If someone on your holiday shopping list is interested in learning a world language, consider this great deal for a stocking stuffer: A subscription to Rosetta Stone.
For the third consecutive year, Canyons is partnering with Rosetta Stone to offer students, their families, and District employees an opportunity to buy heavily discounted subscriptions to Rosetta Stone for 2013.
The subscriptions run from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2013.
This offer, available now through Dec. 14, 2012, makes available all online levels of Rosetta Stone for $95. A renewal fee for those who participated last year also is $95.
Languages include Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Dutch, English, Filipino (Tagalog), French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Pashto, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish (Latin America), Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese.
For your convenience, you can purchase a subscription on the Canyons District Web site.
Questions? Call the Evidence-Based Learning Department at 801-826-5045.

Last Saturday a half-dozen Mandarin learners met at the Sandy Library to hone their language skills. It was serious business cloaked in fun and games.
The kids started by introducing themselves, their families, likes and dislikes. Then they broke into pairs and role-played with one pretending to be a teller at McDonald’s, and the other, a customer. I couldn’t understand a word of it, but loved watching them break into laughter when one of them ordered 100 hamburgers! Here’s how the twice-monthly event works:
All about Chinese Corner
By AnnElise Xiao
Chinese Corner is a free community activity where Chinese language learners gather to practice their speaking skills. Native speakers join the group to correct pronunciation and answer questions. Students benefit by practicing what they learned in class in a relaxed, conversational environment with peers. They make new friends, improve their social and listening skills and stretch their vocabulary.
Chinese corner is adopted from the “English Corner” tradition in China where high school and college students gather in a library or park after classes to take their English for a spin. The subject matter is chosen by participants, but content from classroom textbooks can be put to use. The experiences boosts students’ proficiency and gives them the confidence they need to use their second language in public.
The meetings usually start with a game or get-to-know-you activity, followed by a brief lecture by a native speaker who introduces a topic for discussion to get the conversation flowing. Students then break into smaller groups, according to age or fluency level.
Utah Chinese Corner meets every other Saturday for an hour starting at 10:15 a.m. at the Sandy Public Library (10100 Petunia Way Sandy, UT 84092). The next event will be Nov. 17. Come join us!
Questions? Email AnnElise Xiao
There are 9 seats on the Utah State Board of Education up for election on Nov. 6. The state board is instrumental in shaping policy that effects your children on a daily basis and throughout their educational career. While not every district has a seat up election, please take time to find out if there are candidates in your district and become informed about each one, so that you make the wisest choice for your family – whether your family participates in Dual Immersion or not.
Here’s a link to get started.