Friday, October 24, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Newsletter - Term 1 (Week 8)
Dear Parents,
This week students will finish the Unit of Inquiry “Vote for Me!”. The climax will be Thursday’s elections to find our Year 6 presidents. (More information below). Students will also complete other assessment tasks as part of the unit and will be given a report at the end of the unit to show how they went. We also have the Sports Day on Wednesday and the Halloween Disco on Thursday at 6pm.
Reflections: 6th October – 10th October
Last week the children continued work on the elections which take place this week. They prepared speeches, surveys, advertising posters and brochures and held meetings in their campaign groups. In reading groups students worked on their election tasks. Each student had to complete their task as the candidate, the publicity person, the campaign manager or the data collector. In maths we continued to focus on addition and subtraction problems. Year 6 also had the fun-filled pleasure of helping their Reading Buddy class find the Ginger Bread Man (photos are in the Photo Gallery link). They had to search the junior school and found him hiding in their buddy’s classroom. He tasted delicious!
Weekly News: 20th - 24th October
Unit of Inquiry
The children will finish their Unit of Inquiry this week with the elections on Thursday. The elections will be held in the old gym from 14:00 – 15:15. Parents are invited to attend and vote. This week homework and class work will focus on preparations for the elections. Posters, brochures and data from surveys will all play a part in the election process. Teachers will use a rubric for the final assessment of various features of the unit including persuasive writing, data collection, group work skills and personal reflections of the unit.
Mathematics
This week the children will continue to focus on addition and subtraction problem solving. We will be doing “problems of the day” to challenge the students to look at different ways to solve all sorts of problems. They will also be doing further assessment tasks involving surveys and graphs.
English
Students will be assessed on their writing of persuasive texts which has been a major part of their political campaigns. In reading groups this week they will finalise all speeches and other work that is to be assessed as part of the unit.
What can I do to help?
Make sure your child is doing the required homework each night. This is especially important this week with the elections on Thursday. If for any reason your child is unable to complete their homework, please write a note to the teacher in the class diary.
Upcoming Events and Reminders
Keep checking the class blog for important information about our unit of inquiry and what’s happening at school. New stuff is always being added to the blog.
Sports Day
Sports Day will be held for Years 4-6 and will begin at 9am and finish around 12:20pm on Wednesday, October 22nd. Students will be competing in a variety of activities they have signed up for. The weather could be warm or cool so we are asking every student to bring a sun hat, a water bottle, sun screen and sweatshirt in case it is cool. Parents and guardians are more than welcome to come along and support during the day.If you are aware that your son/daughter will be absent on this day could you please let their teacher know as soon as possible as it could affect some of the events.Thanks in anticipation of your support. If you have any questions feel free to contact Erica Thompson (P.E. Teacher).
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
This week students will finish the Unit of Inquiry “Vote for Me!”. The climax will be Thursday’s elections to find our Year 6 presidents. (More information below). Students will also complete other assessment tasks as part of the unit and will be given a report at the end of the unit to show how they went. We also have the Sports Day on Wednesday and the Halloween Disco on Thursday at 6pm.
Reflections: 6th October – 10th October
Last week the children continued work on the elections which take place this week. They prepared speeches, surveys, advertising posters and brochures and held meetings in their campaign groups. In reading groups students worked on their election tasks. Each student had to complete their task as the candidate, the publicity person, the campaign manager or the data collector. In maths we continued to focus on addition and subtraction problems. Year 6 also had the fun-filled pleasure of helping their Reading Buddy class find the Ginger Bread Man (photos are in the Photo Gallery link). They had to search the junior school and found him hiding in their buddy’s classroom. He tasted delicious!
Weekly News: 20th - 24th October
Unit of Inquiry
The children will finish their Unit of Inquiry this week with the elections on Thursday. The elections will be held in the old gym from 14:00 – 15:15. Parents are invited to attend and vote. This week homework and class work will focus on preparations for the elections. Posters, brochures and data from surveys will all play a part in the election process. Teachers will use a rubric for the final assessment of various features of the unit including persuasive writing, data collection, group work skills and personal reflections of the unit.
Mathematics
This week the children will continue to focus on addition and subtraction problem solving. We will be doing “problems of the day” to challenge the students to look at different ways to solve all sorts of problems. They will also be doing further assessment tasks involving surveys and graphs.
English
Students will be assessed on their writing of persuasive texts which has been a major part of their political campaigns. In reading groups this week they will finalise all speeches and other work that is to be assessed as part of the unit.
What can I do to help?
Make sure your child is doing the required homework each night. This is especially important this week with the elections on Thursday. If for any reason your child is unable to complete their homework, please write a note to the teacher in the class diary.
Upcoming Events and Reminders
- Wednesday 22nd October - Sports Day, 9:00 – 12:20. Years 4-6.
