8th Grade Spanish students spent time this week studying the symbolism and significance of  El Día de los Muertos. Classes met in the Makerspace to create calaveras y cempasúchiles (skulls and marigolds) and learned of their importance on the ofrendas that families construct in their homes this time of year. Students are ending the week with a viewing of the movie Coco and a deeper understanding of why this is such a special time of year in México. 

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Our Felt Calaveras

Making our light up marigolds!

Our Community Ofrenda

Visitors from Bengbu China!

We had visitors from Bengbu China stay with us from September 25th to October 5th. What a great experience for both visitors and our students in Medfield. It truly opened another world to us. During the stay, visitors did cultural presentations and music shows to Medfield students and families. We truly learned a lot from them. Below are the short stories from our four host students and link for pictures.

When I hosted Diana, I thought it would just be 10 days of just bringing someone from China around my life. But it was so much more. It became a real friendship. When I picked her up from the high school, I was so excited. And when we dropped her off, I was so sad. I never thought you could become this close with someone in 10 days. Even though we are across the world, we can still keep in touch. Even though we miss them, we can still talk to them with WeChat. I loved going on the duck tour, and going to the beach in Newport. I have unforgettable memories from this trip. It was amazing. This was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.--Kathryn

 

When I picked up Rosa from the high school, I really didn’t want to host anyone because I’m not used to sharing my family to other people. But the experiences I had with Rosa are unforgettable. I also got closer to other families in Medfield especially Kathryn’s family, the Buckley’s. Over the weekend when the students were here, all of us went to do stuff together. Diana and Rosa are friends so it was perfect. I learned so much about Chinese culture and Rosa learned more about Boston and Medfield. My favorite moments were going on the Duck Tour, and going to Newport and to the beach. I will never forget this amazing experience.--MiaTina was an amazing guest and she loves America. Not only did she grab my dog after he ran away and saved him from possibly being eaten by a squirrel, she was curious about many things. Her two favorite meals were scrambled eggs topped with strawberry jam and spaghetti. We soon became used to a new person in our house and came to think of her as a sister. I was sad to see her go and I hope I see her again. –Alex

Candy was an amazing guest and she was so much fun to hang out with. At first I was a little nervous to host because I didn’t know if I would be ready to.  But the experiences that I had with candy were unforgettable.  I got to know a lot about people and even what they ate.  On the last day I wasn’t sure if I was ready to see her leave but she came running up to me and said goodbye. Now that I think about it that was one of the most fun couple weeks of my life!-Ava

Link for videos and pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-vjfJ4vcSd3M2RXNkJDcnd2aVk?usp=sharing

Pen-Pal Exchange

French 2 students are actively participating in an exchange of letters with pen-pals in France.  Students at the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Lyon are writing to MHS students in English, and in turn our students write to them in French.  It has been rewarding for them to realize that it's ok if the grammar isn't perfect and they are all learning a language.  Can your correspondent understand you?  That is the main goal.

So far this year, the students have already exchanged letters twice, and of course have connected on Instagram and Snapchat!  Through this authentic exchange (via regular mail), they will write about themselves, their families, sports, music and movies, as well as their travels.  Receiving actual letters on French paper and seeing how differently the handwriting is - that alone is very interesting.  Later in the year, there will also be an exchange of quick videos, which are a lot of fun to watch.

We are very lucky to have this opportunity, and I'm sure it will be a very rewarding exchange all year!