The Owl's Gazette Vol. 1 No. 6

Vol. 1 No. 6

Community Investment News for the Week!

Truth, Goodness and Beauty

Foreign Languages

Spanish & Latin

Spanish and Latin. The two languages all of our students will learn. One a romance language, one a classical language. One fully thriving and one often believed to be dead. They are different, yet similar. Both beautiful and everlasting. Throughout the years, our scholars will become immersed in both languages that we have carefully chosen to adopt into our foreign language program here at Great Hearts Live Oak.

Similar to everything else we do, our teaching of language has a purpose. We don't simply teach Spanish because it's convenient to know in a city like San Antonio. We don't teach Latin because it will help our students score better on their SAT exams. Although both statements happen to be true, that's not why we do it. Learning a language is so much more than memorizing words and their meanings. It's entering a new world, culture, way of thinking and expression. It's beautiful, good and true, and our students deserve to learn it.

In kindergarten through fourth grade, our young Owls learn Spanish. Señorita Sigala brings her students on a journey to the romantic language that over 580 million people in the world call home. Scholars learn songs, dances, cultural celebrations, body parts, days of the week and different countries that speak this incredible language. Every Great Hearts school gets autonomy in the languages they offer and when. At our academy, we have chosen Spanish for our young ones because we believe in the importance and value of acknowledging and celebrating our roots. Learning Spanish is a celebration of the culture that has so heavily shaped our city and we are honored to teach our students such a meaningful and incredible language.

After five years of Spanish, students transition to learning Latin in fifth grade. The language barrier however is minimal, as 75% of Spanish words are derived directly from Latin. The language that is often believed to be dead suddenly comes alive as our older students study ancient stories, cultures and dive deep into the birthplace of Western civilization. During Latin I, the teaching method is not strictly based on learning vocabulary and declensions. Students learn through engaging stories, songs and texts that give them the foundational understanding that make up the eternal language. Great Hearts is deeply committed to upholding the classical tradition of learning Latin. It is a timeless language that finds itself embedded in the foundation of all aspects of modern life: government, politics, science, mathematics and philosophy.

Once our students get to ninth grade, they are given the choice of continuing studies in classical languages or selecting a modern language track. The classical languages are Latin and Greek, while the modern course of study includes Spanish or French. By the time our scholars graduate from a Great Hearts academy, they are well rounded in many languages, cultures and worldviews. Without this knowledge and love of language, our students simply wouldn't be the model citizens they are. Because of our foreign language program, our graduates are ready for the real world with a keen understanding of diversity, culture, compassion and love of all people.

To view an overview our of curriculum and foreign language program, click here.

To watch a Ted Talk on the value of Latin in the real world, click the button below.

The Value of Latin

Why do our Spanish and Latin teachers love teaching foreign language?

"Teaching Spanish is not to just learn it but to also appreciate another language other than your own tongue. It's to cherish and create a respect within the community. Awareness brings community and teaching that at a young age helps bring good citizens."

Betsabe Sigala

K-4th grade Spanish Teacher

"Latin at Live Oak teaches students about the art, literature and history of Rome and how it connects to the present. Far from being a “dead language”, in Latin class we focus on the ways Rome and the Latin language are still influencing our modern lives."

Rebecca Rosenthal

4-7th grade Latin Teacher

How does Community Investment support foreign languages?

All foreign language curriculum and materials are purchased by Great Hearts Live Oak. We believe in our program and know that it's worth the investment of teaching our students these beautiful languages. Below are a few of the costs associated with our foreign language program.

Cambridge Latin textbook: $30.60 (310 students)= $9,486

Cambridge Latin workbook: $24.23 (310 students)= $7,511.30

Sonrisas Spanish Level 1 Curriculum: $489

Sonrisas Spanish Level II Curriculum: $575

Composition Books for Spanish students: $200

Binders for Latin students: $2.99 (310 students)= $926.90

That is over $19,000 spent on our foreign languages program! Additionally, we will need to purchase new student workbooks every year for our Latin students!

Your gift to Community Investment supports our foreign languages program by providing our teachers and students with the materials and resources they need to thrive in Spanish and Latin!

The Great Hearts Live Oak Community Investment Goal for the 2020-2021 school year is $185,000. As of November 22nd, we have $100,773 pledged to our campus. Each and every dollar given to our CI campaign stays entirely at Great Hearts Live Oak and benefits every student. Community Investment does not go towards extra-curricular activities or anything that does not meaningfully impact every single student at our school.

Contributions go towards:

Salaries for 79 staff members

Computers and projectors

Classroom libraries for every room

School supplies

Paper and copy machines

Textbooks for our 723 students

Staff benefits

Distance learning supplies: microphone, ring lights, camera stands, etc.

