Dear Parents,
We have a busy week coming up. I'd like to highlight some important information for this week.
As we continue to consolidate our understanding of simple machines, we will use our TechCard kits to build different structures such as balloon or sail-powered vehicles, fairground rides, a draw bridge, a working windmill, etc. Our kit explores simple structures and mechanisms such as wheels axles, hinges, cranks, cams and linkages. The basis of the TechCard system is a set of pre-cut, scored and punched card components that are simply folded and glued to form an infinitely variable range of girders, beams and bases. The overall dimensions and grid of pre-punched holes make accurate model building remarkably easy, making TechCard an ideal system for developing model making skills, 'design and make' and prototyping. In Language, we continue to reinforce our understanding of using causal connectives in different ways to explain 'how' or 'why.' When are certain connectives interchangeable? We are also reading non-fiction explanation texts to identify how authors explain cause and effect. Our Math focus continues to be on measurement. This week we continue our inquiry with length with emphasis on making realistic estimates and using standard measurements (m, cm, mm) to measure length. We will focus primarily on international metric weights and measures. While we are currently covering length, we will be investigating mass and capacity over the next few weeks as well. Below you will find some vocabulary and conversions that you can discuss at home with your child. Length height, width, distance 100 cm = 1 m 10 mm = 1 cm 1000mm = 1 m Mass weight weigh standard units grams g, kilograms kg 1000 g = 1 kg 500 g = ½ kg nonstandard unit hefting Capacity standard unit milliliters liters 1000 mL= 1 L Other Announcements/Reminders:
Starting on Sunday 26th February, all students are required to bring an extra t-shirt, shorts and running trainers to their next swimming lesson in order to participate in the House Aquathlon competition. To find out more information about this competition and also see the live results over the next fortnight, please visit the Swimming Weebly page - http://gwaswimming.weebly.com/elementary-aquathlon.html
We will ensure that this activity is safe and accessible for all, thus students may complete the swim in the small pool or with the use of aids. Thank you very much in advance for your support… have a great day! Lottie Lucas Aquatics Director Dear parents, you are invited to support your son / daughter in their annual sports day. Please ensure that they have a water bottle and are wearing their house coloured T-shirts. GWA colours can be bought in the uniform shop. Please be advised that there will no food or juice allowed on the track and field. Please contact your parent class representative to get details of how you can contribute refreshments that can be consumed in the classroom after sports day. Pre K 8.15am – 8.45am Sunday 26th February KG1 8.00am – 9.30am Wednesday 22nd February KG2 8.00am – 10.00am Thursday 2nd March Grade 1 8.00am – 10.00am Thursday 9th March Grade 2 8.00am – 10.00am Tuesday 7th March Grade 3 8.45am – 10.45am Wednesday 8th March Grade 4 8.00am – 10.00am Monday 6th March Grade 5 8.00am – 10.00am Sunday 5th March Best regards, PYP PE Department Student-Led Conferences on March 1, 2017
On Wednesday, March 1, all of Elementary will be holding their yearly Student-Led Conferences. This is your child’s opportunity to lead you through their learning journey up until now. The students will be going through their learning experiences with you to model, explain, and share what they have been learning and exploring throughout this year. This experience is your child’s day and it is not meant for parent-teacher interviews or conferences. Showing their learning journey can be done in their home language and gives students opportunities show their evidence of learning through many different ways. It also involves your child bringing you to their different learning spaces around the school, like the gym, music rooms, EAL class, Arabic class, etc. More information will be sent out February 21 and on 23 in the Thursday Newsletter, including how and when to sign up (which will be open on Tuesday, February 21, from https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/GEMS_World_Academy_Dubai_Elementary). Finally, it’s important to note, that during this day, students will only be at school for their conference and learning tour, after which they will return back home. Students are also expected to wear their school uniform and any or all family members are invited to share in their conference. There will be no bus service for Elementary students on that day. If your child is in Mona's class can you please provide images for this message she sent through:
We are still working on (my house) in our Unit of Inquiry. I would appreciate if you can send me printed photos for different rooms in the house So that the students can describe their rooms in Arabic. Thank you for your support Dear Parents,
Welcome back! I know it's only been a week but I often find that post December, this age group goes through multiple growth spurts. As a class, we look taller across the board! We pick up right where we left off during our hectic KHDA review week. This week we will revisit explanation texts including sequential and causal connectives that help explain why or how something works. We will also be looking at the book ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’ where Mr. Grinling, the lighthouse keeper, invents a machine that pulls across his lunch. The children will invent a new way to get his lunch across and then write up their explanation. We will try to integrate our understanding of simple machines into our "solutions" for transporting Mr. Grinling's lunch. In math we will begin with a pre-assessment to gauge student understanding of measurement including length, height and distance using standard and non-standard units. This week's focus will be on these aspects of measurement. The week before last, we inquired into and experimented with various push and pull forces. As we continue to look at simple machines in our environment and how they combine to create complex machines, we will also be visiting our Maker Space again. This time, we will attempt to build our own Rube Goldberg machine. We will be looking at some examples in class and brainstorming before we build our own using some/all of the 6 simple machines we are studying: http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/rube-goldberg-machines/ Announcements/Reminders:
As always, your support at home is much appreciated. Warm regards, Bhavna Dear Parents,
One more week to go before our break! This week in Literacy we will be looking at different types of Explanation texts. We will be looking at different machines and looking at cause-and-effect writing, understanding the explanation texts address the 'why' and 'how' of something. We will do this using sequential words (Firstly, then, after that, in the meantime, eventually, finally) and causal language (because, therefore, thus, as a result of, so, etc.). When we return after the break, we will also be looking at the book ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’ where Mr. Grinling, the lighthouse keeper, invents a machine that pulls across his lunch. The children will invent a new way to get his lunch across and then write up their explanation. In Math this week we are looking at fractions. The children will be finding fractions of shapes and then fractions of numbers. Later during the week, we will be working with word problems to apply our knowledge. Please find the IXL fractions section for added practice. I have highlighted all the skills under fractions. However, students should attempt the first half for now. We will look at equivalent fractions after the holidays. The children had a great time in Unit of Inquiry last week. We started tuning in to simple machines. We also made our way to The Maker Space, our new design technology and innovation related learning space. We learnt to use cutting tools and machines safely and manipulate resources including foam, wood, and acrylic sheets to cut out letters for our names and 2D shapes. This week we are focusing on the different components of simple machines and completing some science experiments which focus on forces. We will also make our way back into The Maker Space at the end of the week to sort through simple machines. Have a lovely week and as always if you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact me. Announcements/Reminders
Warm regards, Bhavna |
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