Spectrum School integrates global studies into our curriculum to expose students to the cultural, historic, economic and belief systems of different world regions.  

Spectrum School has an affiliation with the American International School (AIS) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which provides educational and cultural opportunities for our students and teachers.  As part of the Vietnamese cultural exchange, Spectrum teachers are paired with AIS teachers at each grade level via e-mail to coordinate joint activities such as letter writing and artwork exchanges, student blogs, live chats on SKYPE, and to create collaborative projects.  The goal of this affiliation is for Spectrum students and AIS students to truly learn from each other about life on opposite sides of the Earth and not just about each other.

Spectrum global learning also includes:

• Spanish and Japanese language and culture taught at all grade levels beginning with Early-Elementary.
• Overseas learning experiences.
• In-depth discussion and research on world cultures.
• Appropriate internet access at each grade level.
   

Foreign Language Program Expands

Spectrum will be offering our Upper School students, grades 5-high school, the choice of taking Japanese or Spanish as their foreign language choice throughout their Upper School years. Japanese and Spanish will be offered at the same time in the schedule.

Below is a snapshot of the program from our Japanese Specialist, Keiko Hall.

         I am a native Japanese speaker from Toyko. I use a variety of teaching styles to motivate each student to reach his/her potential.

         Japanese first year will cover reading and writing of Hiragana and Katakana. We will use a textbook, workbook and audio tapes. Students will be able to practice with these at home.

         After the basics of Hiragana and Katakana are learned, Kanji will be introduced. Students will then learn greetings, numbers, time, simple sentences and verb usage.  

          I am very excited about teaching Japanese this fall and look forward to all my students!