2015
www.isvietnam.org
French Updates
Table of Contents Message from the Principal page 01 Message from Head of Elementary page 02 Pre-K Updates K1 Updates K2 Updates
page 03 page 04 - 05 page 06 - 08
Grade 1 Updates
page 09
Grade 2 Updates Grade 3 Updates
page 10 page 11 - 12
Grade 4 Updates
page 13
Grade 5 Updates
page 14
PE Updates PYP Updates
page 15 page 15 - 18
Science & Maths Updates page 19 Music & Drama Updates page 20 Vietnamese Updates page 21 - 22 ICT Updates
page 23
English Updates
Arts Updates
May was full of activity and colour, and the hotter temperatures saw students using indoor cool area at recess and lunchtimes. Obviously, the all-singing and all-dancing Second Anniversary event was a major element of the month, and the swimming gala was a good way to finish it, but I would actually like to focus on a more prosaic and less dramatic event: exam week in middle school. This is the second time we have suspended the middle school timetable for a few days so they could sit uninterrupted exams, and it went very well in term of organization and student understanding. Taking these exams are a good way to assess the knowledge and understanding students have of the subjects they have been studying, but they also serve to make the students comfortable with the whole-process of sitting exams. This includes the best ways to revise, the student finding how best to stay calm when the pressure builds, how to conduct themselves in the exam room, and even how the parents can best help the students during exam week. Over the first week of June, the students will be given their results and will look at various aspects of the exam papers they sat, and this is possibly the most important part of the exam process: learning from mistakes and doing even better next time. And there will be a next time – probably twice next year, whether the student is in ISV or moves to another school in another country. For Grade 8, the next academic year will see Cambridge external exams (written and marked in Cambridge) in English, mathematics and science, in May. Grade 9 will start the two-year IGCSE exam process, which will culminate in about 25-hours of exams in May/June 2017. And if that sounds a long way off, it will be a time full of acquiring the skills and knowledge the students will need to show in the exam: by December 2016 the students will realize two-years is a short time to prepare for these exams. But that is in the future. Between me writing this newsletter and you reading it, there will have been trips out of school for all middle school students (including two-days in the rainforest for Grade 7 and 8), official school photos being taken, reports being written, and staff putting together the 2014-2015 Yearbook. And because there are only twelve-and-a-half teaching days in June, this will be the last monthly newsletter of the academic year. I hope to see all of you in school on Friday 12th June for the Parent-Teacher Conference (Middle School) and Student Led Conference (Primary School).
page 24
Humanities Updates France Updates
Newsletter for May 2015, Principal
Bryan Manditsch Principal
page 24
page 25 - 26 page 27
Page 01
Message from Head of Elementary
Upcoming Events June
May was an active month for ISV. We shared three parent workshops around the Language Arts; we enjoyed our 2nd Anniversary Celebration; we demonstrated our swimming prowess at the Swimming Gala; and continued to work diligently on our current units of inquiries, curriculum documents and our Language Policy. Additionally, we have finalised the latest version of this new school year’s calendar, which will be posted on the school’s website very soon. The Language Policy was sent out to you early in May. I do hope that you found some time to read through this document. In line with the Vision, Mission and Aims of ISV, this Language policy document was designed to give all stakeholders a clear and concise description of the role of language in our school. If you wish to comment on this document, please do so by email Patricia McLoughlin to patricia.mcloughlin@isvietnam.org On June 12th, the students from the Elementary section will deliver their ‘Student Led Conferences’. During these conferences, we will be celebrating the students’ learning progressions for this academic year. Shortly, you will receive an email from your child’s class teacher, asking you to select a time for so your child may present his/her conference to you. Conferences will commence from 11:00am and conclude at 4:00pm. Please remember that student will not be attending school as usual. Students will only need to be present for their personal student led conference meeting times. We look forward to seeing your there!
Jun
5 Jun
12
Coffee with the Principal Student Led Conferences (PYP) and Parent Teachers Conferences (MS)
Jun
18
Last day of school August
Aug
17
First day back at school for 2015-16 school year
Aug
21
PYP Parent Workshop
Aug
28
Student Council Updates Our student council has now met on three occasions. They are learning how to set up a council and are currently deciding on ‘essential agreements’ in order for their group to function at its most optimal level. Once the ‘essential agreements’ are finalised, our student council will move onto surveying our students to decide on a school mascot that best represents our school. Further to this, the student council team is considering how they can further impact on our school, the community and the world, positively. They are exploring the understanding of ‘interconnectedness’ and how through this, we can make a difference even though we are only a small group. I look forward to witnessing the great work that this team produces.
Page 02
AGM – PTA September
Sep
Welcome Parent Meeting, (3pm to 4pm)
Sep
ICT Parent Workshop (CODING)
8 19
Pre-K Updates by Ms. Lakshmi We continue to explore the idea ‘Materials can be changed for our own use”. We cooked rotis (Indian bread) and observed the entire process from start to finish! We looked at what ‘materials’ are used, how they look, feel, sound, smell, taste, how they are changed and how they are used!
To gain further understanding of our central idea about how materials can be changed for our own use, we made Kaleidoscopes. What a fun activity this was! We now have our own toy each, to explore!
To gain a good idea of how ‘materials’ change their state, we set ice cubes in the refrigerator and observed how water changed from liquid to solid.
We celebrated our school’s birthday on Friday, the 12th of May. We performed our favourite song ‘When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears’ along with the K1 class. We felt proud and were happy to perform in front of our parents and all the guests. We had fun watching each other in our national dresses! We are now eagerly looking forward to share ‘Our learning journey’ in Pre K class with our parents ‘on 12th June during the Student Led Conference.
