Translator for the Cleveland Indians Agustín Rivero spoke to eighth-grade Spanish students about his career journey.
Cleveland Indians Translator Speaks at CFMS
Translator for the Cleveland Indians Agustín Rivero spoke to eighth-grade Spanish students about his career journey. The first part of his message was that languages connect everyone to all kinds of people and opportunities. He then explained that studying a language is more than just understanding words, it includes understanding a culture. Meeting, knowing and helping people are parts of discovering a new language. He ended by telling the students that they are still young and may not yet know their path. The best thing to do is to try new things, discover passions and follow them to find a career one is passionate about.
Rivero was a professional baseball player for the New York Yankees for two years and later worked at the Boston School of Modern Languages as the manager of English and baseball program/ activities and logistics coordinator. He also held several titles at Columbia University in New York, some of them being in the School of International and Public Affairs. He has been an interpreter for the Indians for almost a year.
One School, One Book
Gurney Elementary School kicked off its 11th annual One School, One Book (OSOB) program on Jan. 14 with the book “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” by Florence and Richard Atwater. The goal of the program is to have parents and family members share in a reading adventure with the students by reading to them each night.
The Chagrin Valley Rotary Club and the Chagrin Falls PTO gave all students in the elementary school the book and the Gurney staff, Dad’s Club and PTO created the look of the South Pole within the school hallways. An igloo and large wall map are on display for students to track the places they learn about during the program.
The book was selected for all grade levels because it could be understood by younger children while still holding the attention of and stimulating the older children. The school sent a calendar with a reading schedule to each home with an assigned chapter for a family member to read with their child. Along with the chapter, there is a list of vocabulary words for the family member to teach the student.
In the case that a family member is unable to read one night, Gurney provides a podcast of each chapter with a few special guest readers on the school’s OSOB website. In addition to the book reading, the program calendar includes family game night, “dress like a penguin day,” creating advertisements and more.
“This kind of home-school connection and school-wide experience is very powerful in creating a community of readers!” said Principal Rachel Jones.
Each class at Gurney received their very own penguin from the Antarctic. Every student will have the chance to take the penguin home and wrote a journal entry about it during the duration of the program. The classes will also research one specific type of penguin out of the 17 species that exist and chart the information on the communal wall map.
During the morning announcements each day, trivia questions related to the book will be asked with fun prizes for correct answers as an incentive to fully participate in reading the book each night. The students even kept with the Antarctic theme by sending postcards to Antarctica before winter break and are expecting return messages within a few weeks.
A link to the reading calendar, podcasts, and family activities can be found at https://sites.google.com/chagrinschools.org/poppers2020/home. The site also gives information on the WIRES organization, which aims to rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife, especially necessary during the time of the tragic bush fires. Students are encouraged to help the cause by respecting the environment in their own lives and donating money to the cause in their classroom’s collection bin.
Chagrin Falls Schools Welcomes Lisa Damour
Chagrin Falls Schools’ Parent Teacher Organization is proud to welcome to Chagrin Falls Dr. Lisa Damour on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Chagrin Falls Performing Arts Center (PAC), 400 E. Washington St.
Lisa Damour is a psychologist, author, teacher, speaker and consultant. Dr. Damour writes the monthly Adolescence column for the New York Times and is a regular contributor at CBS News. She serves as a senior advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University and as the executive director of Laurel School’s Center for Research on Girls.
Dr. Damour is the author of two New York Times best selling books: “Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood” and “Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls.”
To get free tickets, visit http://bit.ly/35IIg24Damour or go to ChagrinFallsPTO.org.
