Thursday, February 9, 2012

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

Alessa Smith
Alexander Mantis
Alexander Rubocki
Alexandria Trafton
Alexis Zelehovitis
Andrew Stover
Anna-Marie Patrick
Annie Schmig
Austin Mackert- Miller
Brittany Rosales
Carley Serena
Courtney Powers
Dominick Allen
Hailey Pennington
Jeremy Malec
Jonathan Chignoli
Josh Roher
Kelsey Fenske
Kelsie Chasten
Kim Kitchell
Laurel Stofan
Lauren Randich
Michelle LaViola
Molly Vodacek
Myra Villas
Nicholas Fedosenko
Nicholas Humbles
Nicole Formhals
Nolan Hucek
Rachel Jelinek
Rachelle Sartori
Stacy Bedore
Stephanie Demos
Stephanie Wilson
Theresa Gallo
Thomas Wiffler

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Joliet Catholic Academy's Finaldi, Pasieka, Rohder highlight Spanish Poetry Contest

By Joliet Catholic Academy Nov. 22, 2011 at 2:25 p.m.

JCA students Marin Pasieka (left) and Josh Rohder placed in the Chicago Area Chapter Poetry Competition.

The poem was “Soy Yo Quien Anda” by famous Spanish poet and Nobel Prize winner Juan Ramon Jimenez. The performance by a pair of Joliet Catholic Academy students was “impressive.”

Marin Pasieka and Josh Rohder competed in the Chicago Area Chapter Poetry Competition on Nov. 12 at Nile North High School in Skokie. The event was sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portugese.

Rohder, a junior from Shorewood, earned a second-place medal and Pasieka, a junior from Joliet, picked up a third-place medal. Both participated in Level 3 for non-native speakers, reciting the poem from memory.

Lauren Finaldi, a Naperville native and their Spanish teacher at JCA, helped prepare Pasieka and Rohder for the competition and also served as a judge for the entire event.

“I was very impressed with Marin and Josh,” Finaldi said. “This was something they didn’t have to do, and they went the extra mile to represent the school. They had to do a lot of work to prepare for it and they were absolutely outstanding.”

Pasieka and Rohder recited a poem that is about a man, after growing old, looking back upon his life. They were judged on their performance, which included memorization and emotive ability.

“That was the part which was so impressive,” Finaldi said. “Not only did they have to memorize it and get the punctuation correct, they had to have the right emotion and right feeling for it – and they did.”

For Finaldi, it has been a busy time.

She presented original material at a recent Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and was asked to join the board of directors of that professional organization. She will begin serving in 2012.

As part of her preparation for the presentation, she created a blog that other teachers and students of foreign languages can use. It is called profeTUNES and can be found on profeTUNES.blogspot.com.

“I update it regularly with new material,” Finaldi said. “I’m very excited about it.”

Finaldi’s presentation was titled, “Pop Music & Foreign Language Classes: A Natural Combination!” It stressed the importance of infusing pop icons and their music into classes to enliven the lessons and motivate students throughout the school year.

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

ICTFL Fall Conference 2011 Presentation

"Have Languages, Will Travel: Culture & Communication in a Mobile World"

Illinois Teachers of Foreign Languages

Fall Conference 2011

Tinley Park, Illinois

Oct. 21 & 22

Pop Music & Foreign Language Classes:

A Natural Combination!

Finaldi, Lauren; Joliet Catholic Academy

Infuse pop icons and their music into your class to liven up your lessons and peak student motivation throughout the year.

Learn numerous ways to integrate appropriate songs and videos into grammar, vocabulary, culture and geography lessons.

Give your class a fun conversation lexicon for TPR storytelling.
Most examples will be for Spanish classes, however, resources and applicable lessons will be available for all languages.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Hosting Experience

'Another World' Comes To JCA
Local Voices

Bill Scheibe

Posted on September 28, 2011

Lauren Finaldi, a Spanish teacher at Joliet Catholic Academy, remembers her trip to Spain as a high school student. And the impact of that trip has remained a poignant memory for the Naperville resident.
“When I was a high school student in the 1980s, I had the wonderful opportunity of participating in a short-term exchange program to Spain,” Finaldi said. “The unique experience of traveling with your teacher and a small group of classmates to a foreign land was completely life-altering for me.”
It was that type of experience Finaldi hoped would be the end result of having JCA families host 11 exchange students and their teacher from Barcelona, Spain. They were on campus from Sept. 4-15.
After arriving on a Sunday and attending a barbeque, the Barcelona students participated in a Labor Day parade. Trips to Chicago and Brookfield Zoo were included, as well as a trip to White Fence Farm and a night of bowling. The students attended mass at St. Raymond Cathedral and held a Fiesta on Sept. 9.
“I am so happy JCA has been open to hosting this great group of students, and they have touched our lives in so many positive ways,” Finaldi said. “My trip shaped my life in a positive way, and from there on out, it has been a goal of mine to bring this wonderful experience to as many students as possible.”
Two JCA students, Naperville’s Malin Jones and Shorewood’s Julia Malinowski, could attest to Finaldi’s sentiments.
“I had a great time,” Jones said. “I really enjoyed Miquel. He was one of the best English speakers, so that made it easy on me. He learned a lot about us and I learned a lot about him. Like their schools are much, much smaller. He saw our hallways and said, ‘It’s just like in the American movies.’”
“It was definitely a cool experience, Malinowski said. “We found out that kids from Spain are the same as us. They listen to the same music and have the same problems, especially with boys. It was two weeks, but it flew by so fast, and it was a great chance to learn about another part of the world.”
Each exchange student was paired up with a JCA student and their family. They were:
* Plainfield’s Jessica DeLaVergne, her parents Jason and Tammy, with Judith Adiego Perez.
* Shorewood’s Katelyn Gannon, her parents Kelli and Shaun, with Maria Palcios Marti.
* Joliet’s Nolan Hucek, his parents Doug and Beth, with Gerard Birlanga.
* Naperville’s Malin Jones, his parents Earl and Dolores, with Miquel Alvarez.
* Plainfield’s Michelle LaViola, her parents Margaret and John, with Patricia Plan Novella.
* Shorewood’s Julia Malinowski, her parents Laura and Dan, with Paula Hidalgo Herrera.
* Joliet’s Sidney Munch, her parents Tammy and Robert, with Maria Villarubias Abiac.
* Shorewood’s Carley Serena, her parents Joseph and Heidi, with Maria Del Mar Luuch Orriols.
* Joliet’s Jasmine Smith, her parents Marc and Jennifer, with Anna Gene Orriols.
* Plainfield’s Stephanie Tillman, her parents James and Mary, with Maria Gonzalez Rodriguez.
* Shorewood’s Colleen Quinn, her parents John and Alex, with Laura Cardona Roca.