School facilities

Plexiglass and safety equipment

Recess bags

PE equipment

Professional development

... and so much more!

Please consider giving to our Community Investment Campaign as we aim to close the funding gap at our school!

Donate Now

Thank you to the following families who have contributed to

the 2020-2021 Community Investment Campaign! We could not do it without you.

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Baldwin

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Cordes

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Durham

Mr. and Mrs. Albie Shaffer

Mr. and Mrs. Alex Frausto

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Aguillen

Mr. and Mrs. Alfredo Huerta

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Arellano

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hartwell

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Kremer

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Schaar

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Taylor

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Valadez

Mr. and Mrs. Ariel Lopez

Mr. and Mrs. Ashley Scott Winstead*

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Wonser

Mr. and Mrs. Berekat Petros

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley O'brien

Mr. and Mrs. Brett Wilson

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Boudreaux

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Vranes

Mr. and Mrs. Bryce Guthrie

Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Ornelas

Mr. and Mrs. Cedric Satcher

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gregg

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Tintes

Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Burns

Mr. and Mrs. Cody Williams

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Correa

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Mcfarlin

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Ruiz

Mr. and Mrs. Danny Uribe

Mr. and Mrs. David Diaz De Leon

Mr. and Mrs. Chris Ewing*

Mr. and Mrs. David Hastings

Mr. and Mrs. David Palacios

Mr. and Mrs. David Perez

Mr. and Mrs. David Stopper

Mr. and Mrs. David Tidwell

Mr. and Mrs. Denny Lorenzo

Mr. and Mrs. Derek Benton

Mr. and Mrs. Derrick Hardeman

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Romero

Mr. and Mrs. Elias Warndahl

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Acosta

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Farias

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest (eric) Petrowsky

Mr. and Mrs. Everett Pascual

Mr. and Mrs. Farid Meghani

Mr. and Mrs. Fernando Montenegro

Mr. and Mrs. Francisco Rodriguez

Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Rucker

Mr. and Mrs. Gerald O'neal

Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert “leon” Rogers

Mr. and Mrs. Ignacio De Loera

Mr. and Mrs. Israel Jessop

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Skelton

Mr. and Mrs. Jake Knutson

Mr. and Mrs. Jarid Schaff

Mr. and Mrs. Jarrell Flowers

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Kuiper*

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Masse

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Villa

Mr. and Mrs. Jeromy Lund

Mr. and Mrs. Joe D. Hudson

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Garcia

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Orton

Mr. and Mrs. John Dittmar

Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Sullivan

Mr. and Mrs. Jose Huerta

Mr. and Mrs. Jose Ramirez

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Berg

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Martinez

Mr. and Mrs. Josh Bernstein

Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Radabaugh

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Croteau

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Fults

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Mansfield

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Weber

Mr. and Mrs. Khanh Nguyen

Mr. and Mrs. Landon Rolfe

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Morales

Mr. Reed Hanson*

Mr. Harold Eberach

Ms. Karolina Donaldson

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ardoin

Ms. Shannon Cordes

Mr. Ruben Ramos

Mrs. Alexandra Boudreaux

*Denotes an employee of Great Hearts

Mr. and Mrs. Levi Jenkins

Mr. and Mrs. Luciano Ciorciari

Mr. and Mrs. Luis Leon

Mr. and Mrs. Luke Evans

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Haselden

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Board

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Langlois

