Foreign Language Department

The Sage Ridge School Foreign Language Department offers students the opportunity to broaden their definitions and knowledge of cultures and to make cultural connections between their own culture and the cultures they are studying. Sage Ridge School values the importance of supporting cultural opportunities outside of their hometown of Reno, Nevada. The department offers instruction in Spanish and Latin in grades 6-12 that exceeds benchmarks set by the National Standards for Foreign Language Education. In these classes, the activities are student-centered so students can connect personally with the language. Students are involved in a variety of activities to develop their language skills.

Outside of the classroom, our prep school students have the opportunity to participate in the Junior Classical League, an international organization for students of classics, and to take the National Latin Exam or the National Spanish Exam, both of which provide scholarships and award opportunities for high scorers. In class, language teachers work to develop students’ language skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students work toward the ultimate goal of reading authentic Spanish literature and unadapted Latin. Students learn in language by engaging in interviews, class discussions, storytelling, cultural projects, formal presentations, essay writing, and games that center on student opinions and perspectives. Teachers use the target language as much as possible to communicate with students; Spanish students are both learning and speaking in Spanish by the second semester of Spanish 1. In Latin, students focus on the written word and experiment with oral Latin.

Students learn in language by engaging in interviews, class discussions, storytelling, cultural projects, formal presentations, essay writing, and games that center on student opinions and perspectives.

Our language department is unique. Grade 6 students are exposed to one semester of Latin and one semester of Spanish so they can make an educated choice on which language they want to continue beyond that introductory course. The department offers first and second year languages and two tracks for students in their third year of a language. These tracks offer college prep pre-Advanced Placement and Advanced Placement courses and Spanish V, which integrates cultural activities with learning the language from different areas of the Spanish-speaking world, or Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture. In Latin, students can take Advanced Placement Latin or post Advanced Placement classes such as Latin Literature. Additionally, our small class size allows all students to have an equal opportunity to practice the target language on a daily basis.

Department Head

Curriculum Pathways

First page of the PDF file: PathwaysLanguage2020-05-15

Courses Offered:

  • Lower School
    • Intro to Spanish (Grade 3)
  • Middle School
    • Intro to Spanish
    • Spanish IA
    • Spanish IB
    • Intro to Latin
    • Latin IA
    • Latin IB
  • Upper School
    • Level I Language
    • Level II Language
    • Level III Language
    • Honors Pre-AP Language
    • AP Language
    • Language Literature I
    • Language Literature II