Page 03
K1 Whole School Newsletter May 2015 The 2nd Anniversary Show The children were risk-takers and courageous, when they sang on stage last Friday for the 2nd Anniversary Show. The children remembered all their words and sang beautifully. Well done everyone!
Our inquiry on How the world works The children are very absorbed in their new inquiry, and we have been investigating a number of questions over the last two weeks. How can we describe materials? We have been discussing ways of describing materials using our senses. What do materials feel, smell and look like? What parts of our body do we use to investigate through our feelings? In Language, we made a list words together to describe different feelings. We have been making connections between the materials around our classroom.
How can materials be changed? What happens to popcorn when it is cooked? That’s what we investigated last week. We cut opened a packet of popcorn before it was cooked, and investigated the popcorn using our senses…it didn’t look very appealing! We then put the popcorn in the microwave. We observed what was happening to the popcorn, and again used our senses to look, smell, touch, listen and to taste the popcorn. It looked and tasted a lot better after it was cooked!
Page 04
K1 Whole School Newsletter May 2015 Do materials make different sounds? When Phoung Binh dropped a stick on the floor, it made a sound. Phoung Binh then asked the questions “I wonder if they (The materials) all make the same noise?” We decided to investigate and took crisp/chip tubes outside and collected different materials.
We then tried to predict what sound the different materials would make and then tried to describe the sounds.
We covered our tubes with paper and glue, left the tubes to dry and then painted the tubes. The children observed that the tubes felt very different when they were dry.
Let’s make a pattern In Mathematics, we have been learning to create, extend and describe patterns in various ways.
We have found many different ways to make colour patterns Minatsu made a pattern of the different heights of the children in the class
Page 05
K2 updates from Ms. Boriana
Page 06
K2 updates from Ms. Boriana
Page 07
K2 updates from Ms. Boriana
Page 08
Grade 1 updates from Ms. Sacha
Grade 1 updates from Ms. Sacha
Grade One has been inquiring into our central idea on “Our experiences are similar and different to those of people from the past”. We turned off the lights and air-conditioning in our classroom for 20 minutes to experience what it’s like to not have electricity. This generated many questions from our students. We also looked into our daily routines and the impact of inventions on our daily routines. Students found the answers to their questions from informational reports, and in pairs, they analyzed the similarities and differences between aspects of daily routines in the past and present. They used a Venn diagram to organize their ideas. They read and answered the questions in pairs. This learning engagement developed their thinking and social skills.
In Language Arts, our goal by the end of the unit is to write narrative recounts. We are currently learning the skills that serve as the building blocks to our goal. For responding to books, we are continuing to discuss the following during our read-alouds: • The opening line • Characters • Setting • Beginning, middle and end • Problems and solutions For writing, we are learning the following: • Creating interesting characters • Writing a story with a beginning, middle and end • Adding problems and solutions to our stories • Constructing sentences with subject-verb agreement
In Math, we are continuing to learn about shape and space. Our learning outcomes include: • Describing the relationships between shapes • Naming basic shapes • Counting the sides and vertices of shapes • Describing the positions of an object using these words: on, under, in, right, left, above, middle, below
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Grade 2 Updates from Ms. Angela
Grade 2 Updates from Ms. Angela Dear Parents, I hope you enjoyed the wonderful ‘Second Year Anniversary’ on Friday. I think the children found the experience of rehearsing and performing on a big stage to be a rewarding experience. I felt proud of the students’ performance and I hope you did too. During the last fortnight, we have been working on language of probability, revising division and fractions. My recent Maths assessment on the students indicated some of the children experienced difficulty with skip counting backwards, so this will be a focus in up coming Maths lessons. In particular, if students were asked to start counting backwards at a given number some students found this difficult. Eg. Start at 35 and skip count backwards by 5s until you reach 20. In Literacy, we have worked on descriptive writing and paid particular attention to the structure of this text type. When writing a descriptive piece students should include: a title, introduction, characteristics and evaluation. In Grade 2, it is important students develop an understanding that text types differ in their structure, purpose and audience. For example, the purpose of a recount is to recall what an individual did and write about events in chronological order while a descriptive writing piece is concerned with describing and needs to include a title, introduction etc. Developing this understanding requires practice and quite complex thinking skills. Students will continue to develop these understandings in future years.
We have just finished our Unit of Inquiry on ‘Landforms’ and we are beginning work on our new unit ‘Recycling.’ Our new unit has the central idea of: ‘Habits can help sustain and maintain the Earth’s resources.’ We have investigated natural resources and viewed several visual literacy texts on the interactive whiteboard concerned with sustaining the Earth’s resources. If anyone knows of a recycling program available in Hanoi please let me know and I would love to investigate further. As you are aware student led conference are coming up. The format of these conferences is for parents to engage with your child about their progress. In the classroom you will be able to view your child’s portfolio and talk with them about how they have improved since the beginning of the year. Specialist teachers’ classrooms will also be available. Please note that student led conference differ from parent/teacher interviews in that your child will be leading the interaction.
Page 10
Grade 3 updates from Ms. Selena
The third graders have started their sixth and final Unit of Inquiry, under the transdisciplinary theme of Who We Are . will inquire into the elements of performance arts. They will compare and contrast performance arts that express different traditional cultures and analyse how artistic techniques contribute to the portrayal and expression of traditions, cultures, and values. The students began the unit by participating in an activity and video clips of different performance arts displaying varied traditional cultures. Students had to write down what they saw, what they thought was happening in the clips, and what they wondered about after seeing the pictures and videos. They came up with great observations and questions, which were all shared in class. Right after this activity, the students were assessed on their prior knowledge of the central idea. They made mindmaps of the central idea, where they were asked to write down associated words, definitions, and/or pictures showcasing what they knew about the keywords. They then each had to come up with a guess as to what the unit was going to be about. After sharing their guesses in a class discussion, students were separated into three groups. Groups had to do a quick research on the actual definitions and examples of the following key concepts: performance arts, expression, and traditional culture. They made posters of these and displayed them on the grade 3 Inquiry Wall. Currently, the students are in their Finding Out stage and are researching about traditional performance arts from Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Greece. They will be sorting out their information in the next few days and will be sharing their research with their classmates.
