Happy Holidays

Grade 2 had very busy final week before the impending break.  For our letter exchange with Collingwood School, we learned how to properly address a letter - a skill that will no doubt be very useful in the future.  Then, after some decorating they were finally put in the mail.  We hope to get responses from our Canadian peers sometime in January.  The class also aced their “Flags Quiz” which required them to be able to identify the different national flags of all the countries represented by Grade 2.  It was a fun way of acknowledging the “different places” we come from and everyone worked really hard throughout the POI to learn them.  Excellent work Grade 2!  

Holiday Party

To celebrate the end of the first semester and upcoming winter break Grade 2 had their first party with adult guests.  We had a great time with healthy food, crafts, and lots of laughs.  On behalf of the class and myself, I would like to give a special thank you to Henriette (Alexandra's mum) for helping to organize the event.   The stain glass window art project was a lot of fun and gave Grade 2 the opportunity to make a festive decoration for home.  My card and gifts were also very thoughtful and much appreciated.

Congratulations Lucas!

Lucas is the Grade 2 recipient of this year’s IB Learner Profile Award. 

Enjoy your well deserved break Grade 2 and I look forward to hearing all about your holiday adventures in the New Year.

Happy holidays,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Letter Exchange

As part of our current POI, we will be participating in a letter exchange with a Grade 2 class at Collingwood School in Vancouver, BC, Canada.  The goal being that each student has the opportunity to learn about life in another country and share unique aspects of their lives.  So far we have examined the different parts of a letter (heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature), brain stormed questions for our pen pals (ex. Have you ever seen a Grizzly bear?), and written the final drafts of our letters.  Writing to our pen pals has also inspired inquiry into the journey a letter takes from one destination to another.  We have also been learning about basic geographical terms such as continent, country, state/canton/province and city.  Grade 2 was amazed to discover how far their letters will travel!

Below is a link to Collingwood School’s website.
http://www.collingwood.org/

Artwork

As you know, Grade 2 has made a lot of wonderfully creative art pieces this year.  I would like to send everything home for the holidays.  Please provide your child with a plastic or paper shopping bag large enough to fit a flat A4 piece of paper and have them bring it to school.  I will then package everything up so they can bring their artwork home on Friday December 16^th.

I would also like to give a big thank you to all the parents for braving the bad weather and coming out to the PYP Winter Event.  It would not have been a success without your support!

Happy weekend,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Winter Event Information for Parents

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The PYP Winter Event is taking place next week Wednesday 7^th, December. Please consider the following information in preparation for this exciting day.

·         Place and Time: The Winter Event will take place in the Mulisaal Hall (5 minute walk from the school) and it will start at 17:00 o’clock. Please be in the Hall five minutes before starting time. Thanks.

·         Parking: Please use the school’s car park rather than the small car park near the Mulisaal Hall.

·         Performance Day - Extra Snack: As it is going to be a very long day for your children, please provide them with an extra snack. This will be eaten after school during the two-hour period (between 15:00-17:00) before the start of the performance.

·         Performance Day – Film and Rest: During this period, the children will also have an opportunity to watch a film and rest. Homework will not be set for the day after the performance.

·         Performance Day – Bags and After Performance Arrangements: On this day, the children will not take their school bags to the Mulisaal auditorium.  After the performance, you may opt to go back to the school and collect your child’s/children’s belongings (the school’s doors will be open until 18:00). However, you may also consider going home without them. These personal items will be safe in the building and can be collected the day after.

·         Children collection: Please collect your child/children at end of performance.

Many thanks for your support.

The children and the staff hope you have a great time during our Winter Event.

Best regards,

Alex Cardona

Nǐ Hǎo!

Last week Grade 2 started our final P.O.I before the winter the holiday titled “Different Faces, Different Places”.  As you all know from the Mother Tongue Books that were sent home last week, we are inquiring into the different languages of our class.  To inspire Grade 2, the MYP Mandarin Teacher Ms. Yunjun Xu gave the class a beginner lesson in the world’s most spoken language.  They learned how to say hello and count to 10 using special hand actions.  Grade 2 even tried writing in Chinese characters for the first time!  Afterwards we read a traditional story from China called “The Dragon’s Pearl”.  We discussed the importance of story-telling, the different parts of the story, and the definition of a moral in preparation for writing our own in the upcoming weeks.

