The Magnet Immersion Program at Westdale Middle School was created to teach sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students through an “immersed” world language curriculum. Activities related to the French, Mandarin, and Spanish languages and cultures in which they are spoken are incorporated into the daily curriculum.
​
At Westdale Middle School, immersion students take math, science, social studies, and literature in the second languages of French, Mandarin or Spanish. A few students are enrolled in classes for both languages. Immersion instruction is 95% in Spanish, Mandarin, or French and taught by highly qualified native speakers from Spain, Columbia, Cuba, France, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. The goal of the immersion program at WMS is to teach students to be fluent in a target language other than English and to gain the skills necessary to understand and communicate in that language.
​
Teaching in a second language requires more visual and application activities because of the additional difficulty of teaching unit concepts in the second language. Teachers speak only the target language to teach academic subjects, using a wide range of instructional strategies and materials. Students must speak in the second language even when chatting with each other. In addition to the immersion program activities, magnet students enjoy all of the school-wide opportunities offered at Westdale Middle. Many of the students are also in the talented, gifted, or Great Scholars Academy classes.
​
In order to participate in the program, students must meet all magnet school requirements, plus be fluent Spanish, Mandarin, and/or French speakers. Most of the immersion students came to Westdale Middle School from BRFLAIM, a very successful elementary immersion program. Westdale also offers a Heritage Language Program for students with a home language of Spanish. The students in this program come to us from many different elementary schools across the parish. The program has become a very hard working and successful part of the overall program at Westdale.
​
For more information, contact Magnet Program Site Coordinator, Dena Nabers at 924-1308 or at bnabers@ebrschools.org.
​
​
​
Getting To Know Us:
Dena Nabers
Magnet Coordinator
%20(1).png)
Our Language Immersion Garden is a
2023 Certified Schoolyard Habitat !
We are thrilled to announce and extend our heartfelt congratulations to the Language Immersion Garden for achieving our latest certification as a 2023 Certified Schoolyard Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). As America's largest wildlife conservation and education organization, the NWF recognizes the remarkable efforts of the garden in transforming the schoolyard into a thriving wildlife habitat.
By joining the ranks of over 5,000 schools nationwide, Westdale Middle is now a vital part of the movement to provide essential elements for wildlife, including natural food sources, clean water, cover, and places to raise young. This certification not only underscores the commitment to ecological sustainability but also establishes the garden as an invaluable outdoor education site.
Congratulations to the students, teachers, and community for fostering an environment where students can actively engage in cross-curricular learning in a hands-on and impactful way.
Samsung Competition
Solve for Tomorrow is a national competition that challenges U.S. public school students in grades 6-12 to explore the role science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) can play in solving some of the biggest issues in their local communities.
Among hundreds of schools nationwide, 7th-grade Spanish Immersion Math students participated in the contest and reached the state finals, which resulted in receiving national recognition and a prize package of $2,500.
Teacher: Mauricio Toscano
Students: Angge Antunez, Lincoln Boies, Emily Castorena, Joshua Cruz, Kaylee Cruz, Erwin de Paz, Juliet Kent, Reya Slack, Madilyn Whitmore
Student Project Abstract:
According to global statistics, the third leading cause of unintentional injury death is accidental drowning. In the United States alone, around 4,000 fatal drownings happen every year, which translates to approximately an average of 11 people drowning every day according to estimates from the CDC.
While anyone can drown, it is more common among kids ages 0 to 18. In fact, drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages 0 to 4.
Our students' challenge was to develop an affordable, practical, sustainable system that would alert businesses and homeowners whenever an object falls in the water. Our solution to this challenge is the “Submerged Solutions.” This product is an eco-friendly, sustainable drowning-detecting system that uses solar panels, rechargeable batteries, and infrared sensors to operate and detect an object falling into the water.
Our vision is to mitigate and minimize drowning rates by providing a practical, environmentally, sustainable, affordable, and easily customizable alert system solution that would automatically alert homeowners and businesses of any possible drowning accidents and as such reduce the number of deaths, particularly among young children.
Testimonials