Mrs. Beck's Brilliant Grade 5 Class!

Fun with Ceramics

2009-12-05T14:13:00.000+08:00

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Our Fieldtrip to the Art Museum

2009-12-05T14:12:00.001+08:00

We had a fabulous day out on Thursday, to the Llang Llang Art Museum in the south of the city. Students had a fun-filled day of activities planned: Kite designing, making and painting; batik making and ceramics. Plus a MacDonald's lunch! We don't have a MacDonald's up here in the North, so it was a real treat for many of the students!
Students came home with two self-created beautiful kites each, and we have to wait a week for their ceramics and batik samples to be delivered.
We had so much fun!

When we arrived back at school, 5B were so excited by their kites that I let them run wild in the playground to see if they could get them to fly. It was brilliant!

Thanks, Mrs. Mitchell for organising our special day out.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Growing Plants with Acid Rain

2009-12-05T14:04:00.000+08:00

Our Science unit this semester has been 'Pollution'. We have learned all about Land, Air, Water, Noise & Light Pollution and the consequences each of the forms have on our planet. Students have been so excited, as every lesson I've tried to incorporate a practical experiment or investigation for them to work on. The photos above are of our experiment that has continued over 10 days. Each group planted grass seeds in 3 tubs of soil. Then, watered one tub with tap water, of pH 7, one tub with full acid water and one tub of water with 1/2 tap water and 1/2 Acid water.
The effects can be seen above. The first one is obviously the tap water. The middle one is the acid water.
So, acid rain has a frightening effect on our planet - not only can it dissolve buildings, statues etc, it has a ghastly effect on the rate of growth and quality of our plant life.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Happy Birthday Thara & Kay-Li!

2009-12-05T13:56:00.001+08:00

We had two birthdays this month as December came to be; Kay-Li celebrated hers on the 1st and then on the 2nd, it was Thara's special day. Thara's mum and dad kindly brought a birthday cake in for everyone to share. Above are some cute photos of Thara's celebration.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Reading Groups

2009-12-05T13:53:00.001+08:00

We have started levelled reading groups as part of our reading programme, and 5B students now spend every other morning reading and discussing novels within their gorups. Eagh group is reading a different novel, and students are working hard at confidence building, speech, discussion and reflection skills.
Students can choose to sit anywhere they like in their groups; hence one group who have chosen to sit under their work-tables!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Multi-Cultural Week

2009-11-14T18:51:00.000+08:00

Don't they look fabulous in all their nations' finery? I was so proud of them in Multi-Cultural week - they all dressed up in the required costumes each day to end the week in their own country's national dress. They also played amazingly in the Multi-Cultural performance night on 'The Gamelan'. What great musicians they are!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Our Spooky Jacks!

2009-11-14T18:44:00.000+08:00

Grrrrrrr!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Cookie Decorating

2009-11-14T18:41:00.000+08:00

Budding chefs?!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Halloween Pumpkins

2009-11-14T18:38:00.000+08:00

The week of Halloween was spent carrying out a lot of 'spooky' activities, including learning about the history of Halloween and the rituals involved, ghost stories, writing news articles about strange phenomena, carving pumpkins and decorating Halloween cookies.

I think it's so important for the students to celebrate or acknowledge each culture's traditions.

First hand knowledge and experience leads to acceptance and understanding.

That's why we have celebrated and will celebrate Ramadan, Eid, Diwali, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentines, Chinese New Year, Easter, and anything else that may come up between now and June!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Recycled Goods

2009-11-14T18:31:00.002+08:00

As promised, an update on what has been happening in 5B!
The photo above are pots/bowls that the students made out of recycled paper. They are actually, incredibly strong! The kids loved doing this project as part of their 'Pollution' science unit of work.
The unit is very exciting and the students have been doing some amazing experiments.
So far, we have:
1) classified and measured the amount of trash found on the NJIS campus per day
2) worked out how long it would take our class to fill up with trash.
3) Devised products made from recycled goods.
4) Collected water from different samples (canals, rainwater, taps, fountains,. puddles, gutters) and measured the acidity of the water as well as filtrated it to make cleaner, clearer looking water.

Next week, we will be testing for acid rain in our rainwater and looking at how acid rain affects living things. (including growing plants in acid rain water). Very exciting!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Eager Beavers

2009-11-12T09:14:00.001+08:00

I have lots to update you on, (our fantastic Science unit packed full with exciting experiments, as well as Halloween activities and Multi Cultural Week), but meanwhile, I thought I'd post this photo of how keen they are to be in school!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview: Week Beginning Monday 19th October

2009-10-19T09:52:00.003+08:00

5B Week At A Peek
Beginning Monday 19^th October

Math

Unit II Introduction to Algebra Data & Graphing

Chap. 6: Algebra & Multiplication

· Order of Operations

· Functions

· Using Multiplication Properties

· The Distributive property

· Chapter 5 & 6 Test

Reading

Novel Study: Maniac Magee

Part II Chapters 33 - 40

How does religion tie into the story of Maniac Magee
What was his main reason for running away from home
What do you think happened in the ‘lost year’ of Maniac’s life

Ghost Stories

Read and tell a selection of Ghost Stories

Vocabulary/Spelling

· Vocabulary: Pollution

Natural resources; pollution; ecosystem; biodegradable; sanitary landfills; incinerators; recycle; chemicals; groundwater; quality; renewable resource; nonrenewable resources; reclamation

Grammar

Unit 3 Verbs

Revising Strategies: Sentence Fluency Writing With Verbs
Subject-Verb Agreement
Agreement with be and have
Contractions with not

Writing

News Report Writing

Halloween Report Activity

Continue to create and publish a ‘Spooky’ class newspaper.

Script Writing

In groups of 4, write a ‘spooky Halloween’ script
Practice for Acting Out

Look at current ‘environmental’ news articles. Discuss structures.
Publishing ‘spooky’ Halloween news report

SCIENCE

Pollution

Land Pollution

The Problem Of Waste

· Chemical Pollution

· Changing The Land

Activities

Recycling Paper

Air Pollution

Natural Air Pollution
Burning fuels
Cleaning the air

Activities

· Particle Debris

Fun/Social/Homeroom

· Morning Meeting – Each day 7.45am – 8.15am

· 21 to 22^nd Oct – 12 noon dismissal / Parent Teacher Conferences

· 23^rd Oct – LS Assembly Drama

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Diwali Celebration

2009-10-19T07:48:00.000+08:00

On Friday, we celebrated the Hindu Festival 'Diwali' - 'The Festival Of Lights'. The day began with a telling of a famous Hindu story - 'Rama & Sita' which the students then reenacted in their own dramatisations, followed by an art project: decorating their footprints to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi - the Goddess of Fortune - into our lives, and then Vivan shared some very special (and very yummy) Diwali sweets with us all!
The day ended with us lighting sparklers in the playground - brought in very kindly by Atreya.
There are four students out of the sixteen who are Hindu, so we thought it only right to honour their traditions, just as we honour Ramadan and Eid for the Muslims and Christmas for the Christians.
Understanding just a little from each others' cultures and beliefs make us a much more accepting and understanding group of people.
It is also a whole lot of fun!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Healthy Habits Breakfast & Read In

2009-10-12T09:59:00.005+08:00

Last week was 'Healthy Habits Week' and to end the week, 5B decided to host a 'Perfect Breakfast' buffet in the classroom before the special 'Read In' programme.
The food was wonderful and almost everyone brought very yummy food in to share!
Each table set up their own buffet and produced menus and place cards and then we all sat down and shared a wonderful feast together!
This was followed by a grand showing of the new movie 'Up' in the theatre along with all the other Lower school students, then a whole day was devoted to the joys of reading in the classroom.
The day ended with our bi-annual read-in, where students visit four different classrooms to listen to short stories read aloud by different teachers.
We all had a wonderful day!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview: Week Beginning Monday 12th October

2009-10-12T09:55:00.002+08:00

5B Week At A Peek

Week Beginning Monday 12th October

Math
Unit II Introduction to Algebra Data & Graphing
Chap. 5: Algebra & Addition
• Addition properties
• End of chapter test & variables
Chap. 6: Algebra & Multiplication
• Write & evaluate expressions
• Order of Operations
• Functions