Grade 2 has also been inquiring into our different international backgrounds.  Did you know the class represents 8 different countries?  To begin this discussion, we played Human Bingo and then examined our national flags.  We identified the different colours, cultural symbols, lines, and stories behind each flag.  Grade 2 was then given the challenge of recreating their own national flag as accurately as possible, which also combined elements of art and design.

I can’t believe how fast the winter break is approaching and I look forward to meeting everyone at the Winter Event next week.

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley 

Brains and Birthdays!

This week Grade 2 attended an assembly hosted by Grade 4 all about brains!  They learned all about the different parts of the brain, the journey a memory takes, and about the different “smarts”.  Did you know teachers are people -smart?  The event was a great opportunity for Grade 2 to practice their listening skills and interpret visual cues, as the presentation was full of posters, signs, and props.   I recommend taking the time to ask your child what they learned about the human brain.

Happy Birthday!  Grade 2 celebrated two birthdays this month.  Both the birthday boy and girl were kind enough to bring in cake and we ended both school days with a classroom picnic.  There was singing, cards, photos and lots of smiles.  Ms. Mott-Hill also came round with the “Birthday Box”, from which each student was able to select a small present. 

Winter PYP Event

I’m happy to hear from many parents that Grade 2 is busy practicing their Winter Event song at home.  With some extra practice, I’m sure the show is going to be a great success.  Ms. Taylor, the PYP music teacher has provided the following link to the song on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Y-eDM-3Cw&feature=related

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Candle Dipping

This Thursday Grade 2 went to a nearby workshop to do some candle dipping - an annual winter event at ISW.  Guided by experts they took turns dipping wicks into hot wax to create a candle of their own design.  This activity was particularly exciting because of our current P.O.I. “A Colour Perspective” and Grade 2 put a lot of thought into their colour choices.  After finishing their candle, they also had the opportunity to add different wax shapes, flowers, and even glitter.  The finished products are currently drying and will be delivered to the school soon. 

Speaking of the holidays, the ISW PYP Winter Show is fast approaching.  Grade 2 will be performing the classic “O Tannenbaum” (O Christmas Tree) with Grade 1.  It’s really important that you practice the song at home and start spreading the holiday cheer. 

Happy weekend,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Meet Your Tutor

This week Grade 2 began work with their tutors from the MYP.  Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon until the Winter Break, the older students will come to our classroom to do short reading comprehension and fluency activities.  They are all volunteering part of their lunch time and keen to help out in a primary classroom.  As this was the first week, the emphasis was on getting to know each other and building a comfortable working relationship.  To help break the ice, the Grade 2 students completed a short interview and afterwards drew a small portrait of their tutor.  The results were very impressive!  Not only will Grade 2 work on improving their reading skills in the upcoming weeks but also have an older role model to look up to in the ISW community.

Science and P.O.I

On another note, our science experiment this week was a success.  Grade 2 used water and absorbent paper to separate different inks.  This really challenged our perception of colour!  Again, the students have asked me to post the instructions so that they can try it at home.  Here they are:

Colour Ink Test

1.  Lay a mug on a coffee filter paper and draw around it with a pencil.  Then hold both layers of the filter paper together, cut out the circle.

2.  Using two different felt-tip pens draw a large spot in the middle of each circle of paper.  Then, lay each one on top of a narrow glass.

3.  Using your finger, drip a drop of water onto each ink spot.  Then, drip a few more drops onto each one and leave the paper circles to dry. 

Mental Math

At the Parent Teacher Conferences, there were some requests for fun ways to practice mental math at home.  The following link is to a website that has lots of free quality math games.  I recommend starting with “Fruit Shoot Addition”.

 http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Spirit Day

To celebrate Spirit Day Grade 2 participated in many fun and educational activities.  For example, in the morning they visited the Grade 1 class to real aloud some scary poems they had written and rehearsed earlier in week.  The younger boys and girls were definitely a captivated audience!  One of the language aims of Grade 2 is for students to develop strong presentation skills.  The visit provided an excellent opportunity for the class to practice using well-paced, loud, and clear voices.  In the afternoon, Grade 2 completed a Spirit Day themed science activity called “Bubbling Witch’s Brew”.  With help from their teacher, they each created their own chemical reaction by mixing together vinegar and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).  The results definitely looked magical!  The class also discussed new words such as “hypothesis” and practiced doing safe science.

