K2 News - 27 March 2015

Arts Festival

We have had such a busy last week of Term 2 with end of unit assessments, wrapping up our Unit of Study ‘Telling Tales’ and our ‘Stories’ in Writing Workshop, the publishing party, not to mention the Arts Festival technical rehearsals, two dress rehearsals and an evening show! No wonder we all feel tired and are in need of a rest!

This year’s show, ‘Once Upon a Time’, was produced with as much involvement from the children as possible. This began weeks ago with a class ‘brainstorm’ of what was needed to put on a show. The children’s ideas were fantastic: an introduction, actors, costumes, posters, props, invitations, lights, music, microphones, a stage, tickets and rehearsals.

Under our guidance and supervision, and with a sharing of ideas, the children have sent home invitations, made tickets, helped to paint props, developed actions and movements, given ideas for words of songs, recorded songs, and worked together brilliantly in rehearsals. We are so proud of their efforts in learning their parts, from the movements and positioning on stage, to the acting, speaking and singing.

The culmination of all their efforts was their final performance for you on Wednesday evening. The level of excitement on the evening was unsurpassed, and we believe this was because the children were involved in so many aspects of the show and had real ownership.

Thank you for coming to watch and support the children. They really benefited from having such a lively, interactive audience. We hope you enjoyed watching as much as the children enjoyed performing for you.

Maths

We will continue developing the children's skills in addition and subtraction. In a natural way, children develop strategies that are based on counting to solve addition and subtraction problems, progressing through several stages. 

Children will continue to explore which strategy works best for them and are being encouraged to talk about how they arrived at the answer. 

For example: 12+4=?

One child might say “I just know it’. Another child might say ‘I put 12 in my head and counted on’. Another might say ‘I used the number line to count on’ and another child may say ‘I know 2 and 4 is 6 and then I added 10 more’. It really does not matter which strategy your child uses as long as the answers are consistently correct.

As we teach, we will have the following objectives in mind:

• I can decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way.
• I can calculate the number that makes 10 when added to the given number.
• I can count all or count on to find out how many.
• I can fluently add within 10.
• I can fluently subtract within 10.
• I can use objects or drawings to represent addition and subtraction.
• I can solve addition and subtraction word problems.

For those children who have clearly demonstrated that they have achieved these goals, they will be challenged appropriately at their level.

Over the course of the first three weeks of term, we will also be reviewing Geometry, Measurement and Data Handling in a hands-on way.

Literacy

Phonic Work: we will be looking at ‘Married Sounds’. This is a term we use when two letters put together make one sound, e.g. ‘ee’ and ‘ea’, as in meet, beep, team and heat. Over the coming weeks we will be introducing many ‘married sounds’: 

• ai/ay/a_e
• ie/i_e/igh/y
• oa/ow/o_e
• ue/u_e/oo/ew

Writing Workshop - Poetry

Poetry is a particularly accessible genre for children as young learners already think and speak in poetry. Students at this age are natural poets, observing the world around them with wonder and awe. Their receptivity to the music and descriptiveness of this genre is infectious. Children will attempt to emulate the different skills and strategies of the poets they read. Before they can write poetry well, they must first read, study, and name what they notice about the poems they are reading/hearing each day. It would be lovely if you could read some simple poems to your child over the break so that he/she can get a better idea of poems and what they can tell us.

We will be looking at some essential questions to help the children with their writing:

1. How will I choose what to write about?
2. How can I use other poems to help me with my writing?
3. How will I 'paint a picture' for the reader with my words?
4. How will my writing look different on the page (line breaks/white space)?
5. How will I use illustrations to make my poetry clearer?
6. How can I use my senses in my writing?
7. How can I use poetry to write about nature, common objects and my feelings?

First Day of Term 3

We hope you all enjoy the break and are looking forward to seeing you bright and early on Monday 13 April, for the start of our final term in K2.

K2 News - Friday 13 March

Congratulations

On Wednesday 11 March, we had our second Performers' Assembly in the Infants. The children watched a variety of performers from K1, K2 and G1. Congratulations to Roan Dagur from K2SMH and Rustam Halpert from K2ZBr who performed, and delighted the audience, on the big stage in the RBT.

Arts Festival 

Wednesday 25 March 6:00pm in the RBT

We only have eight more school days until the Arts Festival and the children are so excited about performing for you!

This year’s show, ‘Once Upon a Time’, has been produced with as much involvement from the children as possible. This began weeks ago with a class ‘brainstorm’ of what was needed to put on a show. The children’s ideas were fantastic: an introduction, actors, costumes, posters, props, invitations, lights, music, microphones, a stage, tickets and rehearsals.

Under our guidance and supervision, and with a sharing of ideas, the children have sent home invitations, made tickets, helped to paint props, developed actions and movements, given ideas for words of songs, recorded songs, and worked together brilliantly in rehearsals. We are so proud of their efforts in learning their parts, from the movements and positioning on stage, to the acting, speaking and singing.

We would love to have all the children in school next week in order for them to feel comfortable and confident with their roles.

Technical rehearsals will take place on Monday 23 March. The Dress Rehearsal will be on Tuesday 24 March in front of a full audience. It is a very exciting couple of days for the children as it is the first time they get to see what the other classes are doing and how the whole show fits together, with sound and lights.

The running order will be as follows:

K2HWe
The Little Red Hen

K2ZBr
The Pied Piper

K2JiS
Hansel and Gretel

K2SMH
Little Red Riding Hood

We realise many of you will be coming directly from work for the performance on Wednesday, but please could you make every effort to arrive early, so that the children can begin the show with everyone in their seats. We will need the RBT foyer clear before the show can begin, so please take your seats in good time.

We hope you all enjoy the show!

IMPORTANT: 

Early Pick Up on Wednesday 25 March

On Wednesday 25 March, the day of the Arts Festival performance, we request that all K2 children are collected from school at 12:15pm. This will enable them to have a quiet afternoon and time to rest before returning to school to prepare for the show.

The buses will not be in operation for this earlier pick up, so you will need to come to school to collect your child from the Infant car pick up zone. Please do not come up to the classrooms, as this will impact on the K1 and Grade 1 classes.

Unless you hear differently from your child’s teacher, the children need to be brought back to school, and dropped off in their classroom at 5:15pm in order for them to change into their costumes and get ready.

Library Books and Reading Books

The children will take library books and three 'just right' books home, as usual, over the break.

Goodbyes

It is always a sad time when we need to say goodbye to friends who are leaving Singapore to start a new chapter in their lives somewhere else. This term we are saying goodbye to Olivia Georgiou from K2SMH who is relocating to London. Olivia, we hope that you will be very happy in your new school and settle in really quickly with your new friends.

Last Day of Term

School will finish on Friday 27 March at 2:00pm and reopens on Monday 13 April at 8:00am.

K2 News - 6 March 2015

Chinese

Message from:
Jiang Yingying
Head of Primary Chinese

Most parents may have recognised that the Primary Chinese Site is a students' learning platform for K1 to G5 students. Learning materials such as curriculum, unit booklets and other materials have been uploaded there to support students' learning. There are some discussions and other activities for older students, too. However, some parents have had problems accessing the site by using the link in our school website. After consulting the IT support in school, we would like to send the direct link to you for the parents in the infant school to access the site.

Here is the link:

https://drive.google.com/a/gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg/folderview?id=0BylRV6cgygkLeV9mWWxVS09pYmM&usp=sharing#

Please bookmark the link for your future use.

A reminder to parents who have children in the Infant School and Grade 2. 

