Lastly, we are happy to welcome Miss. Naomi Jane Lesnewski to the Sebastian School for the 2012 school year. She comes to us as part of English Opens Doors, a program run by the Chilean Ministry of Education and the United Nations Development Programme, which brings native English speakers to schools throughout Chile in an effort to boost the quality of instruction and the level of exposure to English in our nation’s primary and secondary schools. Miss. Naomi is from New York City in the United States and is happy to get to be a part of the Sebastian School family! She will be working with the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade English and English Club classes, the Karaoke Club on Thursdays and Fridays, and as a coach for the various activities mentioned above.

Our next scheduled English language programming will be the English Festival which will take place during the second week of August. Students from all grades were invited to audition to sing a song in English in front of a panel of judges. Both musical and English skills were taken into account when selecting the seven finalists that will represent the Sebastian School in the competition, also hosted by the Ñuble Net. These students are Fernanda Vildósola (3rd), Michelle Carmona (5th), Benjamín Sanchez (6th), Luna Fuentes (6th), Ximena Aguayo (7th), and the duo of Sebastián Suarez and Ignacio Caro (7th). Both Miss. Naomi and music Teacher Sebastián will be working with students to prepare for their performances!

The English Department is excited to introduce many new activities for the 2012 school year. We hope that these extracurricular programs reinforce the Sebastian School’s English curriculum and our goal that our students become confident English speakers, readers, and writers in preparation to be productive members of the globalized society that we live in today.