WHAT?
ARCS is thrilled to announce the first edition of its Summer Program Romanian in the Sky and Outer Space, modeled after the STARTALK Student Program, organized by UW specialists in STEM and Heritage Language Education at the University of Washington Language Learning Center. ARCS instructors and program directors have been trained by STARTALK faculty in order to follow the same learning and teaching objectives. For more information about STARTALK, please visit their official website. For more information about the UW's STARTALK Student Program, please visit their website.
The programs aims to enroll 20 high school Romanian heritage language students in a three-week intensive language program (1 week of online coursework prior to the start of the 2 week in-person program). The program will combine the history of the most important events of space exploration with that of aircraft design and the language of science and technology. A content-based component STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) will be woven into this program through a partnership with the Museum of Flight. Students’ various interests will be further addressed by a range of projects above and beyond the STEM topics; such as language, culture and translation, lego robotics, and biology.
The content will have a special focus on the life and accomplishments of Romanian inventors, aviators, pilots, astronauts and researchers such as Aurel Vlaicu, Traian Vuia, Henri Coandă, Marina Stirbey Brancoveanu, Elena Caragiani-Stoenescu, Smaranda Brăescu, Ruxandra Agache-Miheș, Hermann Julius Oberth, Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu, Ioana Cozmuța, etc.
WHO?
• 1 goup of High School Students (including entering 9th graders) and 1 group of students ages between 10-13
• Heritage Speakers of Romanian (heritage speakers who grew up speaking the language at home) from the Romanian American diaspora in the US
WHEN?
August 3- 21 2020 (1st week online, 2 week in class) - during the online week, the participants can be enrolled in other programs; the workload will be reasonable and fun!
WHERE?
University of Washington, Seattle Campus
Museum of Flight- Center of Aviation
HOW MUCH?
The cost for 3-week program (1 week online and 2 weeks in-person, including 1 fieldtrip) will be approx. $700, pending on our fundraising activity and various grants that will be confirmed in the next few months. If you would like to make a donation to support this program, please visit our Support page and choose "custom amount" (specify the program you wish to support).
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES for local participants (Washington and Oregon States):
Partial funding will be available for students in need. Please fill out this form or email otilia.baraboi@arcsproject.org for more details.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES for national and international participants (outside Washington and Oregon States):
If you are a resident of a state other than Washington or Oregon, you qualify for our special scholarship (sponsored by the Port of Seattle and the Goldendale Chamber of Commerce) for the Romanian diaspora in the US. Depending on our funds (to be confirmed in March), we can find host families to provide room and board and a scholarship to partially cover your flight expenses to Seattle and tuition cost.
Please write to otilia.baraboi@arcsproject.org for more details and fill out the registration form to express your interest. The number of scholarships for out-of-state participants is limited to 5. Stay tuned for more details within the next months.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• 75 hours of total instructional content with emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
• Scholarship Assistance for ALTA Language Writing and Speaking tests in Romanian, and the possibility for high school students to earn up to 4 World Language Competency-Credits and qualify for the WA State Seal of Biliteracy and/or the Global Seal of Biliteracy
• Increased linguistic accuracy and sensitivity to cultural norms
• Two exciting trips to the Museum of Flight (the Aviation Learning Center)
• Interviews with Romanian professionals (from Boeing, NASA, etc) - Dr. and Resercher Ioana Cozmuța
• Elective Projects beyond STEM topics
GOALS OF THE PROGRAM:
- to sharpen and expand students’ use of formal Romanian language beyond intimate family speech
- to strengthen students’ reading, writing, speaking and listening ability, especially in formal Romanian language in varied disciplines
- to prepare students to take their Romanian language skills out into the Romanian community and the world
- to familiarize Romanian heritage students with the role models and professionals who have contributed to the exploration of space and the development of STEM related topics worldwide
PRE-REGISTRATION FORM - Please fill out ASAP to reserve a spot till February 29
FAQS:
Who Can Apply?
- We will form 2 age groups (group age 10-13) and (grop age 14-18) of students who learned to speak Romanian at home with their family (generally, heritage speakers) and have at least basic skills in reading and writing Romanian
- Our program is designed to help Romanian students develop their literacy skills in Romanian while also refining their presentational speaking skills. Using the NCSSFL-ACTFL Intermediate Can-Do Statements, Romanian- speaking students should aim for at least Intermediate Low in all skills (in Romanian) in order to be successful in our program
- Participants from the Romanian American diaspora in the US are welcome; for this first edition, we can accommodate up to five out-of-state participants
- Do we have housing options for students?
Unfortunately our program cannot support housing for minors who live within a 20-mile commute of the UW campus. Students who live in Oregon or further away in Washington State can make their own arrangements to participate in the face-to-face portions of the program or can contact us to request arragements with local host families.
Participants from out-of-state will be hosted by families we trust from our local community, who have had children registered in our programs. The background check will be required.
What does the STARTALK timeline look like before the program starts?
- Jan 7 – Pre-registration opens
- January through March - Info sessions and Interviews with Lead Instructors (We will send out emails with specific dates and times)
- May and early June - Acceptances sent out with registration packets and fee to be returned before Friday May 8, 2020
We're going on vacation this summer. Can I/my child miss a portion of the program?
Due to the intensive nature of the program, students cannot receive full credit if they have more than a few absences. All absences should be communicated to the lead instructor as soon as possible. If you are unsure about committing to the program, please talk to a program team member.
How are the high school credits earned?
At the end of the program, students will take a proficiency exam to test their language skills. You will receive a letter issued by WAFLT (Washington Association for Language Teaching) indicating your test results and recommended high school credits. The letters also indicate whether the test results qualify you for the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy. ARCS can email test results and letters directly to high school counselors, as well. You can find more information about the testing process on the WAFLT Language Testing Website.
Partners:
Language Learning Center at UW
Slavic and East European Teacher Association of WA State
Please stay tuned for updates as we finalize the details of the program. Thank you for your interest!