Please make sure you inform the class teacher in writing if your son/daughter is going to the morning performance of the Grade 2 Arts Festival 'Around the World in 80 Days' on Thursday 12 March.  The performance  begins at 10:15am so  any Infant child who is  attending will need to have his/her snack early and we are collating a list so that these children can be collected from their classrooms and supervised. Please inform the class teacher on Monday, if you haven't done so already.

Arts Festival - Wednesday 25 March 6:00pm RBT

A letter was sent home last week asking for ticket requests for our Arts Festival, ‘Once Upon a Time’. Please send your returns in by the requested date. Tickets will be allocated, and we will then try to accommodate the requests for extra tickets.

Our rehearsals are going very well and the children are already so excited about the show. Some are even asking, ‘Is it tomorrow?’ Each class will be telling a traditional tale, as detailed below (the order of performance has not been decided upon):

K2JiS
Hansel and Gretel

K2ZBr
The Pied Piper of Hamelin

K2SMH
Little Red Riding Hood

K2HWe
The Little Red Hen

We are getting the children involved in the whole process of putting on a performance from the invitations and tickets, to the characters, words, props, costumes, songs, music and movements.

During this period of rehearsals, our daily timetables need to have a degree of flexibility to allow us to fit in scheduled practices in the RBT and Music lessons, as well as impromptu ones in our classrooms.

Parent helper schedules may be disrupted as a result. We really appreciate your understanding.

K2 News - 13 February 2015

Shoe Box Afternoon Tea

Thank you so much to everyone who came to our Shoe Box Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 4 February. Your help and support with our elderly guests and the children, and with the refreshments was greatly appreciated and ensured that everything was a wonderful success.

The children thoroughly enjoyed hosting the ‘parties’ in their classrooms and we were really proud of the way they interacted and talked to their guests. They did a superb job entertaining the seniors with their wonderful singing, playing bingo, making a picture and delivering the shoe boxes. It really was lovely to see everyone together for the event.

Service is a big part of the UWCSEA philosophy and it is fantastic that we are able to begin this with our K2 children. We really value your support as the event would not be possible without you.

K2 Arts Festival - Wednesday 25 March 6:00pm RBT

Please make a note of the date and time of our K2 Arts Festival. As it is an integral part of our ‘Telling Tales’ Unit of Study, we would really like all the children to be involved in the production and be able to perform on stage for a large audience. 

If you already know that your child will be absent for the show (due to a holiday or other family commitment), please let your child’s teacher know as soon as possible. It will impact directly on the allocation of roles and all of the practices and rehearsals. Children who will not be at school for the Arts Festival performance on 25 March will unfortunately not be able to actively participate in the rehearsals. For this reason, we sincerely hope that all the children will remain at school until the end of Term 2.

NEW UNITS AFTER THE BREAK

Maths

After the break, we will continue to explore addition and subtraction, and the inverse relationship between them.

Children will be developing their strategies to add and subtract, and determining which work best for them. It is important to realise that there is not one correct way to arrive at an answer. As teachers and parents, it is important to understand the strategies the children are using and then move them forward from there.

Word problems are a fun way of developing number skills and awareness. For example: 

• There are 8 grapes in your brain food box. You eat 3. How many are left?
• You had 15 stones in your pocket at play time but 2 fell out. How many do you have now?
• Tom was playing with 5 cars. Ben gave him 4 more. How many did Tom have altogether.

The first step is for the child to determine whether he/she needs to add or subtract, and then work out the answer.

We will also be revisiting Measurement and Data Handling in the second half of term.

Writing Workshop - 'Stories'

Children will be explicitly taught to tell organised, structured stories bit by bit in a sequenced cohesive narrative. Children will become accustomed to thinking of a character, a trait and a story, capturing it in drawings and words that span across a number of pages.  Children will expand their drawing skills and learn how writers can convey details such as feelings and actions through illustrations.  A balance of focus between developed content and conventions will enable children to raise the quality of their work by stretching out words, recording initial, middle and final sounds, rereading their own writing and adding more to a page. Grammar conventions, capitalisation and end punctuation will also be explicitly taught.  Rereading and revising will have a constant emphasis throughout the unit.

How can I write stories and write them so people can really read them?

How can I learn to tell my story step by step so people can follow what happened?

How can I include what my characters do, feel and say?

Reading Workshop - 'Readers Get to Know Characters'

Our relationships to characters are one of the most important aspects of reading that keep us returning to a book once we start. Whether we like the character or not we often learn things about ourselves and human nature by thinking about the character. We want them to be inspired by, learn lessons from, and think about the characters in their books.

Initially children learn reading strategies to get to know a character well and to name what that character does in a story. As they become more aware of characters they will learn to think and talk more about characters in their partnerships, growing ideas about them as they make them 'talk' and 'think'. 

Unit of Study - 'Telling Tales'

This next unit explores the idea of performance through drama and how we need to be creative, cooperate and collaborate. Key questions will be posed:

What does it look like when we work together?

What is your role/responsibility?

How can you communicate clearly to the audience? 

How does it feel when you perform? 

How does it feel to be in an audience?

The children will identify and learn about what is needed to put on a show, then work together to develop ideas for a script, scenery, props, costumes and invitations. This will culminate in the K2 Arts Festival performance, in which the children will be 'telling the tales' of Little Red Riding Hood, The Pied Piper, Hansel and Gretel and The Little Red Hen.

The K2 Team

K2 News - 30 January 2015

Shoe Box Afternoon Tea

Wednesday 4 February 2:30pm – 3:30pm 

We are very much looking forward to the Shoe Box Afternoon Tea on Wednesday. The vast majority of children and parents are coming to school for what should be a wonderful occasion. Your child needs to be wearing something Chinese or in the colours of red and gold when he/she returns at 2:15pm. We will aim to finish by 3:30pm.

Each elderly guest will receive a shoe box that our children have decorated and packed, with your much valued support. As each class will have about ten guests, not every child will get to give his/her own shoe box. We will talk to our classes about this and explain why, hopefully alleviating any upset on the day.

IMPORTANT

Please note that all the K2 children will need to be collected from the Infant Car Pick Up point at 11:45am to give us time to get the classrooms ready and prepare for the event. There will be no school buses at this earlier time.

We are all very much looking forward to another wonderful afternoon with our guests.

WANTED for K2 Art Project!

Please could you send in any old materials that you may have lying about that could be wound around a pole! Items such as fabric, wool, string, raffia, strips of plastic, wrapping paper, bubble wrap, wool/yarn would be perfect. Thank you.

K2 News 16 January 2015

Shoe Box Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea

Wednesday 4 February 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Two letters and a booklet were sent home last week. Please could you make sure you have returned the Reply Slip by Monday 19 January, saying whether your child will be attending the CNY Afternoon Tea? We need to know numbers before ordering food and drinks.

We hope your child has had fun doing some extra jobs to earn money to buy the requested items for the shoe boxes. This event could not happen without your support in preparing these shoe boxes and we are extremely grateful for your support. Thank you to those of you who have already sent the items to school in a named, plastic bag (Ziploc plastic bags are ideal!). The list below will serve as a reminder of the items that are needed:

• A face flannel

• A tin of tuna

• A tube of toothpaste

• A toothbrush

• A brush/comb

• A small pot of Tiger Balm

• A homemade card

• $20 (for items bought in bulk by UWCSEA and a Hong Bao) 

If you could send the items to school by Monday 19 January, that would be lovely!

