Ridgefield High School

		Department Philosophy. World languages are systems of communication which humans use to convey information and knowledge, to express ideas and emotions, and to create beauty.  They are the means by which humans define and maintain their humanity.
		World languages are important because they enable mankind to understand and to be understood in the global community.  Language is the vehicle which empowers the individual to interact directly with members of other cultures.
		World languages help student to better understand their own language, to appreciate cultural differences, to value the beauty of diversity, to appreciate the importance of tolerance, and to reflect upon their own identity.
		Department Procedures, Policies, and Expectations. RHS WL students must sign this document and adhere to its contents.  Click here to access the form.

Goals. We are following the High School Goals for Communication - Oral Communication in World Language 2006-2011.  (RHS District Priority No. 2 - Continued Assessment of WL proficiency).  Click here to access the goal form.  Click here to access the Oral Proficiency Rubric for World Languages.

Course Offerings. We offer courses in the following languages: French, German, Italian, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish, and Japanese.  Advanced Placement is offered in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.  Navigate to the Counseling Center link for detailed course information.

Student Work. Click the link on the left to access the World Language student work page or click here.

Department Head: Lisa Djonbalic.  Click here to access her website.

Teachers. Each teacher's website and contact information is available from the Staff Directory on the left.

Cultural Activities and Field Trips. Our department has a wide-range of cultural activities including exchanges, school-wide festivals and field trips.  German, French and Spanish students participate in exchanges with schools in Germany, France, and Argentina.  Many classes host school-wide festivals for students to become more immersed in the culture they are studying.  The field trips for the 2008-2009 school years include: Dominican Republic (Feb. 12 to Feb. 16); Rome (April Vacation); China Exchange (April vacation); Argentina Exchange (July 31 to August 14); Spain and France (April vacation).  See the specific language teacher for details and forms.

Technology. Our department implements technology in a wide range of areas in our curriculum.  We have two computer labs in the department including a Sony Virtuoso digital audio lab.  All our team members have websites with many teachers posting daily homework assignments.  Beyond digital audio recording, students work on a wide range of projects -- some examples include PowerPoint, PhotoStory, MovieMaker, and videoconferencing, as well as Web2.0 technologies/websites such as Google Earth, Google Docs, Quia.com and Wikispaces.com.
Current Active Wikis: http://latin2atrhs.wikispaces.com/ and http://msguerra.wikispaces.com/  Click on the World Language Student Work page for more digital artifacts.

Frequently Asked Questions. As FAQs are generated, we will post the most popular/important ones here.