Reflecting on Literacy Attributes

We have been discussing what makes a good reader, and what makes a good writer. Students wrote their own ideas on our literacy petals to share their thinking with others.

Some of their ideas included:
"Good writers are original and don't copy people...they use their imaginations".
"They write and read their story over more than one time".
"Good writers use great adjectives and verbs".
"Good readers sound out words they don't know".
"They check it makes sense"
"Good readers read all types of books and magazines"
"They ask good questions".

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The Head Hassler and the Mind Master

This week we have been discovering that the way you think affects the way that you feel, which affects the way that you act. Sometimes negative self talk can stop us from being risk takers and leave us feeling unhappy. We talked about the 'Mind Master' and the 'Head Hassler' to help the children grasp the concept of internal dialogue. Yesterday they drew them and made statements about their thinking.

Why Do You Come to School?

Student Questions

As part of our unit of inquiry, students came up with their own questions for investigation. We looked at 'thick' and 'thin' questioning first, to ensure we came up with robust open ended questions, relevant to our inquiry.

As we delve deeper into what it means to be healthy, students are discovering that their is much more involved than just food and exercise. Some of their questions included;

How does sleep affect our health?
In what ways can friendships affect your health?
How can people make themselves happier?
How can you keep your brain healthy?

Paper Plate Profiles

It was wonderful to hear the student's share their paper plate profiles this week. They were all so unique! These colourful discs identified their cultural influences, interests, and told us a little about their family. Well done everyone...they have certainly brightened up our classroom and have given us an insight into each others lives.

Mind Maps

We have been creating individual mind maps on 'What makes us Healthy'. We will review these at the end of our unit to see how much our thinking has changed.

Explain Everything

Mr Matt spent some time in our class this week teaching us how to use the app 'Explain Everything'. This will be a fabulous tool to share our learning. We experimented with the tools today, so that we can use this app to successfully share our thinking with others.

Essential Agreement

Here is our class essential agreement. The children collaborated to come up with these ideas, then signed their hand-print, demonstrating their commitment to uphold them.

• Show respect to each other and value each other's ideas.
• Always be willing to learn and try your best.
• Take care of things and the environment
• Be kind and caring

Provocation

The central idea in our unit of inquiry is 'Learning about balanced lifestyles helps us understand how the choices we make can affect our health.'

Last week, we formed opinions around provoking statements, selected to encourage our thinking about this. First we did this as a class...placing ourselves on a continuum from 'Strongly agree, to Strongly Disagree', and giving reasons for our choices.

Then we moved around the class and placed our initials on each of the statements, showing whether we agreed of disagreed with them. There was some fantastic discussion!

Learner Profile Certificates

We enjoyed getting together on Friday afternoon at 'Team Time'. We talked about the learning we have been doing during our Unit of inquiry, sang songs, and celebrated achievements.

Well done Erika for being reflective, Nith for being an Inquirer, and Samir for being open minded!

The Shape of my Imagination

Discussions in our unit of inquiry 'Who We Are', highlighted the fact that we are all unique and have original perspectives of the world and how we think. We decided to illustrate this by drawing 'the shape of our imaginations'. They looked at how they could use designs and patterning to create an interesting and original artwork.

Parent Evening

A friendly reminder about our Parent Night this Thursday! 6pm start in the theatre. 

Seven Today!

Happy Birthday! Seven and sensational! 

Great to have you at ISPP!

Essential Aggreements

In a PYP school, every class, every team, even the whole school has an essential agreement which sets the tone for collaboration and teamwork. This is to ensure we all understand the shared expectations. On Friday, we began creating our class essential agreement. First, we needed to know what the words 'essential' and 'agreement' actually meant. Then the students brainstormed what 'helps them learn' and what 'hinders their learning'. Their ideas were fabulous and really demonstrated their understanding of how social, emotional, and physical factors can impact the way in which they learn. We will look at the common elements of these ideas on Monday, and come to our final agreement...watch this space!

Friday Photos

It was wonderful to see the children out and about at break times, enjoying the playground and facilities. 

We finished our name tags to label our cubby holes. 

 We enjoyed our free lunch by Epicure at the cafeteria. These free sample lunches will also be available on Monday and Tuesday. From Wednesday, children who have not signed up for the epicure lunches will need to bring their lunch from home, or have it delivered to the baskets at school by 11.30. Children still need a healthy snack for recess.

PE With Mr Ben

On Friday we had our first PE session with Mr Ben. The students loved the air conditioned gymnasium, and covered outdoor court. It was fabulous to see that nearly everyone arrived in their PE uniform ready for action! You can purchase extra PE uniforms at the finance office.

Please remember:

• Our class PE days are Wednesday and Friday (PE uniform and running shoes without spikes)
• Our class swimming day is Tuesday (swimmers, towel, goggles)
• Hats must be worn (children are encouraged to leave one at school)
• Water bottles must be clearly named with Room D102 on them.

Here they are playing a warm up game called Stuck in the mud.

School Vision

Learning together, growing together, each making a difference.

The vision statement above was created a couple of years ago with ISPP students. It reflects the school's philosophy and is an important guiding statement for all faculty and students. Today we unpacked this vision statement as a class, and asked students what this vision 'looks like' in action. The children had to draw a picture that demonstrated one or more aspect of the vision and explain their thinking. I was really impressed with their creativity and explanations.

 What our vision statement 'looks like'

learners in action!

 Collaboration - working together!

Welcome

Welcome back to a new school year at ISPP! I am excited to be on our brand new Campus, it is such an incredible facility. The classrooms are complete and I am eagerly awaiting the children to breathe life into them! Although some parts of the campus are still under construction, the facility will be functional and ready for action on the first day of school. Over the past week, I have been getting to know the fabulous staff at ISPP, and I'm incredibly excited about the learning journey ahead.

This blog will be updated regularly, showcasing student's thinking and learning. At the top of this page is a tab called 'Parent Information.' Timetables and parent letters will be kept here. The labels down the side of the page will become a quick way for you to access posts about a specific learning area or your own child. You are welcome to comment on our blog...follow the instructions on the sidebar.

I look forward to working in close partnership with you and your child.
Kind regards
Mrs Karyn