The SAISD school year just ended last week, but less than a week later, 29 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders were back on the Advanced Learning Academy campus, preparing to continue their learning over their summer break. ALA and Culturingua, a local nonprofit that teaches Spanish, French, and Arabic language and culture classes, have joined together for a unique virtual summer camp: A Virtual Trip to the Arab World - Language and Culture.
“This camp addresses the creative way we're seeking to fill a void, or gap, created by the new restrictions from the pandemic,” said Tiffany Jenkins, ALA program coordinator. “ALA places a high value on travel and culture, which is exactly what this camp emphasizes through project-based learning, language development and interactive online experience.”
On June 1, students picked up their "culture kits" in a drive-thru system set up at the school. The kits include deglet nour dates, student name plates with their names written in Arabic, a traditional Syrian scarf, Moroccan cloth coasters and an Arabic alphabet notebook. The supplies will be used throughout the two-week camp as the students, teacher, and teaching assistants will talk, participate, sing, and perform presentations live amongst each other through each lesson via video conferencing.
“Today more than ever there is a critical need for an educational system that places communities at the center while fostering critical minds, communication, and local and global interconnectedness,” said Martha Vasquez, SAISD world languages coordinator. “This is why, as we strive to become an urban model district, we envision multi-language programs in our community to foster proficiency in languages other than English and Spanish. Languages such as Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and French are wonderful opportunities to broaden our student’s horizons.”
During the two-week-long camp, students will engage live with lesson materials through an engagement platform that provides virtual reality tours, live digital educational competitions through games, matching and memory games, and virtual drawing capabilities where drawings can be shared instantly with peers.
Throughout the classes, students will be divided into small-group virtual breakout sessions so they can practice vocabulary and have cultural discussions in small group settings. Three groups of nine students will be meeting for two hours each morning, starting June 8 and ending June 19. On the final day of the virtual camp, parents will be encouraged to join their child’s class session for a final showcase, where students’ achievements will be celebrated. During the showcase, camp participants and their parents will learn how to perform the Debke, a traditional Palestinian dance.
“ALA is committed to growing students' global competence,” said ALA principal Kathy Bieser. “We are so pleased to be working in partnership Culturingua to bring Arabic cultural and language studies to our students.”