JCA Student Earns 1st Place Ribbon

Joliet Catholic Academy's Modesty Tan, '14, won a first place ribbon at the AATSP Poetry and Poster Contest at Niles North High School.  

Modesty memorized and presented her poem to a panel of judges, who were very impressed with her accent and the way she conveyed the poem's meaning.  

Modesty is a Spanish III Honors student in "Profe" Lauren Finaldi's class.  

ICFL Fall Conference Presentation

ICTFL Fall Conference 2012

NAVIGATION 2012: Celebrating our 25 Year Journey - Mapping the Next 25 Years" - ICTFL Fall Conference 2012

Sponsored by the ILLINOIS COUNCIL ON THE TEACHING
 OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Implement Cultural Exchange and Blog about It! Lauren Finaldi Bringing teenagers from different cultures together opens their minds, promotes world peace, and best of all does wonders for your foreign language classes! In this session I will cover how to: host a short-term student exchange at your school, organize a short-term home-stay trip abroad, and utilize technology to involve the travelers, parents and students back home. Examples shared from recent trips. http://www.slideshare.net/profefinaldi/high-school-short-term-exchange-programs

Custom Ink T-Shirts for Student Exchange

Custom T-Shirts for Profe Finaldi

JCA/Vilanova by jca/vilanova - over 2 years ago

 

"Joliet Catholic Academy is once again hosting a group of students (this time 15 students and 2 teachers) from Escola Pia Vilanova, a city near Barcelona, Spain. Once again, we ordered shirts for everyone from CustomInk and couldn't be more FELIZ! Our picture shows the group enjoying a little FroYo after a day at school in our cool new T's!" 

- http://www.jca-online.org -jca/vilanova (Sep 09, 2012)

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Las Profesoras

 Our two visiting teachers from Vilanova i la Geltru, Rosa y Mireia, pose with Profe Finaldi (middle) in front of the la estelada, which is Catalonia's separatist flag.

 

JCA welcomes EPIA students

JCA families once again opened their homes and their hearts to host students from our sister school, Escola Pia Vilanova.

While here they experienced live at JCA, in our community and in the city of Chicago.  

T-shirts for hosting EPIA

Bulletin Board Collage

Profe had photos from the prior year's Spain trip and the two previous hosting experiences and made a collage on a bulletin board in the classroom.

 

 

Class of 2012

There has always been something special about the class of 2012! This picture was taken, I believe, their junior year...the year they made DIMELO.  They have a very special place in my heart!

-Profe

La Mulasa

After meeting the mayor in Vilanova I la Geltrù, Profe Finaldi was given a pewter statuette of La Mulasa, a typical creature that is part of their Carnaval festivities. 

Joliet Catholic Academy's Spanish Exchange 2012

JCA Spanish Exchange

JCA Short Term Exchange to Spain

SCHOOLS ›

From the community

Joliet Catholic Academy's Spanish Exchange Club enjoys trip to Spain

By Joliet Catholic Academy May 8, 2012 at 12:40 p.m.

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Students from JCA's Spanish Exchange Club pose for a picture during their trip to Vilanova, Spain.

JOLIET – A different language. A different place. A different pace.

“People are a little different when they’re at home,” nodded Lauren Finaldi, a Spanish instructor and the moderator of National Spanish Honor Society and Student Exchange. “When you have the opportunity to see your students living and speaking in this type of environment, it gives you more of a full picture.”

From April 5-18, 14 students from Joliet Catholic Academy’s Spanish Foreign Exchange Club viewed that picture in Vilanova, Spain, a suburb of Barcelona. JCA hosted the same families from Sept. 4-15.

“That gave us a certain comfort level,” Finaldi said. “Vilanova is a half-hour drive from Barcelona – like Joliet to Chicago, the same kind of distance. The kids were impressed that, even though it was a city setting, they could walk everywhere or they could ride bikes. We did a ton of walking over there.

“It’s a very nice lifestyle. Most of the kids either walked or rode their bikes to school, picking up their friends along the way, and you can’t drive in Spain until you are 18. A lot of the kids won’t drive even when they turn 18 because it’s not really necessary. Anywhere that you have to go, you can walk.”

Traveling during the school’s Spring Break to Spain from JCA were seniors Anne Schmig (Joliet), Brittany Rosales (Joliet), Jasmine Smith (Joliet), Nick Humbles (Wilmington), Alessa Smith (Shorewood) and Marissa Cardenas (Plainfield); juniors Carolyn Hall (Plainfield), Madeline Mutz (Joliet), Taylor Madlener (Plainfield), James Hunter Warning (Shorewood) and Michael Kaminski (Joliet); sophomores Alexis Rotnicki (Shorewood) and Cesar Mireles (Joliet); and freshman Nataly Cardenas (Plainfield).

Also along as a chaperone with Finaldi (Naperville) was Katie Drabik (Joliet), who teaches Spanish at JCA. And as educators, Finaldi and Drabik were thrilled to witness the classroom coming alive in real time.

“It was so gratifying to hear the students,” Finaldi said. “There are things you teach in class – the language, obviously. But there are other things you may have told them or tried to teach them.

“Until they go there and they live it, it’s different. Then you hear them talking to each other and they’re saying something like they have discovered it for the first time, and it is amazing how it sinks in.”

For her part, Finaldi considered the trip the realization of a dream and thanked Jeffrey Budz, JCA’s Principal/CEO, for approving the trip. Finaldi went on student-exchange trips in high school and college.

“I have done this many times, so I know the value of it,” Finaldi said. “I went and we hosted students when I was in high school, I went as a college student and I spent a semester there as a grad student.

“I have always dreamed of doing this because I know how much it has shaped my life. It’s the reason I became a Spanish teacher. And for our kids, they will make friends from Spain that can last a lifetime.”

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JCA/EPIA connection

16 JCA students and two teachers (Profe Finaldi & Srta. Drabik) embark on an adventure in Spain.  They travel throughout Madrid and Toledo, then settle in the town of Vilanova.  In Vilanova, which is just south of Barcelona, the students live with families and attend school with their host brothers and sisters.  They also take excursions to Barcelona.  

JCA to EPIA T-Shirt

National Spanish Honor Society Ceremony 2012

President of the National Spanish Honor Society, Carley Serena, lights the mother candle that the new inductees will use to light their candles and recite the pledge.

New Inductees

Barron, Victoria

Belofsky, Kayla

Bergeson, Jordan

Bertino, Dominic

Bettenhausen, Joie

Bui, Mary

Emerson, Austin

Mattea, Dyllan

Butler, James

Hippman, Ryan

King, Jessica

Mihalakakos, Ariana

Pluth, Brett

Rodriguez, Miranda

Whalen, Jack

Clevinger, Nina

Harvey, Frederick

Korst, Chloe

Kwaben, Alexis

Madlener, Taylor

McSteen, Moira

Mueller, Thomas

Nuñez, Jr. Roberto

Rezin, Zachary

Rotnicki, Alexis

Schmig, Claire

Stockl, Seth

Elmore, Taylor

Gottardo, Sarah

Kinsella, Victoria

Malec, Justin

Minarich, Elizabeth

Nahas, Mary

Pettenuzzo, Alexandra

Reyes, Lorenzo

Villegas, Roman

Charley, Taylor

Kennedy, Madeline Rose

Kennedy, Rachel

Kostecki, Brady

Kovalcik, Paige

Randich, Daniel

Ruiz, Ariana

Santos, Brandon

Sharp, Erinn

Smith, Clayton

Tan, Modesty

Weis, Dan

Four Year Medalists

1. Alessa Smith
2. Alexander Mantis
3. Alexander Rubocki
4. Alexandria Trafton
5. Alexis Zelehovitis
6. Andrew Stover
7. Anna-Marie Patrick
8. Annie Schmig
9. Austin Mackert- Miller
10. Brittany Rosales
11. Carley Serena
12. Courtney Powers
13. Dominick Allen
14. Hailey Pennington
15. Jeremy Malec
16. Jonathan Chignoli
17. Josh Roher
18. Kelsey Fenske
19. Kelsie Chasten
20. Kim Kitchell
21. Laurel Stofan
22. Lauren Randich
23. Michelle LaViola
24. Molly Vodacek
25. Myra Villas
26. Nicholas Fedosenko
27. Nicholas Humbles
28. Nicole Formhals
29. Nolan Hucek
30. Rachel Jelinek
31. Rachelle Sartori
32. Stacy Bedore
33. Stephanie Demos
34. Stephanie Wilson
35. Theresa Gallo
36. Thomas Wiffler

Spanish Club 2013 Yearbook