Reading
Novel Study: Maniac Magee
Part II Chapters 26 - 32
• How does religion tie into the story of Maniac Magee
• What was his main reason for running away from home
• What do you think happened in the ‘lost year’ of Maniac’s life

Newspaper Reports
• Read a selection of different front pages to recognize structure of Report Writing

Ghost Stories
Read and tell a selection of Ghost Stories

Spelling/ Vocabulary
• Vocabulary: Pollution
Natural resources; pollution; ecosystem; biodegradable; sanitary landfills; incinerators; recycle; chemicals; groundwater; quality; renewable resource; nonrenewable resources; reclamation

Grammar
Unit 3 Verbs
• Revising Strategies: Sentence Fluency Writing With Verbs
• Subject-Verb Agreement
• Agreement with be and have
• Contractions with not

Writing
News Report Writing

• Journalism brainstorm
• Finding a good story
• Discuss sequence and style
• Following a structure: 5W’s and H
• Headlines; sub heading; topic sentences; reporting style; quotations; photographs;
• Look at current ‘environmental’ news articles. Discuss structures.
• Publishing ‘spooky’ Halloween news report
• Create a ‘spooky’ class newspaper.

Halloween Report Activity
• Pre-writing & drafting reports
• Publishing ‘spooky’ Halloween news report
• Continue to create and publish a ‘Spooky’ class newspaper.

Social Studies
CARAVANS/Geography
• Complete the simulation
Award Ceremony

Science
Pollution
• What is Pollution?
Land Pollution
• The Problem Of Waste
• Chemical Pollution
• Changing The Land
Activities
• A Lot of Litter
• Trash In your Class
• Recycling Paper

Fun/Social/Homeroom
• Morning Meeting – Each day 7.45am – 8.15am
• Friday 9th ESLR Grade 4 Assembly

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Healthy Habits Week

2009-10-07T09:45:00.002+08:00

Dear Parents,

It is Healthy Habits week here at NJIS and all students in 5B have been discussing the importance of eating well-rounded, healthy meals.

On Monday, we realized that some students in 5B were not eating breakfast at all before coming to school! Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day and I hope that from our discussions, all students will try to eat something healthy in the morning from now on.

During the lesson, the students identified how to consume a variety of nutrient-dense breakfast foods and beverages. Our lesson focused on making sure that the breakfast foods we eat come from the five most important food types: Grains; Meat & Beans; Milk; Fruit and Vegetables.

Students were then placed in groups of 5 and together, they devised ‘The Perfect Breakfast Menu’.

On Friday 9^th October morning, from 7:30 – 8:00 am, as a fun activity, we are hoping to hold our very own ‘Perfect Breakfast Buffet’. In their groups, students have already decided what food they will bring to share with their classmates. They have made decorative menus and place cards and will tell us why their breakfast foods are healthy. We will gather together, talk about the foods and then enjoy eating a healthy, nutrient filled breakfast to get us started for the day!

I hope that you will support this activity by helping your child bring in the food/beverages to share on Friday. I will be taking lots of photographs to share on our class website.

Thank you so much for your wonderful support,

Kathryn Beck

More About Breakfast

Breakfast should include a variety of different
Foods/beverages from each of the five food groups
Breakfast is one of the most important meals to eat during the day.
Breakfast foods and beverages give you the energy and nutrition you need to run, jump, play, think and learn.
Eating breakfast helps you to grow and to be strong.
Tasting a variety of foods/beverages can be fun and helps you to try and enjoy a variety of different foods/beverages; how much of them you have, and how often you have them for breakfast is important.

Generally, the recommendations for each food group include:

Grains: Make at least half your grains whole grains.

Vegetables: Vary your veggies – try to choose vegetables from several subgroups (orange vegetables, dark green vegetables, etc.) each day.

Fruits: Focus on fruits – eat a variety of fruits.

Milk: Get your calcium-rich foods – choose fat-free or low fat most often.

Meat & Beans: Go lean with protein – choose lean meat and poultry. Vary your choices – include more fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview: Week Beginning Monday 5th October

2009-10-05T11:00:00.002+08:00

5B Week At A Peek

Week Beginning Monday 5^th October

Math

· Unit II Introduction to Algebra Data & Graphing

Chap. 5: Algebra & Addition

· Expressions & variables

· Write equations

· Solve equations

Reading

Novel Study: Maniac Magee

Part II Chapters 22- 30

Why does Maniac not understand prejudice at the beginning?
How does he come to terms with what he experiences in Two Mills on the East and West side of town?

Wonders – A Journey Round the World

Read Animal Wonders

The Lemming
The Condor
The Locust
Chimpanzee

Read Dr Doolittle story

Vocabulary/Spelling

· Manic Magee Vocabulary: contortions, finicky, blemish, infamous, scraggly, cunning, testimony

Grammar

Unit 2 Nouns

Revising Strategies: Sentence Fluency Writing with Nouns
Revising Strategies: Vocabulary Using Exact Nouns

Unit 3 Verbs

Action Verbs
Direct Objects

Writing

The Writing Process Workshop

Unit 8 Writing A Personal Narrative

The Writing Process: Revising Strategies Elaborating: Details

Explorer/Adventure Narrative

o Go over narrative and extend and elaborate

o Edit, proofread and publish work.

Wonders – A Journey Round The World

Animal Wonders Activities

Healthy Habits Week: Produce a Breakfast Buffet menu using the 5 food types.

Social Studies

Geography – Map Skills

· Map Skills Continued: What’s Your trade; The Right One; Green Mountain Comparison; Alasks Wert & Dry; Color My World;

CARAVANS/Geography

· ‘Caravans’ Simulation Country Research & Final Oral Reports new countries (Philippines, Malaysia, Greece)

· Begin to compete the simulation

Fun/Social/Homeroom

· Morning Meeting – Each day 7.45am – 8.15am

· Healthy Habits week.

ISA Testing Tuesday & wednesday

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Batik Beauties

2009-10-03T19:22:00.002+08:00

On Friday 2nd October, the Indonesian government announced that it was Batik day.
Only three students from 5B dressed in Batik, but don't they look gorgeous?!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview: Week Beginning Monday 28th September

2009-09-28T11:40:00.004+08:00

5B Week At A Peek

Week Beginning Monday 28th September

Math

Chapter 4: Add + Sub Decimals

Round Decimals
Est. Decimal Sum + Differences
Add + Sub Decimals
Zeros in Subtraction
Problem Solving Skills

Reading

Novel Study: Maniac Magee

Chapters 16 - 21

Compare and Contrast Characters
Fictional+ Non-fictional
Realistic Events
Super heroic events

Wonders – A Journey Round the World

Read Animal Wonders

The Lemming
The Condor
The Locust
Chimpanzee
Read Dr Doolittle story

Vocabulary/Spelling

· Maniac Magee: Social Norms and aberrations

· Legends, legacy, Tall Tales

Grammar

Unit 2 Nouns

Singular & Plural Nouns
More plural Nouns
Singular Possessive Nouns
Plural Possessive Nouns

Writing

The Writing Process Workshop

Unit 8 Writing a Personal Narrative

Writing with Voice
Good endings
Revising A Personal Narrative

Explorer/Adventure Narrative

o Writing an Adventure narrative

o Complete with a successful ending

Non-Fiction Report

Travel Brochure

(Linked to Caravans)

Wonders – A Journey Round the World

Animal Wonders Activities

Classification - Select an unusual animal (i.e. the colugo, emu, okapi, and wombat) and investigate them and prepare a brief report about their characteristics, habitat, food source and country.
Communication - Explain methods of communicating with all living creatures (Dr. Doolittle). List how these are similar to scientists working with chimpanzees today.

Social Studies

Geography – Map Skills

Map Skills Continued: What A Crowd; Reading The Picts; population Statistics Map; Keeping Tabs; Bursting At The Seams; Aloha, Green Acres; Give Me The Picture; For Land’s Sake!

