NTSIS PYP Primary Newsletter (19th August – 23rd August 2019)
Transdisciplinary Theme: Who we are
What an eventful first week back-to-school! We had been busy preparing for an exciting academic year ahead. This week, we begin our first unit based on the transdisciplinary theme, Who we are where we will inquire into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human, according to levels. It is going to be 6-weeks of fun learning. Ready or not, here we go!
What a busy week…
Grade 1:
Our eager beaver students survived their first week of grade 1! It was a pleasure to welcome them into the primary grades. They had a taste of what grade 1 has in store for them. We made our essential agreements, reviewed the PYP learner profiles, learned to line up at the school cafeteria, and joined the whole school morning exercise for the first time. Grade 1 is definitely on their way to more inquiries and learning!
We are going to…
Central idea:
Relationships contribute to our well-being and needs to be nurtured
Lines of inquiry:
1、Relationships in our lives
2、Friendship roles and values
3、Thoughts, words and actions affect relationship
Key Concepts:
Connection, Function,
This week, we will be starting our first unit of inquiry on WHO WE ARE focusing on relationships. We will be looking at patterns and number sense for our math explorations and continue our pre assessment activities in language arts.
What a busy week!
Grade 2:
We started off by getting to know each other a little better, sorting out where we belong and our spaces in the classroom.
We agreed on our Central Agreement for how we want to work and be in the classroom so that we can optimise our learning experience.
The overall theme for our class is recognising and being the Super Hero that is inside each and every one of us, by being the best that we can be and caring for those around us.
One activity that we did, was to plan and create a comic strip for a super hero of their own creation. Images where drawn and dialogue was added. Everyone did a really good job.
We finished the week off by completing our pre-assessment for the Unit.
We are going to…
Central idea:
Culture shapes who we are
Lines of inquiry:
Key Concepts:
Connection, Responsibility
As Monday will see us officially starting the Unit, Who we are, with the Central Idea of Culture shapes who we are, we will be focusing this week on Line of Inquiry 1: the diversity of cultures around the world. In our class we have six different cultures; Brazilian, Chinese, Thai, South African, Japanese and Korean. We will be focusing on these different cultures and exploring them in more depth allowing the learners to better understand different cultures, but also one another.
What a busy week!
Grade 3/4:
During the first week of school, students created essential agreements, wrote the first day of school questionnaire, decorated classroom doors with Minecraft theme, they
had their assessment tests, played a board game “All about me”, wrote “A letter to myself”, worked in groups presenting “Back to school drama activities”, did a fun classmate
scavenger hunt, wrote about brilliant qualities they will bring to Grade 3/4 and used the tablets to do some research, wrote a book review during the library lessons. It was a lot of work but we did it!
We are going to…
Central idea:
Thinking and learning can help us develop our potential
Lines of inquiry:
Key Concepts:
Form, Function, Connection
This week we will begin our unit of inquiry with these questions:
How much does the brain weight?
What percentage of your body weight is the brain?
What colour is the brain?
What does the brain control?
How many neurons are in the brain?
What do neurons do?
How many thoughts do you have each day?
Video resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndDpjT0_IM0
What a busy week!
Grade 5/6:
We launched into our first week by studying some poems: “New Beginnings”, “The Walrus and the Carpenter”, “The Sad Story of Percy, the TV addict” and “Feelings About Words”. We also looked at homonyms and homographs. Not forgetting Maths, we took a close look at Whole Numbers and explored the Operation of Whole Numbers.
We are going to…
Central idea:
Interactions can lead to and solve conflict.
Lines of inquiry:
Key Concepts:
Causation, Responsibility
We are going to start our Unit of Inquiry on Interactions can lead to and solve conflict. Integrating English, we will study characters in play scripts where we will explore interactions between characters and how it leads to or solve conflicts.
This week, we feature specialist subject: Art
Students in Nursery through Grade 8 had an awesome first week back in the Art Studio!
Each class created and signed their own Essential Agreements based on 3 modes of respect:
Each student received their very own sketchbook this week, and personalized the front and back covers. The sketchbooks will be their personal collection of art ideas, drawings, and notes. They will contain color wheels and color exploration, brainstorming for projects, and reflections at the end of each unit.
We also mapped where we are all from and will be sharing our international community map soon!
Next week, the students will begin working on projects that focus on identity and self-awareness. We are looking forward to another great year in ART!
Events:
Back-to-school assembly on 23 August 2019
In this assembly, Ms. Serena introduced the time capsule for each class. In the time capsule, there will be anything that tells the story of the school year and friendship such as drawings, pictures and little notes. The time capsules will be opened on 19 June 2020!
Ms Lindsey also prepared a paper mosaic project where all PYP students will participate in making. The final work will be displayed at the preschool. Wait for it.
Coffee Time with Parents (21 August 2019)
Thank you parents for joining us! In this Coffee Time, we discussed:
For parents who have yet joined us, please access this QR code to join in the discussion. Our next Coffee Time will be on 4th September 2019, Wednesday at 3:30pm to discuss the Mid-autumn celebration on 6th September, Friday at assembly.