Theatre Trip - Wednesday 21 January

On Wednesday we will be taking the children to see a production of ‘The Gruffalo’ It is being presented by The School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) at the Drama Theatre on 1 Zubir Said Drive. Do remember to ask your child about the show when he/she gets back from school. We are sure there will be lots to tell!

K2 News 9 January 2015

Unit of Study

Our new Unit of Study is titled 'Me and My School' and is focusing on 'What school means to me'. We will be exploring the immediate environment: the natural and man-made features, people's roles, relationships and responsibilities.

This week the children have all been on exploratory walks around the campus, visiting areas that they have not been to before, using their ears and eyes to notice different things and creating many 'I wonder...?' questions. They have identified things that are of interest to them and these will be investigated further, beginning with some simple map making and discussions.

David Watson Library

Throughout K1 and the first term of K2, the children chose their library books from a selection brought to them from the DWL. This term will see each class visit the library, once a week, to share a story and select two books to take home.

The classes will go to the DWL on the following days:

K2SMH - Wednesday
K2JiS - Thursday
K2ZBr and K2HWe - Friday

Visiting a bigger library and choosing books from a much larger selection will be such an enjoyable experience for the children. We are very excited about this transition in our programme, as are the children, judging from our first visits this week! Enjoy sharing these books together. Please remember to return them before your child's next DWL visit to ensure he/she can check out some new books.

Swimming K2JiS and K2ZBr

The above two classes will begin the swimming programme on Thursday 15 January. They will swim on both Tuesday and Thursday, up to and including Thursday 12 February.

Your child will need to wear his/her school uniform to school and bring a separate bag with swimming things packed inside.  He/she needs swimmers, a UVA swim top (compulsory), goggles, pool shoes to wear down to the pool and a towel, or preferably, a hooded towel cape or a towelling bath robe. Please pack a plastic bag for wet swimmers. If your child does not have a UVA swim top, one can be purchased from the UWCSEA College Shop. Please ensure that all items (clothing, footwear, etc) are clearly named.

If for any reason your child is not able to swim one week, he/she will sit poolside and watch the lesson.

K2 Service - Operation Shoe Box 

Our main Service in K2 is our shoe box initiative.  Some of you will be familiar with this, if you have already had children in the Infants, but for some of you it will be your first time. In K2 we have a wonderful Afternoon Tea, where the shoe boxes are given to elderly guests. Please click on the link here "K2 Shoe Box Afternoon Tea 2014" to the video from last year to see just what a lovely event it is for everyone involved.

Today a letter was sent home today requesting items for the shoe boxes, together with a small booklet. Please could you send the items to school in a named bag by Monday 19 January.

All children will be packing a shoe box at school so every child will need the items, irrespective of whether he/she will be attending the Shoe Box Afternoon Tea. Any extra shoe boxes will be delivered by the Grade 1 students to elderly residents in neighbouring HDBs. The list below will serve as a reminder of the items that are needed:

• A face flannel
• A tin of tuna
• A tube of toothpaste
• A toothbrush
• A brush/comb
• A small pot of Tiger Balm
• A homemade card
• $20 (for items bought in bulk by UWCSEA and a Hong Bao)

Thank you so much in advance for supporting this initiative.

Shoe Box Afternoon Tea

Wednesday 4 February 2:30pm – 3:30pm 

Another letter was sent home today giving details about our upcoming K2 Service Initiative.

If you wish your child to attend the afternoon tea between 2:30pm and 3:30pm, please return the reply slip by Monday 19 January. We need to finalise numbers for catering purposes so would appreciate your timely returns.

If your child is attending, he/she needs to wear something Chinese or in the colours of red and gold.

IMPORTANT

Please note that all the K2 children will need to be collected from their classrooms at 11:45am to give us time to get the classrooms ready and prepare for the event. Children attending the afternoon tea will need to be brought back to their classrooms by 2:15pm. We will finish at 3:30pm.

We are all very much looking forward to another wonderful afternoon with our elderly guests. 

K2 News - 2 January 2015

Welcome back! 

Welcome back and Happy New Year to everyone!  We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and that you and your children had lots of quality family time, rest and relaxation and are ready for a busy Term 2.

Hats, Cardigans & Library Books

Hats and cardigans were sent home at the end of term to be washed.  Please make sure your child has these items in his/her school bag on Monday.  If you have bought new items, please ensure they are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Please return any library books that were borrowed before the holiday.

Celebrating Achievements Board

Please do continue to send items in to school for our achievements board. It is always lovely to share things that the children do when they are not at school. Remember to include a photograph and caption about your child’s recent achievement. He/she will have the opportunity to share his/her experiences and successes with the class.

Writing Workshop

For the next six weeks, we will be doing a new writing unit called ‘All About’ books. The children will learn that ‘All About’ books teach us about something. They know from visits to the library that these kinds of books are also referred to as information or non-fiction books.

They will begin this unit by thinking of things about which they are knowledgeable, things they ‘know lots about’ and topics of interest. They will be the experts!

By looking at a wide selection of ‘All About’ books, we will identify some of the different features that can be found in these books: title, contents, chapters, headings, labels, photographs, drawings, fun facts, page numbers, glossary and index.

Each mini-lesson will focus on a feature of ‘All About’ books and give the children ideas as to what they can add to their books to make them even more like a real non-fiction book. The children will be encouraged to draw upon skills learned in other Writing Workshop units, such as adding labels, using capital letters for headings and proper names, and adding one more thing to a page.

It is a very exciting unit and we are very much looking forward to seeing the wide variety of topics that the children choose to write about.

Student-Led Conferences - Tuesday 13 January

Our Infant Student-Led Conferences will take place on Tuesday 13 January. A letter was enclosed with your child's report card detailing the times of your child’s conferences. The conference in the classroom will last for about 45 minutes, and then there are the Music and Chinese conferences, too.

Please appreciate that the logistics to coordinate those families with more than one child participating in Student-Led Conferences has proven to be a big undertaking.  Therefore we ask for your cooperation in arriving promptly so that teachers and other families’ schedules will not be disrupted.

Whilst there are no classes for K1, K2 or G1 children on this day, the rest of the College is in session so the usual traffic congestion will occur during peak arrival and departure times. Parking may be difficult, so please allow yourself plenty of time to get here.

Supervision for siblings from other Infant classes will be available in an area of the Main Hall. We request that very young siblings are not brought to school as there will not be supervision for them.

We ask that you please do not take calls or send text messages on your hand phones during the conference.  Not only will this break the rapport you have established with your child, but phones ringing, buzzing or vibrating will disturb other families who are in the classroom at the same time.

We hope you enjoy spending time with your child at school, and gain extra insight into children’s learning.

Maths

Whilst we continually revisit many different mathematical concepts during the course of a week, our main focus for the next few weeks will be on number.  We will be looking specifically at addition and subtraction. 

Key questions will be asked and explored through practical activities:

• How can I add numbers together?

• What strategies work best to add and subtract numbers?

• How many ways can I find to make 5 or 7 or 10?

Knowing number bonds (pairs of numbers that make a given total) and being able to recall them instantly, as opposed to having to work them out, will help your child’s confidence in Maths and increase the speed at which he/she can complete number problems.

For example, the number bonds for 6 are:

0 + 6

1 + 5

2 + 4

3 + 3

4 + 2

5 + 1

6 + 0

We will be spending time looking at number bonds for numbers up to 10 and exploring the number patterns. For those children who already have good recall, they will be applying their knowledge of number bonds to help with problems involving larger numbers e.g. 

15 + 11 = ? 