- Thursday 23rd October - Year 6 student elections in the old gym, 14:00 – 15:15. Parents are invited to attend and vote.
- Thursday 23rd October - Halloween Disco. 6:00 – 7:30 in the old gym. Cost is €5,00. Snacks and drinks can also be bought. The disco is being organised by senior students and is part of a Community Service fund-raising activity.
- Saturday 25th October – Monday 3rd November. Mid-term break. School photos will be taken first week after the break.
Keep checking the class blog for important information about our unit of inquiry and what’s happening at school. New stuff is always being added to the blog.
Sports Day
Sports Day will be held for Years 4-6 and will begin at 9am and finish around 12:20pm on Wednesday, October 22nd. Students will be competing in a variety of activities they have signed up for. The weather could be warm or cool so we are asking every student to bring a sun hat, a water bottle, sun screen and sweatshirt in case it is cool. Parents and guardians are more than welcome to come along and support during the day.If you are aware that your son/daughter will be absent on this day could you please let their teacher know as soon as possible as it could affect some of the events.Thanks in anticipation of your support. If you have any questions feel free to contact Erica Thompson (P.E. Teacher).
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Newsletter - Term 1 (Week 7)
Dear Parents,
As we approach mid-term break the students are busy working on their summative assessment task. They all seem to be focussed and engaged in the task and are improving their knowledge and understanding of democracy and how it works. We hope you are enjoying hearing about the students’ learning and are having some interesting conversations at home! Just a reminder to keep checking the class blog for important information about our unit of inquiry and what’s happening at school.
Reflections: 6th October – 10th October
Last week the children started work on our summative assessment. The children applied for one of four jobs (leader, campaign manager, public relations officer and a data collection officer) as they prepare to be put into political parties in preparation for the upcoming Year 6 Presidential Election. In our reading groups we spent some time learning about ‘how to organise an election campaign’ as well as learning how to identify key words in a text and how to answer questions in complete sentences. In maths we continued to focus on addition and subtraction strategies and began to apply these operations in problem-solving situations. Our role-play scenarios continue to engage the children in conversations about various types of governance and how different forms of governance affect those living in the country.
Weekly News: 13th – 17th October
Unit of Inquiry
The children will begin identifying issues and conduct surveys this week as part of their political campaigns. They are going to need to focus on those issues that the voters care most about in order attract the most votes! The children will be given the rubric for the final assessment this week which will help guide them through the assessment task and what is expected of them and their teams. Stay tuned for the announcement of SDIS Election Day 2008 where you will be invited to hear the political parties speak as well as exercise your democratic right to vote for the most convincing and persuasive party.
Mathematics
This week the children will continue to focus on mental and written strategies for addition and subtraction. Particular focus will be on applying these skills to problem-solving situations. They will also continue to work on concepts from the Data Handling strand and will conduct surveys and analyse tables and graphs as part of their political campaigns. Students will continue to use Microsoft Excel as a means for recording and presenting data.
English
Students will continue to work on persuasive texts as part of their political campaigns. They will use the persuasive language skills taught in the last few weeks and apply them to their speeches, political posters, political brochures and surveys. In our reading groups this week we will continue to practise basic comprehension skills, particularly in recognising and highlighting key information and words in non-fiction texts and responding to questions.
What can I do to help?
· Make sure your child is doing the required homework each night. Remember, those students who have clearly rushed their work and not completed their homework to an acceptable standard will not have their work marked. As a reminder, if for any reason your child is unable to complete their homework, please write a note to your child’s teacher in their class diary.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Friday 17th October. Classes finish at 12:00pm. Teachers’ Maths In-service
· Wednesday 22nd October. Years 4-6 Athletics Day (see below).
· Saturday 25th October – 3rd November. Mid-term break
Sports Day
Elementary ´Sports Day´ for years 4-6 will begin at 9 am and finish around 12:20 on Wednesday, October 22nd. Students will be competing in a variety of activities they have signed up for. The weather could be warm or cool so we are asking every student to bring a sun hat, a water bottle, sun screen and sweatshirt in case it is cool. Parents and guardians are more than welcome to come along and support during this day.
If you are aware that you son/daughter will be absent on this day could you please let their teacher know as soon as possible as it could affect some of the events.
Thanks in anticipation of your support. If you have any questions feel free to contact me (Erica Thompson).
With thanks,David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
As we approach mid-term break the students are busy working on their summative assessment task. They all seem to be focussed and engaged in the task and are improving their knowledge and understanding of democracy and how it works. We hope you are enjoying hearing about the students’ learning and are having some interesting conversations at home! Just a reminder to keep checking the class blog for important information about our unit of inquiry and what’s happening at school.