CARAVANS/Geography

· ‘Caravans’ Simulation Country Research & Oral Reports new countries (Senegal, Hungry, Italy)

Fun/Social/Homeroom

· Morning Meeting – Each day 7.45am – 8.15am

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Oodles of fun at Snow Bay!

2009-09-10T22:16:00.000+08:00

Today, 5B, 4SJ, 4C and 2C went on a fieldtrip to 'Snow Bay Waterpark' at Taman Mini Complex as a 'Get to Know You' community fun day out. http://www.snowbay.co.id/
And fun we did have!
We fought through wave pools, floated on the lazy typhoon rivers, were scared silly on the toilet flush slides (eeeek!) and thrown all over the place on the fast slide flumes (Mrs Skiman Jones and I were tossed upside down and wrong side up on this ride - not a pretty sight!).
A GRRRRRRRRREEEEAAAAAATTTT day out!
Poor Mei Lin missed our trip as she was poorly - we missed YOU, Mei Lin! Get better soon!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview: Week Beginning Monday 7th September

2009-09-04T13:53:00.002+08:00

5B Week At A Peek

Week Beginning Monday 7th September

Math
Unit 1: Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chap. 2:
· Compare & Order Decimals
Chapter 1 & 2 Test
Chap. 3:
· Round Whole Numbers
· Estimating Sums & Differences
· Add & Subtract Whole Numbers

Reading
· DRA Reading Testing Continues
· Independent Reading
· Class Novel – Manic Magee –Chapter 1 – 7 Activities

Grammar
Unit 2:
Nouns – What is a Noun?;
Common & proper Nouns;
Revising Strategies: Sentence Fluency & Writing with Nouns

Writing
Activities linked to ‘Manic Magee’ Lessons: Challenging Assumptions; Linking to Today: Racial Prejudice.
·
· Completing ‘I Am’ poems
· ‘The Person I Admire Most’ report writing compositions

Social Studies
Map Skills Continued:
Straight Lines in South America;
American Waterfalls;
Guatemalan Search;
American Squares;
Oh, Balderdash!;
Canadian Style Coordinates.
Caravans’ Simulation
Country Research & Oral Reports – (Rwanda, Austria & Yemen)

Fun/Social
· Morning Meeting – Each day 7.45am – 8.15am
· Vacation Slide Show Assembly: September 11th 10:30am

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Trivia Of The Week 24/08/09

2009-09-01T13:10:00.004+08:00

Trivia Of The Week

24th August 2009

Answers next week!

1) What do 'The Big Dipper' 'Orion' and 'Hercules' have in common?

2) From which countries are the following foods seen in local menus?
a) Paneer
b) Burrito
c) Sashimi

3) Name four of Michael Jackson's siblings.

4) Where in the body would you find the following?
a) Insulin
b) Hammer
c) Epiglottis

5) Give an example of each of the follwing:
a) A homophone
b) A similie
c) A palindrome

Answers to last week's Trivia (18/08/09)

1)a) Italy b)Iceland c) Kenya 2) The Sound Of Music 3) a) C.S. Lewis b) J.K. Rowling c) Jim Bennet 4) a) Susilo Bambang YUDHOYONO b) Gordon Brown c) Barrak Obama

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

The Best Part Of Me

2009-08-30T14:16:00.001+08:00

As part of a Language Arts unit, students have been busy practising using 'The Writing Process' by recreating a book of poems entitled 'The Best Part Of Me'. (Based on a book by the same name by Wendy Ewald).

In the prewriting process, students chose a part of their body that they felt was beautiful/fascinating/interesting or simply the 'best' part of them and have been drafting, redrafting, editing, proofreading and publishing poems to go alongside a photograph of their 'favourite' part of them.

I will post a slide show of the final published work when we complete it next week. The photo above is a collage of all the 'best parts' of 5B!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Mei Lin's Birthday Cake

2009-08-28T16:41:00.000+08:00

Today, Mei Lin's mum prepared a birthday cake for us to share in honour of Mei Lin's 10th Birthday! It was very yummy!
We shared it during our 'morning meeting': a time we have every day where we get a chance to greet each other; take part in a group activity; share something with each other and deliver messages.
Today's focus of the meeting was, of course, 'Birthdays': Our best, our worst and our most memorable.

The 'sharing' part of the morning meeting is a great way to learn how to listen to each other, gain the confidence to speak out in front of everyone and just get together for a great bonding session!

We hope you enjoyed your special day, Mei Lin!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Birthday Celebrations!

2009-08-28T12:06:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Clarissa (for the 26th) and Mei Lin (for the 28th)!
May this year bring you both much laughter, excitement and newly gained knowledge.
Keep dreaming big girls, and the world is your oyster!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning Monday 31st August

2009-08-28T11:59:00.000+08:00

5B Week At A Peek

Week Beginning Monday 31st August

Math
Unit 1: Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chap. 2: Place Value Of Decimals
· Tenths and Hundredths
· Thousandths & Ten-Thousandths
· Equivalent Decimals
· Compare & Order Decimals

Reading
· GATES Reading Testing
· DRA Reading Testing begins
· Independent Reading
· Class Novel – Manic Magee – Pre-reading Activities

Grammar
Unit 1:
· The Sentence - Subjects in Imperatives; Conjunctions; Revising Strategies: Sentence Fluency & Writing Good Sentences; Run-on Sentences

Writing
· Publishing ‘The Best Part Of Me’ Poetry
· Publishing “I Am” Poetry
· “Dear Me’ Letters on Vests
· Activities linked to ‘Manic Magee’ Prewriting Lessons

Social Studies
· Map Skills Continued: Straight lines in Europe; Straight Lines in South America; American Waterfalls; Guatemalan Search
· ‘Caravans’ Simulation Country Research & Oral Reports – South America (Costa Rica; Ecuador; Brazil)

Fun/Social
· Morning Meeting – Each day 7.45am – 8.15am
· Etiquette Assembly: September 4th 10:30am
· Open House – September 3rd 7.00pm

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Our Classroom

2009-08-23T20:34:00.000+08:00

Apologies for some blurry photos, but at least this collage will give you a little insight into what our wonderful class actually looks like. (Mess and all! I took these mid day when the students were at PE!)
Our classroom is lovely and bright, full of light and full of colour. I am especially proud of our wonderful classroom library that now includes over 40 brand new books and have all been levelled into grade level/interest level and genre. It was a big project that last year's 5B class started working on and now my 2009/2010 students have the chance to use it. Fantastic!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning Monday 24th August

2009-08-21T10:20:00.000+08:00

5B Week At A Peek
Week Beginning Monday 24th August

Math
Unit 1: Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chap. 1 Introduction to Place Value of Whole Numbers
· Understanding Place Value
· Millions and Billions
· Comparing Numbers
· Ordering Numbers

Reading
· ‘Big Al’ by Andrew Clements Yoshi
· Class Library – Independent Reading & Primarily Reading Reflections
· DRA Reading Testing begins

Grammar
· Sentences - The Four Types; Subjects & Predicates; Simple Subjects; Simple Predicates;

Writing
· Setting up Writing Process bulletin board – ‘Race track’
· Discussion of Writer’s Workshop lessons
· ‘The Best Part Of Me’ poetry continued
· Fish Philosophy writing
· “I Am” poetry
· “Dear Me’ Letters
· “Me Cube”

Social Studies
· Map Skills
· Discuss different uses for maps (political, physical, population, etc).
· Brainstorm parts of maps
· City maps; Border lines; Straight lines.
· Set up ‘Caravans’ simulation

Fun/Social
· Electing Student Council Representatives – August 31st 1.50pm
· Open House – September 3rd 7.00pm
· House Competition– Friday 28th 7.35am

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Trivia Of The Week 17/08/2009

2009-08-21T09:56:00.000+08:00

1)To which countries do the following capital cities belong?
a) Rome
b)Reykjavik
c) Nairobi

2)What famous musical movie consists of a nun who goes to live with a Captain and his seven children?

