High Schoolers Teach Kinnelon Kids Spanish

The following was submitted by Jon Cataldi, Kinnelon High School Spanish teacher.

The Spanish 5 Honors classes have been teaching Spanish to the Stonybrook fourth graders for the second year in a row in order to supplement the elementary Spanish program.

On June 7, the KHS students went to Stonybrook for the end of the year culminating lesson entitled “Fiesta Day.” The seniors put together eight different cultural activities which included decorating maracas, creating authentic arts and crafts, learning traditional and contemporary dances and engaging in athletic competitions. 

The partnership has promoted a more hands-on approach to acquiring the language of Spanish at a very early age. Throughout the year, the senior Spanish class, taught by Señor Cataldi, has been going into the fourth grade classrooms and teaching the fourth graders about culture, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation in order to enhance the multimedia Spanish program that is currently implemented. The program has been made possible by the awarding of a grant by the elementary Home and School Association, KEHSA.

Sarah Reinmund, the coordinator from , has been instrumental in organizing and planning, in addition to applying for and winning the grant to get the program off its feet and be a huge success for a second year in a row.