December and May are two of the busiest months in a traditional school year, particularly elementary schools. Report cards need to be sent out, school music performances to get on stage, and numerous small details to be hashed out before the semester ends. 

As educators, are we taking time to reflect on the progress we have made and opportunities before us? Or do we dwell on what remains to be done, or what was left undone, in our wake of busy activity? Reflection can be a powerful method of self-improvement, but we as a teaching community tend to make such little time for it. Take a moment in reading this blog post to reflect on your accomplishments. The TWIN-CS Schools took an enormous leap by agreeing to transform into two-way immersion learning environments. What has been learned? What can be improved? What challenges lay before you, when you return to school after the winter holiday break? 

TWIN-CS Senior Design Team members Kristin Melley and Dr. Martin Scanlan, have created an uplifting video that truly captures the spirit of the Network. Enjoy it. Share it.

Several TWIN Schools will be celebrating Las Posadas in these last weeks before Christmas. Translated to "The Inns" in English, this religious event remembers the trials of the Holy Family as they made their way to Bethlehem, finding little in the way of accommodation or comfort. The Las Posadas tradition was brought to Mexico from Spain by the earliest explorers and settlers in the 1500s. Mexican and Mexican-American families continue the tradition hundreds of years later as a way of honoring their culture and faith. 

To learn more about Las Posadas, consider reading about it here:
http://www.catholic.org/clife/advent/story.php?id=48757
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1450908/Las-Posadas
http://hispanic-culture-online.com/las-posadas.html
 

As Advent begins this week, the TWIN-CS team has begun to reflect on the exciting opportunity the holidays bring for our Network schools. Christmas is a time not only to reflect on the miraculous birth of the Lord, but also a chance to highlight the diverse cultures and traditions in the Network schools. 

Whether it is singing Christmas carols in Spanish or Mandarin, eating traditional foods like Christmas tamales, or celebrating Three Kings Day in January, there are many wonderful rituals we partake in this time of year. 

What are you doing to celebrate Christmas at your TWIN school this year?