3) Name the authors of the following books:
a) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
b) The Harry Potter stories
c) The 'Dear Dumb Diary' stories

4) Name the following current world leaders:
a) The President of Indonesia;
b) The Prime Minister of the U.K
c)The President of the U.S.A

Answers next week!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning Tuesday 18th August

2009-08-21T09:53:00.000+08:00

5B Week At A Peek

Week Beginning Tuesday 18th August

Math
· Assessment tests
· Math games
· Practice orally expressing numbers to the billions
· Routines, expectations, notebook set-up
Unit 1: Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chap. 1 Introduction to Place Value of Whole Numbers
· Understanding Place Value
· Millions and Billions

Reading
· ‘The Best Part Of Me’ by Wendy Ewald
· Class Library – Genre Discussion – Choosing appropriate books
· Reading For Fun
· Introduction to reading response journals/focus logs
· Reading /Literature logs set-up + expectations

Grammar
· Grammar & conventions test – assess students knowledge of basic writing conventions

Writing
· Elements of Writing Process
· Discussion of Writer’s Workshop lessons
· Writer’s Notebook Set Up + Expectations
· ‘The Best Part Of Me’ poetry
· “I Am” poetry
· “Dear Me’ Letters
· “Me Cube”

Social Studies
· World Geography Quiz
· Identify what we know about maps
· Map the room
· Discuss different uses for maps (political, physical, population, etc).
· Brainstorm parts of maps

Fun/Social
· Welcome Assembly – Tuesday 18th
· Getting To Know You Games
· House Meetings - Elect House Captains & Ideas for Competitions
· Student Council Representatives
· Etiquette Assembly – Friday 21st

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Welcome to 5B 2009/2010!

2009-08-18T09:50:00.000+08:00

Welcome Back!!
Hello and ‘Welcome’ to 5th Grade! I trust you had a refreshing summer break.
My name is Mrs. Beck and I am I am happy to report I will be teaching your child this year. This year promises to be challenging, yet fun and exciting. . As this is the first of many letters you will receive from me, it is filled with a lot of helpful information about the Grade Five program and how you can get in touch with me. I hope you enjoy reading this installment. Please keep in touch with me throughout the year. If you have questions or concerns, the best way to reach me is through my email address: kbeck@njis.or.id

In 5th Grade, students will continue learning and becoming responsible members of the larger school and outside community. I have many aspirations for my students in their academic and social learning, and for myself as their teacher. I am confident that we will reach our goals. I believe it is essential that we all work together to build a healthy, caring, classroom community so that students have room to grow, and feel safe taking risks in the process. Together, we are all responsible for helping our students learn and succeed. Thank you for your support.

ABOUT ME
Although I am British/Australian, I have spent the majority of my life, living overseas in a variety of countries, including, The U.K, Australia, Dubai, Oman, and Taiwan. This is my second year both at NJIS and in Indonesia and I hope to stay much longer. I live here with my husband, Andrew, who teaches High School Science here at NJIS and my two daughters, Annalise (4 years old) and Juliette (2 years old).
I gained all of my university qualifications in the U.K, completing my Bachelor of Arts at Manchester University and my Post Graduate Certificate of Education at Birmingham University. I also hold a certificate in General Counseling and a Diploma in Crisis Counseling.
I love my job and I am especially looking forward to fostering excellence in scholarship, leadership, compassion, and creative and critical thinking in your child this year.

CLASS PROGRAMME
To begin the academic year we will be focusing on Number Computation in Mathematics, and a World Geography Simulation unit in Social Studies. Our first Science unit will be based on Ecosystems, Pollution and the Environment. We will be heavily focusing on reading skills this year and most of our writing units will be linked to the themes your child is reading about.

SURVEY
I have attached a survey to this letter, which I would ask you to complete and return to me. Your knowledge of your child is invaluable to me and supports me to create the best program for your child. Often, parents have differing views about their child’s personality, strengths, attitudes and work habits, so feel free to write individual comments in each section.

HOMEWORK
Your child should be spending between 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours a night working on homework in Grade Five. Homework will be written daily in the homework diary. As well, I may occasionally write notes in the homework diary for you to read and you can also communicate with me by writing in the notes column of their diary too.

PENCIL CASES
I would appreciate it if your child could buy a simple calculator, protractor and pencil case for use at school. A pencil case is particularly helpful in ensuring that all equipment is easily accessible and organized. Please label all your child’s possessions. Now that your child is in Grade 5, I gently encourage all students to write in pen wherever possible, in preparation for High School, therefore, please supply some ball point or biro blue or black pens for your child’s pencil case also.

CLASS SCHEDULE
School runs from Monday to Friday, starting at 7:30AM and finishing at 2:30PM. You may need to remind your child to check their six-day schedule every day, for the first few weeks of school, to ensure they are fully equipped for the day’s program until it becomes a habit they maintain.

I hope I will see you all at our school Open House on the 3rd September. I am looking forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kathryn Beck
Grade 5 Teacher

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Good Bye To 5B 2008 2009!

2009-08-17T21:28:00.001+08:00

The very best of luck to all of you as you enter Grade 6, wherever that might be in the world. I will miss you and think of you often and hope that you all keep in touch.

If you are at NJIS, there is NO excuse for not popping in every now and then to say 'hello!'!

I hope you glance at the 'Desiderata' sometimes and become uplifted by it.

Keep dreaming, keep reaching and most of all, ENJOY every minute!
Mrs. Beck
xxx

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning: April 27th 2009

2009-04-30T13:50:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: April 27th 2009

Reading
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Chapters 21 - 25
Fairytales & Myths
Read a selection of fairytales

Writing
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Characterization and irony
Resistance & courage
Diamante Poems
Opinion Essay on Marriage: What age should you get married?

Fairytales & Myths
Write own Galactic Fairytale
Assembly Preparation

Dragon Claw Castle internet game http://home.comcast.net/~buddhakahn/

Math
Chap. 15: Number Theory Continued
Chapter 15.5 – Prime & Composite Numbers
Chapter 15.6 - Introduction to Exponents
Chapter 15.7 - Evaluate Expressions with Exponents
Chapter 15.8 - Exponents & Prime Factors
Chap. 16:Fraction Concepts
Chapter 16.1 - Relate decimals to fractions

Science
Galaxies & Space

The Journey To Space
Rocket Science: Gravity & Friction
Space Milestones
Space Probes
Space Shuttles

Activities
Know the code
Many Milestones
Poster: What a Voyager!
Message in a Space probe
Rockets: Who Will Finish First?
My Shuttle Mission

Spelling/Vocab
Vocabulary: Ella (2)
Vocabulary Galaxies & Space

Fun / Social
May 1st – 5B Assembly

Weekly Preview Week Beginning: April 20th 2009

2009-04-30T13:48:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: April 20th 2009

Reading
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Chapters 16 - 20
Fairytales & Myths
Read a selection of fairytales

Writing
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Characterization and irony
Resistance & courage

Fairytales & Myths
Read a selection of fairytales
Assembly Preparation

Dragon Claw Castle internet game http://home.comcast.net/~buddhakahn/

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Unit 4: Review Concepts
Chap. 15: Number Theory
· Chapter 15.1 - Divisibility Vocabulary
· Chapter 15.2 - Multiples & least common factors
· Chapter 15.3 - Greatest common factor
· Chapter 15.4 – Problem Solving Skill – Identify Relationships

Science
Galaxies & Space
Galaxy & Space
What’s Out In Space
The Moon, The Planets, The Sun, Starry Starry Nights

Activities
Sun Strength
Sun Strength – Hot How Is It?
How the Stars Came to Be
Spelling/Vocab
Vocabulary: Ella (2)
Vocabulary Galaxies & Space

Fun / Social
April 22nd – Earth Day Assembly

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Students Use Quills & Scrolls in Ella Enchanted

2009-04-23T20:05:00.000+08:00

As part of our Ella Enchanted novel work, students tried their hands at staining paper using tea and coffee; burning the edges of the paper to make it more 'aged' and then, using quills (kebab sticks) and ink pots, the students had a go at writing a letter on their scrolls the old fashioned way!
You should have heard the complaints!
"It's too hard!";
"The scratching noise is stressing me out!";
"I have to re-dip the quill every single letter!";
"I'm making such a mess - the ink is blotting everywhere!";
"I'm never going to finish!"