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Grade 3 updates from Ms. Selena
UOI:
How are we alike/different from each other?
The students have been learning about polygons in
For the second Line of Inquiry, students compared and contrasted Math class. They have been enthusiastically their physical, emotional, and social traits, as well as their strengths exploring different kinds polygons and their and weaknesses with theirthe classmates’ . They filled of in graphic organproperties usingStudents variedrealised means. isers that guided their thinking. that They thoughhave they made had many differences, also had a lotdistinguish of similarities with other posters they to explain and between polygons people in their class.
and non-polygons, regular and irregular polygons, and convex and concave polygons. They have
the names of polygons with up to 10 sides.
Mathematics: Measuring Length
The students are learning to measure length using different kinds of measuring tools. They have started measuring inches and centimeThis is a basketball player These are shapes tres with rulers and tape measures. Students are now able to shooting a ball. -Vu playing in the garden. -Yein measure inches with increments of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, and 1/32. They can also express centimetres using centimetres alone or using centimetres and millimetres together. The third graders have been diligent and patient when measuring. They have learned that in order to measure accurately, one must be precise and must take his/her time. Soon, students will be measuring using non-traditional tools like hand and arm spans, or even everyday objects around them. This will teach them that measurements can also be estimated.
This is a boy catching some insects in the forest. -Seo Yeon
I.T. We have a new app!
This is my house, next to
Recently in I.T., the third graders were introduced to an IPad application called “AURASMA”. The application enables them to put animations to pictures they have taken. The students delved right into making their own animations using their own pictures and pictures of their favourite things. We hope to continue using “AURASMA” with our future work in UOI, Math, and Language Arts. Thank you for teaching us how to use this cool application, Mr. Michael!
These are animals coming out from hibernation. -Nene
These are baby shapes playing. -SeonJu
This is a birthday party. -Laura
This is a forest. -Jong Yun
They have all made art work using regular and irregular polygons and have described how each shape was used in their work. Finally, they have even used their bodies to make polygons on the floor! This last activity was done as a team, with some students acting as the line segments and other students guiding them on what they needed to do to complete the shapes. Way to go, grade 3! You have truly embraced your multiple intelligences in exploring polygons!
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Grade 4 updates from Ms. Penny Grade 4 performing Ding Dong at ISV’s second anniversary concert.
Building social skills
Grade 4 has been working on building their social skills, particularly cooperating and group decision making. They have shown these improved skills through leading the K1 students in an art project as well as within our own classroom.
Sharing the planet In Grade 4, we have been learning about peace and conflict in our latest inquiry. The central idea is “Finding peaceful solutions to conflict leads to a better quality of human life”. We have been learning about the causes of conflicts, the roles of people within a conflict and ways in which we can manage conflict. This week students created anti-war posters intended to persuade people to favour peace over conflict.
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Grade 5 Updates from Mr. Rob Unit Of Inquiry Our current unit of inquiry is scientific discoveries and is under the transdsciplinary theme of ‘Where We Are In Place & Time’. The central idea is: Scientific discoveries shape the future and can be viewed from various perspectives. And the lines of inquiry were: • How scientists develop an idea/theory (function) • Impact of a discovery (change) • Why people have different view points about a scientific discovery (perspective) Grade 5 has been researching the solar system, more specifically Pluto. Is it a planet or not? You can ask your child and they will know the answer. Also they have researched dwarf planets, the sun, moon, comets, stars, supernovas, black holes and asteroids. In Mathematics, grade 5 has been solving Sudoku puzzles. This is a great way to develop their problem solving skills. If you need help solving a Sudoku puzzle, just ask your child. In Literacy, Grade 5 are looking at persuasive writing. So far we have researched and taken a side either for or against the following statement ‘we should be allowed to stay inside when it’s hot’.
Here are some photos of ISV’s second anniversary .
Friday 12 th June student led conferences Thursday 18 th June last day of school
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PYP Updates from Ms. Sacha
P.E updates from Mr. Liam
June 1, 2015
Greetings all,
Dear Parents, We have developed our Programme of Inquiry (POI) for the school year 2015 - 2016. This was a collaborative effort between staff members. The POI consists of four units for Pre-K and K1, and six units for K2 to Grade 5. These units are organized under six transdisciplinary themes: *Who we are *Where we are in place and time *How we express ourselves *How the world works *How we organize ourselves, and *Sharing the Planet Each unit has a central idea, lines of inquiry, and concepts that the students will inquire into and unpack throughout the unit. Language arts will be a subject focus throughout all the units as well as the subject foci listed. At the beginning of next school year, we will have five PYP workshops for parents explaining in-depth the PYP philosophy and how the learning outcomes for the subject areas are integrated into the Units of Inquiry (UOI). We will also be looking into assessment in the PYP. Please take a look at the UOIs for your child next school year. If you have any primary or secondary resources that you would like to share, please let me know.
