ISGR PYP Newsletter MAY-JUNE EDITION 2015

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1 ISGR PYP Newsletter MAY-JUNE EDITION 2015 Dear PYP Families, This is the final newsletter for this school year and we have many things to reflect on and accomplishments to celebrate! This month s newsletter focuses on students reflections from their year of learning, how reflection is a part of the learning process and the student portfolio. This month s spotlight is on kindergarten and the Grade 5 Exhibition, which took place on May 12 th. The learner profile we highlight this month is REFLECTIVE and the attitude we highlight is CONFIDENCE. As we wrap up our school year, we hope you take the time to reflect with your child on all of their successes both at school and home. Building up your child s confidence and noticing the progress they have made is integral in their journey as a life-long learner. A great way to start this dialogue is with their student portfolio! If you have any questions or would like to see something in the newsletter, please contact your PYP coordinator at: ellen.trelles@isgr.se. Reflection and the life-long learner In the inquiry based classroom you will see students and teachers following an inquiry cycle. A commonly used inquiry cycle at ISGR is Kath Murdoch s inquiry cycle which includes; tuning in, finding out, sorting out, going further, synthesizing and reflecting, and acting and applying. A crucial part of the cycle is synthesizing and reflection which encourages our students to review their earlier thinking, identify changes in their understanding, make connections between ideas and to identify what they have learned. At ISGR taking the time to reflect on these things allows our students to develop as life-long learners because they have the awareness that learning is taking place and can use what they have learned to take action! Reflection is an important part of the programme, Standard C3: Teaching and Learning from the IB Standards and Practices states that; Teaching and learning engages students in reflecting on how, what and why they are learning. Extend your child s learning over the holidays by reflecting. Some questions to ask your child to encourage this process at home could be: -How do you know that? - What do you think now? - What can we do about it? - Can you make a connection to something else you know about? -How can we find out more? To learn more about Cath Murdoch s inquiry cycle and inquiry based learning go to:

2 Students End of Year Reflections I think in ISGR s slogan it is very much like being explorers, it tells you to go out and achieve your dreams. -Laurence Grade 4 I have many favorite things about this school year. I liked learning about explorers because I liked how we could make a simulation game. We could decide like explorers and live like explorers in our class. It was really interesting to learn about space and olden ages at the same time. -Max-Loic Grade 4 My best experience this year that I really like is that I got a portfolio with a whole bunch of papers that I super much like, quote unquote. -Selwyn Grade 1 Well, I have a lot of fun in math because we do a lot of different things in math. I like learning things because at home when my Dad and brother ask questions about math I can answer! I have fun challenging myself in math. -Mika Grade 5 I like learning about inventions and how the first inventions looked, like the car and the telephone. Kaitlyn Grade 3 I think learning about structures and buildings was interesting because I wish to be an architect or engineer. -Jesús Grade 3 I really liked exhibition this year because it was a challenge for everybody and it made us nervous, but it also helped us so much to not be scared to do projects. We learned to work together and split the work. I got better at researching and presenting. It is like a big weight is off my shoulders, but a good weight because now I feel ready for 6 th grade. -Fiona Grade 5 I liked looking at mini-beasts because some are slimy and when they walk so fast they tickle you. -Manasi Grade 1 We really like learning about things that are alive like plants and caterpillars. -All kindergarten students I learned how to do multiplication and division. I like learning about how mummies are wrapped. -Violet Grade 2

3 Letter from the Principal Dear Families, All good things must come to an end. Now as we approach the summer holidays, it is good to reflect over our experiences as a learning community. What were the highlights and the challenges? One of the aims of the IB is that students become aware of their own learning. Not only this, but all in our community will also learn more about learning. Our PYP students will soon be bringing home their student portfolios. Please enjoy sharing their learning through the use of this pedagogical tool! Hopefully this will serve as a reminder of their individual learning journey throughout the year. This is what the IB says about portfolios; A portfolio is a record of students involvement in learning which is designed to demonstrate success, growth, higher-order thinking, creativity, assessment strategies and reflection. A portfolio is a celebration of an active mind at work. It provides a picture of each student s progress and development over a period of time both as individual and group learners. It enables students to reflect with teachers, parents and peers in order to identify their strengths and growth as well as areas for improvement, and then to set individual goals and establish teaching and learning plans. I would like to thank all parents for their contribution to our school throughout the year. This includes the individual support to your own child and also the joint support through our PTA and parent council. The PTA consists of many groups who have given tremendous support this year. The PTA has recently published a new Handbook, where you can get an indication of the full range of their activities. We will soon be having our last day of school assembly where we celebrate the coming of summer. We say goodbye to all those leaving ISGR and to our grade 5s who will be moving to MYP. I hope to see you at the assembly on the last day of term and also wish you an enjoyable summer! Marilyn James PYP Prinicpal