Well, the students did finish eventually, and I really think they got a sense of just how lucky they are to have the pens they have today! Students actually produced some very beautiful scrolls, all letters as if they were Ella herself, to the very clumsy and air-headed fairy, Lucinda, in order to beseech her to remove the curse of obedience from her soul.

We completed the activity by sealing the scrolls in the traditional way with melted candle wax (which we had to do outside as we were scared we would set the fire alarms off!) and coins for the imprints on the seals.
I will attach a photo of the final results tomorrow.

I do hope the students will remember this lesson. I think they learnt a lot!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Badak House Wearable Arts

2009-04-23T19:53:00.000+08:00

I know this isn't officially a 5B effort, but I was so proud of Da Sol who had the courage to dress up in the Alternative Princess Wedding Dress to add comedy value to Badak House's Wearable Arts Recycling Competition.
You are very brave and much appreciated! Badak, you did a GREAT job!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

5B Welcome Guests with the Gamelan

2009-04-23T19:50:00.000+08:00

Wow! The whole of 5B performed flawlessly, a beautiful piece of Gamelan orchestra music to welcome all the school community to our closing Assembly. Your timing was superb and you were so in sync with each other! Great!
You guys are AMAZING!!!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Indonesian Celebration

2009-04-23T19:46:00.000+08:00

Well done to all the 5B girls who very elegantly displayed their Indonesian dancing skills at our Closing Multi-Cultural Week Assembly - the theme being Indonesia.
I cannot get over what a talented class I have! Have a little look at the video clip below.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Cultural Show

2009-04-15T19:40:00.000+08:00

Today we were invited to watch a Chinese Cultural Show. There were three wonderful musicians, playing traditional Chinese instruments and some of our upper school students wowed us with their Fashion show and singing. Thank you!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Pizza Party

2009-04-15T19:30:00.000+08:00

5B enjoying their VERY well deserved Pizza Party kindly provided by the Community Service Department. 5B have been considered the most generous of the whole lower school as they donated the most food in our food drive for the orphans of Kelapa Gading and also had the highest percentage of attendees at the Family Fun Run last week.
Very well done, 5B. I'm so proud of you!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Multicultural Food Bazaar

2009-04-15T19:22:00.000+08:00

Yummmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyy! Huge thank you should go to the Languages department at school for organising such a wonderful event and for the parents for supplying the incredibly yummy food! I am secretly glad that there were no frogs' legs or snails on the French table to taste!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview: Week Beginning: April 13th 2009

2009-04-14T08:59:00.000+08:00

Just a snap or teo of 5B enjoying the Easter Egg Hunt that the Student Council arranged last week.

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: April 13th 2009

Reading
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Chapters 12 - 15
Character sketch Ella, Char, Hattie
Ella’s rebellion, the Middle Ages,
foreshadowing, cliffhanger, conflict, and metaphor

Fairytales & Myths
Read a selection of fairytales

Writing
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Chapters 14 - 21
Characterization and irony
Resistance & courage

Fairytales & Myths
Read a selection of fairytales Assembly Preparation

Dragon Claw Castle internet game http://home.comcast.net/~buddhakahn/
Fairy Tale Unit
Explore elements of fairytales
Find commonalities

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Unit 4: Review Concepts
Chap. 15: Number Theory
· Chapter 15.1 - Divisibility Vocabulary
· Chapter 15.2 - Multiples & least common factors
· Chapter 15.3 - Greatest common factor
· Chapter 15.4 – Problem Solving Skill – Identify Relationships

Science
Galaxy & Space
What’s Out In Space
The moon, The Planets, The Sun, Starry Starry Nights
Activities
Fun With Phases using oranges/foam balls
Scale of The Solar System
Planet Trivia
Invent An Alien
Sun Strength
Sun Strength – Hot How Is It?
How the Stars Came to Be

Spelling/Vocab
Vocabulary: Ella (2)
Vocabulary Galaxies & Space

Fun / Social
April 13th – 17th International Language Week.
April 13th – French Day
April 15th – Chinese Day
April 17th – Indonesian Day
April 17-19 Bali IISSAC Swimming & X Country

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Bonjour! Salut!

2009-04-13T19:50:00.000+08:00

Today as the first day of our 'Multicultural Week', it was 'Dress French Day'.
Just take a look at the splash of red, white and blue! Da Sol even came into school with a baguette!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Sewing Class!

2009-04-13T19:46:00.000+08:00

Whilst reading our class novel, "Ella Enchanted", I was surprised to discover that only two out of the 16 students in the class had ever tried their hand at sewing before. As the novel is set in Medieval Times, with some emphasis on Medieval tapestries, magical rugs, as well as Ella having to learn embroidery, I thought I should get the students learning how to sew!
I was soooooo impressed with their first efforts! We didn't use material, or needles, but I hole-punched hundreds of holes in paper, gave them a choice of coloured yarns, showed them how to 'thread' a paperclip and then set them off designing their own creation!
I think Da Sol's palm tree, Michelle's Glass Slipper and Jaya's steam boat deserve an honourable mention - they are particularly good for first timers!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Recreating Moon Craters

2009-04-13T19:38:00.000+08:00

Recreate the cratered surface of the Moon!
Last week, students, as part of their new Science Unit 'Space & Our Solar System', tried their hand at creating their own craters on the moon. This experiment was just the perfect way to enjoy learning about the moon. The students loved donning their goggles and getting down and dirty…

Background to the experiment
Impact craters can be found on all planets and moons in the Solar System that have a solid surface. They are formed when asteroids or comets slam into the planet’s surface at super-high speeds. Look at the Moon and you will see that its surface is covered in impact craters. You may notice that some craters have bright rays surrounding them. These are made of brighter material thrown out from the crater as a result of the impact. You can recreate the surface of the Moon and some of its impact craters with this experiment.

What You Need
You will need:
A baking dish
A bag of flour
Some chocolate/nutmeg powder
balls of different weights/sizes/shapes. (We used clay balls, marbles and ping pong balls!)
Ruler

The experiment
Fill up your baking dish with white flour and sprinkle over the top a thin layer of chocolate/nutmeg powder. Don’t worry about sieving it or making it completely level – the Moon has lots of lumps and bumps too.
Now here comes the fun part. Take your asteroids (balls) and one by one throw them into your pretend lunar surface. Try dropping them from different heights, with varying amounts of force and at different angles. You should see that for larger or more violent impact events the white flour is thrown out of the crater as ejecta rays, just like the ones you can see on the Moon.
Don’t forget to tidy up afterwards!

Extension Work
Crater sizes
Measure the craters produced in the the flour for the same sized asteroids, but dropped from different heights. Plot a graph of crater diameter versus height.
Measure the craters for different sized asteroids dropped from the same height and plot a graph of asteroid diameter versus crater diameter. How do the results of this experiment compare?

Now look at how deep the craters are. Does the depth change with the size of asteroid or the height from which it is dropped from?
You should see that larger asteroids make larger craters, as do ones dropped from greater heights, as they have more energy. For planetary sized craters the relationship is not so simple, because the gravity of the planet (or moon!) plays an important role in determining the shape of the final crater, as does the strength of the material that is being impacted into. Have a look at pictures of other craters on different planets and see the wide variety of shapes of sizes that can be made!

Crater ages
In this experiment you will learn how the amount of craters on a planetary surface can tell us how old a surface is. First of all, smooth out a new tray of flour. Make loads of different sized craters in the flour so that the whole surface is covered. Now, smooth out half of the tray. Throw some more craters into the tray, covering both the ‘old’ and ‘new’ surfaces. Compare the surfaces. You should see that one half, the old half, has many more craters than the ‘new’ half. On the Moon, we know that the ancient highlands are a lot older than the dark mare regions because they have a lot more craters on them. The mare are made up volcanic basalt that erupted to the surface after many of the lunar impact craters had already formed, therefore there was less time for it to get cratered so we know it is younger than more heavily cratered regions.