Students now have a clear focus on their respective warm up sessions. The students have a very good understanding of the skill and technique needed, and display what they know and what they have learnt very well. The focus in PE continues with big balls and small balls. This includes catching, throwing, hitting and striking. The sport we have been working on this month is hockey and modified hockey. The skill level has improved, however we continue to focus on more technical skills such as passing, space awareness and dribbling. ISV held an athletics/fun sport day, as well as our annual swimming event. All students participated/ competed very well in both events and had a lot of fun doing so. Unicorns taking the prize on the athletics/ sport fun day, and The Tigers taking the honors at the swim event. Thank you very much to all the staff and students for two wonderful days of fun activities. An extremely large shout out to Mr. Daniel last weekend for chaperoning the ISV students at the 2nd Annual Swimming event at UNIS. All students competed well and had a great day. A long day, Mr. Daniel assured me Again, thank you sir. We were also graced with the presence of some quality football coaching at ISV. Students took part in two coaching clinics and learnt a lot about the technical side of football. ECA times are going very well with the students showing a lot of enthusiasm. Mr. Alex, thank you again for all your extra efforts and support. Much appreciated. Any questions or suggestions you have, please contact me. Mr. Liam.
Thank you and have a blessed summer! Warm regards, Sacha Calagopi PYP Coordinator
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Where we are in place and time Sharing the planet An inquiry into orientation in place Who we are and time; personal histories; homes and An inquiry into the nature of the journeys; the discoveries, self; beliefs and values; personal, explorations and migrations of physical, mental, social and humankind; the spiritual health; human relationships between and the relationships including families, interconnectedness of individuals friends, communities and cultures; and rights and responsibilities; what it civilizations, from local and global means to be human. perspectives.
Pre- K (3-4 years old)
K1 (4-5 years old)
How we express ourselves
An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction An inquiry into the ways in which between the natural world we discover and express ideas, (physical and biological) and feelings, nature, culture, beliefs human societies; how humans use and values; the ways in which we their understanding of scientific reflect on, extend and enjoy our principles; the impact of scientific creativity; our appreciation of the and technological advances on aesthetic. society and the environment.
The structure of homes determine how people use them.
Through play we express our feelings and ideas and come to new understandings.
How we organize ourselves An inquiry into the interconnectedness of humanmade systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
An inquiry into the rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Plants are a life-sustaining resource for us and other living things.
Light affects our lives.
Central idea
Awareness of our characteristics allows our identities to develop.
Key concepts
form, change, reflection
form, function, responsibility
function, connection, perspective
function, causation, change
Related concepts
identity, growth, independence
structure, design, cooperation
role, creativity, interdependence
role, systems, impact
• The role of toys in play (function) (role) • Imaginative use of materials (perspective) (creativity) * Communicating through play (connection) (interdependence)
Lines of Inquiry
*My characteristics (form) (identity) *My growth (change) (growth) *Recognizing ways to become more independent (reflection) (independence)
• Characteristics and arrangements of physical spaces (form) (structure) • How people use different spaces (function) (design) • Our responsibility in sharing spaces with others (repsonsibility) (cooperation)
Subject focus
PSPE
Social Studies, Math
PSPE, The Arts
Science, Social Studies
Language Arts: Text Forms
Recount, Non-Chronological Report
Persuasion, Discussion
Explanatory, Narrative
The unit is focused on
The nature of self
Homes
Instructional/Procedural, Poetry The expression of ideas and feelings
Central idea
Family relationships contribute to shaping our identity.
People use the arts to express their views.
People play different roles in the community to which they belong.
Key concepts
form, responsibility, reflection diversity, cooperation, values
change, function, perspective communication, transformation, opinion
function, responsibility, connection form, causation, responsibilty
Related concepts
role, citizenship, interaction
structure, resource, initiative
Lines of Inquiry
• Diversity of families (form) (diversity) • Responsibilities within the family (responsibility) (cooperation) • How families influence who we become (reflection) (values)
*Expressing emotions through the arts (function) (communication) *Developing our art (change) (transformation) *Responses to art (perspective) (opinion)
• Roles within a community (function) (role) • Responsibilities for the roles (responsibility) (citizenship) • Interdependence of roles (connection) (interaction)
* Structure of a plant (form) (structure) * Products derived from plants (causation) (resource) * Caring for plant life (responsibility) (initiative)
PSPE, Social Studies
PSPE, The Arts, Math
Science, Social Studies, Math
Recount, Explanatory
Narrative, Poetry
Social Studies Instructional/Procedural, NonChronological Report
The ways we discover and express ideas and feelings
The interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities
Subject focus Language Arts: Text Forms
K2 (5-6 years old)
How the world works
• How light works (function) (behavior) • Effects of light (causation) (impact) • Light symbols across cultures (connection) (symbols)
The natural world and its laws
The unit is focused on
Human relationships including families and cultures
Central idea
Friendships can have an impact on our well-being.
Public spaces provide people with A variety of signs and symbols opportunities to connect. facilitates communication.
Key concepts
function, causation, reflection
Related concepts
cooperation, friendship
form, function, change form, causation, connection change, causation similarities and differences, rights, development structure, communication, system cycles, impact
Lines of Inquiry
-How we develop friendships (function) (friendship) -How friendships affect us (causation) (consequences) -Reflecting on one's behavior and friendships (reflection) (cooperation)
-Signs and symbols (form) *Characteristics of public spaces (structure) (form) (similarities and differences) -Reasons for the development of *Functions of public spaces communication systems (function) (rights) (causation) (communication) *How public areas develop -Specialized systems of (change) (development) communication (connection) (system)
PSPE, Social Studies
Social Studies
Language Arts, Math, The Arts
Recount, Narratives
Non-Chronological report
Instructional/Procedural
Subject focus Language Arts: Text Forms
The Earth’s natural cycles influence the activity of living things.
