American Sign Language

Tutor: Karen Alsaegh

German I

Tutor: Amy Browning-Dill

This course introduces students to the German language through a multifaceted approach using music, art, reading, writing, and dialogue. In addition to the German language, students will also explore the culture and geography of Germany.

The textbook is published in Germany and is designed to use for middle and high school students who are totally new to German. The most important part of learning a language is building vocabulary and becoming familiar with the language. Grammar is secondary and will be learned along the way.

I like to use a lot of visuals and hands on activities to engage the students in learning German. The goal is to make the language learning process seem as natural as possible. There will be worksheets, but these will be used primarily to reinforce what the students have learned. Audio CDs to accompany the textbook are available for purchase and will be used for additional practice at home.

Textbook: Prima Plus: Schülerbuch A1.1 and Audio CDs A1.1 by Cornelsen

German II

Tutor: Inge Sydnor

This class is the continuation of last year’s German 1.  We begin in Chapter 6 and have 12 Chapters.   Anyone is welcome who has had an introduction to German.  The lessons in this book are quite long and we will finish the second half of the book this year.  Students can truly consider themselves having graduated German 2.   As German 1,  this course is taught by a German native and you are assured to be exposed to High Standard German, no  dialect.   Students are on a steep,  fun climb through the book and all states of Germany, getting acquainted with new vocabulary along the way as well as geography and culture.  Tests are taken after every Chapter.  Learning a new language always requires much learning by heart, especially vocabulary, in order  to have much material to work with.

Textbook:  KOMM MIT!  German 1 by Holt

Available at Amazon.com new & used.  Grammar Book (Grammatikheft) German 1

Activity Book (Uebungsheft) German 1  required

Call Mrs. Sydnor with questions, please leave a message at 703-495-0500

Latin I

Spanish I

Meets twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Tutor: Sonia McCullough

This course is designed to help students master basic thematic vocabulary and grammatical principles of the Spanish language. We study all seven parts of speech: nouns and their articles, pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, the most commonly used verbs in their infinitive and participle forms, and simple verb conjugations (present, present progressive, past, and future). In-class lessons include audio-visual presentations and manipulatives. Coursework consists of weekly quizzes (both at the beginning and at the end of each class session), daily homework (including the study of audio-visual presentations and oral practice), chapter tests, oral evaluations, and class participation. A reader primer is introduced in the fall semester.

Course materials include:

Spanish is Fun, Book 1, textbook (Student Edition Softcover, ISBN 978-163419928-5) and companion workbook (ISBN 978-163419929-2), both available HERE.

Each student needs a 1″ binder to store weekly handouts, quizzes, and tests. Weekly class content reviews and instructional videos are posted on the class webpage to aid both students and parents keep up with class discussion. These video presentations are meant to be played by students at home and are not meant to take the place of class attendance. This class also features online labs for ear pronunciation training. Supplemental handouts and homework assignments are provided and tailored to students needs. The books indicated above are used as an important resource, but they are certainly not our only resource. We’ll be pulling from many sources as we see fit. Readers are introduced in the first semester.

Memory-intensive homework is assigned for five days a week. Students need to have internet access and a reliable email account to send and receive coursework, to communicate with the tutor, and to access the class webpage where class materials are archived.

The syllabus is available HERE. Check out our class website HERE. (We are still populating the website with the relevant content for the school year and you will need a student password to access class materials.)

Students who successfully complete this course (or its equivalent) may enroll in STARS Spanish 2 upon passing the Spanish 2 placement test with a minimum score of 85% and an interview with the tutor. A study guide is available to prepare for both the test and the interview upon request. Be encouraged in heart (Colossians 2:2)!!!

Contact Mrs. Lixandra Rosario at nova.starsloveslearning@gmail.com for more information.

Spanish II

Tutor: Mrs. Lixandra Rosario

Class held twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 am- 11:30 am

This course continues the study of basic thematic vocabulary and grammatical principles of the Spanish language already learned in Spanish 1. We continue to study all seven parts of speech: nouns and their articles, object pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and the most commonly used verbs in their infinitive and participle forms. Students are introduced to stem-changing and reflexive verbs, formal and informal commands, and more verb conjugations (past tense, imperfect preterite, present perfect and present subjunctive).

Coursework consists of weekly quizzes, daily homework (including the study of audio-visual presentations and oral practice), chapter tests, oral evaluations, and class participation. Homework include online language labs with repeat-after exercises to be completed on a daily basis. In-class lessons include audio-visual presentations and student participation is expected. A reader primer is introduced in the fall semester.

Course materials include:

Spanish is Fun, Book 2, textbook (Student Edition Softcover, ISBN 978-162974670-8) and companion workbook (ISBN 978-162974665-4), both available HERE. Each student needs a 1″ binder to store weekly handouts, quizzes, and tests.

Weekly class content reviews and videos are posted on the class webpage to aid both students and parents keep up with class discussion. These presentations are meant to be played by students at home on a daily basis to practice their pronunciation and train their ear. They are not meant to take the place of class attendance. Handouts and homework assignments are provided and tailored to students needs. The books indicated above are used as an important resource, but they are certainly not our only resource. We’ll be pulling from many sources as we see fit. All class materials (except copyrighted textbook and workbook lessons) will be available online on our class website https://semuchoespanol.wordpress.com.

Memory-intensive homework is assigned for five days a week. This is a very dynamic class and students are expected to be prepared for in-class discussion and participation every time.