? + 14 = 20

18 + ?  = 30

Literacy

Over the coming weeks, our main focus will be:

• Writing Workshop ‘All About’ books 

• Handwriting – Curly Caterpillar letters: a, c, d, e, f, g, o, q, s

• Reading Workshop: independent reading, partner reading activities, shared reading, group reading

• Phonics – a few initial blends will be chosen each week from the following:  sh, ch, th, br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr, bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl

Week 17 in K2

RRR Booklets

Please remember to send the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!’ booklet back to school on Monday 7 December. The children will be sharing and using their booklets so please make sure they are in the blue folders. We hope you have had fun at home focusing on reducing, reusing and recycling.

As a reflection on the booklets, we are asking the children to choose one thing that they think they can continue doing all year (turning lights off, reusing or sending books and clothes for others to use).

It is important that they understand that reducing, refusing, reusing and recycling should be ‘a way of life', and does not stop when our unit has been completed. With your support, we would like the children to continue thinking about the rubbish people produce, where it all goes, what we can do to help reduce the amount of waste we all create and preserve the environment.

End of Term Party - Thursday 11  December

The Infant End of Term party is on Thursday 11 December.  Please make sure the children come to school in party clothes, ready for a fun-filled day of special activities.

Please note that there will be no PE on Thursday, as all the Infant classes will be in the Main Hall at our normal scheduled PE time so there is no need to send in kit.

You will have received a letter this week giving you details about the party, with a request for a small plate of food.  Bite-sized food is ideal, in fact the smaller the better.  If you are at all concerned about what you have been asked to bring in, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible.  We do not want stressed parents!

Please remember to send your food contributions in a named container (if you want it back) to school on Thursday morning. In response to a question earlier this week, your food contribution is for your child’s class only. Thank you in advance for your wonderful culinary efforts!

Writing Workshop

You will be receiving your child’s latest folder of books he/she has made very soon. Please celebrate your child’s work with him/her. All of the children are very proud of their work and are eager to share their books with you.

Always recognise and acknowledge what your child can do, not what he/she cannot do quite yet. Honour his/her approximations with both illustrations and writing. Young children will not get everything correct every time they write – nor should they. Positive reinforcement and praise for his/her efforts will make your child feel good about writing, even though it is hard for many of our children at this stage of K2.

Leaving early for the holiday?

We are busy right up until the end of term and we do not encourage families to leave early for the holidays.  However, we do understand that it can be difficult to get flights at this busy time of year. If you do have to leave  before the last day of school (Friday 12 December), please let the teacher know so that items can be sent home with your child on his/her last day.

You will receive your child’s report at the end of the final week of term. Unfortunately, if you are leaving early, you will not be able to have this ahead of schedule. However, you will be able to read the report on ePortal after Friday 12 December. The actual report will be posted to you.

Library Books and Reading Books

All K2 children will be borrowing two David Watson library books to keep over the holidays. These need to be returned at the start of next term.

Please note: Levelled reading books will not be sent home in the holidays. The last day for sending levelled readers home will be Wednesday 10 December. All children will choose 3 readers to bring home on the first day of Term 2.

We would like you to read as much as you can with your child over the holiday and to  encourage him/her to continue with his/her own reading, too.  Keeping the reading process going over the three week break will make things much easier when he/she returns to school in January.

Last Day of Term

The last day of term is Friday 12 December. The Infants finish school at 11:00am.  Buses leave campus at 11:00am. Please make sure there is someone at home to meet your child from the bus at the earlier time.

Car children should be collected at 10:50am from the normal pick up point. All cars need to have left the campus by 11:10am to allow the buses to assemble to take the older students home at 12:00pm.

Reminders

• There will be no eBrief or K2 Blog on Friday 12 December

• The next eBrief will be on Friday 2 January 2015

• UWCSEA re-opens on Monday 5 January 2015

Thank you so much to all class parents and classroom helpers for your invaluable support this term. We really appreciate the time you give up to come to school and help the children with their learning.

We would like to wish you all a very happy, safe holiday.

Week 16 in K2

Performers' Assembly

On Wednesday performers from K2 and G1 entertained the Infant children during our Term 1 Performers’ Assembly. Congratulations to Isabella and James from K2SMH and Akhil from K2HWe for being such great risk-takers and performing their vocal, piano and violin pieces so beautifully.

RRR Booklets

Today, your child has brought home a ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!’ booklet. The children all know what they have to do as we have discussed it in class. It would be good for them to come up with their own thoughts of how they can help reduce, reuse and recycle at home but you may need to help them write their ideas on page 3.

Please keep these booklets at home and return them on Monday 8 December (not before). We will be reflecting upon these booklets and the ways in which the children reduce, reuse and recycle at home.

Recycling at UWCSEA

Unfortunately the Recycling Centre at school is only taking paper at the moment so please don not send in any materials for recycling. However, we still want all your CLEAN RUBBISH that the children can reuse in the classroom for models and construction.

WANTED!

We still need plastic bags of all colours for a special Art project so please do continue to send them in.

Leaving early for the holiday?

We are busy right up until the end of term and we do not encourage families to leave early for the holidays.  However, we do understand that it can be difficult to get flights at this busy time of year. If you do have to leave  before the last day of school (Friday 12 December), please let your child's teacher know so that items can be sent home on his/her last day.

You will receive your child’s report at the end of the final week of term. Unfortunately, if you are leaving early, you will not be able to have this ahead of schedule. However, you will be able to read the report on ePortal after Friday 12 December. The actual report will be posted to you.

End of Term Party - Thursday 11  December

Early next week you will receive a letter from the class teacher indicating what food items are needed for the party.

Please could you send food into school on the morning of Thursday 11 December. If you are at all concerned about what you have been asked to send in, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible.

This is a non-uniform day for Infant children. They may come to school wearing party clothes or festive colours.

Next Week

Maths

Running parallel to our number work will be a new unit on Data Handling and Probability.
Ways of classifying and sorting objects into given categories and counting the numbers of objects in each category will be explored. Questions will be asked: How can I organise and present the data I have collected? How do I use the information I have found?

Literacy

Our main areas of focus will be:
• Handwriting (numbers, name and ‘one armed robot letters’ r, b, n, h, m, k, p)
• Writing Workshop
• Reading Workshop
• High Frequency Words
• Phonics
• Vowels
• Blending and decoding of CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) e.g. mop, fan, pig and CCVC words e.g. plug, frog, trip.

Week 15 in K2

UN Day

Thank you for coming to support the children for UN Day today.  From comments made by the children, they all seemed to love visiting the other classrooms and doing so many different activities, as well as doing the parade and singing for you all. Hopefully they will have also learned something about other countries, too.

We were so proud of all of them and the effort they put into the celebrations in the Main Hall. They had to learn a great deal of words and sang beautifully. We had many parents giving us positive comments and feedback on the parade and singing and we are delighted that you enjoyed it so much.

Performers' Assembly

On Wednesday 26 November, performers from K2 and G1 will entertain the Infant children during our first Performers' Assembly. If your child is one of the performers you will have been contacted by Susanne Khalek and are invited to the RBT at 1:00pm to watch.

Food Festival - Friday 28 November

The Primary School Food Festival takes place on Friday 28 November. The K2 children will have the opportunity to visit the food stalls in the morning and sample the many tasty fares. We will provide biodegradable containers so you do not need to send one from home.

Children will not need any Brain Food on this day but can still bring a snack. As they will have eaten at the Food Festival before snack time, maybe some fruit would be a good idea.