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Levins

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Litwin

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Paiz

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. Micheal Titus

Mr. and Mrs. Miguelangel Acevedo

Mr. and Mrs. Gretchen Williams*

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Hastings

Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Butterworth

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Garcia

Mr. and Mrs. Pablo Torres

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Metoyer

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gazda

Mr. and Mrs. Rey Sanchez

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hernandez

Mr. and Mrs. Rigoberto Hernandez

Mr. and Mrs. Rob Rye

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bethea

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Guzman

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Alexander

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Ruiz

Mr. and Mrs. Roman Velasquez

Mr. and Mrs. Ron Vest

Mr. and Mrs. Ron Zoromski*

Mr. and Mrs. Roy Nolte

Mr. and Mrs. Ruben Ramos

Mr. and Mrs. Russell John

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Schutter

Mr. and Mrs. Sean Conklin

Mr. and Mrs. Starin

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Roth

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Berryman

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Dunn

Mr. and Mrs. Todd Welch

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Espinosa

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Fong

Mr. and Mrs. William Jacobs

Mr. and Ms. Chris Alvarado

Mr. and Ms. Emanuel Reyes

Mr. and Ms. Ernesto Trevino Iii

Mr. and Ms. Ivan Tirado

Mr. and Ms. Jade Caballero

Mr. and Ms. James Watts

Mr. and Ms. Joel Perez

Mr. and Ms. Joseph Rendon

Mr. and Ms. Josue Lomeli

Mr. and Ms. Lorenzo Reyna Iii

Mr. and Ms. Luis Pichardo

Mr. and Ms. Rene Bautista Gutierrez

Mr. and Ms. Sean O’connor

Mr. and Ms. Suman Shrestha

Mr. and Ms. Vishnu Borra

Mr. Aude Gonzaga

Mr. Basil Franz

Mr. Benson Sainsbury

Mr. Brandon Davison

Mr. Brian Hale

Mr. Brian Pena

Mr. Christopher Reyes

Mr. David Marsh

Mr. David Turcios

Mr. Domingo Gutierrez

Mr. Francisco Cruz

Mr. Gerardo Leon and Ms. Maria del Carmen Sosa

Mr. Greg Billa

Mr. James R. Lewis

Mr. James Saenz

Mr. Jose Gonzalez

Mr. Joseph Berg

Mr. Joshua Hayes

Mr. Mafe Moore

Mr. Matthew Munguia

Mr. Miguel Saldana

Mr. Miguel Zepeda

Mr. Peter Alvarez III

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Petrowsky

Ms. Kate Cherubin

Mrs. Cynthia O'Brien

Mr. and Mrs. Agus Kwok

Ms. Crystal Torres

Ms. Rebecca Penny

Mrs. Meghon Gipson

Mr. Sean Hall

Ms. Agnes Ojo Ogunsede

Ms. Aimee Blanco

Ms. Alexis Jenkins

Ms. Amanda Alexander

Mr. and Mrs. Abram Dick*

Ms. Angie Rendon

Ms. Ashley Trevino

Ms. Audrey Wilson

Ms. Ayanna Banks

Ms. Barbara Johnson

Ms. Bonnie Guajardo

Ms. Caroline Pegis

Ms. Claire DeBakey

Ms. Clarrissa Mercado

Ms. Crystal Jarrett

Ms. Cynthia Audelo*

Ms. Cynthia Olivas

Ms. Dana Griffin

Ms. Deborah Billa

Ms. Deborah Kruciak

Mr. and Mrs. Josh Bernstein

Ms. Gavrielle Cavazos

Ms. Herlena Huang

Ms. Jaklyn Taylor

Ms. Janet Pennock

Ms. Janette Martinez

Ms. Jessica Correa

Mrs. Jessica Smith-Perry*

Ms. Johannah Slykhuis

Ms. Karen Munguia

Ms. Karina Sanchez

Ms. Kate Cherubin

Ms. Kathryn Gillespie

Ms. Kathy Holt

Ms. Kelci Jagge

Ms. Kim Bratcher

Ms. Kimeisha McCullum

Mrs. Kristen Villalvazo

Ms. Kristin Gonzales

Ms. Laura Alvarez

Ms. Laura Brent

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Jackson*

Ms. Lauren Billa

Ms. Lee Ann Huff

Mr. and Mrs. Allen Clark*

Ms. Linda Davis

Ms. Linda Whitaker

Ms. Lisa Fitzpatrick

Ms. Lisa Shelton

Ms. Lizette Perales

Ms. Lupe Ornelas

Ms. Margaret Pegis

Ms. Maria Johnson

Ms. Maria Ramon

Ms. Martha Lopez

Ms. Mary Pegis

Ms. Megan Morris

Ms. Meghon Gibson

Ms. Micheline Cruz

Ms. Monica Corral

Ms. Monika Chavez

Ms. Nora Diaz de Leon

Ms. Patsy Rendon

Ms. Rosalinda Leyva

Ms. Sabrina Mena

Ms. Samantha Fletcher

Ms. Sandra Jackson

Ms. Sara Swift

Ms. Sharon Swisher

Ms. Sheela Lakhani

Ms. Sonia Subia

Ms. Stacey Beasley

Ms. Stefanie Paradis

Ms. Stephanie Woods

Ms. Susanna Nixon

Ms. Thelia Brown

Ms. Tricia Davila

Ms. Veronica Cardenas

Ms. Victoria Sandoval

Ms. Yeny Elston

Ms. Yuka Andrade

Ms. Zenobia West

Mr. Robert Hand

Ms. Casey Thompson

Ms. Laura Sergent

Mrs. Abigail Kuiper *

Mr. and Mrs. John Blanco

Questions about Community Investment? Contact our Director of Academy Giving, Amelia Villalvazo-Dick