Ideas taken from http://www.popastro.com/youngstargazers/Craters.html

Weekly Preview Week Beginning: April 6th 2009

2009-04-06T09:58:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: April 6th 2009

Reading
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Chapters 7 - 13

Character sketch Ella, Char, Hattie
Ella’s rebellion, the Middle Ages,
foreshadowing, cliffhanger, conflict, and metaphor

Fairytales & Myths
Read a selection of fairytales

Writing
Ella Enchanted Chapters 7 - 13
Design and make medieval banners/ tapestries
Research Medieval armor
Making antique scrolls

Fairy Tale Unit
Begin writing process to compose fairytales

Assembly Preparation
Dragon Claw Castle internet game http://home.comcast.net/~buddhakahn/
Fairy Tale Unit
Explore elements of fairytales
Find commonalities

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Unit 4: Review Concepts
· Divide by 1-digit divisors
· Divide by 2-digit divisors
· Divide decimals by whole numbers
Divide decimals by decimals

Science
Galaxy & Space
What’s Out In Space
The moon, The Planets, The Sun, Starry Starry Nights
Activities
Fun With Phases using oranges
Create Craters
Scale of The Solar System
Planet Trivia
Invent An Alien
Sun Strength
Film Canister Constellations
Sun Strength – Hot How Is It?
How the Stars Came to Be

Spelling/Vocab
Vocabulary: Ella (2)
Vocabulary Galaxies & Space

Fun / Social
April 9 No School: Election Day
April 10 No School: Good Friday

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning: March 30th 2009

2009-04-06T09:57:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: March 30th 2009

Reading
Novel Study: Ella Enchanted
Pre-reading: read various Cinderella stories (compare & contrast)
Elements of fairytales
Explore idea of obedience
Chapters 1 – 3 & 4 - 6
· Resistance & courage: Ella
· Foreshadowing, cliffhanger
· Elements of conflict

Fairytales & Myths
Read a selection of fairytales

Writing
Ella Enchanted Chapters 1 – 3 & 4 - 6
Design a map of the settings
Create Castles – (castle cakes, cardboard castles)
Design necklaces
Dragon Claw Castle internet game http://home.comcast.net/~buddhakahn/
Fairy Tale Unit
Explore elements of fairytales
Find commonalities

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chapter 13 continued:
Divide to Change a Fraction to a Decimal
Chapter 13 Assessment
Chapter 14:
Divide Decimals By Decimals
Decimal Division
Problem solving: Choose the Operation

Social Studies
Civil Rights and the Power of Non-Violence
Slavery
Watch Gandhi movie
Discuss Gandhi’s power of Non Violence strategies.
Hold a non violent protest.
India,: Gandhi
· British Imperialism
· Gandhi’s life & beliefs
· Vocabulary
MLKJ & Gandhi Unit test

Spelling/Vocab
Civil Rights & Ella Enchanted Vocab

Fun / Social
Friday April 3rd – 5R Assembly
Saturday April 4 - Fun Run

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning: March 16th 2009

2009-04-06T09:54:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: March 16th 2009

Reading
Novel Study: Holes
Holes Summarizing & extra Credit Project

Novel Study: Biography Martin Luther King ‘I have A Dream’
· Laws and principals
· Personal convictions
· Resistance to injustice
· Freedom of assembly

Kindergarten Buddies
Students to read to Kindergarten students once per week.

Writing
Holes Related Work
Holes Extra Credit Activities
St Patrick’s Day Activities
Limericks, leprechauns, Spelling Bee Shamrocks
Poster Competition
For Fun Fair

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chapter 13 continued:
Divide to Change a Fraction to a Decimal
Chapter 13 Assessment

Social Studies
Civil Rights and the Power of Non-Violence
Slavery
Watch Gandhi
Discuss Gandhi’s power of Non Violence strategies.
Hold a non violent protest.

Spelling/Vocab
Civil Rights Vocab

Fun / Social
Tuesday 17th – St Patrick’s Day
Friday 20th – House Competition
Friday 20th – Early dismissal 11.30am

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Listening to 'A Wrinkle In Time'

2009-04-01T23:30:00.000+08:00

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Sugar Fest!

2009-04-01T23:27:00.000+08:00

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Proud of their Creations

2009-04-01T23:24:00.000+08:00

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Ella Enchanted Cakes - The Prep!

2009-04-01T23:21:00.000+08:00

As part of an introduction to our new class novel - "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine, the students took on the role of chefs and created amazingly colourful (and very sugary sweet!) castle cakes. The book is set in Medieval times and so after researching castles and all things enchanted, I thought this would be a really fun activity to do, as well as a yummy treat to end the day with!

Ella Enchanted is an exciting and thrilling novel about Ella of Frell, a cursed girl at birth that has to obey every single command that she receives. It is a similar, but more gripping story than the old fairy tale of Cinderella.
Ella thrives in adventures with ogres, gnomes, elves, her wicked family, and Lucinda the fairy, who laid the curse of obedience on her in the first place. Overcoming all the hard tasks, she manages to break and lift her curse once and for all. She finally finds the blessing in the simple key of true love.

Above are collages of the students hard at work, their wonderful creations and then a great photo of the kids eating their castles whilst being read aloud to by our wonderful Headmaster, Mr. Cook! What a fun day we had!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Spring Break - Yay!

2009-03-20T11:59:00.001+08:00

Have a wonderful Spring Break - it is a very well deserved break after all the hard work that has taken place these last weeks. I hope you all have safe and relaxing holidays wherever you spend them. See you in a week!

Enjoy looking at our 5 Senses Poetry about 'The Desert'. 5B students are turning out to be very talented poets.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Non Violent Protests

2009-03-20T11:58:00.001+08:00

Watch this space for some footage of 5B hard at work protesting in non-violent ways around the school!

In Social Studies, we have been studying Martin Luther King Jr. and the Power of Non-Violence and so we transported ourselves back to MLKJ's time and organised a friendly protest march. Students made signs that said things like "End Segregation" or "Equal Rights For All" and then they found famous quotes from history to write on the backs of the signs to make an impact.

The students marched for only 10 minutes in the heat of the day, and although they were a little embarrassed at first, they realised just how important it had been for followers of MLKJ to protest in this way. And how successful they had been.

The world would be a very different place for most of us if it were not for great heroes like him.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

African Rice Bread

2009-03-12T19:04:00.000+08:00

Today, as part of their Social Studies 'Civil Rights & the Power Of Non-Violence' unit, students spent the morning singing songs about Martin Luther King, listening to Black American spiritual songs and slave chants and then in groups, they cooked traditional African Rice Bread - a daily staple eaten by many slaves in the 1880's and still eaten in West Africa today.

The ingredients included rice, milk, eggs, bananas, sugar, nutmeg and salt. The results tasted better than they looked! They smelled yummy and for the most part, tasted 'Okay'! I think we have to come to some kind of consensus on just how much liquid is in a 'cup' of milk, or how much sugar is actually in 3 Tablespoons! (David must have a sweet tooth as he did a fine job of polishing off the group's bread that had far too much sugar in it!)

We may not have produced wonderful cordon bleu dishes, but I think the students really got a sense of how cheap, simple ingredients can make a hearty meal.

The school oven wouldn't work for us today, so 5B had the honour of cooking the bread in my home! The kids took great delight in making themselves at home in my front room! See the pictures above of them posing!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

The Chefs Hard At Work

2009-03-12T18:49:00.000+08:00

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning: March 11th 2009

2009-03-11T11:45:00.000+08:00

I thought I'd share with you some exemplar student work this week!

Have a little look at Jin Hee's wonderful 3D model creation for her 'Holes Extra Credit Work'. It is fantastic!

The extra credit work was a chance for students to choose tasks to complete from a wide range of options, including performance, music, drama, writing, film & media, song, artwork, creative poetry and mathematical.

Jin Hee managed to capture complete understanding of the novel through this model.

Well done, Jin Hee!

