Dear Parents and Students,
My family and I would like to extend a very big THANK YOU to all parents and children in Year 6G. We are very appreciative of the kindness you have shown us over the last week and months. So many of you have wished us well and blessed us with your thoughts and kindness and we are truly grateful.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry and safe holiday season. We hope you travel safely and enjoy this time with family and friends.
I look forward to seeing you all once again in the New Year and hearing of your amazing adventures.
Best wishes,
Mr Gocentas and family (Annie, Ella and Luke)
Friday, December 19, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Newsletter - Term 1 (Week 15)
Dear Parents,
It´s a BIG week at SDIS this week. We have the Trade Fair for Year 6 on Monday and Tuesday, the Junior School Concert on Wednesday and Friday is the last day of term.
Reflections – 9th – 12th December
Students finished their plans for the Trade Fair last week. They made goods to sell, prepared a ledger to record their sales, made advertising signs, price lists and even information sheets about the items they are selling. They also planned how their stall will be organised. We also had the live performance of each group’s advertisement. Teachers were impressed with the scripts and the acting ability of the students. Students had to assess the quality of each group’s advertisement: was it convincing, did it show enthusiasm and emotion and was there evidence of good expression and body language?
Weekly News: 15th – 19th December
Unit of Inquiry
This week students will continue focus on the Trade Fair which will take place on Monday and Tuesday. Teachers will assess the success of each group’s stall: choice of products, satisfactory pricing, satisfactory publicity, good planning and record keeping. Students will also be assessed on their individual contribution to their group. After the Trade Fair the children will have a chance to reflect on the success of their business and their products. They will be asked to think critically about their businesses and whether or not they could have improved different aspects, eg. pricing, advertising, product quality, location of business, etc. Ultimately, they will need to refer back to the central idea of the unit and relate it to their business – was your company successful in trading things that people need and desire?
Mathematics
This week students will consolidate most of the money and mixed number concepts taught throughout our current unit. The children will keep ledgers for their business, including all sales and expenses of the business. This will require the children to add, subtract and multiply both whole and mixed numbers to determine whether or not their business made a profit or a loss. We will examine profit margin and see how changing certain inputs, eg. the price of a product, choice of materials, etc. can impact upon the overall profit margin.
English
This week students will be writing reflections about our current unit and the success of their businesses. They will need to be good thinkers and communicate the good and bad things about running a business and the various challenges they faced as a group, eg. teamwork, quality of products, demand for products, etc. In addition to offering their opinions, they will need to offer proof and evidence to support their views. As always, we will be encouraging the students to include good detail in their reflections as well as correct punctuation, grammar and spelling.
What can I do to help?
· Reflection is an important part of learning and refining knowledge. As this is the final week of our unit, ask your child about their business and what goods and/or services they are trading in. Have them tell you about the successes and difficulties of running a businesses and what ways they could improve their business and its performance.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 13:30 start. Parents should be early to find a safe car park space and to be seated on time in the Old Gym.
· Christmas card delivery box in Reception. Students may leave cards here for delivery to other students in the school. Students must write the full name and class of the student on the envelope.
· Free Dress – Thursday, 18 December
· Free Dress – Friday, 19 December (holiday theme)
· End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
It´s a BIG week at SDIS this week. We have the Trade Fair for Year 6 on Monday and Tuesday, the Junior School Concert on Wednesday and Friday is the last day of term.
Reflections – 9th – 12th December
Students finished their plans for the Trade Fair last week. They made goods to sell, prepared a ledger to record their sales, made advertising signs, price lists and even information sheets about the items they are selling. They also planned how their stall will be organised. We also had the live performance of each group’s advertisement. Teachers were impressed with the scripts and the acting ability of the students. Students had to assess the quality of each group’s advertisement: was it convincing, did it show enthusiasm and emotion and was there evidence of good expression and body language?
Weekly News: 15th – 19th December
Unit of Inquiry
This week students will continue focus on the Trade Fair which will take place on Monday and Tuesday. Teachers will assess the success of each group’s stall: choice of products, satisfactory pricing, satisfactory publicity, good planning and record keeping. Students will also be assessed on their individual contribution to their group. After the Trade Fair the children will have a chance to reflect on the success of their business and their products. They will be asked to think critically about their businesses and whether or not they could have improved different aspects, eg. pricing, advertising, product quality, location of business, etc. Ultimately, they will need to refer back to the central idea of the unit and relate it to their business – was your company successful in trading things that people need and desire?