IMPORTANT

We would like all children to come to school in a national costume, national colours or clothes that reflect their national identity.

HELP NEEDED!

A letter was sent home on Wednesday asking for a few volunteers to help at the Food Festival. If you are able to join us, please return the slip and your child's teacher will confirm what time she would like you to arrive in the classroom.

Next Week

Maths

Running parallel to our number work will be a new unit on Data Handling and Probability.
Ways of classifying and sorting objects into given categories and counting the numbers of objects in each category will be explored. Questions will be asked: How can I organise and present the data I have collected? How do I use the information I have found?

Literacy

Our main areas of focus will be:
• Handwriting (numbers, name and ‘one armed robot letters’ r, b, n, h, m, k, p)
• Writing Workshop
• Reading Workshop
• High Frequency Words
• Phonics
• Vowels
• Blending and decoding of CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) e.g. mop, fan, pig and CCVC words e.g. plug, frog, trip.

Week 14 in K2

Reading Programme

On Wednesday evening Celena Larkey, a lead staff developer from Teachers College, Columbia University, gave a presentation to parents about reading. During her talk, Celena focused on 6 essentials that teachers strive for every day in their classrooms. She suggests parents do the same at home to support their child’s reading in the best possible way. The 6 essentials are listed below:

1. Children need to choose their own books and spend quality time with their eyes on 'just right' books.
2. They should read ‘just right’ books with 98% accuracy. Research shows that acceleration takes place when reading is 98% accurate.
3. Children need to read something that they understand. This means a lot of re-reading of text that they find engaging.
4. Children need to write about things that are personally meaningful so choosing their own subject matter is vital.
5. Every child needs to talk with his/her peers about reading and writing. Research has shown that conversations with peers (and parents at home) improves comprehension and engagement with text.
6. Children need to listen to a fluent adult reader read aloud. This increases their own fluency, comprehension skills, expands vocabulary, background knowledge, awareness of genre and text structure.

Celena also had some suggestions on how you can encourage more reading at home:

• Become an expert at your local library and book store.  
• Keep books organised and have your child help you to organise his/her books.
• Encourage different kinds of reading.

As teachers we have learned so much this week from Celena about teaching young children to read and in the coming months we will be implementing many of her ideas in our classrooms. We are very excited about our Reading Workshops and look forward to witnessing the growth and development of the children’s skills.

More information about Reading and Writing Workshop can be accessed via this link to the Teachers College site:

http://readingandwritingproject.com/

Magic Materials

Our Unit of Study, ‘Magic Materials’ is well under way and we have all been thinking about and discussing ‘Where does all the rubbish go?’  

Each classroom will be setting up its own Recycling Centre, in order that we can focus on 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. Please send in your clean rubbish. Anything that you would normally throw away, or recycle somewhere else, we will be able to put to good use! Please make sure all items are washed and clean as we do not wish to attract ants!

The children can decide what they want to do with their rubbish. Items could be put in the junk modelling box for reusing and reducing waste or put into the various recycling containers. We will be making visits to the UWCSEA Recycling Centre, located by the Bus Bay, when our bins get full!

PLASTIC BAGS WANTED!

We will be doing some art projects using plastic bags. Please could you continue to send in any plastic bags you have – the brighter, the better! Thank you.

PE and Swimming

K2SMH and K2HWe have now finished their swimming programme and will be doing PE on both Tuesdays and Thursdays.

UN Day in the Infants:

Friday 21 November

UN Day is nearly upon us! 

The morning will begin in your child’s classroom. Each K2 class is going to focus on two countries (see below). There will be hands-on, practical activities set up in each room, and you will be able to go around the different K2 classrooms, doing a variety of arts and crafts, whilst learning a little about those countries along the way.

The following countries will be represented in the classrooms:

K2HWe

Japan & The World

K2SMH

Great Britain & The Netherlands

K2JiS 

Mexico & Indonesia

K2ZBr

India & Vietnam

The timings of the morning will run as follows:

8:50am  Arrive at UWCSEA

9:00am-10:00am  Activities in classrooms  

10:30am  Infant Parade and songs in the Main Hall

11:00am  Finish

Week 13 in K2

K2 Morning of Sport

The children thoroughly enjoyed demonstrating their agility, dexterity, hand-eye coordination and speed in a wide range of activities yesterday morning. It was lovely to see them showing their skills, and to see how they are all developing their ability to listen to and follow a set of instructions.


It was wonderful that so many parents, grandparents, siblings and helpers were able to watch and cheer the children on, too. Thank you to everyone involved, especially the P.E. Department, for making it a very special morning.

UN Day in the Infants: Friday 21 November

We look forward to welcoming you to school for another UN Day!

The morning will begin in your child’s classroom. Each K2 class is going to focus on two countries (see below). There will be a couple of hands-on activities set up in each room, and you will be able to go around the different K2 classrooms, doing a variety of arts and crafts, whilst learning a little about those countries along the way.

The following countries will be represented in the classrooms:

K2HWe
Japan & The World

K2SMH
Ireland & England

K2JiS
Mexico & Indonesia

K2ZBr
India & Vietnam


The timings of the morning will run as follows:

8:50am  Arrive at UWCSEA

9:00am-10:00am  Activities in classrooms

10:30am  Infant Parade and songs in the Main Hall

11:00am  Finish

If you have not yet filled in the google doc informing us which flag(s) you would like your child to make for our UN Day celebrations, please do so by Monday 10 November, as we wish to start making the flags. If we do not hear from you, we will use your child's nationality as indicated in the UWCSEA documentation. If you are unable to stay for the Infant Parade and songs, please arrange for another adult to take your place.

Events like these are an important part of our philosophy of holistic education and develop many skills, such as cooperation, spatial awareness, social, gross motor and communication skills.

Staff Training Day - Monday 10 November

UWCSEA will be closed for Staff Training on this day. We are welcoming Celena Larkey back from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York who is running further training on Reading Workshop. Our staff training continues throughout the week, both during the school day and after school. There will be times when the teachers are involved in labsites (training in classrooms with the children). When this occurs, we will have cover teachers taking our classes so your child may come home and tell you that for a small part of the day, he/she had a different teacher.

K-G2 Parent Presentation: Nurturing Our Young Readers

Celena will also be doing a presentation for K-G2 parents 'Nurturing Our Young Readers'. This will take place on Wednesday 12 November, in the Multi Purpose Hall at 6:30pm. Learn more about the research behind Reading Workshop and how parents can nurture and support young readers at home. If you would like to attend please sign up through the link in the e-Brief.

iLearn Parent Workshop: iPads for Learning 

Tuesday 18 November   6-7pm David Watson Library

It will not have escaped the notice of many parents that iPads are quickly becoming a popular tool for enhancing teaching and learning throughout the Primary School. What is perhaps less obvious is the why, the how, and the 'what do we use them for?'. This workshop will explore the most common apps your children use at school, particularly in the Infant School and Grade 2. iPads will be available for you to use, although you are welcome to bring your own.

Please RSVP here. For more information contact Sean McHugh. We recommended that you visit the Dover DLC blog and read this post prior to the workshop.

Next Week

Maths

Investigations will continue with Measurement, alongside our number work.

Why is it important to know how heavy things are and how long they are?
Which words can we use to describe length?
Which words can we use to describe weight?

The children will be learning how to describe an object using different measurements e.g. length, height, weight, size. Comparisons between two objects will be made: Which is longer/shorter, taller/shorter, heavier/lighter?