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: March 11th 2009

Reading
Martin Luther King
Biography books and read Alouds
‘The Underground Railroad’ Read Aloud
Kinderbuddies

Writing
Holes Related Work
Holes Extra Credit Activities
Martin Luther King
Writing a letter to MLK set in 1955
‘Dreams’ poem by Langston Hughes. Create further verses
Describing Dreams

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chapter 12.5: Division Practice
Chapter 12.6 – Problem Solving
Chapter Revision
Chapter 13.1 Algebra & Decimal Division
Chapter 13.2 Decimal Division

Social Studies
Civil Rights and the Power of Non-Violence
Slavery
Using primary sources discuss and write about historical events.
Act out and evaluate various role plays from historical times.
Cooking: Make African Rice Bread
Sing slavery and freedom songs

Spelling/Vocab
Civil Rights Vocab

Fun / Social
Mon – School Holiday.
Tues - Trimester 3 Begins
Fri - LS Awards Ceremony & Newsletter Distribution & Report Cards Issued
Friday & Saturday – US Play ‘Unwrapped’

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning: March 2nd 2009

2009-03-02T14:39:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: March 2nd 2009

Reading
Martin Luther King
Biography books and read Alouds
Novel Study – Holes
Post Reading Activities

Writing
Elements of Mystery Writing
Publishing Mystery Stories
Holes Related Work
Post-reading activities
Holes Summary Book
Holes Extra Credit Activities
Holes Advertising Campaign
Holes Test

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chapter 12.1: Algebra: Patterns in Division
Chapter 12.2: Estimate Quotients
Chapter 12.3: Divide by 2 Digit Divisors
Chapter 12.4: Correcting Quotients

Social Studies
Civil Rights and the Power of Non-Violence
Pre-Unit Reading & Activities

Science
Forces & Motion
About Satellite Motion
Activity 4: The Parachute Drop
Activity 5: Basketball Arcs
Activity 6: Ball & Cup Contest
Activity 13: The Clacker Conservation
Forces & Motion Test
Spelling/Vocab
Civil Rights Vocab
Science - Forces & Motion Vocab

Fun / Social
Wed – Dr Seuss Birthday. Watch ‘Horton Hears A Who’ and have a Read-In-A-Thon
Fri – US Drama Play Assembly

Weekly Preview Week Beginning February 23rd 2009

2009-02-23T14:37:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: February 23rd 2009

Reading
Mystery Stories
Forensic Science - Chromatography
Novel Study – Holes
Chapters 46 - 50

Writing
Elements of Mystery Writing
Publishing Mystery Stories
Holes Related Work – Vocabulary, treasure map, Advertising Campaign, cloze activities, post-reading activities.

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chapter 11.4: Choosing A Method
Chapter 11.5: Algebra: Expressions & equations
Chapter 11.6: Problem Solving Skill
Chapter 11 Test

Social Studies
Current Events
Citizenship & Etiquette

Science
Forces & Motion
Work, Energy & Power
Activity 10: The Come-Back Can
About Satellite Motion
Activity 4: The Parachute Drop
Activity 5: Basketball Arcs
Activity 6: Ball & Cup Contest
Activity 13: The Clacker Conservation

Mystery Unit
Forensic Science
Fingerprinting; lip printing; handwriting; chromatography

Spelling/Vocab
Mystery & Holes Vocab
Science - Forces & Motion Vocab

Fun / Social
Fri – No School (Professional Development Day)

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Welcome, Michelle!

2009-02-19T17:37:00.000+08:00

A very big welcome to our new classmate - Sei Yon Lee (Michelle), who joins us from Korea.

We are so pleased you have joined our class (it is obviously the best class at NJIS!) and look forward to helping you settle in quickly and getting to know you.

The best of luck for a smooth transition - we all know how hard moving to a new country and school is - we are all here to support you as best we can.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Laments From ‘Holes’

2009-02-19T11:30:00.001+08:00

I am so excited to be able to share with you the wonderful poems 5B wrote this week. I am working on finding better ways to publish their work, but here is our very first go! Enjoy!

Laments From ‘Holes’

View more presentations from njisgrade5b.

Belated Happy Birthday Fidelia!

2009-02-18T20:40:00.000+08:00

We didn't forget about you on Monday, Fidelia, but I forget to post a very Happy Birthday to you on our website, so here it is...

Happy Birthday!

I hope you had a wonderful day and that the year has very many wonderful events in store for you.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

A Preview of the Week Beginning February 16th 2009

2009-02-17T08:22:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: February 16th 2009

Reading
Mystery Stories
Who Dunnit
Forensic Science
Novel Study – Holes
Chapters 39 - 45

Writing
Elements of Mystery Writing
Publishing Mystery Stories
Holes Related Work – Vocabulary, crosswords, questions for discussion,5 senses poetry & Emotion poetry

Math
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chapter 11.1: Estimating Quotients
Chapter 11.2: Dividing with 3 Digits
Chapter 11.3: Zeros in Division
Chapter 11.4: Choosing A Method

Social Studies
Survival Game – Linked to ‘Holes’

Science
Forces & Motion
Work, Energy & Power
Activity 8: Great Race
Activity 10: The Come-Back Can

Mystery Unit
Forensic Science
Fingerprinting; lip printing; handwriting; chromatography

Spelling/Vocab
Mystery & Holes Vocab
Science - Forces & Motion Vocab

Fun / Social
Tues, Wed, Thurs - Performing Arts Rehearsals
Wed – House Dodge Ball Competition 1.10 – 2.30
Fri – Performing Arts Assembly

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning February 9th

2009-02-09T11:09:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: February 9th 2009

Reading
Mystery Stories
Unsolved Mysteries – Book Presentations & Discussions
Who Dunnit
Forensic Science
Novel Study – Holes
Chapters 29 - 35

Writing
Elements of Mystery Writing
Publishing Mystery Stories
Holes Related Work – Vocabulary, crosswords, questions for discussion, ‘Outlaw Wanted Posters’ Spiced Peach Recipe

Math
Unit 3 review Test
Unit 3 Test
Unit 4 : Divide Whole Numbers & Decimals
Chapter 11.1: Estimating Quotients

Social Studies
Survival Game – Linked to ‘Holes’

Science
Forces & Motion
Work, Energy & Power
Activity 8: Great Race
Activity 9: Accelerating Masses
Activity 10: The Come-Back Can
Mystery Unit
Forensic Science
Fingerprinting; lip printing; handwriting; chromatography

Spelling/Vocab
Mystery & Holes Vocab
Science - Forces & Motion Vocab

Fun / Social
Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th – Half Day at school due to PTC

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

5B's Got Talent!

2009-02-09T10:47:00.000+08:00

Last Wednesday was the NJIS 2009 Talent show - and once again, 5B students did the school proud! Gaby, Jin Hee and Fidelia performed a fabulous modern dance - who knew they were so good at shaking their hips and showing off 'attitude'?! Well done, you three!

Fidelia was the star of the night though, as she sang a solo, 'A Whole New World' and then a duet 'Beauty & the Beast' accompanied by Miss Christianto - what a beautiful voice, you have Fidelia. I think in a few years time you will be ready for an American Idol audition!

I was so proud of you.

The whole night was full of talent - rock bands, dances, Bollywood moves, songs, instrumental numbers, just to name a few. The staff were even brave enough (or silly enough) to lip sync and shake their stuff to Abba's 'Waterloo'!