4 Reading: Summer Holiday Tips from our Deputy Principal Many parents can worry about continuing to support their child s reading progress during the long summer holidays. Holiday time can be a bit of a juggling act. You want to go out for day trips, or you may be travelling abroad or visiting relatives. All of this at the same time as encouraging your child to read the books they may have brought home from school or got out of the library and keeping their motivation and enjoyment of reading up as much as possible. - For the younger children, looking out for signs and notices as you travel around can support and develop phonic awareness and reading skills. For older children, get them to help you read a timetable or calculate how long it will take to get somewhere; using maths skills and reading skills together is a great way of encouraging transdisciplinary thinking and a connected way of viewing the world! - Take out books from your local library. If the book your child chooses is too tricky for them to read on their own, share the book together by looking at the pictures, or you or a family member could read the book to them. - Children love sharing their reading skills with other people, so if you are visiting family or friends, encourage your child to read to someone different and have that person give them positive feedback on their reading successes! - Why not make a scrapbook of the holidays or keep a simple holiday diary to write and draw pictures in. Your child will enjoy sharing with others what they have done and at the same time will be developing their literacy skills - a great way to reflect and remember what they did. - Many websites have great reading games and engaging activities to support and develop literacy skills. Try cbbc.com for interactive reading games. - Authentic texts - Look at news articles together, in the papers or online. Talk about events that are happening locally and globally and discuss them with your child. Ask them what they think and encourage them to reflect and discuss. - If your child is reading a longer book or novel, why not read the same one over the holiday? It will give a great opportunity to talk about characters, plot, and opinions about the book. Why not get them to create a quiz for you about the book, see how much you remembered! I think it is important to read in the holidays because reading is good for you. It helps you learn new words and spell new words. Olivier Grade 3 I like the books in my home. I like reading Pete the Cat books. I have a lot of other things to do though, so it s not in the favourites. Selwyn Grade 1 You can learn new things and new facts by reading a lot. Agnes grade 3

5 PYP Newsletter Grade Level Units of Inquiry Kindergarten Olivia Thompson Grade 1 Teacher I am confident in how I differentiate for my students, I see how this allows students to achieve their individual learning goals and know how to support them in where they need to go next Grade 1 students identify the raw materials used in making the ISGR playground. Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Share the Planet Central Idea: All living things grow and change. The kindergarten students are observing how things around them are constantly growing and changing. They have been using their writing skills to record how a caterpillar is changing over time and will soon see the end result! First Grade Transdisciplinary Theme: How the world works Central Idea: Raw materials can be sorted and transformed. We are investigating how they can be sorted, how they are transformed and how we use them in everyday life. Right now, students are observing objects and investigating what they are made from and why these materials have been used. Second Grade Transdisciplinary Theme: How we express ourselves Central Idea: There are many ways to communicate. Grade 2 students are exploring the many ways we can communicate our thoughts, feelings and ideas. They are exploring how we can use body language to share feelings. Third Grade Grade 4 students and parents enjoy playing the explorer simulation games created by students for their summative assessment! Transdisciplinary Theme: How we organize ourselves Central Idea: Maps visually communicate information. Grade 3 students will demonstrate their understanding of how we can use a map to find a treasure! They will show the features of a map both natural and human made. Tools like a compass rose, scale, and grid coordinates will be used when creating the map. Students will use their direction writing skills to communicate how to find the treasure.

6 Monthly Spotlight: Kindergarten In this unit we have inquired into the characteristics of living and non-living things and investigated what living things need to change and grow. We looked at the life cycles of humans, animals and plants. We planted seeds and hatched butterflies while learning responsibility through caring for them, discovering the effect of our actions. We used skills such as observing and recording to keep a diary showing the changes in our beans and caterpillars. Children were asked to research about their favourite animal, including its life cycle and what they need to change and grow. We planted bean seeds and watched them change and grow. We had to take responsibility by taking care of them and making sure they had sunlight and water. We got to watch them grow and grow and grow! We have even had to use our maths skills by using a meter stick to measure our tallest bean plants and record our results in our bean diary.

7 Grade 5 Exhibition The Grade 5 Exhibition was a huge success this year thanks to the Grade 5 students and teachers! The Transdisciplinary Theme, How We Express Ourselves led to the central idea: Our appreciation of things depends on their form and function. Each group of students combined their shared passions and led their own inquiries. They researched, interviewed, created, constructed, planned, practiced and cooperated to produce some truly amazing work! Congratulations Grade 5! We are so very proud of you!

8 PYP Newsletter Fourth Grade News Transdisciplinary Theme: Where we are in time and place Grade Level Units of Inquiry Central Idea: Explorers face a variety of challenges during their voyages of discovery. The fourth grade students are demonstrating their understanding of the challenges that explorers encounter by creating board games! They are inviting their families in to play the games and learn about the exciting world of explorers. Fifth Grade News Transdisciplinary Theme: How we express ourselves Central Idea: Our appreciation of things depends on their form and function. The grade five students are enjoying and reflecting on their journey through the exhibition process. They are using different forms of reflection to see their part in the process. This includes using rubrics, journals, and discussion. I reflect at the start and end of the day. Reflection helps me to think about the choices I have made and the choices I will make the following day. -Marie Paule Grade 5 Teacher School News and Updates Withdrawal Notice If you are planning on leaving ISGR in June it is very important to hand in the form. You will find a copy of the withdrawal form on our homepage under Parent Zone. If you are unsure whether you are moving or not, please Vanessa Molina Gabinus with the information. The information will be kept confidential but is important for our planning for the fall term. vanessa.molina.gabinus@isgr.se Dates for your Calendar Track and Field Day June 2 nd Grade 5 Camp June 3 rd -June 4 th Swedish National Day June 6th Last Day of Term June 12 th School finishes at 11:00 on this day. First Day of Autumn Term Aug. 18th From all of us here at ISGR we wish you and your family a relaxing, safe and fun summer holiday! We look forward to seeing most of you next year and wish all the best to the families moving on. Many thanks for your support and participation in the ISGR community in the school year! -The ISGR Staff