Literacy

Our main areas of focus will be:
• Handwriting (numbers, name and ‘one armed robot letters’ r, b, n, h, m, k, p)
• Writing Workshop
• Reading Workshop
• High Frequency Words
• Phonics
• Vowels
• Blending and decoding of CVC words

The K2 Team

Week 12 in K2

Writing Workshop

We do hope you enjoyed looking and sharing your child's books that he/she made during the last half term. It is wonderful to see the eagerness and enthusiasm during workshop time, as the children make and create their books.

Do remember that as both teachers and parents we need to encourage our children to develop their love of writing. We can work together to achieve this by:

• nudging not pushing
• honouring approximations
• recognising that writing composition is the primary focus at this age

Firstly, resist the urge to push your children with their writing. Ultimately, you will end up with a reluctant writer. Always recognise and acknowledge what your child can do, not what he/she cannot do yet. Nudges work better and your child will be more likely to embrace a suggestion rather than you pointing out what he/she has not done.

Secondly, honour their approximations with both illustrations and writing. They will not get everything correct every time they write – nor should they. Learning to write is a process and like any skill it takes time and mistakes will be made along the way.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the primary focus should be on the composition. Whilst writing conventions are important, the stories children have to tell and their powers of imagination are crucial to them becoming good writers. If we spend too much time focusing on conventions, such as punctuation and spelling, we lose the spontaneity of children’s writing at this very early age.

Unit of Study

Our 'Materials' Unit of Study continues to the end of this term, with a special focus on ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’.

The Enduring Understandings are:

• I can sort rubbish in different ways.

• I understand that I can use less and I can reuse things to help the earth.

• I can reuse materials to make something.

The Essential Questions are:

• Where does all the rubbish go?

• What happens to material waste?

• What can we all do to help the earth?

• Why is it important?

Many of the children are already familiar with the idea of recycling; they use ‘rubbish’ for junk modelling or 'Make and Take' at school. Each classroom has a box for recycling scraps of paper and card, and the children are encouraged to use paper that has already been printed on one side for their drawings and craft work. 

We are sure that you have ways of recycling things at home too, and we will be exploring and investigating many different aspects of the three Rs! It is a very interesting and exciting part of the unit for the children, and one in which they will be able to take ‘action’ readily. 

WANTED - PLASTIC BAGS!

We will be doing some art projects using plastic bags. Please could you send in any that you have – the brighter, the better! Also, please do continue to collect and send in any boxes, tubes, bottle tops, egg cartons and other rubbish that can be reused for the children's junk modelling.

K2 Morning of Sport Thursday 6 November

Our Morning of Sport will take place come rain or shine! The tabloid events will take place in the Sports Halls, and we will finish with relays on the Casurina Field. We aim to start at 10:30am and should be finished by 12:00pm. The children will take part in a variety of athletic activities, which demonstrate skills they have been learning in their PE lessons this year.

Obviously PE kit must be worn, together with a hat for the running events outside. Should the weather be inclement on the day, the relays will take place in the sports hall. All parents are warmly invited to come and join us for a morning full of fun and action!

Staff Training Day - Monday 10 November

UWCSEA will be closed for Staff Training on this day. We are welcoming Celena Larkey back from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York who is running further training on Reading Workshop.

K-G2 Parent Presentation: Nurturing Our Young Readers

Celena will also be doing a presentation for K-G2 parents 'Nurturing Our Young Readers'. This will take place on Wednesday 12 November, in the Multi Purpose Hall at 6:30pm. Learn more about the research behind Reading Workshop and how parents can nurture and support young readers at home. If you would like to attend please sign up through the link in the e-Brief.

iLearn Parent Workshop: iPads for Learning 

Tuesday 18 November   6-7pm David Watson Library

It will not have escaped the notice of many parents that iPads are quickly becoming a popular tool for enhancing teaching and learning throughout the Primary School. What is perhaps less obvious is the why, the how, and the 'what do we use them for?'. This workshop will explore the most common apps your children use at school, particularly in the Infant School and Grade 2. iPads will be available for you to use, although you are welcome to bring your own.

Please RSVP here. For more information contact Sean McHugh. We recommended that you visit the Dover DLC blog and read this post prior to the workshop.

UN Day - Friday 21 November

The Infant School will be celebrating UN Day on Friday 21 November. For this event we will need you to accompany your child around a series of activities in school from 9:00am to 10:15am. You are then invited to the Main Hall where the morning will culminate with singing and a parade. Watch for more details in upcoming Blogs and eBriefs.

Primary School Food Festival - Friday 28 November

We will be asking for some parent helpers to take small groups of children around the amazing food stalls so do mark this date in your diaries. Your child's teacher will get in touch with you nearer the time.

Next Week

Maths

Our next unit is Measurement, where we will be looking at the Essential Questions:

Why is it important to know how heavy things are and how long they are?
Which words can we use to describe length?
Which words can we use to describe weight?

The children will be learning how to describe an object using different measurements e.g. length, height, weight, size. Comparisons between two objects will be made: Which is longer/shorter, taller/shorter, heavier/lighter?

Literacy

Our main areas of focus will be:
• Handwriting (numbers, name and ‘one armed robot letters’ r, b, n, h, m, k, p)
• Writing Workshop
• Reading Workshop
• High Frequency Words
• Phonics
• Vowels
• Blending and decoding of CVC words

The K2 Team

Week 11 in K2

We hope you have all had a very pleasant break and we are very much looking forward to welcoming the children back to school on Monday.

Handwriting

Formal handwriting practice is being taught in the classrooms on a regular basis and pencil grips are being modified where intervention is needed. If your child has an awkward pencil grip, please do try to correct it at home as well, as engrained habits can be so hard to change. Correct letter formations and orientation need to be practised again and again. As children become more capable and dexterous, letters will automatically be formed correctly, which in turn makes the whole writing
process easier.

Mark Your Diaries! 

Dress Up Day

October 31 is Dress Up day in the Infants. Although it is Halloween and some children will want to come dressed as witches or skeletons, your child can come dressed up in any costume he/she wants to wear e.g. a cowboy, pirate, fairy or princess. Anything goes, as long as it is practical for a normal school day so no masks or restrictive clothing please!

Morning of Sport - Thursday 6 November

On Thursday 6 November, we will have our K2 Athletics Morning of Sport. Tabloid events will take place in the Sports Halls, and we will finish with relays on the Casurina Field.

The day is a chance for every child to participate in activities that he/she has practiced in his/her PE lessons this year.  This is a morning of maximum participation and we do hope to see all the children taking part.

The programme will start at 10:30am and is scheduled to finish by 12.00noon. The children will take part in a variety of athletic activities, showing their agility, balance, speed and hand/eye coordination.

It is important that your child has a good breakfast and is wearing his/her PE kit. Should we face inclement weather on the day, the relays will take place in the sports hall.

We very much hope that you will be able to join us for a morning full of action and fun!

Staff Training Day - Monday 10 November

UWCSEA will be closed for Staff Training on this day. We are welcoming Celena Larkey back from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York who is running further training on Reading Workshop. Celena will also be doing a presentation for K-G2 parents 'Nurturing Our Young Readers'.
This will take place on Wednesday 12 November, in the Multi Purpose Hall at 6:30pm. Learn more about the research behind Reading Workshop and how parents can nurture and support young readers at home. If you would like to attend please sign up through the link in the e-Brief.