- Weather patterns (change) (cycles) - Seasonal changes (change) (cycles) - Health and safety as related to the weather and seasons (causation) (impact) Science, Social Studies Explanatory, Non-Chronological Report
Transportation systems are related to the needs of the community. function, connection systems, roles, needs *How transportation systems work (function) (systems) *Responsibilities involved in transportation systems (responsibility) (roles) *Factors that affect the kinds of systems that can be developed (causation) (needs)
Persuade, Discussion The rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things
The interaction of living things depend on varying contexts. connection, perspective, responsibility characteristics, relationships, needs - Characteristics of animals (form) (characteristics) - Perspectives on functions of animals (perspective) (opinion) - Our responsibility for the wellbeing of animals (responsibility) (citizenship)
Social Studies
Science, Social Studies
Poetry
Persuasive, Discussion
Grade 1 (6-7 years old)
The unit is focused on
Human relationships including friendships, and mental and social The interconnectedness of health individuals
Central idea
Our choices can impact on our rights and responsibilities
Key concepts
perspective, causation, reflection
Related concepts
values, consequences, choices
Lines of Inquiry Subject focus Language Arts: Text Forms
Grade 2 (7-8 years old)
Grade 3 (8-9 years old)
Journeys create change and can lead to new opportunities.
form, causation, change
similarities and differences, sequences, discovery • Types of journeys (form) (similarities and differences) • Choices and decisions involved *Our rights and responsibilities in (perspective) (values) making a journey (causation) *Impact of our choices (causation) (sequences) (consequences) • Changes experienced because *Reflecting on our choices of a (reflection) (review) journey (change) (discovery)
The interaction between the The ways in which we reflect how physical natural world and and we express ourselves human societies
The interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities
Many products are processed before they are used.
Traditions are expressions of shared beliefs and values.
People apply their understanding of forces to suit purposes.
function, causation, connection
form, function, causation
traditions, beliefs,
production, interdependence, magnetism, mechanics, invention choice
*Traditions and their rituals (function) (tradition) *Reasons for traditions (causation) (beliefs) *Symbolic representations associated with traditions (connection) (symbols)
- Types of forces (form) (forces) - Effects of forces (causation) (sequences) - How simple machines work (function) (mechanics) Science, Math Explanatory, Non-Chronological Report
-Physical and behavioral features of animals (form) (characteristics) -Reasons for animal adaptations (causation) (adaptation) -Human impact on the survival of animals (responsibility) (citizenship)
Social Studies
Science, Social Studies
Instructional/Procedural
Discussion Rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things..
Social Studies, The Arts
Persuasive
Narrative
Recount, Poetry
Economic activities and their impact on human kind and the enviornment
Markets change depending on people's wants and needs. form, function, causation
The unit is focused on
Rights and responsibilities
An orientation in time and place, journeys, and explorations
The ways in which we discover How humans use their and express cuture, nature, beliefs understanding of scientific and values principles
Central idea
The choices people make affect their health and well-being.
The Earth's physical geography has an impact on human migration.
We can extend our creativity through stories.
All living things go through a process of change.
Key concepts
causation, responsibility, reflection form, causation, connection
connection, function, perspective
form, change, connection
Related concepts
choice, impact, balance
classification, transformation, interactions, creativity, perceptions interdependence
similarities and differences, system, needs and wants
*Purposes for sharing stories (connection) (interactions) *Ways to extend our creativity (function) (creativity) *Expressing stories from different perspectives (perspective) (perceptions)
*Characteristics of living things (form) (classification) *Life cycles (change) (transformation) *Factors that affect the life cycle (causation) (interdependence)
-Types of markets (form) (similarities and differences) -How markets work (function) (system) -Why people need markets (causation) (needs and wants)
Social Studies, Science
Language Arts, The Arts
Science, Math
Social Studies, Math
Non-Chronogical report
Narratives Extending and enjoying our creativity by extending and deconstructing stories
Explanatory
Performance arts can be an expression of traditional cultures.
Materials behave in certain ways, which determine how people use them.
People create and sustain organizations to support human endeavours.
function, change, causation
function, responsibility, reflection
behaviour, prediction, innovation
service, systems, review
Subject focus Language Arts: Text Forms
PSPE, Math Discussion, Instructional/Procedural
The unit is focused on
Personal, physical, and spiritual health
Migration of humankind
Learning is a fundamental characteristic of humans.
Personal histories can make us reflect on how the past and present are connected.
Central idea
form, perspective, reflection
change, causation, reflection
Related concepts
development, behavior, goals
chronology, impact, evidence
Reaching a resolution during moments of conflict is influenced by the actions of all involved.
causation, perspective, responsibility
Persuasive Economic activities and their The natural world and its biological impact on humankind laws
form, function, perspective Key concepts
characteristics, adaptation, citizenship
• Changes products go through (change) (production) • Distribution of products (connection) (interdependence) • How people select the products they use (responsibility) (choice)
Social Studies, Math
Lines of Inquiry
Animals have different features that help them survive.
change, connection, responsibility form, causation, responsibility
PSPE, Social Studies
geography, settlement, migration *Variability of physical geography around the world (form) (geography) -Balanced lifestyles (responsibility) *Relationship between location (balance) and -Effects of choices on health settlement (connection) (reflection) (choice) (settlement) -Impact of environment on health *Reasons for migration (causation) (impact) (causation) (migration)
Communities and the relationships within and between them
elements, roles, culture
equity, conflict, communication, consequences *Equity (perspective) *Causes of conflict (causation) (conflict) *Strategies to resolve conflict (function) (communication) *Consequences of resolutions (causation) (consequences) PSPE, Social Studies Poetry Peace and conflict resolution
Water is essential to life and a limited resource. reflection, causation, respoonsibilty conservation, environmental impact, equity
• Purpose of organizations (responsibility) (service) • Function of organizations (function) (systems) • What makes an organization successful (reflection) (sustainability)
*Uses of water (function) *Sources and distribution of water (connection) (network) *Accessibility to water (connection) (network) *Human responsibility towards water (responsibility)
The Arts, Language Arts
Science, Social Studies
Social Studies, Math
Social Studies, Language Arts
Explanatory, Discussion The structure and function of organizations
Persuasion, Poetry The struggle to share finite resources with people and other living things
Subject focus Language Arts: Text Forms
PSPE, Science Non-Chronological Report
Recount
Narratives
Procedural/Instructional
The unit is focused on
What it means to be human.
