ELE Department

As our English Language Learner (ELL) population grows at Sturgis, so has the ELL department. They have done an excellent job with our students. Here are some of this years highlights from the ELL department:

Seal of Biliteracy

A total of 17 candidates from both campuses earned the Seal of Biliteracy this year in the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, and Jamaican Patois. Out of those students, 5 earned the Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction. This is the first time Sturgis has offered this opportunity to students! The State Seal of Biliteracy is an award that recognizes high school graduates who attain high functional and academic levels of proficiency in English and another world language, in recognition of students having studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages.

Congratulations to the following students who earned the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy:

Kayden Murphy - with Distinction - Spanish (East)

Josiah Girardin - Spanish (East)

Laura Naurath - Portuguese (East)

Alexander Mendez - Spanish (East)

Esmeralda Rivera - Spanish (East)

Michelle Tellez - with Distinction - Spanish (West)

Sophia Miranda - Portuguese (West)

Tiffany Ribeiro - Portuguese (West)

Gregory Ryan - Portuguese (West)

Andrew Wilson - Spanish (West)

Isabella De Paula - with Distinction Portuguese (West)

Lillian Palmer - with Distinction Spanish (West)

Sudeen Dwyer- Jamaican Patois (West)

Emily Freitas - Portuguese (West)

Lindsey Lubofsky - Spanish (West)

Alessia Oliveira Barros - Portuguese (West)

Isabella Tassitano - Portuguese (West)

Requirements to earn the Seal of Biliteracy:

Learning About STEM

Multilingual learners at both campuses developed their informative language skills by exploring chosen STEM-related topics of interest before submitting pieces to the New York Times 3rd annual STEM Writing Contest and the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee’s Black History Month Student Contest. Students interviewed a physician from Cape Cod Hospital and reviewed research of field experts, along with examples of STEM columns, to inform their analysis of various scientific and health phenomena. Submissions included explorations of language barriers in healthcare, the consequences of a lack of diverse illustrations in medical textbooks, inequity in pain medicine for black patients, how Apple’s touchID works, the long term effects of CTE, Alzheimer's Disease, genetic modification, and the James Webb telescope. Congratulations to our ELD students for their research efforts and analysis of current health and STEM issues!

Student Podcasts

Multilingual learners from both campuses produced student podcasts to submit to the New York Times’ 5th Annual Student Podcast Contest. To prepare, students listened to and analyzed a range of successful podcasts while focusing on the language that engages and adjusts for an audience, develops time and story, and orients an audience to context and multiple points of view. Both classes have chosen to use the Sturgis experience as the subject of their first episode, and the podcasts will include the voices of various students and community members. Thanks to Michele Colley from the tech department, students have used Audacity to sequence and enhance their final submissions.

Field Trip to Zion Heritage Museum

English Learner Education (ELE) students from East and West took a field trip to the Zion Heritage Museum in Hyannis, MA. All have learned in ELD about the value of documenting and reflecting during extraordinary times for future generations. The Zion Heritage Museum is located in the first integrated church on Cape Cod. John Reed, the museum’s Executive Director, graciously offered to speak to our students about the museum and, in honor of Black History Month, its history of celebrating the local community of color and its contributions to Cape Cod as a whole.

Following the museum ELE students and faculty had lunch at the Karibbean Lounge, a local Caribbean-Jamaican restaurant whose owner, Allanah Bodah, was this week's Amplify POC Entrepreneur Spotlight.

English Language Development

Multilingual English learners at East submitted pieces to the New York Times’ Coming of Age in 2021 Multimedia Student Contest by collecting and creating artifacts that show how their generation has been shaped by the last year and a half. Students began the process by interpreting narratives and evaluating the impact of specific word choices on meaning, tone, and explicit vs. implicit points of view. Later, students crafted pieces and written statements that engaged their audience through specific word choices to advance mood and describe their purpose. We are so lucky to have these stories and perspectives to look back on and fully understand this extraordinary time!

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