather to remember loved ones who have passed. 

Through songs, stories, and crafts such as 1st Grade's Tres Osos (Goldilocks) headbands and the 2nd Grade family trees, the younger children learn basic vocabulary for family. The older students were excited to learn about the meaning behind the Days of the Dead festivities and to make skull masks and skeleton suncatchers. They learned to explain in Spanish who they have in their own family while focusing on pronunciation and vocabulary recall. The classroom was filled with music, song, beautiful craft work, and more than a few glittery calaveras (skulls)! 

Lots of great learning takes place in our Upper School classes every day, and there is merit in maintaining the steady pace of the school week, day, and classes. There is advantage, however, in finding opportunities to learn outside the classroom and off the UA campus, engaging kids from other schools and often other regions. For example:

One of the pillars of the aspirational UA graduate is citizenship. By taking our girls to meet and work with peers, they are practicing that civic commitment.