Personal histories
Culture, beliefs and values
The impact of scientific and technological advances on society
Throughout history, people have interacted using the arts.
The understanding of scientific knowledge impacts the environment.
Central idea
The human body is comprised of History can be interpreted from complex interdependent systems. various perspectives.
Key concepts
function, reflection, responsibility
Access to opportunities affects equality. connection, reflection, responsibility
networks, evidence, freedom
equity, justice, citizenship
• Virtual communities (function) (networks) • Evaluating information (reflection) (evidence) • Our responsibility in virtual environments (responsibility) (freedom)
*Basic human rights (connection) (equity) *Access to equal opportunities (reflection) (justice) *How humans can make a difference (responsibility) (citizenship)
Social Studies, Science Discussion, Non-Chronological Report
Social Studies, Math
Related concepts
Lines of Inquiry
-How body systems work (function) (systems) -The interdependency of the systems (connection) (interdependence) -Behaviors that influence the functioning of body systems (responsibility) (consequences)
change, connection, responsibility innovation, technological transformations, subjectivity, traditi advances, sustainability • The role of technology in scientific understanding (connection) •Development of the arts (technological advances) throughout time (change) • What leads to advances in *Significant events (form) (history) (transformations) scientific *Impact of significant events on • How art work provides knowledge (change) (innovation) societies (causation) insight and information (consequences) (perspective) (subjectivity) • The effects of scientific advances *Interpretations of significant • The role of arts in different on events (perspective) cultures (connection) (traditions) people and the environment (interpretation) (responsibility) (sustainability)
Science, PSPE
Social Studies, Math
The Arts, Social Studies
Science, Social Studies
Explanatory
Recount
Narrative, Poetry (devices)
The unit is focused on
Personal and physical health
The relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspective, and specifically the history of Vietnam Our appreciation of the aesthetic
Instructional/Procedural The impact of scientific and technological advances on the environment, specifically how applying the law of forces to build Societal decision making by structures that can withstand looking at movements that are natural disasters organized in virtual communities
Central idea
Scientific discoveries can shape Choices of role models can reflect the future and be viewed from beliefs and values of societies. various perspectives.
Creating and responding to art develops an understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Key concepts
causation, perspective, reflection
function, perspective, change
function, perspective, reflection
form, function, responsibility
Government systems influence the lives of Biodiversity relies on maintaining citizens. the interdependent balance of organisms within systems. causation, connection, function, change, responsibility responsibility
Related concepts
beliefs, values, opinion, responsibility
progress, subjectivity
interpretation, inspiration, aesthetics, subjectivity
conservation, transformation, sustainability
systems, power and authority, impact, freedom
Lines of Inquiry
• What determines our beliefs and values (causation) (beliefs and values) • How and why role models are chosen (perspective) (opinion) • Influence of role models on our choices and actions (reflection) (responsibility)
- How scientists develop an idea/theory (function) (hypothesis) - Impact of a discovery (change) (progress) - Why people have different view points about a scientific discovery (perspective) (subjectivity)
- How art reflects societal issues (reflection) (interpretation) (inspiration) - How learning about arts develops appreciation (perspective) (aesthetics) - -Personal preference in appreciation of arts (perspective) (subjectivity)
• Different forms of energy sources: renewable and nonrenewable (form) (energy) • How energy is used (function) (transformation) • Sustainable energy practices (responsibility) (sustainability)
balance, biodiversity, interdependence - Ways in which ecosystems, biomes and environments are • How government systems interdependent (connection) function (function) (systems) (interdependence) • How decision-making practices - How human interaction with the affects environment can affect the human rights (change) (power and balance of systems (responsibility) authority) (conservation or balance) • The rights and responsibilities of - The consequences of imbalance citizenship (responsibility) within ecosystems (causation) (freedom) (consequences)
Subject focus
PSPE, Social Studies
Social Studies, Science
The Arts, Social Studies, (Math)
Science, Social Studies
Social Studies, Math
Science, Social Studies
Language Arts: Text Forms
Recount
Non-Chronological Report
Narrative, Poetry (devices)
Instructional/Procedural
Discussion, Explanatory
Persuasive
Beliefs and values
The relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals Our appreciation of the aesthetic, The impact of scientific and and civilizations, from local and specifically, beauty, purpose and technological advances on society global perspective impact and the environment Societal decision making
The unit is focused on
change, perspective, connection
Digital media provides a way for people to share information and make connections.
function, connection, responsibility form, causation, perspective systems, interdependence, history, consequences, consequences interpretation
Subject focus Language Arts: Text Forms
Grade 5 (10-11 years old
*The elements of performance arts (form) (elements) • Behaviour of materials (function) *Different artistic techniques that (behavior) express traditions, values and • Changing properties of materials beliefs (function) (creativity) (change) (changes of state) *Why different cultures express • Manipulation and application of themselves in unique ways materials for specific purposes (perspective) (culture) (causation) (innovation)
-Personal histories (change) (chronology) -Influences of events (causation) (impact) -Evidences that tell us about the past (reflection) (evidence) Social Studies, Math, Language Arts
Lines of Inquiry
Grade 4 (9-10 years old)
*Learning styles (form) (development) *Similarities and differences between how people and animals learn (perspective) (behavior) *Reflecting on our learning (reflection) (goals)
Energy can be converted, transformed and used to support human progress.
