Newsletter - Term 1 (Week 11)

Dear Parents,

We are fast approaching Christmas break and we have many exciting events just around the corner, including the Christmas Fair and the Junior School Concert (see dates below). The next month promises to be a busy month, both in and out of the classroom. Help support your child by asking them about what they are doing in class and encourage them to share their learning with you.

Reflections – 10th – 14th November
Following on from our work on barter in previous weeks, the children learned more about money and how it has developed and progressed over time. The children also competed in a competition to design the Year 6 currency (ie. the BARGO) which will be used in our current unit of inquiry. The children had lots of fun and generally submitted high-quality designs, with the winners having their designs printed off and distributed to Years 3-6 for use at the end of our unit. The children also began work on creating a ‘country profile’ poster for a randomly assigned country, outlining certain facts about their country including its political system, currency, main exports, trading partners, etc. Using MS Excel, we also graphed the survey results of an earlier homework task where we found out which countries the majority of our clothing, food and electrical products come from.

Weekly News: 17th — 21st November

Unit of Inquiry
This week we will continue to investigate the trading relationship between various countries, namely what products these countries export and who their main trading partners are. The children will be presenting their findings in the form of a poster. We will also begin to use the BARGO in class as part of our miniature economy. Throughout the week and in the weeks ahead, the children will earn BARGOS to use during our final assessment. But BEWARE, as well as earning BARGOS, the children will also be taxed each week, ie. income tax, noise pollution tax, etc.

Mathematics
This week we continue to focus on multiplication in our number groups. We will practise multiplying various two and three-digit numbers using whole numbers (eg. 45 X 7) using a variety of methods (both mental and written). In order to support our multiplication work in class, the children have been told to practise their timestables up to 10 as part of their homework. It is very important that your child practise their timestables if they can’t recall these basic number facts. The children will also begin using a ‘Ledger’ to record various financial data, eg. debit, credit , balance, etc. in preparation for our summative assessment. These calculations will mainly involve the addition and subtraction of numbers up to 2-decimal points.

English
Our major focus continues to be on persuasive texts, particularly the structure of such texts and the language companies use to convince consumers that they ‘need and/or desire’ certain products. We will also use our research skills to complete our ‘country profile’ posters and to write about the major industries and exports of different countries from around the world. Meanwhile, our reading groups will continue to work hard at improving the children’s reading and comprehension skills in relation to non-fiction texts.

What can I do to help?
· Don’t forget to check the class blogs to find links to sites that will support your child in their class work. Look for the A World of Trade link in the Unit of Inquiry menu box to find great websites and information for you and your child.
· Use the class blogs as part of your child’s reading homework. There are many great links to interesting websites and articles on our World of Trade page. Why not ask your child to read a particular article and report back to you the main facts from their reading!

Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Holiday – 1st December
· Christmas Fair – 6th December, 2008 at SDIS
· Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 2008
· End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)
· The first UOI reports were sent home last week. Could you please return the UOI reports to school as soon as possible (complete with your signature and any comments you have made). As indicated in the letter attached to the UOI report from Mr Thompson, this is one of the changes to our reporting procedures for 2008/09. We hope you found the new UOI report informative. Please feel free to pass on any feedback you may have.

With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira