Dear Parents
Since my last update, we have had a fabulously busy week reinforcing what we have learned about what constitutes a family (Unit 2) and reading up on more stories (Unit 1). We also had many discussions on Learner Profiles of being Caring and being an Inquirer.
We looked at family photographs sent to school and talked about what constitutes a family unit and the relationship of each person to the other. We shall continue our discussions, which include friendships, and relationships, which can reflect who we are.
This past week, our class practiced holding our pencils appropriately and learned the way to write Mr. Mat’s letters of ‘A’ and ‘L’.
In Math, we learned the rhymes for the number ‘2’ and revised the numbers ‘1’ and ‘3’.
We learned about “AB patterns” and how to create them with uni-fix cubes, teddy bears, shapes and more. Some children ventured forth with other patterns, an evidence of their focus and critical thinking.
Recently, we had a number of children coming down with cough, the common flu, and/or fever. Please have your child drink plenty of fluids and take lots of rest. I seek your understanding to have your child stay home if he/she is still unwell. In school, we continue to remind each other of how not to spread germs when we have to cough; use the hand sanitizer, tissues, etc. You are the best judge of whether your child should stay home.
This past week we had an opportunity to talk about class rules that will work for Angelfish! In order for it to work, the whole class discussed ways and which/what rules would work. We talked a lot about different social situations and agreed on rules that we think will work. Each child had the opportunity to reflect on a rule they want and then draw the rules they feel would help each other become good, caring friends. This is an on-going initiative and there may be changes from time to time to their rules. Currently, there are 12 rules drawn up as Lewis is away. We look forward to having him back with us again and hearing about his choice of a class rule to share. We miss you Lewis! (see slideshow end of this newsletter)
Lastly, I am always interested to hear from you if you see a change in your child based on something s/he learned in school. The IB PYP refers to the "action" part of our units of inquiry, and those actions are not always easy to see at school. Sometimes, a student goes home and reminds everyone to wash hands before dinner - that's an action. A student might say, "I really need to get a good rest tonight because I have Swimming tomorrow." This is action that he is taking because we discussed it as a reminder in class prior to dismissal.
Action doesn't need to be huge, but it doesn't need to be small. It is NOT something that someone else tells the child to do; it IS something that she decides to do on her own. It can happen tomorrow or it can happen weeks from now (even after the unit is over). It might be an overall change in how your child decides what to pick for a snack, choosing healthier choices; it might be taking deep breaths to calm himself down if he's upset; it might be choosing to have school lunch instead of home lunch because he/she wants to be a risk-taker to try school lunch or for his/her own reasons.
This past Thursday, some parents shared with me on such incidents and I would like to reiterate that you kindly email to me what you shared so that I can document this as part of their learning and internalization of the units of inquiry.
This is also a sure way for me to have an overview of my next direction with the children, including re-emphasis where necessary.
If you see/hear of any actions that your child is taking, please let me know anytime.
Since my last update, we have had a fabulously busy week reinforcing what we have learned about what constitutes a family (Unit 2) and reading up on more stories (Unit 1). We also had many discussions on Learner Profiles of being Caring and being an Inquirer.
We looked at family photographs sent to school and talked about what constitutes a family unit and the relationship of each person to the other. We shall continue our discussions, which include friendships, and relationships, which can reflect who we are.
This past week, our class practiced holding our pencils appropriately and learned the way to write Mr. Mat’s letters of ‘A’ and ‘L’.
In Math, we learned the rhymes for the number ‘2’ and revised the numbers ‘1’ and ‘3’.
We learned about “AB patterns” and how to create them with uni-fix cubes, teddy bears, shapes and more. Some children ventured forth with other patterns, an evidence of their focus and critical thinking.
Recently, we had a number of children coming down with cough, the common flu, and/or fever. Please have your child drink plenty of fluids and take lots of rest. I seek your understanding to have your child stay home if he/she is still unwell. In school, we continue to remind each other of how not to spread germs when we have to cough; use the hand sanitizer, tissues, etc. You are the best judge of whether your child should stay home.
This past week we had an opportunity to talk about class rules that will work for Angelfish! In order for it to work, the whole class discussed ways and which/what rules would work. We talked a lot about different social situations and agreed on rules that we think will work. Each child had the opportunity to reflect on a rule they want and then draw the rules they feel would help each other become good, caring friends. This is an on-going initiative and there may be changes from time to time to their rules. Currently, there are 12 rules drawn up as Lewis is away. We look forward to having him back with us again and hearing about his choice of a class rule to share. We miss you Lewis! (see slideshow end of this newsletter)
Lastly, I am always interested to hear from you if you see a change in your child based on something s/he learned in school. The IB PYP refers to the "action" part of our units of inquiry, and those actions are not always easy to see at school. Sometimes, a student goes home and reminds everyone to wash hands before dinner - that's an action. A student might say, "I really need to get a good rest tonight because I have Swimming tomorrow." This is action that he is taking because we discussed it as a reminder in class prior to dismissal.
Action doesn't need to be huge, but it doesn't need to be small. It is NOT something that someone else tells the child to do; it IS something that she decides to do on her own. It can happen tomorrow or it can happen weeks from now (even after the unit is over). It might be an overall change in how your child decides what to pick for a snack, choosing healthier choices; it might be taking deep breaths to calm himself down if he's upset; it might be choosing to have school lunch instead of home lunch because he/she wants to be a risk-taker to try school lunch or for his/her own reasons.
This past Thursday, some parents shared with me on such incidents and I would like to reiterate that you kindly email to me what you shared so that I can document this as part of their learning and internalization of the units of inquiry.
This is also a sure way for me to have an overview of my next direction with the children, including re-emphasis where necessary.
If you see/hear of any actions that your child is taking, please let me know anytime.