News Archive 2006-2007


Students order in Spanish
Thursday, June 07, 2007

After learning to order food as part of a unit on the city and restaurants, Sr. Jannke took his Spanish II students to Ortega's Restaurant in Groton. Students were put in a real life situation and had to interact spontaneously with the waitress in Spanish. Each student ordered food, drinks and dessert. The waitress even made a couple of mistakes, so students had to think on their feet to explain the problem and receive the correct food.

French 1 Dinner
Monday, May 21, 2007

Students in Madame Froh's French I classes recently put on a complete, traditional French "dîner", including everything from "pâte" to "mousse au chocolat". Several of the students proved to be very good cooks, and everyone enjoyed the delicious food.


Summer Overseas?
Thursday, May 03, 2007

Are you going to visit another country this summer? Volunteer? Study languages? If so, email Mr. Jannke at [email protected] and tell him what you are up to.

Host a Student From Spain
Wednesday, May 02, 2007

If you are interested in hosting an exchange student from Spain this summer, see your language teacher or read this memo (Word document).


2007 COLT Poetry Recitation Contest
Wednesday, April 04, 2007

On April 4, 2007, 13 students from Ledyard High School competed in the 26th Annual Connecticut Council of Language Teachers World Language Poetry Recitation Contest held at East Haven High School. The students worked for months to memorize, recite and interpret poetry at all levels of French, Spanish, and German. Competing in French were Richelle Sprouse, Sara Brumfield, Jeannette LeBlanc. Alisha Howe, John Cleveland, Felicia Ting, Lauren Coluni-Harper, Tim Eng and Julissa Rosario recited Spanish language poetry. Representing LHS in German were Aubrey Patterson, Aaron Craven, Daniel Walker, and Jeffrey Reilly. Reilly and Patterson received gold medals and Craven won bronze. Congratulations to all our fantastic competitors!

La Dictée des Amériques
Friday, February 16, 2007

French 4 UCONN ECE students participated at the local competition for the Dictée des Amériques held at Waterford HS. Although no student from Ledyard HS won the competition, they all enjoyed the experience and had fun talking to students from other schools. The Dictée is sponsored by the Province of Québec, Larousse, Bescherelle, Université Laval and Téléquébec.tv

French 4 students pose with their school prizes


Le Vase de Soissons
Monday, February 12, 2007

Le Vase de Soissons is a very famous episode in the life of Clovis, France's very first king. It was written by Grégoire de Tours. French 4 UCONN ECE students, in an effort to better understand the story, wrote a dialogue and acted out the scene in class.

Les Correspondants
Thursday, February 08, 2007

French 2 students prepared informational posters which included descriptions of their family members, a letter to their host family and a post card sent home. They then presented these to the class and were assessed using the oral presentation rubric.


New Spanish Courses
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Next year we will be offering our first AP Spanish course. This will complement our recently added UCONN French offering. The course will prepare students for the Spanish AP Language exam. Students wishing to take AP Spanish must earn a B- in Spanish 4.

We have expanded our Conversational Spanish course to be a full credit course. Those students wishing to focus on communicating orally should sign up for this course. Students can take Conversational Spanish in addition to Spanish 3, 4 and AP, or as an alternative track. The course will help students function and communicate in real life contexts. Students interested in the medical or hospitality fields will benefit, as well.

In a nut shell, we designed two tracks for Spanish students at LHS. If you are interested in Spanish as an academic discipline or for college credit, your goal should be the successful completion of AP Spanish. If day-to-day, on-the-job functional language communication interests you most, then students are encouraged to take Conversational Spanish as many times as possible.

Sign up for AP or Conversational Spanish in the coming weeks, and enjoy your language growth next year!

¡Suerte!

New York City Trip
Monday, December 11, 2006

Sr. Jannke took his Spanish II classes to Manhattan on December 10th. Students experienced Spanish Harlem, authentic Mexican food, a famous Latino museum, and the dance and music of Viva Columbia. As usual, travel on Amtrak and the New York City Subway was interesting, and the weather perfecto, too! See more

Entering Spanish Harlem

LHS GAPP 2007
Thursday, November 30, 2006

Plans for the 2007 LHS GAPP student exchange trip to our partner school in Frankfurt/O, Germany, are in progress. The two-week stay in Frankfurt/O is again followed by trips to Bavaria and the Black Forest. The dates of the GAPP trip are 06.22.07 to 07.18.07. The next LHS GAPP student meeting is Tuesday, 12. 12.06 at 2:30pm in Rm.206, LHS. All LHS students interested in participating in this exchange program MUST attend this meeting. The next LHS GAPP parent meeting is Tuesday, 01. 09.06 at 7:30pm in Rm. 206, LHS. The GAPP student applications must be submitted prior to January 9th, 2007.

LHS Hosts Theatrical Group From Mexico
Wednesday, November 15, 2006

The LHS Drama program hosted a regional production of Ballet Folklorico performed by el Teatro Nacional from Mexico. On November 13 el Teatro Nacional entertained 600 students from southeastern Connecticut, right here in our auditorium. Students in the LHS Drama program managed the event. A crew of students managed the front of the house, ushering students to seats and facilitating the complex arrival and departure of buses. A backstage crew helped with setup, break down, ran the lights and managed hallway traffic. The hospitality crew helped make the groups experience comfortable and enjoyable. El Teatro Nacional loves LHS Drama. This year we were their only stop in southeastern Connecticut and they come back to us every year because of the professionalism our students exhibit. This year, 65 of our Spanish II students were the beneficiaries of the crew’s hard work. They experienced what was arguably the most spirited performance yet by el Teatro Nacional.

