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