Infant UN Day - Friday 21 November

The Infant School will be celebrating UN Day on Friday 21 November. For this event we will need you to accompany your child around a series of activities in school from 9:00am to 10:15am. You are then invited to the Main Hall where the morning will culminate with singing and a parade. Watch for more details in upcoming Blogs and eBriefs.

Primary School Food Festival - Friday 28 November

We will be asking for some parent helpers to take small groups of children around the amazing food stalls so do mark this date in your diaries. Your child's teacher will get in touch with you nearer the time.

The K2 Team

Week 8 in K2

UWC Day

We all had a fantastic day on Wednesday to celebrate UWC Day! Continuing our work on 'Materials', we went to the Botanic Gardens to search and investigate the different materials from which things are made. To assist our children, we were delighted to have some Grade 11 and 12 students with us for the day, who brought a wonderful element of fun and excitement to our activities. 

In small groups, they walked around the gardens identifying what things are made of, talking about the materials and taking photos using their iPads. So that the teachers did not have twenty photos of the same thing from one child's iPad in our photo streams (and this does happen!), the older students helped edit the photos, too. There were snack and drink stops along the way and time to play hide and seek, and tag in the large open spaces.  

In the afternoon, the K2 children were thrilled to have their new buddies come to the classrooms and play with them in Discovery Time.

For a snapshot of the many activities that happened throughout day across the school, please click here.

Writing Workshop

As teachers we are very excited about our Writing Workshops and witnessing the growth and development in the children’s skills. Our main focus for this year is to develop each child’s confidence, so that he/she is able to read and write on his/her own, to the best of his/her ability.

Your child will be bringing home the books that he/she has made so far. These are for you to keep at home. Celebrate all the things your child can do with his/her drawing and writing. Be positive and praise all the effort that has gone into thinking of what the books are going to be about, the drawing and the writing.

Maths 

During our Shape unit, we have been exploring the following key questions:

• Which words or vocabulary do I know to describe shapes?
• Which new words or vocabulary do I need to describe shapes?
• How can I sort these shapes?
• Can I combine shapes to make new shapes?
• Can I recognise and create patterns with shapes?

We have been finding and describing objects in the environment using names of shapes, both 2D and 3D (squares, hexagons, circles, triangles, rectangles, cubes, cones, cylinders, spheres).

Being able to describe a shape can be challenging and we will be introducing mathematical language to help describe both 2D and 3D shapes eg flat/not flat, sides (curved, straight), corners, edges, faces. The children will be matching and sorting the shapes and becoming more familiar with their names.

Swimming

When your child is swimming at school, please may we ask that he/she comes to school in his/her PE kit only. We are having a number of children who have full swimming costumes on underneath their PE clothes. As we do not swim until 11:30am, it makes going to the toilet a lot harder than it needs to be. It also means many of the children are too hot during morning play time. We thank you for your help and support.

Stick Man! - Theatre Trip

On Thursday we will be going to see 'Stick Man!' The theatres can sometimes be cold so please put your child's school cardigan in his/her bag if your child may need it.

Dress Up Day

October 31 will be a Dress Up day in the Infants. Although it is Halloween and some children will want to come dressed as witches or skeletons, your child can come dressed up in any costume he/she is happy to wear e.g. a cowboy, pirate, fairy or princess. Anything goes, as long as it is practical for a normal school day so no masks or restrictive clothing please!

Please note!

Monday 6 October is a Public Holiday so the College is closed. We look forward to seeing all the children again on Tuesday morning.

There will no eBrief on Friday 11 October. The next eBrief and K2 Blog will be on Friday 24 October.

The K2 Team

Week 7 in K2

Class Details

In the past, teachers have sent out class lists giving contact details of parents. This information is now accessible to all on the Parent Portal on the UWCSEA website. Class Parents are using this information to contact you with details of parties and activities pertinent to your child's class. In addition, other parents in the class will use the information on the Parent Portal to contact you if the need arises.

To avoid missing out on important information, invitations and dates of events that are being shared within your child's class, please make sure you have submitted your data protection form. If you have not yet done this, the data protection form can be found on the portal forms page on the portal (the grey 'forms' button in the middle of the parent portal will also take you there). Alternatively, you can also login to the portal, click on update details, and then update your profile on the parent address book tab to 'opt in', without having to download and return the form.

The new data protection laws meant that unless the data protection form was signed and returned we needed to opt you out as the default from the start of the year. When you opt in, parents in the class can then find your contact details. We recommend at least one parent being opted in so as to not miss out on important social opportunities for your child.

UWC Day - Wednesday 1 October

UWC Day is an opportunity for the whole Campus to focus on our values, in particular Service to others. The usual timetable will be suspended for all students as they take part in activities and projects with outside groups and students from the High School.

The K2 children will be going off campus for the morning to the Botanic Gardens with their teachers and some Grade 11 and 12 students. As part of the Service element, the older students will be helping our children with their current Unit of Study on materials by exploring the gardens, finding out and discussing what things are made of, searching for different materials and recording their findings with their iPads. 

In the afternoon, the older students will continue working with the K2 children; using Doodlecast Pro they will help guide them through the process of selecting a few photographs and recording their voices as they talk about the materials they found. 

We will have Brain Food at school before leaving UWCSEA at 8:30am. We plan to return by 12:00pm.  

IMPORTANT! In preparation for the trip, could all parents:

• have your child wear his/her PE kit and trainers
• put sunscreen and insect repellant on before school, if desired
• make sure a hat is at school
• pack two snacks and two drinks (water bottles with a strap are ideal) in a small backpack 
• pack a raincoat or disposable poncho

We will have lunch in the classrooms as normal. End of day bus and car pick ups will remain the same. Please note that after school activities will run as normal. 

Swimming for K2HWe and K2SMH 

This starts next week!

K2SMH will swim every Tuesday from 30 September and conclude on Tuesday 11 November.
K2HWe will swim every Thursday from 2 October and conclude on Thursday 13 November.

On swimming days, your child will need the following items: swimwear, a UVA swim top (compulsory), goggles (if they wear them), shoes to wear to the pool and a towel.
Swimming is part of the P.E. programme and all children are expected to swim each week. If for any reason your child is unable to swim, he/she will sit by the side of the pool and watch or read a book.

Theatre Trip

On Thursday 9 October, we will be taking the children to see a production based on the popular Julia Donaldson picture book 'Stick Man'.  If you have not yet returned the letter requesting permission and payment, please could you do so by Monday 29 September?

Week 6 in K2

Swimming

K2HWe and K2SMH will be starting their swimming programme very soon.

K2SMH will swim every Tuesday from 30 September and conclude on Tuesday 11 November.
K2HWe will swim every Thursday from 2 October and conclude on Thursday 13 November.

On swimming days, your child will need the following items: swimwear, a UVA swim top (compulsory), goggles (if they wear them), shoes to wear to the pool and a towel.
Swimming is part of the P.E. programme and all children are expected to swim each week. If for any reason your child is unable to swim, he/she will sit by the side of the pool and watch or read a book.

If for any unforeseen circumstances your child is unable to participate in the majority of swimming lessons, he/she will revisit the unit with the next K2 class on Swimming.

If a child has a long-term, chronic condition and is unable to swim at all, then a doctor’s letter is required and he/she will join another class for a P.E. lesson.

Writing Workshop

On the path to becoming ‘literate’ children have to listen, speak, read and finally write. Writing is the most challenging of them all.

Firstly, children will only get better at a skill with practice, whether it is a sport, or drawing or origami. Writing is no different and children need to practise, practise, practise in order to improve. Quantity is far more important than quality. They need to draw pictures to tell a story, make marks on the paper, write letters, words and sentences again and again and again.

