Students Embrace Language and Culture

Ranney Students Immerse Themselves in Language and Culture During Discover Languages Week

In an effort to promote the importance of being bilingual and appreciate world cultures, all divisions at Ranney School held a “Discover Languages Week” spanning January 31st until February 4, 2011 and consisting of short lessons on dialect, foreign theatrical takes, eccentric food, world language literature, and dance lessons.

To start off each day, Upper School students experienced foreign languages through the Ranney Rover, a daily newsletter containing quotes from notables such as French writer Victor Hugo, who said, “Je crois ce que je dis, je fais ce que je crois” meaning “I believe what I say, I do what I believe,” proverbs like “Les grandes Pensees viennent du Coeur” interpreted as “Great thoughts come from the heart,” and translations of words such as “excuse me” in Russian, Polish, Italian and German. Similar to the Upper School, students at the Middle School level were also exposed to language and culture every morning. While announcements contained facts about various cultures, the “Pledge of Allegiance” was also said in a different language throughout the week.

As a fun way of capturing the attention of older students at Ranney, the Upper School showcased several films created by foreign language students at a “Discover Languages Discover the World” assembly on Thursday, February 3, 2011 in RSPA Panther Hall. Hosted by seniors Salomon Cojab and Nicole Auletta, the event featured several student-produced videos depicting Spanish language and culture. Short skits ranged from cooking and music videos to telenovelas, and more. Afterwards, members of the audience were asked to vote on the best music, best non-music, funniest, most original, best cinematographic and best Spanish language video in each category. Videos selected were:

Best Music Video – Dímelo by Peter Bontempo '13, Rachel Burstiner '13, Alana Grieco '13, Roey Hadar '13, Madison Price '13, Rishi Sharma '13 and James Soldati '13

Best Non-Music Video – Gazpacho by Calvin Celebuski '13

Funniest Video – Aserejé (“The ketchup Song”) by Christa Dalmazio '12, Benjamin Puvalowski '13, Paul Sondhi '13 and Casey Wolfe '13

Most Original Video - Gazpacho by Calvin Celebuski '13

Best Cinematography - Dímelo by Peter Bontempo '13, Rachel Burstiner '13, Alana Grieco '13, Roey Hadar '13, Madison Price '13, Rishi Sharma '13 and James Soldati '13

Best Use of Spanish Language - Iron Chef México by Philip Allen '12, Neha Nayyar '12, Anike Oladeji '12, Christopher Schwake '12, Sanjit Shashi '12 and Jaya Sondhi '12

Cooking was a common trend across all divisions throughout Discover Languages Week. Aside from watching student’s cooking videos, eighth grade students at Ranney received a taste (literally) of Spanish culture on a trip to Escondido’s Restaurant on Thursday. There, the group brushed up on Spanish-speaking skills while mulling over exquisite Spanish cuisine. Meanwhile, Lower School students experienced Chinese culture, as they celebrated the Chinese New Year and enjoyed various Oriental dishes in the Commons Dining Hall on Thursday.

When not indulging their taste buds in eccentric foods, second and third grade students listened to bilingual books read aloud by librarians Dawn Cicco and Dana Fischer in the Searle Library. Following story sessions that featured the well-illustrated Javier Sobrino and Noemi Villamuza’s “Me Gusta,” the children were then asked to write a short paragraph about the book.

To show further appreciation for cultural art, the week also included dance lessons at both the Upper and Lower School level. After teaching Lower School students steps to “Waka Waka” by musical artist Shakira, Upper School students spent their Friday afternoon at a dance workshop in the Auxiliary Gym. Taught by Natalia Cordero, the World Language Department offered participants who signed up an opportunity to learn a traditional Flamenco and modern-day Bachata.

Through a week strictly dedicated to language and culture, students at Ranney started a new week with a greater understanding of the world around them.

Third Graders Participate in an Around the World Videoconference

Ranney’s Lower School hosted an Around the World videoconference for third grade students in the Distance Learning Center on Monday February 7, 2011. While fourth graders at Ranney previously attended a “Diversity in the Dugout” videoconference at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York and fifth grade students took a tour of the UN, third graders compared other cultures to their own during an Around the World event.

Provided by the Paley Center for Media in New York, the Around the World videoconference began with an educational song performed by characters from the animated television show, “Animaniacs.” Next, the remainder of the presentation contained video clips from around the world that focused on homes, food and transportation in countries such as Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Namibia and the Philippines. Following each clip, students were then asked to discuss similarities and differences compared to their own life in the United States.

To prepare students for the in-depth videoconference covering many parts of the world, teachers reviewed specific vocabulary words like “border,” “climate” and more. In addition, each class studied the geographic location of every country highlighted in the videoconference, and students were also asked to question their parents about the origin of their family and its culture.

With many more cultural events to come, each activity serves a way of “building a tolerance and openness to other cultures” at a very young age, said Lower School Spanish teacher Jeannette Cordero.


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