Some of the students requested that I post the (at home) instructions for the activity, so here they are:

Bubbling Witch’s Brew

1.       Half-fill a glass jar with clear vinegar.  Add several drops of food colouring.

2.       Add a good squeeze of dish soap to the jar.  Then, gently stir the mixture with a metal spoon to mix everything together.

3.       Put the jar in the middle of a baking sheet or a sink.  Add a heaped spoonful of baking soda to the jar and see what happens.

If you’re interested in doing other experiments at home with your child, I recommend checking out the following links:

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html

 http://www.kids-science-experiments.com/index.html

Happy Spirit Day,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Fall Scenes

This week, Grade 2 discussed what colours we see in the different seasons.  They looked at a series of photographs from around the world, categorized them and described the colours they saw.  Afterwards, looking outside for extra inspiration, Grade 2 experimented with water colour and oil pastel to create a fall scene.  Orange, brown, red, yellow, and blue were the only colours used.  The activity included many steps such as mixing colours, layering, outlining, and thinking about perspective. 

Grade 2 has also begun a short study of poetry.  As a class they wrote a “cinquain” to go along with their artwork.  A cinquain is a unique five line poem - ask your child to tell you the special rules.  For those interested in exploring and listening to poetry at home, I recommend checking out The Children’s Poetry Archive.  You can search for different forms of poetry on hundreds of themes, which have all been recorded.  It’s an excellent way to improve listening skills while having fun!

The Children's Poetry Archive

Grade 2’s Fall artwork and cinquain is currently on display outside our classroom.  Please feel free to come and have a look. 

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Colour Scavenger Hunt

To start off our new unit “A Colour Perspective”, Grade 2 participated in a Colour Scavenger Hunt in the classroom.  Together with a partner, they searched high and low for examples of their assigned colour - red, orange, yellow, blue, or green.  The green team even managed to spot my rain boot!  One of the main aims of the activity was to view the classroom through a new or “colour” perspective.  For example, blocks normally seen as numbers became bright colours instead.  Grade 2 also came to realize that colour is everywhere, especially if you look for it.  Afterwards, they wrote about the scavenger hunt in their Writing Journals.

On a sad note, Grade 2 said good-bye to Ms. Zeender last Friday.  The class celebrated her hard work with a trip to the park and some delicious treats.  The class also took some time to share their favorite memories from the beginning of the school year and present a card they had all decorated.

Kind Regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley





Grade 2 and Kindergarten Buddy Reading

One of the activities that we are participating in this year is buddy reading with Kindergarten. Each Grade 2 student chooses a picture book from the selection taken from the library to share with one of the younger children in the school. The logic behind providing this opportunity for the students is that when they have a genuine audience, they will be more motivated to read clearly. In addition, students take the initiative to read a book that is maybe a bit of a challenge and requires learning new words. The Grade 2 teacher has seen an improvement in the reading abilities of the students since this weekly session was initiated at the beginning of the school year. Please find a couple of photographs of Grade 2 reading to Kindergarten.

Kind regards,
Denise Zeender

Grade 2 Starts the New Year with a Team Building Day

Grade 2 would like to welcome you to their blog. This is an opportunity for us to share with you things like what we are doing in class, field trips we have taken or are planning to take, and what is going on in our current unit of study.

Over the past four weeks Grade 2 has been focusing on their unit called, “Working it Out Together.” We have been doing things like discussing appropriate classroom behavior and the rules that will be followed to ensure that we have a successful and productive year at ISW. In addition, we have had learning support visit our classroom with many helpful ideas like the importance of sharing and being responsible. Another one of main events of this unit was to participate in a “Team Building Day.” We had activities like a tower building contest, egg and spoon race, water relay, dress up challenge, and a water balloon toss. The day was a big success and everyone was a winner. Please find a photo from this day attached. 

Grade 2 Dress up Challange