Secondly, as teachers and parents we must avoid looking at children’s writing from a ‘point of deficit’. This means that we should look, see and delight in all the things the children are doing, not what they are not doing yet. Correct letter formation, writing from left to right, accurate spelling and punctuation will all develop when they are ready. You can help your child have a positive attitude towards writing by praising all his/her efforts. Get him/her to talk about the pictures, tell the story, read his/her writing (even if it does not make any sense to you) and say what a great job he/she is doing and how proud you are!

Thirdly, and very poignantly, our children often see us reading at home but we rarely model writing. Composing an email, sending a text message or writing on Facebook do not count as modelling writing! Children need to see us with a pen in hand, writing a list, a note, a postcard, a letter or a story.

Celebrating Achievements Board

The K1/K2 board, which celebrates the achievements of our children out of school, is looking rather empty!

Please do send in items that we can put up on the board for our whole school community to see. K2JiS and K2ZBr have a board outside their classrooms for the same purpose. It is always so lovely to celebrate these achievements within the class; we are looking forward to seeing what the children have been doing outside school. 

UWC Day

UWC Day is on Wednesday 1 October. The K2 children will be going off campus for the morning to the Botanic Gardens with Grade 11 and 12 students. As part of the 'Service' element, the older students will be helping our children with their current Unit of Study, exploring the gardens, finding out what things are made of, searching for different materials and recording their findings with their iPads. A letter requesting your permission to take your child off campus was sent home today in your child's blue folder. please return it by the requested date.

Theatre Trip

On Thursday 9 October, we will be taking the children to see a production based on the popular Julia Donaldson picture book 'Stick Man'.  The School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) are showing 'Stick Man 2014!' at the Drama Theatre at 1 Zubir Said Drive. Please check your child's blue folder for a letter requesting permission and payment, which was also sent home today.

Next Week

Maths 

Shape will be a new focus for us over the next three weeks. In particular we will be investigating:

• words to describe shapes
• sorting shapes
• combining shapes to make new shapes
• recognising and creating patterns with shapes
• identifying 2D and 3D shapes in the environment
• building shapes

Continuing on from the last few weeks, will be counting. This leads naturally into addition, which can be seen as counting the total of two sets.

We aim to develop the children’s mathematical language, in order that they have an understanding of words such as: plus, add, and, total, sum of, and are confident in using the terms. ‘Equals’ can also be substituted for is, makes.

4+2=6 could be read as four plus two equals six, but it is also correct to say four and two makes six. It does not matter which way your child reads a number sentence so long as he/she has an understanding of what it means i.e. finding the total of two sets.

The children will become more proficient in finding totals. This could be with counting two sets of concrete materials (fingers, blocks, counters, etc) and working out how many there are altogether. Some will have moved on from this ‘concrete’ stage and will be learning how to ‘count on’ from the larger number, either in their head or on a number line. Others will be breaking numbers down into tens and units and finding the totals in this way.

For all children, whatever their mathematical ability, it is important that they are able to use appropriate language to express how they worked something out and to give reasons. When asked how they arrived at an answer, a child might say “I just know it!”  Alternatively he/she may begin to explain the methods he/she used.  This provides vital information for us, as teachers and you as parents, to learn about the strategies being adopted.

There are many different ways to solve a problem of ‘How many altogether?” The children will be introduced to and develop a range of strategies to solve problems. Eventually they will adopt the strategies that work best for them. There is not a right way to do addition; providing the answer is correct, that is all that matters.

Literacy

Our main areas of focus will be:

• Handwriting (numbers, name and ‘long ladder letters: l, i, t, u, j, y)
• Writing Workshop
• Reading Workshop
• Phonics
• Decoding of CVC words

The K2 Team

Week 5 in K2

Learning Journals

Yesterday, you should have received an email with a private link to your son/daughter's Learning Journal. This is a Google+ album. Through this journal we hope that you will get a glimpse of some of the learning your child is involved in at school. Some of the selections may be annotated to describe a specific aspect of your child’s learning, while the majority will be of your child ‘in action’.

We will continue to add photos into your child's Learning Journal throughout the year. You will be advised of updates to this journal through the K2 Blog and an email from your child’s teacher. This journal will stay online until the end of this academic year, at which point it will be removed. Please make sure you download any or all of the Learning Journal by then.

Please note that we have encouraged the children to capture as much of their work as possible.

Here are a few suggestions that will allow you to use this link more effectively:

1. You do not need a Google account to view or download this album or individual photos or videos.
2. Bookmark the link to your child’s Learning Journal, for easy access for the rest of the year.

We hope you enjoy looking through your child’s album with him/her.

Reading at home

From Monday your child will be bringing home his/her first levelled reading books. The excitement and enthusiasm for reading these 'just right' books in class has been terrific!  Every day, three books will come home in the blue folder, all chosen by your child during Book Shopping. Enjoy these books for that day and then return them to school the following day for your child to make a new selection. If the books have not been read, please return them to school anyway, as your child will need them for Reading Workshops.

If your child is at the very beginning of their reading journey and reading Red Elephants, Orange Elephants or Orange Monkeys, he/she will need your support with each book.

Here’s how to make first-time reading fun and easy:

Read the title of the book and look at the front cover together. Ask your child what they think the story is going to be about.

Look through the pictures together so that your child can see what happens in the story before reading the words. Introduce and discuss any new vocabulary.

Read one or two pages to your child, placing your finger under each word as you read. “Touch and Say”

Let your child touch the words and read the rest of the story. Give him/her time to figure out each new word.

If your child gets stuck on a word, you might say, “Let’s look at the picture. Is there a clue? What would make sense?”

If your child is still stuck, supply them with the right word. This allows him/her to continue to read and enjoy the story. You might say, “Could this word be ‘ball’?”

Always praise your child. Praise what he/she reads correctly, and praise good tries too. Talk around the book and if possible, make a connection with something from real-life, e.g.“Can you remember the time when…. ?“

Give your child lots of chances to read the story again. The more your child reads, the more confident he or she will become. Have fun!

Writing Workshop

Children are encouraged to see themselves as writers through drawing, labelling and writing sentences and have been making books, showing the stories and information they want to share. They are developing routines for self-managing their writing tools and equipment and have learned that ‘When I am done, I have just begun!’ which means that they can always go back and add more details to their pictures and writing of unfinished books.

After School Activities

Due to the large number of Infant children involved in after school activities and the inevitable confusion and congestion arising, we ask that these routines be followed:

If you are accompanying your child to his/her activity, please meet him/her at the designated assembly area, not at your child's classroom.

Each day indicate in the Message Book if your child will be attending an activity that will affect his/her regular pick up arrangements.  For example, if your child would normally take the bus home from school each day but is now involved in swimming one day and gymnastics on another day, we need notes for each of those days. A blanket note, such as “My child is doing swimming every Tuesday so please do not put him/her on the bus” is not sufficient.

We recognise this is an extra for you on these days, but after much trial and error we have found it is the best way of keeping track of the transportation logistics for 22 children.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Next Week:

Maths 

Our main focus will be:

• Where do we see numbers?
• Why do we need numbers?
• Counting objects in a set
• Counting groups of objects
• Recognising numbers and matching to number names

Literacy

Our main areas of focus will be:

• Handwriting - numbers, name and ‘long ladder letters: l, i, t, u, j, y
• Writing Workshop
• Reading Workshop
• Phonics and decoding CVC (consonant/vowel/consonant) words

The K2 Team