It is that time of the term where we start consolidating our understanding and reflecting upon what we have been learning in our classrooms. This week, we tipped over our mini-landfill bins to dig up the rubbish we buried almost a month ago. It was interesting to see what had become of our waste and to compare and contrast our findings to the predictions we had made at the start of the experiment. The banana peel had disintegrated, the plastic yakult bottle remained unchanged and the paper was just soggy. Children recorded their observations beside their earlier predictions. We had some engaging discussions over this and the realisation that we need to do more to make the right choices and everyone needs to do their bit to protect our earth.
Exciting times ahead - K2’s are going to have a Reused Material Hat day in K2 and you are tasked with helping your child create their very own hat to wear on the day! We believe this will be a great way to finish our current Unit of Study, raise awareness and spread the word about ‘the 3 R’s’ across the school. The children will need your support to source suitable materials and, to an extent, with the creative process. However, please be mindful that this is not a competition and it would be great if the children could do the majority of it themselves. We would then like to invite them to wear their reused materials hats to school on Wednesday 26th March. This promises to be fun!
In Mathematics, we have been measuring the length of the different parts of our bodies using non-standard units of measurement and recording our findings on a template. We continue to focus on number facts to 10 using number talks and other related activities and this is becoming a more instant process for many of the K2 children now.
In our Reading Workshop sessions, we focused on reading with fluency. This involves reading accurately, using a good pace, paying attention to punctuation and adding expression. For this, the children worked with their reading partners and videoed each other reading a Just Right Book. They then played back the video and did a self assessment on fluency based on the criteria above.
Our little artists have been quite busy shredding magazine paper, gluing and then painting their very own Papier Mâché bowls.
This week, Nanaki’s mother and Gautam’s mother and grandmother helped with cooking. The children heard the story, “Pete’s a Pizza” before heading to the kitchen to make their own yummy pizzas They used fresh home-made dough)! Derya’s mother came in as our mystery reader and read a story about bees, followed by honey tasting.
Today, we relaxed, watched a movie and had popcorn as a treat because the children had earned enough marbles in their Compliment Jar! This has been a really fun week!!
One of the proposed projects for the combined K2/G1 Service trip to the Kuma School in May is to build a Sound Garden out of reused materials. We are planning to make it both environmentally friendly and cost effective for the school, which fits in really well with our ongoing inquiry. If you have any unused items at home that you are happy to donate, please bring them in to school and pass them onto Cheryll (our Infant school secretary).
We would greatly appreciate donations of the following small items:
*Small plastic flowerpots, car-parts, pipes and tubes, kitchen implements and utensils, smaller furniture parts, interesting objects and items made from rubber or plastic (e.g. flip flops). Any abandoned/old instruments will be put to good use as well.
As these items will be handled by children and will be hanging outside, please ensure they are well cleaned and free from hazards, damage, breaks, rust, sharp edges...and will be suitable for exposure to the elements.
If you would like further information, please contact Imogen Piccirilli (Infant Music) ipi@uwcsea.edu.sg
Thank you and see you at the Parent Teacher Conferences on 18th and 19th March. We are also very excited about our field trip to Botanic Gardens on 20th March!
Enjoy the weekend :)
-Poonam and Rose