Mathematics
This week students will consolidate most of the money and mixed number concepts taught throughout our current unit. The children will keep ledgers for their business, including all sales and expenses of the business. This will require the children to add, subtract and multiply both whole and mixed numbers to determine whether or not their business made a profit or a loss. We will examine profit margin and see how changing certain inputs, eg. the price of a product, choice of materials, etc. can impact upon the overall profit margin.
English
This week students will be writing reflections about our current unit and the success of their businesses. They will need to be good thinkers and communicate the good and bad things about running a business and the various challenges they faced as a group, eg. teamwork, quality of products, demand for products, etc. In addition to offering their opinions, they will need to offer proof and evidence to support their views. As always, we will be encouraging the students to include good detail in their reflections as well as correct punctuation, grammar and spelling.
What can I do to help?
· Reflection is an important part of learning and refining knowledge. As this is the final week of our unit, ask your child about their business and what goods and/or services they are trading in. Have them tell you about the successes and difficulties of running a businesses and what ways they could improve their business and its performance.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 13:30 start. Parents should be early to find a safe car park space and to be seated on time in the Old Gym.
· Christmas card delivery box in Reception. Students may leave cards here for delivery to other students in the school. Students must write the full name and class of the student on the envelope.
· Free Dress – Thursday, 18 December
· Free Dress – Friday, 19 December (holiday theme)
· End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Newsletter - Term 1 (Week 14)
Dear Parents,
This week Year 6 continue preparing the goods and services for each group for the Trade Fair next week. More details are below.
Reflections – 2nd – 5th December
Students started planning for the goods and services they may sell at the Trade Fair. We saw that some of the groups had similar ideas so they discussed what other goods or services they may provide. Students also read out to the class the advertisement they each had written to advertise their goods. They are obviously now very familiar with the art of persuasive speech!
Weekly News: 9th – 12th December
Unit of Inquiry
This week students will continue the preparations for the goods and services they will sell at the Trade Fair in the last week of term. Students will also continue work on the group advertisements (see English below). For the Trade Fair it is important to remember two things:
1. Each student can spend no more than €10 on buying goods for the fair. We would like students to keep spending as low as possible and use recycled materials etc or items they already have at home.
2. Students from years 3 to 6 will be buying goods at the fair using our year 6 currency (the Bargo). No real money will be used.
If you have any questions regarding the fair please send a message to Mr Barrett in the school diary or via email.
Mathematics
This week students will continue to focus on multiplication, including multiplication of decimals, in our number groups. We will continue our tables drill and use various games to become more familiar with decimals, fractions and percentages.
English
This week students will finish writing, editing, publishing and rehearsing their group advertisement for the goods and services on sale at the Trade Fair. Later in the week we will perform the advertisements to a live audience in the class and some advertisements may be filmed. Student groups will assess other groups on the various qualities of their performance. Students will be given a rubric (list of criteria) to judge each performance.
What can I do to help?
· Students this week will have a Trade Fair Diary in their homework book which details what they need to do at home. Please check their Trade Fair diary.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 2008
· End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
This week Year 6 continue preparing the goods and services for each group for the Trade Fair next week. More details are below.
Reflections – 2nd – 5th December
Students started planning for the goods and services they may sell at the Trade Fair. We saw that some of the groups had similar ideas so they discussed what other goods or services they may provide. Students also read out to the class the advertisement they each had written to advertise their goods. They are obviously now very familiar with the art of persuasive speech!
Weekly News: 9th – 12th December
Unit of Inquiry
This week students will continue the preparations for the goods and services they will sell at the Trade Fair in the last week of term. Students will also continue work on the group advertisements (see English below). For the Trade Fair it is important to remember two things:
1. Each student can spend no more than €10 on buying goods for the fair. We would like students to keep spending as low as possible and use recycled materials etc or items they already have at home.
2. Students from years 3 to 6 will be buying goods at the fair using our year 6 currency (the Bargo). No real money will be used.
If you have any questions regarding the fair please send a message to Mr Barrett in the school diary or via email.
Mathematics
This week students will continue to focus on multiplication, including multiplication of decimals, in our number groups. We will continue our tables drill and use various games to become more familiar with decimals, fractions and percentages.
English
This week students will finish writing, editing, publishing and rehearsing their group advertisement for the goods and services on sale at the Trade Fair. Later in the week we will perform the advertisements to a live audience in the class and some advertisements may be filmed. Student groups will assess other groups on the various qualities of their performance. Students will be given a rubric (list of criteria) to judge each performance.
What can I do to help?