Persuasive
Access to equal opportunities
Communities and the relationships within and between them
Science & Maths Updates from Ms. Mridula The middle school students have finished their Semester 2 Examination, and in Mathematics, they have been tested on units covering numbers, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability. During the concluding weeks of this academic session, they will further solve problems involving number calculations and participate in activities, mathematical games and quizzes. The students will apply their insight and endeavor to explore the mathematical concepts and connections that could be applied on their favorite cake, pie or pizza.
In Science, several chapters in biology, chemistry and physics have been covered and students have taken the second semester examination in the last week of May 2015. During the last three weeks of the year, they are going to continue their search and study in the subject, have debates, discussions, quizzes, share news items and presentations in science, making more connections with the outside world.
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Music & Drama Updates from Mr. Daniel This month marked the cultural highlight of the school year- Our 2nd Anniversary concert! Our students worked extremely hard through classroom rehearsals, dress rehearsals and finally in performance to pull-off an excellent final show, which aimed to highlight the range of developing talents we have at the school. The students assembled for a rousing rendition of the school song which got the show off to an excellent start. Then selected representatives of each country paraded through the gym, to wave their nations flag. After three speeches and a video highlighting action at school, the show began again with pre Kindergarten and Kindergarten 1 in their version of Goldilocks and the three bears- and they proved that small does not necessarily mean soft, with the voluminous singing! Kindergarten two proved that they know their instrument in their performance “Oh We can Play on the Big Bass Drum”. They played with discipline and control – that is until the final verse when they could really let go and bash the instruments! Grade One entertained us with their dramatic song “Neath the Lilacs”, teaching us that “you must not tell lies.” This was contrasted by Grade 7s wonderful rendition of “Yesterday” by the Beatles played on piano, flute, violin, and bass guitar. This is a culmination of their project on the music of The Beatles. Our next offering came from Grades two and three who gave a very lively performance of “A Windmill in Old Amsterdam” which was accompanied by the 18 piece orchestra. They sang, danced and acted their little mouse socks off! Grade four were up next demonstrating the school’s latest musical in our pitched percussion orchestra. Their performance of Ding Dong was controlled and played to the beat. Grade four have really had to develop self-discipline to achieve this, and should be commended for their efforts. Grades five and six brought the main body of the show to a conclusion with their rousing version of the two part harmony song “I am the Earth” , a song whose main message is that of human responsibility to protecting the planet- “I am the Earth, You’re in our Hands, We’re in your care.” Then it was the turn of the teachers, namely Mr. Michael, Miss. Sacha, Miss Patricia and Miss Trang in their hilarious rendition of I am a Fine Musician. The four part counterpoint song was sung with gusto and performed with a great sense of fun- Well Done teachers! After a concluding Speech by Mr. Bryan – the students were all invited en masse to sing two finale songs “Em Yeu Truong Em” (I love my School) and “We are the World”, which were also accompanied by the orchestra. Once our lucky prizes were awarded our gym metamorphosed into a circus arena with stilt walkers, animal characters and huge swirling dragons whirling all over the place. This was a sensational grand finale to a very well executed celebration of the energy, talents and spirit that is growing in our ISV!
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Vietnamese updates from Ms. Hong
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Vietnamese updates from Ms. Hong
MS Non – Vietnamese classes updates
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ICT updates from Mr. Michael Grade 6 Grade 6 students learnt about using advanced searching using Google and applied these skills to create an infographic about I.T. After they had made their infographics students then made an ‘Aura’ about the information on the infographic.
Grade 7 Students were given a choice of software to use. Either ‘Blender’ which is a 3D modeling programme. Appshed an app making website. AppInventor, an app game making website that involves coding, or Blippar an augmented reality app. A final choice was to use Sculptris which is a 3D modeling programme. All the programmes give the students experience of more advanced concepts that they will use in grade 8. https://www.blender.org/ http://appshed.com/ http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/ https://blippar.com/en/ There have been some excellent examples of work form the students. Rory made an app that lets you take a photo and then draw on the photo using different pen sizes and different colours
The picture shows Minh’s infographic that has been scanned with an ipad and is playing a video of her explaining the information on the infographic. The Aura also plays a second video giving more information about her infographic.
The other students created 3D models using Blender and Sculptris. This picture of the cup shows Dat’s first model that he made using Blender
Students also looked at creating charts in Excel as well as using basic Excel functions.
Grade 8 Similar to the grade 7s, the grade 8 students were given a choice of software to use: https://www.blender.org/ http://appshed.com/ http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/ https://blippar.com/en/
In addition to this grade 6s learnt how to create their own survey using Surveymonkey and then analyse the results of the survey
Students chose a range of different options. Some students chose to create an ‘augmented reality’ picture using Blippar. Blippar is a really exciting app that allows the students to make their picture come alive with animations, animated text and pictures once it has been scanned with a tablet or smartphone. standing of how webpages are constructed.
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Humanities Updates by Mr. Ronald
English Updates by Mr. Janos Grades 6, 7, and 8 have completed their final exams in English and are wrapping up the year with a review of skills in English and Drama. For the summer, we are hoping they will continue developing the reading skills they have been working on all year by participating in the Summer Reading Challenge. Details to follow before June 18th.
In our Humanities classes, we have had another productive month full of learning experiences. All grades are now finished with our textbooks. Our exams are finished as well. We made a visit to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum and are producing some fun and educational projects as a result. These projects are based on the Blippar and Aurasma apps and could not have been done without the guidance of our IT instructor, Mr. Michael Wilson. We have had some really productive cross-curricular learning going on and we plan to continue this for the next year. With any luck, and a lot more work, we should see some of our student projects on the walls and on the web!
Mime with Drama 6
Tom Waits’ In the Neighborhoodwith Drama 7
In June, the seventh and eighth graders will be making an overnight journey to Tam Dao, to investigate human/environment interaction as part of our Geography curriculum. The six graders will be touring the Vietnam Military History Museum as part of their investigation into the dynamics of history. It will be an exciting end to a really productive academic year in the Humanities courses here at the International School of Vietnam. “The Death of Banquo” Macbethwith Drama 8
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French Updates from Ms Perrine K1 (Zoé, Ji woo and Minatsu)
Nous avons regardé une vidéo sur youtube et nous avons découvert d'autres contraires comme chaud et froid.
Les élèves de K1 travaillent en ce moment sur les contraires. Lorsque nous avons étudié les fruits et les légumes, nous avons ensemble commencé à les décrire en utilisant les adjectifs comme grand, petit, bon, mauvais et réviser les couleurs...
Lorsque le professeur montrait une image, les élèves devaient les classer en deux catégories " C'est chaud" et " c'est froid". Puis nous sommes parties en exploration dans l'école pour repérer les objets qui s'apparentent au chaud et ceux qui s'apparentent au froid. Zoe " C'est chaud " (le grille-pain) - Ji Woo " C'est chaud " (le four) Minatsu " C'est froid " le réfrigérateur.
Le travail de Ji Woo
G1 (Homare et Jonathan)
Avec Homare et Jonathan, nous étudions les fruits et les légumes. Tout d'abord, nous essayons de retenir le vocabulaire à l'aide de chansons et de jeux. Vous pouvez retrouver la chanson des fruits sur youtube à l'addresse suivante : "J'aime les fruits": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ03KjwiIVM
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De retour en classe, nous avons reporté nos connaissances sur feuille.
French Updates from Ms Perrine Grade 3 (Laura)
Grade 2 (Chuong) Chuong entame les révisions de l'année et consolide ses connaissances sur le site duolingo. C'est un site internet où l'on peut apprendre le français de façon progressive. Il y a des niveaux de difficulté et dans chaque niveau il y a plusieurs leçons et des mots de vocabulaire nouveau. Nous écrivons le vocabulaire dans le cahier, traduisons le vocabulaire puis nous commençons les exercices. Nous travaillons la compréhension, la lecture, la traduction français-anglais et anglais-français, l'expression orale... Ce site internet permet aussi de réviser les règles de grammaire et de conjugaison les plus usitées.
Bravo à Laura qui fait beaucoup de progrès en lecture. Elle est maintenant incollable sur les sons combinés comme le son "ou", "in, "on", "un", "ai", "eau"...
Comme Chuong, Laura travaille sur le site Duolingo. Elle a terminé le niveau basique 1, 2, les phrases communes et travaillent maintenant sur les animaux. Continue, c'est de l'excellent travail!
Grade 4 and 5
Grade 6,7 and 8
Les élèves des grades 4 et 5 travaillent en ce moment sur les métiers mais plus spécialement les différents métiers existants à l'école. En premier, nous avons listé tous les métiers existants à l'école en anglais. Puis, nous avons préparé ensemble et avec l'aide de Ms Ha et Ms Hong une liste de questions en vue d'un entretien en anglais ou en vietnamien. Les élèves ont ensuite interviewé différentes personnes à l'école. Enfin les élèves ont dressé des portraits en français et les ont recopié sur word. Dernière étape est de créer un poster pour présenter leur travail.
Les métiers Tout récemment, les élèves des grades 6, 7 et 8 ont passé un examen en français. Bravo à eux car il n'était pas facile. Ils ont travaillé dur et ont donné leur maximum.
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Arts Updates by Ms. Katherine The year is ending in Art, and students have been busy collating their portfolios, taking exams and finishing up projects. K1 and Pre-K artists looked at stained glass windows and are collaging bright papers to create their own versions.
Grade 1 artists are discovering the medium of photography, and are learning how to “frame” a photograph. Grade 2 students are recycling paper scraps and making handmade papers.
K2 students have been studying author and illustrator Douglas Florian, who writes funny poetry about animals and paints these specimens with watercolors. Grade 3 students have become costume designers and are looking at the research questions and stylistic influences in this profession. Grade 5 students are creating fanciful landscapes based on the work of Austrian artist Hundterwasser.
Grade 4 artists have investigated the questions of racism and conflict as seen through the eyes of South African artist William Kentridge. They are creating black and white drawings that look at this issue.
Grade 6 students have been designing graffiti art “pieces” and have interpreted art historical works to create finished graffiti art based on the work of Japanese artist Gajin Fujita.
Grade 7 artists finished their study of Surrealism by looking abstract artists Joan Miro. They created drawings based on this style.
CONTACT US International School of Vietnam No. 7 Nguyen Cong Thai St., Dai Kim Ward, Hoang Mai Dis., Hanoi, Vietnam.
Grade 8 students have been completing their still life compositions based on the work of Fauve painter Hanri Matisse. Thanks to everyone for a great year in Art!
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Tel: +84 (0) 435 409183 Fax: +84 (0) 435 409187 www.isvietnam.org inquiries@isvietnam.org www.facebook.com/ISVIETNAM