Robotics at Jimmy Carter Middle School the First Half of the School Year in Ms

ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOLS Indian Education Newsletter December 2017 Volume 4, Issue 8 Phone: 505.884.6392 Fax: 505-872-8849 www.aps.edu/indian-education Robotics at Jimmy Carter Middle School The first half of the school year in Ms. Jill’s Native Studies class at Jimmy Carter Middle School has been a positive and productive one filled with learning fun. Students have been focusing on their Indigenous Values throughout their curriculum. A sense of belonging was created with a Mission Family Tree project where students researched their roots, shared family stories and found their classmate cousins by Clan. Some students were also invited to participate in an APS photoshoot of By working Indigenous youth in celebration of National Native American Heritage Month. Belonging and together with generosity were exemplified in the sharing of food at our annual pot luck. Independence and schools, parents, mastery are being practiced, of course, daily skill-building throughout each grades assigned Tribal and communities, Units of study. Students can look forward to several upcoming Field Trips for hands on experience APS Indian and learning reinforcement. We are also very excited this year to apply those and other STEM skills Education to a grant program offered to our Native American students in the Robotics Club. Students will be Department will learning to build, program, code bots and possibly bring their teams to competition. They may even develop enhanced find themselves on route to a successful career in engineering! There are four additional Middle and supportive Schools that have an afterschool robotics program as well. They are; Jefferson MS, Cleveland MS, Indigenous McKinley MS and Kennedy MS. educational opportunities for All American Indian/ Alaska Native students by increasing knowledge of Native values through teaching language and cultural differences. www.aps.edu/indian-education Governor Bent Elementary Students and staff at Governor Bent Elementary celebrated Rock Your Mocs Day with a powwow demonstration by the Little Bear Necklace Dancers. Featured dancers included students from Governor Bent, La Mesa, and Armijo Elementary Schools. The powwow celebration was part of a month-long observation of Native American Heritage Month. Throughout November, students from Indian Ed. Program classes shared their cultural knowledge and experience on the morning announcements. Park rangers from Petroglyph National Monument visited the school to teach about Ancestral Puebloan Lifestyles. During the presentations, students investigated replicas of tools and other artifacts. Fourth- and fifth-grade Indian Ed. students completed their experience with a field trip to Boca Negra Canyon to hike among the petroglyphs and learn about the geographic features of the park. Petroglyph National Monument hike Indian Education Department Ph: 505.884.6392 www.aps.edu/indian-education News from Whittier Elementary School As the first part of our year comes to a close, I would like to share some classroom activities with you. A few of my classes went on a great fieldtrip to Wagner's Farm in Corrales. The students went on a hay ride, walked through a pumpkin patch, picked a pumpkin to take home, fed some farm animals and had lunch at the park. We discussed how corn plays a role in Native culture. A second activity we participated in during the month of December was a Readers Theater literacy activity. My students are given a script to practice reading, then we performed the play in classrooms throughout the school. This activity allows students to practice reading skills such as comprehension, reading accuracy and comprehension. They also have the opportunity to develop skills in presenting in front of their classmates. Have a wonderful new year! Ms. Medrano Indian Education Resource Teacher Whittier Elementary School News from the Jaguars and the Mustangs Students at West Mesa High School and Atrisco Heritage Academy High School are excited learning about numbers (T’aadoo Le’e Dawolt’igii), money (Beeso Dawolta’igii), clan identity, horse song (Lii’ Biyiin), and writing the date (yoolkaal). Learning to sing with peers has been a joy among students. In November, the Mustangs from West Mesa Navajo students performed at the Tribal Leadership Conference in Albuquerque by singing the Lii’ Biyiin. Navajo students will continue to learn more songs and perform for parents and communities. It is a joy to experience Native American students sing and speak in their heritage language to show case their talents and skills. Upcoming Navajo lessons in January are the legendary Coyote stories and the story of the emergence (Dine Bahane’). In February and the rest of the semester will include, the Navajo Code Talkers, the Long Walk, family, food, and much more. Learning in Navajo Language and Culture I and II classes are fill with classroom activities each week. Students are grateful about learning their heritage with many exciting classroom activities and interests. Ms. Wagner Indian Education Navajo Language Teacher West Mesa High School and Atrisco Heritage High School Shiwi’ma Bena:we/Zuni Language Program “Keshhi. Ko’ don la:k’yadik’yana:we?“ Did you know? According to Dr. Stephen Krashen, a linguist, and an educational researcher professor at the University of Southern California: “The solution to our problems in language teaching lies not in expensive equipment, exotic methods, sophisticated linguistic analyses, or new laboratories, but in full utilization of what we already have, speakers of the languages using them for real communication. I will also conclude that the best methods might also be the most pleasant, and that, strange as it seems, language acquisition occurs when language is used for what it was designed for, communication.” Acquiring the Zuni language is an on-going developmental learning process that requires daily communication and conversation with parents, grandparents, and the rest of the Zuni community. Learning to acquire the Zuni language instills pride, self-esteem, and reconnects the A:shiwi students to their culture. The Albuquerque Public Schools’ (APS) Indian Education Department (IED) offers Zuni language classes at Cibola High School, Del Norte High School, and the College and Career Center (next to Albuquerque High School). A:shiwi high school students can earn dual credits in a partnership program with the Institute of American Indian Arts. Zuni language is also taught at Governor Bent Elementary School. One of the goals of the Zuni language program is for A:shiwi students to first actively hear and listen to “acquire” every-day conversation in Zuni. By actively listening in the first stages of learning to speak Zuni, there is less focus on writing and reading with younger elementary students. The writing and reading come at a later stage in acquiring Zuni. Language acquisition is a development process and requires patience from the teacher, students, and parents. One of the highlights with the Zuni language program was when KRQE News 13 television station interviewed A:shiwi students at Cibola High School in September. To view the “Zuni Language Classes Help APS Students Connect to Their Culture” that was aired on September 29, 2017, go to the APS Indian Education website at http://www.aps.edu/indian-education. “Ma’ wan le:wi. Don k’ettsana’ a:deya’du. Don yadon k’okshi’ sunnahk’yanapdu.” -Bernard Chimoni, Shiwi Ts’ina:yanikk’e:n’ona .

Load more