Grade 2 1 august newsletter

Grade 1 and 2 Newsletter

September 2013

PYP News!

UNIT 1: How we express ourselves Central idea: People use the the arts to express their ideas and creativity.

Lines of inquiry: ­Different art forms ­Expression through the arts ­How to be creative For their summative task, students will create a showcase of art to express their understanding of the Learner Profile using a variety of art forms and creativity.

Through this unit, students will understand how people use art to express ideas and creativity either by using their own ideas or adapting an existing idea.

LANGUAGES Welcome to a new school year at HIS. We hope you like the new school logo.

Above is the latest PYP model.

As you can see the innermost circle brings together the beliefs and values of the programme. The PYP culminates in the Exhibition, where Grade 5 students this year will inquire into How we organise ourselves.

Lisa Hughes

Writing: Students will be shown how to use the writing process to explore how to write a narrative. A narrative is a story that makes sense of events. It can be both informative and entertaining.

Reading: Students will be using reading strategies of sounding out, creating images, connecting, predicting, skimming, comparing and synthesising to support their reading.

Speaking and listening: This quarter allows for opportunities for the students to share their ideas during morning meetings and to discuss the attribute of the Learner Profile.

ELS The students new to English have settled well into their groups and are learning to communicate with each other in a new language. It is encouraging to see those with more English helping others and participating in classroom activities.

THE ARTS Students will respond and create different art forms. The art forms include visual arts, music, drama and dance. They will ask questions and describe what they notice about an artwork. They will realise creative process involves joining in, exploring and taking risks.

In Music in this unit Grade 1 and Grade 2 students will experience how we can make music our own by using our musical skills and understanding and channeling them into new accomplishments. The students will learn about Jazz as a style of music that invites musicians to make each song they perform their own. They will learn to identify Unit 1

MATHS Central idea:Numbers can be organised and constructed to represent different information.

Students will work on an open­ended problem in order to show their understanding, knowledge and skills of how pattern,operation and place­value are connected. Students will participate in a reflection where they make visible how their understanding of pattern,operation and place­value help them solve the problem. Problems will be differentiated according to students’ needs.

Key Dates Tuesday, 17th September ­ Swimming Gala for Reception, G1 and G2. If it is raining, this will be postponed to Wednesday, 18th September.

Tuesday, 24th September ­ Swimming Gala for G3, G4 and G5. If it is raining, this will be postponed to Wednesday, 19th September.

ABA form in different folk songs from France and USA and they will explore harmony by playing an Orff accompaniment to an African game song.

Ms Sabina

PSPE Students are swimming now. The focus is on learning basic strokes and developing confidence in the water. We are preparing for the Swimming Gala as well. Adventure Challenge is their other unit, the emphasis is on developing teamwork, thinking and communication skills.

Mr Adam

VIETNAMESE Students learn Vietnamese traditional dancing and make different lanterns to celebrate the Moon Festival in Vietnam.

Ms Trang and Ms Lan Anh

Friday, October 4th ­ End of Quarter One October 5th ­ 13th ­ Mid semester break. School is closed Monday and Tuesday, October 14th and 15th ­ No classes for students. Staff professional development.

Wednesday 16th October ­ First day of Quarter 2.

Assemblies: Assemblies take place on most Friday mornings at 8am. You are welcome to any of the assemblies.

6th September hosted by Ms Carla’s class 13th September hosted by the Vietnamese department as part of Moon Festival 20th September hosted by Ms Pushpa’s class 27th September ­ no assembly 4th October hosted by Ms Georgie’s class

Mr Warren’s comment: What a great start to the year. Classes are in full­swing, teachers and students are happy and we are looking forward to another great academic year in the elementary section of HIS. For those of you who do not know, I am one of the Vice­Principals of the school and I am the Head of the elementary school. I also have a small teaching role, and work in the grade five class for the equivalent of one day per week. This gives Lisa Hughes time to carry out her responsibilities as the PYP curriculum coordinator. But my major role is to ensure that the elementary school is a successful, respectful and motivating environment for our students to learn in and for them to reach their full potential.

Student Reflections Grade 1G: We enjoy being inquirers who are always looking for new ideas and making new friends.

Grade 1P:We like being active learners who are balanced. We made new friends and enjoyed playing and doing things together.

Grade 2C:LEARNER PROFILE We used thinker because we had to think a lot about what is going to happen next in our inquiry. We were open­minded this week because we had to share our ideas and listen to other people's ideas.

Hanoi International School enables all students to realise their full potential in a caring and positive learning environment. Through our broad and balanced international curriculum, we endeavour to develop responsible, globally conscious citizens. We strive to develop the whole child as a life­ long learner with a strong sense of self worth.

Unit 1