Week 8

Monday's "Service Day" was the perfect way to end our "Communities" unit. 1BeM really enjoyed working with their G11 buddies to recognise and celebrate everything Ley Choo does for us at school. Together, we created a thank you book of messages and pictures for her and an amazing portrait that will be unveiled after the break as part of a "Wall of Heroes" to celebrate the unsung helpers who make the UWCSEA community such a special place...remember, don't tell her! Sssshhhh...

It was also great to spend time enjoying other art and craft activities and a spot of yoga with our G11 friends. Even though the haze limited our options somewhat, a lovely day was enjoyed by all. We are looking forward to meeting up with them again in the near future.

After the break, we will introduce our new Unit of Study, “My Body.” Historically, this is a unit that sparks a great deal of interest and the children often bring in a plethora of books, models, x-rays, photos etc to share with the class. So, if your child has anything they might like to share, please send it in after the break and, hopefully, it will spark some discussion and inquiry across the class.

As we are sure you have heard, 1BeM are now published authors! It is official. Everyone has worked so hard on their first book/s and are, rightfully, very proud of their achievements. Sharing our finished work with our 4PBa buddies was wonderful and we received so, so many compliments. After the break, we will start to explore poetry in both Reading and Writing Workshop. To get everyone in the mood, please put aside some time to share some poems over the break. Perhaps, you could all find a favourite poem to enjoy with each other? You might want to make a copy for your child’s Poetry Folder. You could send your child to school with a favourite poem in their pocket. We have been busy creating a “Poetry Pod” in the area outside of our main pod and you are more than welcome to enjoy this space together with your child to explore the world of poetry.

After the break, we will also introduce Word Study in tandem with our workshop models for reading and writing. Word Study is an active and inquiry based way to study, examine, manipulate and categorise words according to sounds, patterns and meaning. Through a variety of activities and “word sorts,” Word Study offers a child-centred and teacher-directed plan for vocabulary growth and spelling development. Of course, the ultimate aim is for the children to transfer their knowledge and understanding to authentic writing situations in Writing Workshop and beyond.

In Mathematics, we are continuing to explore “Measurement and Data.” Now that we have enjoyed the opportunity to measure lots of different objects using non-standard units, we are ready to think about how to describe measurements that are in between whole numbers of units. As we unpack the idea of accuracy, we will begin to understand that measurements of the same lengths should be the same when they are measured twice or by different people using the same unit. We will also begin to explore measuring length by iterating a single unit.

Lastly, a big thank you this week to Joyce (Priscilla's mum) and Lisa (Ava's mum) who have set the 1BeM cooking bar very high! The children devoured their satay and banana cake on Tuesday and there was even some left over for Mr. Morley and Miss Ida. Thank you too to Anna (Scarlett' mum) who shared Scarlett's favourite Christmas story with us all on Thursday. 

Reminders and Requests

*Primary School Spirit Day-Friday 30th October-the children are invited to come to school in a “creative costume” of their choice. They are strongly encouraged to create their own outfits rather than wear a shop-bought costume

*Forest Adventure Take Two-Friday 6th November

*Week 13 is Grade One Workshare Week-please lock in THURSDAY 12th NOVEMBER between 8.20 and 9.40am or thereabouts. We will send out more details nearer the time.

Have a safe, restful and haze free break