HOLA!

Wednesday I was informed that I would be getting a new student on Thursday. Surprisingly I was excited about this...you see, I didn't have the maximum amount of kids that I could in my class and it's better to be maxed out so that you aren't the revolving classroom door later in the year. I welcomed a new student this early in the year.

The next thing I found out is that she does not speak any English. She had been offered the chance to attend a school in our district for Spanish Bilingual, but parents denied those services. The thought of having a student with no English ability might have concerned me if I didn't have an aide in my classroom all day who is fluent in Spanish. I also have two students who speak Spanish at home. AND...I did spend a summer in Paraguay, pretending to speak Spanish. Well, this all came in handy when she came in my classroom. My aide greeted them and I think reassured the parents that she would be okay. Immediately, some of my Spanish came flowing back. Some words I have to search through my internal dictionary for while others were found in my two other students. :)

Friday rolled around and everything seemed well. My aide translated a math assessment in order to see what she knew. Unfortunately, she doesn't know division and that is a bit of a concern because we have already learned that. Specials came and I sent the kids off to run like crazies in PE. When I picked them up, Alexandra was hysterical. She was complaining that her stomach hurt. I told her to go to the bathroom and she started babbling and doing everything to avoid the bathroom. She did not want to go to the nurse like I was telling her to. (Yes, I was saying all of this in Spanish.) I eventually had her ushered to the nurse by one of my Spanish-speaking students. Apparently she hadn't eaten in a few days and hasn't slept well due to all of the changes in her life right now. She ended up going home sick and probably a bit scared. It's going to be an interesting year for her and myself. I know how I felt in Paraguay where nobody spoke English, so I understand her confusion and even pain. I've spoken more Spanish in the last two days than I have since I returned from Paraguay...hopefully it will ease her transition.