· Students this week will have a Trade Fair Diary in their homework book which details what they need to do at home. Please check their Trade Fair diary.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 2008
· End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Newsletter - Term 1 (Week 13)
Dear Parents,
This week we start the really exciting part of the Unit of Inquiry “A World of Trade”. We will be preparing the goods and services for each group as well as planning an advertisement. More details are below.
Reflections – 17th – 21st November
Students continued keeping a ledger of the money they earned to spend at the trade fair. They also experienced the pain of being taxed for different offences (such as the noise pollution tax, the bad manners tax.) They all realise now that taxes and fines are a part of adult life! Students were organised into their trading groups and started to discuss the goods and services they may sell at the fair. Students also watched a video about fair trading and the specific case of the small banana growers in the Caribbean struggling to keep their businesses going because of the power of the multinational companies.
Weekly News: 2nd – 5th December
Unit of Inquiry
This week students will continue the preparations for the goods and services they will sell at the Trade Fair in the last week of term. For the Trade Fair it is important to remember two things:
1. Each student can spend no more than €10 on buying goods for the fair. We would like students to keep spending as low as possible and use recycled materials etc or items they already have at home
2. Students from years 3 to 6 will be buying goods at the fair using our year 6 currency (the Bargo). No real money will be used. If you have any questions regarding the fair please send a message to Mr Barrett in the school diary or via email.
Mathematics
This week we will continue to focus on multiplication, including multiplication of decimals in our number groups. We will practise multiplying various two and three-digit numbers using whole numbers (eg. 48 X 78) and start to multiply using decimals. It is important for students to develop a sound knowledge of decimals before they enter Year 7. And decimals, of course, is the basis of most systems of measurement and currency throughout the world.
It is very important that your child is fluent with all timestables. We will continue with regular tables practice. We will also do some revision testing of work covered so far this term.
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. Reading groups will continue to work hard at improving reading and comprehension skills in relation to non-fiction texts about trading.
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. There are two new sites to help with spelling to make homework more fun.
· Look at the homework tasks for the week to make sure your child knows what to do. Please make sure all homework is neat and well set out. Remember, work that is not neat and signed by a parent or guardian will not be marked.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Holiday – 1st December
· Christmas Fair – 6th December, 2008 at SDIS. Don’t forget to bring in goods for the baskets. They can be left in Reception.
· Toys etc for the Student Council collection should be left in the classroom.
· Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 2008
· End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
This week we start the really exciting part of the Unit of Inquiry “A World of Trade”. We will be preparing the goods and services for each group as well as planning an advertisement. More details are below.
Reflections – 17th – 21st November
Students continued keeping a ledger of the money they earned to spend at the trade fair. They also experienced the pain of being taxed for different offences (such as the noise pollution tax, the bad manners tax.) They all realise now that taxes and fines are a part of adult life! Students were organised into their trading groups and started to discuss the goods and services they may sell at the fair. Students also watched a video about fair trading and the specific case of the small banana growers in the Caribbean struggling to keep their businesses going because of the power of the multinational companies.
Weekly News: 2nd – 5th December
Unit of Inquiry
This week students will continue the preparations for the goods and services they will sell at the Trade Fair in the last week of term. For the Trade Fair it is important to remember two things:
1. Each student can spend no more than €10 on buying goods for the fair. We would like students to keep spending as low as possible and use recycled materials etc or items they already have at home
2. Students from years 3 to 6 will be buying goods at the fair using our year 6 currency (the Bargo). No real money will be used. If you have any questions regarding the fair please send a message to Mr Barrett in the school diary or via email.
Mathematics
This week we will continue to focus on multiplication, including multiplication of decimals in our number groups. We will practise multiplying various two and three-digit numbers using whole numbers (eg. 48 X 78) and start to multiply using decimals. It is important for students to develop a sound knowledge of decimals before they enter Year 7. And decimals, of course, is the basis of most systems of measurement and currency throughout the world.
It is very important that your child is fluent with all timestables. We will continue with regular tables practice. We will also do some revision testing of work covered so far this term.
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. Reading groups will continue to work hard at improving reading and comprehension skills in relation to non-fiction texts about trading.
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. There are two new sites to help with spelling to make homework more fun.
· Look at the homework tasks for the week to make sure your child knows what to do. Please make sure all homework is neat and well set out. Remember, work that is not neat and signed by a parent or guardian will not be marked.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
· Holiday – 1st December
· Christmas Fair – 6th December, 2008 at SDIS. Don’t forget to bring in goods for the baskets. They can be left in Reception.
· Toys etc for the Student Council collection should be left in the classroom.
· Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 2008
· End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
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