\\jcaxeon\USERS\Faculty\LFinaldi\newspaper articles\'Another World' Comes To JCA - Naperville, IL Patch.mht

First Visit from EPIA Spanish School to JCA

JCA Hosts Spanish Students, September 2011

SCHOOLS ›

From the community

11 exchange students from Barcelona bond with Joliet Catholic Academy's Spanish Department

By Joliet Catholic Academy Sep. 28, 2011 at 3:29 p.m. JCA students and their exchange students from Barcelona, Spain, get together for a picture on Fiesta Friday.

JCA students and their exchange students from Barcelona, Spain, get together for a picture on Fiesta Friday.

“When I was a high school student in the 1980s, I had the wonderful opportunity of participating in a short-term exchange program to Spain,” Finaldi said. “The unique experience of traveling with your teacher and a small group of classmates to a foreign land was completely life-altering for me.”

It was that type of experience Finaldi hoped would be the end result of having JCA families host 11 exchange students and their teacher from Barcelona, Spain. They were on campus from Sept. 4-15.

After arriving on a Sunday and attending a barbeque, the Barcelona students participated in a Labor Day parade. Trips to Chicago and Brookfield Zoo were included, as well as a trip to White Fence Farm and a night of bowling. The students attended mass at St. Raymond Cathedral and held a Fiesta on Sept. 9.

“I am so happy JCA has been open to hosting this great group of students, and they have touched our lives in so many positive ways,” Finaldi said. “My trip shaped my life in a positive way, and from there on out, it has been a goal of mine to bring this wonderful experience to as many students as possible.”

Two JCA students, Naperville’s Malin Jones and Shorewood’s Julia Malinowski, could attest to Finaldi’s sentiments.

“I had a great time,” Jones said. “I really enjoyed Miquel. He was one of the best English speakers, so that made it easy on me. He learned a lot about us and I learned a lot about him. Like their schools are much, much smaller. He saw our hallways and said, ‘It’s just like in the American movies.’”

“It was definitely a cool experience, Malinowski said. “We found out that kids from Spain are the same as us. They listen to the same music and have the same problems, especially with boys. It was two weeks, but it flew by so fast, and it was a great chance to learn about another part of the world.”

Each exchange student was paired up with a JCA student and their family. They were:

 Plainfield’s Jessica DeLaVergne, her parents Jason and Tammy, with Judith Adiego Perez.

 Shorewood’s Katelyn Gannon, her parents Kelli and Shaun, with Maria Palcios Marti.

 Joliet’s Nolan Hucek, his parents Doug and Beth, with Gerard Birlanga.

 Naperville’s Malin Jones, his parents Earl and Dolores, with Miquel Alvarez.

 Plainfield’s Michelle LaViola, her parents Margaret and John, with Patricia Plan Novella.

 Shorewood’s Julia Malinowski, her parents Laura and Dan, with Paula Hidalgo Herrera.

 Joliet’s Sidney Munch, her parents Tammy and Robert, with Maria Villarubias Abiac.

 Shorewood’s Carley Serena, her parents Joseph and Heidi, with Maria Del Mar Luuch Orriols.

 Joliet’s Jasmine Smith, her parents Marc and Jennifer, with Anna Gene Orriols.

 Plainfield’s Stephanie Tillman, her parents James and Mary, with Maria Gonzalez Rodriguez.

 Shorewood’s Colleen Quinn, her parents John and Alex, with Laura Cardona Roca.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

CustomInk T-Shirts for our Exchange Program

http://www.customink.com/photos/fiesta-1

!fiesta!

by jca/vilanova - over 3 years ago

"Our high school, Joliet Catholic Academy, Joliet , Illinois, is hosting 11 students and their English teacher from Ecola Pia Vilanova, Barcelona, Spain. We had a fiesta this Friday to celebrate our new friendships. Out Customink t-shirts looked great and helped unite us! Customink was great to deal with and we look forward to using them again!" -

www.jca-online.org - jca/vilanova (Sep 10, 2011)

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

DIMELO Class Video

Monday, January 10, 2011

JCA hosts students from Colombia

Bienvenidos a JCA

16 students from a school in Colombia came to stay with families at JCA and learn about our school and our community.

They shadowed their host sisters to their classes and wore white polos and khaki pants so they would blend in and feel like real JCA students.

While here, they participated in activities such as bowling, eating out at White Fence Farm, etc. We were also lucky enough to have them perform traditional dances in a school wide program. We also were shown a video about their country.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

profeTUNES

Songs from the following artists/groups have been featured in lessons in Profe Finaldi's classroom. To find out more about this, visit her other blog, profetuenes.blogspot.com.

Gipsy Kings (Volare)