Students need to have internet access and a reliable email account to send and receive coursework and to communicate with the tutor. Since our students are educated at home, all communications with the tutor via phone, text, or email is to be conducted in Spanish whenever possible and can be considered “homework material.” Students equipped with smart phones will receive weekly text messages with relevant content in Spanish and will be asked to reply in Spanish to the best of their ability to further enhance their learning experience.

In the spring semester, students will write blog posts to be published on our class website along with Spanish 3 students who will join in the conversation.

See the class syllabus HERE. Our class website is still being updated in preparation for the new school year.

Students who successfully complete this course (or its equivalent) may enroll in STARS Spanish 3 upon passing the Spanish 3 placement test with a minimum score of 85% and an interview with the tutor. A study guide is available to prepare for both the test and the interview upon request. Be encouraged in heart (Colossians 2:2)!!!

Contact Mrs. Rosario at nova.starsloveslearning@gmail.com for more information.

Spanish III

Class meets twice a week. On Tuesdays, the class is held in a brick and mortar classroom 8:30-9:30 at our STARS location. Meeting day/time for the second weekly session online will be agreed upon as a group on the first day of class.

Tutor:  Mrs. Lixandra Rosario

This course continues the study of all seven parts of speech: nouns and their articles; personal, object,  and relative pronouns; adjectives; prepositions; conjunctions; and the most commonly used verbs in their infinitive and participle forms. Students are introduced to compound verbal structures, gerunds, passive constructions, subjunctive, and common expressions with verbs. Spain is the main focus of our country studies, but some aspects of Latin American cultures are also discussed.

Coursework consists of weekly quizzes, daily homework (including the online language labs and oral practice), chapter tests, oral evaluations, and class participation. In-class lessons include audio-visual presentations and student participation is expected. Readers written and published in Spain (with read-aloud companion CDs) are introduced in the first semester and are provided by the tutor. We also use reading materials available online. Practice written standardized examinations are also introduced in the first semester.

Course materials also include:

Textbook: Spanish Three Years 3rd. Edition (Student WORKBOOK Edition Softcover, 2016, ISBN 978-163419896-7) and Answer Key (ISBN 978-163419898-1) available HERE.

Each student needs a 1″ binder to store weekly handouts, quizzes, and tests.

Weekly class content reviews, videos, and online language labs are posted on the class webpage to aid both students and parents keep up with class discussion. These pre-recorded presentations are meant to be played by students at home on a daily basis to practice their pronunciation and train their ear. They are not meant to take the place of class attendance. Handouts and homework assignments are provided and tailored to students needs. The books indicated above are used as an important resource, but they are certainly not our only resource. We’ll be pulling from many sources as we see fit.

Memory-intensive homework is assigned for five days a week. This is a very dynamic class and students are expected to be prepared for in-class discussion and participation every time.

Students need to have internet access and a reliable email account to send and receive coursework and to communicate with the tutor. All communications with the tutor via phone, text, or email is to be conducted in Spanish whenever possible and can be considered “homework material.”

In the spring semester, students will write blog posts in Spanish to be published in the STARS Spanish website along with Spanish 2 students who will join in the conversation. They can be as creative with their posts as they wish to be, though guidelines will be provided.

Students enrolling in this class are encouraged to take the Spanish 3 placement test and be interviewed by the tutor. The tutor may advise enrollment in a lower level class if the test score is not above 85%. A study guide is available to prepare for both the test and the interview upon request. Be encouraged in heart (Colossians 2:2)!!!

Contact Mrs. Rosario at nova.starsloveslearning@gmail.com for more information.

Middle School Spanish
Mrs. Lixandra Rosario

This course is designed to introduce students to basic Spanish vocabulary and general grammatical principles in preparation for a more in-depth study of the Spanish language in the high school years. We study all seven parts of speech: nouns and their articles, subject pronouns, descriptive adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and the most commonly used verbs and simple verb conjugations (present and present progressive).

Vocabulary is studied thematically. Coursework consists of weekly quizzes, daily homework (including the study of audio-visual presentations and oral practice), chapter tests, oral evaluations, and class participation.

Course materials include:

Spanish is Fun, Book A, textbook (Student Edition Softcover, ISBN 978-163419933-9) and companion workbook (ISBN 978-163419934-6), both available HERE. Depending upon the pace of the class, it is typically possible to finish Book A in the Fall semester and move on to Book B in the Spring semester. Students who successfully complete Book B could enroll in our STARS High School Spanish 2 if they show they pass the Spanish 2 placement test with a minimum score of 85% and an interview with the tutor.

Each student needs a 1″ binder to store weekly handouts, quizzes, and tests. Weekly class content reviews and pre-recorded, voiced PowerPoint slide shows are posted on the class webpage to aid both students and parents keep up with class discussion. These pre-recorded presentations are meant to be played by students at home on a daily basis to practice their pronunciation and train their ear. They are not meant to take the place of class attendance. Lots of teacher-made handouts and homework material is provided according to students needs. The books spelled out above are used as an important resource, but they are certainly not our only resource. We’ll be pulling from many sources as we see fit.

Homework is frequently submitted by email. Each student needs access to the internet and a reliable email account to send and receive coursework as well as to communicate with the tutor.

Contact Mrs. Rosario at nova.starsloveslearning@gmail.com for more information.

Russian I

• Russian Workbook Step By Step Total Beginner
• Russian Handwriting Step By Step Propisi (Second Semester)
• Golosa 4th Edition Textbook
• Golosa 4th Edition The Student Activity Manual

Russian II