Students dance and sing with el Teatro Nacional


Aubrey Liguore and Rebecca Belcher
Latino Art Tour at Mystic Arts Center
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Students from Sra. Froh's Spanish 4 and Ms. Holland's Art III, Art IV, and Drawing II classes recently visited the Mystic Arts Center to view the exhibit "Latin Views 2006" presented by the Latin Network for the Visual Arts. The exhibit featured works from 29 artists representing 10 Spanish-speaking countries plus the United States. Students enjoyed a private guided tour and were impressed by the wide variety of techniques and themes displayed.

Berliner Fest
Friday, November 10, 2006

On Nov. 9th, the German classes celebrated the anniversary of the "Fall of the Berlin Wall". Prior to that important day, the students watched a Berlin documentary and were asked to prepare for a forum discussion, debating the fall of the wall and its consequences. Playing the role of either a West or East German citizen, the students took and defended the position of being for or against the opening of the East-West borders. They then enjoyed a German "Brotzeit" (German III) or a "Kuchenzeit" (German II) while listening to Beethoven's 9th Symphony. In the days following this event, the students watched scenes from the German film "Der Tunnel". This film gave them a very real insight into the tragic human dilemna of the divided city of Berlin after 1961, the year the infamous wall was built. Thus, celebrating its fall is truly a joy - anytime!

Nutella is really good!


Soyons Responsables!
Monday, November 06, 2006

French 3 students have been learning about Switzerland and how it is very ecologically minded. This learning included the study of many different expressions relating to the environment. After learning and using the expressions frequently in class, they, working with a partner chose one particular environmental problem and created either a poster or advertisement telling of the negative effects of the problem and what would improve if the problem were fixed. They made oral presentations to the class.

Un Repas Français
Monday, November 06, 2006

French 2 students have been learning about the specialty stores in France and where one would go to purchase specific items. They also learned the different parts of a French meal and how and why the French eat them as they do. They worked on a 3 part project where they created a menu for a French restaurant, made and invitation to a specific event. Finally, to complete the project, the students were each responsible for a part of the meal and we at as the French would eat.

A Table!

Germans Visit LHS
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

After a brief stay in Boston, ten students and three teachers from our partner school in Frankfurt/O, the Elite Sportschule, arrived in Ledyard on Sept. 16th. As participants in the German American Partnership Program (GAPP), sponsored by the Goethe Institute, they stayed with host families in the area and attended classes at LHS.

The student exchange group was invited to a reception by Sue Mendenhall, the mayor of Ledyard, in the town hall where they learned about the history of Ledyard. They also visited various places of interest: Shiloh Baptist Church in New London, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, the Big E and the Mystic Seaport . Old Lyme High School invited the group to spend a school day there. Attending the LHS football game against NFA was a true thrill for the German students. For many of them, it was the first time they witnessed this national American sport.

The Good Bye Picnic with its theme "Thanksgiving in September" , held at Debbie Evans' house, became a real cultural and social highlight of the group's stay in New England. The German group left Ledyard on Oct. 1st to spend three days in NYC before returning to Germany.

The German students and teachers enjoyed their stay with us tremendously, and all of them would like to return one day soon. Barbara Fromhein, the German teacher and LHS-GAPP coordinator, would like to thank the host parents and LHS partners who made this academic exchange with Germany once more possible and so totally successful. The following LHS students deserve credit for making their German partners feel at home: Kyle Beglau, Chris Higginbothom, Sonya Johnson, Jacob Lerch, Luke Marcek, Blerina Marku,Matt Nylander, Tom Tworzyanski, Jacob Watrous, Yitzchak Winograd and Sasha Howell. Danke schön!

Les Régions de la France
Thursday, September 21, 2006

French 3 students studied the different regions of France. Then in groups of 3 and 4 put together presentations where they shared this information with their classmates. Some groups chose to present the information using a slide show, another group chose to present by creating a dvd of their own puppet show and another group chose to put on a live puppet show in class. All the groups also chose to share a culinary specialty of the region. The presentations were enjoyed by all. This was another opportunity for the students to work on their ability to speak clearly and communicate effectively.

Les Gens de Normandie en France


Some of the student projects.
Ma Famille
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

French 2 students put themselves in the place of a French exchange student and wrote letters to their host family along with writing postcards home. They then gave oral presentations to the class to tell about their families. This was an opportunity for the students to work on their writing and speaking skills.

J'aime..., Je n'aime pas...
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

French students from Mme Sylvestre's French 1 class had the opportunity to speak French in front of their peers using a project where the objective was to tell of their likes and dislikes. It was a good opportunity for the students to work on their academic expectation regarding their ability to speak clearly and communicate their information accurately.

Students in French communicate to their peers.


Making the Crèpes!
French Students sell crèpes
Monday, September 11, 2006

Students going to France in the summer 2007 had a booth at the Ledyard Fair this year selling crèpes. They sold sugar crèpes at 2 for $1 and Nutella crèpes at $1 each. It was a long but very social and enjoyable weekend!