Reflections: 6th October – 10th October
Last week the children started work on our summative assessment. The children applied for one of four jobs (leader, campaign manager, public relations officer and a data collection officer) as they prepare to be put into political parties in preparation for the upcoming Year 6 Presidential Election. In our reading groups we spent some time learning about ‘how to organise an election campaign’ as well as learning how to identify key words in a text and how to answer questions in complete sentences. In maths we continued to focus on addition and subtraction strategies and began to apply these operations in problem-solving situations. Our role-play scenarios continue to engage the children in conversations about various types of governance and how different forms of governance affect those living in the country.
Weekly News: 13th – 17th October
Unit of Inquiry
The children will begin identifying issues and conduct surveys this week as part of their political campaigns. They are going to need to focus on those issues that the voters care most about in order attract the most votes! The children will be given the rubric for the final assessment this week which will help guide them through the assessment task and what is expected of them and their teams. Stay tuned for the announcement of SDIS Election Day 2008 where you will be invited to hear the political parties speak as well as exercise your democratic right to vote for the most convincing and persuasive party.
Mathematics
This week the children will continue to focus on mental and written strategies for addition and subtraction. Particular focus will be on applying these skills to problem-solving situations. They will also continue to work on concepts from the Data Handling strand and will conduct surveys and analyse tables and graphs as part of their political campaigns. Students will continue to use Microsoft Excel as a means for recording and presenting data.
English
Students will continue to work on persuasive texts as part of their political campaigns. They will use the persuasive language skills taught in the last few weeks and apply them to their speeches, political posters, political brochures and surveys. In our reading groups this week we will continue to practise basic comprehension skills, particularly in recognising and highlighting key information and words in non-fiction texts and responding to questions.
What can I do to help?
· Make sure your child is doing the required homework each night. Remember, those students who have clearly rushed their work and not completed their homework to an acceptable standard will not have their work marked. As a reminder, if for any reason your child is unable to complete their homework, please write a note to your child’s teacher in their class diary.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Friday 17th October. Classes finish at 12:00pm. Teachers’ Maths In-service
· Wednesday 22nd October. Years 4-6 Athletics Day (see below).
· Saturday 25th October – 3rd November. Mid-term break
Sports Day
Elementary ´Sports Day´ for years 4-6 will begin at 9 am and finish around 12:20 on Wednesday, October 22nd. Students will be competing in a variety of activities they have signed up for. The weather could be warm or cool so we are asking every student to bring a sun hat, a water bottle, sun screen and sweatshirt in case it is cool. Parents and guardians are more than welcome to come along and support during this day.
If you are aware that you son/daughter will be absent on this day could you please let their teacher know as soon as possible as it could affect some of the events.
Thanks in anticipation of your support. If you have any questions feel free to contact me (Erica Thompson).
With thanks,David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
Monday, October 6, 2008
Newsletter - Term 1 (Week 6)
Dear Parents,
Another busy week for Year 6 at SDIS. We started our Maths groups with the assistance of Mr Costello and Ms Costa Pereira. Reading groups on Thursdays are progressing well with students working at a variety of skills each week, including comprehension, reading, research and grammar. The Unit of Inquiry is now approaching the final stages.
Reflections: 29th September – 3rd October
Last week the children continued their study and role play of political systems and the economics of political systems. We saw some students playing the part of dictators and all students saw from the role plays that dictatorships do not succeed very well and that the life of a dictator can be difficult, unpleasant and dangerous! During reading groups the children read about and discussed the strengths and weaknesses of democracy, read a passage for comprehension about fascism and practised punctuation. In the library with Ms Costa Pereira the students undertook a research challenge about Melvil Dewey, the man who created the library cataloguing system.
Weekly News: 6th – 10th October
Unit of Inquiry
The children have further developed a good understanding of different types of governance and will this week begin to focus on basic features of organising an election campaign. Students will be put into groups, each with an election candidate, and start planning for an election.
Mathematics
This week the children will continue to focus on mental strategies for addition and subtraction and will use these skills in problem solving. They will also continue to work on concepts from the Data Handling strand and will conduct surveys and analyse tables and graph. Students will use computer software for the recording and presentation of data.
English
Students will continue to work on persuasive texts in preparation for the Year 6 Presidential Elections as part of their summative assessment. In our reading groups this week we will continue to practise basic comprehension, reading and grammar skills and use the library computers for further research.
What can I do to help?
- Make sure your child is doing the required homework each night. Remember, those students who have clearly rushed their work and not completed their homework to an acceptable standard will not have their work marked. As a reminder, if for any reason your child is unable to complete their homework, please write a note to your child’s teacher in their class diary.
- There is always something new on the class blog. Look for the link to Mrs Balazs’ Music blog http://sdismusicnews.blogspot.com/.
Upcoming Events and Reminders
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
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