Archive: Around Town

Spanish language students at New Roots Charter School helped host medical students from the Dominican Republic who were visiting Cornell University this week. Attending a bilingual Holistic Medicine workshop with the medical students and hosting their visit at New Roots, the experience required students to be fully immersed in speaking Spanish for the purposes of authentic communication with their guests.

The Holistic Medicine workshop, held at Cornell University on Friday, October 16th, was organized by the Committee on U.S./Latin American Relations (CUSLAR). New Roots students learned about holistic medicine alongside the visiting medical students, including learning the medicinal properties of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Without any Spanish or English translation, students were tasked with making salad and a nutritious beverage of juiced vegetables, fruits and herbs.

To conclude the workshop, the Dominican medical students taught New Roots students how to dance the samba and merengue. "Both groups of students enjoyed the event, they truly learned a lot from each other. The dialogue between the New Roots students and Dominican medical students was very successful," shares New Roots Spanish Language and Culture teacher, Maria Gimma. Maria integrates life experiences in her courses to help students better understand the world in which we live in as they learn the Spanish language through the exploration of the diverse cultures found in the many Spanish speaking countries around the world. New Roots students in Spanish levels three, four, and five earn college-level credit through Tompkins Cortland Community College.

The Dominican Medical students visited New Roots Charter School this week for a tour of the school and to engage students in Spanish levels four and five in discussions about the differences between their respective countries.  Students were required to speak exclusively in Spanish.  To wrap up the experience, students in the school's videography program filmed bilingual interviews with the Dominican students.

"This is a great example of the New Roots learning experience. Students put their Spanish language, videography and critical thinking skills to the test while learning about medicinal plants and about the individual lives of young Dominicans." concludes Rebecca Cutter, New Roots Community Learning and Outreach Coordinator.  

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