It was a great evening!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview week Beginning February 2nd 2009

2009-02-02T14:02:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: February 2nd 2009

Reading
Mystery Stories - WhoDunnit
Unsolved Mysteries - Book Presentations & Discussion
Novel Study – Holes
Chapters 16 - 20

Writing
Elements of Mystery Writing
Final Draft of Mystery Story
Holes Related Work -
Bandeh Aceh Class Story
Finish Second Draft – Class to Self Edit & Revise

Math
Chap 10: Multiplying Decimals & Whole Numbers
Lesson 10.5 To Multiply Decimals with Zeros in the product
Lesson 10.6 To Make Decisions
Chapter 10 Test

Social Studies
Survival Game – Linked to ‘Holes’

Science
Forces & Motion
Newton’s Second Law : How Force, Mass & Acceleration are Related

Newton's Third Law : For every action force exerted on an object, the object will exert an equal and opposite reaction force.
Activity 3: Moving Masses
Activity 8: Great Race
Activity 9: Accelerating Masses
Activity 13: Clacker Conservation

Spelling/Vocab
Mystery & Holes Vocab
Science - Forces & Motion Vocab

Fun / Social
Rehearsals for 'Talent Show'

Wed Feb 4th 7pm - Talent Show

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning 26th January 2009

2009-01-27T09:24:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week

Week Beginning: January 26th 2009

Reading
Mystery Stories
Unsolved Mysteries

Novel Study – Holes
Chapters 9 - 15

Writing
Elements of Mystery Writing
Final Draft of Mystery Story
Holes Related Work - Camp Green Lake Brochure; Nicknames & Monikers; Letter Writing
Bandeh Aceh Class Story
Finish First Draft – Class to Self Edit & Revise

Math
Chap 10: Multiplying Decimals & Whole Numbers
Lesson 10.3 Model Decimal Multiplication
Lesson 10.4 Placing The Decimal Point
Lesson 10.5 To Multiply Decimals with Zeros in the product
Lesson 10.6 To Make Decisions

Social Studies
Survival Game – Linked to ‘Holes’

Science
Forces & Motion
Newton’s First Law : Inertia – An object will stay at rest or move at the same speed/velocity until acted upon by a force.
Activities: Amazing Magic Tricks

Newton’s Second Law : How Force, Mass & Acceleration are Related
Activity 3: Moving Masses
Activity 8: Great Race
Activity 9: Accelerating Masses
Activity 13: Clacker Conservation

Spelling/Vocab
Mystery & Holes Vocab
Science Forces & Motion Vocab

Fun / Social
Monday
Chinese New Year – NO SCHOOL
Friday –
Vacation Slide Show Assembly
Newsletter Distribution

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2009-01-26T16:17:00.000+08:00

We were very lucky to be invited to watch some traditional Chinese New Year 'Lion Dances' last Friday - the musicians and performers were all so talented and the show was very entertaining! They even let some of the students try wearing the costumes and gave some of the older kids the chance to play the instruments which was such fun. Giomino also bought some 'Hong Bao' (red envelopes filled with money) for the Lion's to 'eat' - what a kind boy he is.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful long weekend. Happy Chinese New Year!
Gong Xi, Going Xi!

Weekly Preview Week Beginning 19/01/2009

2009-01-16T14:32:00.000+08:00

Weekly Preview

Week Beginning: January 19th 2009

Reading
Mystery Stories
Unsolved Mysteries
Novel Study - Holes

Writing
Elements of Mystery Writing
Writing own mystery Story
Holes Related Work

Math
Chap 9: Multiplying While Numbers
Lesson 9.5 Problem Solving – analyzing for Reasonableness
Chap 9 Test
Chap 10: Multiplying Decimals & Whole Numbers
Lesson 10.1 Modeling Multiplication of Decimals & Whole Numbers
Lesson 10.2 Algebra – Patterns in Decimal Factors & products
Lesson 10.3 Model Decimal Multiplication

Social Studies
Survival Game – Linked to ‘Holes’

Science
Forces & Motion
What is Gravity?
What is Momentum?
Activity 3: Moving Masses
Activity 7: Rolling On
Activity 8: Great Race
Activity 9: Accelerating Masses
Activity 13: Clacker Conservation

Spelling/Vocab
Mystery & Holes Vocab
Science Forces & Motion Vocab

Spelling & Vocabulary Words

Alibi - an excuse that a suspect uses to show that they were somewhere other than at the scene of the crime when the crime was committed
Clue - a fact or object that helps to solve mysteries
Crime - an act that is against the law
Detective - a person who investigates mysteries and gathers information
Evidence – something that helps prove who committed the crime
Mystery - something that is secret and unknown
Red herring – a false lead that throws the investigator off track
Sleuth - another name for a detective
Suspect - a person who is believed to have possibly committed the crime
Victim - someone who is harmed or suffers some loss because of the crime
Witness - someone who saw the crime being committed and can provide some information
Force - A push or pull that causes an object to move, stop, or change direction. It will also cause an object with mass to accelerate.
Motion - This is the process of changing from one position or place to another.
During a typical trip to school, your car will undergo a series of changes in its speed.
Distance - This is the measurement from one point to another. This also may refer to a physical length, a period of time, or an estimation.
Speed - is a measure of the distance an object moves in a given amount of time.
Acceleration - is an increase in speed
Deceleration - is a decrease in speed.
Velocity - is an object’s speed in a particular direction. If the direction changes, the velocity will also change
Friction - is a force that acts against or stops motion when two surfaces rub against each other.
Gravity - is the force that pulls all objects in the universe toward one another. It is also is the force which pulls all objects to the surface. Slope - is used to describe the steepness, incline, or

Fun / Social
Auditions for the NJIS Talent Show - Monday & Tuesday
Bake Sale - Friday

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Trivia Of The Week

2009-01-12T12:11:00.000+08:00

Trivia Of The Week
Composed by Ireh & Ji Ho

This is a chance for you to win a weekly prize! Yay! Every Monday, a new set of Trivia Questions will be posted. See if you can answer all the Trivia questions correctly and then post your answers into the classroom ‘Trivia Of The Week’ mailbox by Thursday Afternoon. The winning entry will be picked out of the mailbox on Friday morning. Good Luck! '

1. In what year did Vitus Bering join the Russian Navy?

2.What is the main source of food for an Elk?

3.Why do sharks attack people?

4.Give the Scientific name for the ‘Clown Fish’. For a bonus point, give the ‘nickname’ of the Clown Fish also.

5. Name 5 foods that Hamsters will typically eat.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Happy New Year!

2009-01-11T15:12:00.000+08:00

A very warm welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing vacation and warm wishes for the very best of everything in 2009.

For all you parents, a January newsletter will shortly follow, but please see the 'Week At A Peek' below as it will give you an idea of what is planned for your child the first week back! We're heading straight into some fantastic new units. It's all very exciting! Please support your child by asking them some questions about the things they are learning each week.

For all of 5B, I can't wait to get cracking into the new topics and look forward, as always, to seeing you accomplish great things this new year.

Get a good night's sleep tonight, and I'll see you all fresh and bright tomorrow!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Week Beginning 12th January 2009

2009-01-11T15:10:00.000+08:00

Week At A Peek
Week Beginning Monday 12th January 2009

Math
UNIT 3: MULTIPLY NUMBERS + DECIMALS
Chap 9: Multiplying Whole Numbers
· 9.1 Estimation: Patterns in Multiples
· 9.2 Multiply by 1 and 2 Digit Numbers
· 9.3 Choose a Method
· 9.4 Analyze for Reasonableness

Reading
Mystery Stories
Ingredients of a Mystery Lesson Plan
Reading & solving 2 minute mysteries

Novel Study: Mixed-Up Files
· Pre-reading activities – The Italian Rennaissance
· Setting & characters
· Elements of mystery writing

Vocabulary
Forces & Motion Vocabulary
Mystery Vocabulary

Grammar
Language and Usage - Contractions with ‘not’
Regular & irregular verbs

Writing
Elements of mystery writing
· Reading & solving 2 minute mysteries
· Write own 2 minute mysteries
· Look at structure of mystery stories – what makes them successful?
Writing mystery stories

Science
Newton’s Toy Box
Motion & Speed
· Changing Position
· Speed & Velocity
· Activity 1: Motion in Review

Forces & Motion
· What are Forces?
· How do Forces Affect Objects?
· What is Friction?
· What is Gravity?
· What is Momentum?
Activity 2: Gravity & Balance
Activity 3: Moving Masses
Activity 7: Rolling On
Activity 8: Great Race
Activity 9: Accelerating Masses
Activity 13: Clacker Conservation

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Fine Arts Performance

2008-12-18T10:47:00.000+08:00

Fantastic job last night, everybody!

The Fine Arts performance was wonderful - it was a really great way to end the year.

Well done to everyone - you sang your hearts out, and played your instruments with confidence and real talent. I'm so proud of you!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Holiday Sing-Along Success!

2008-12-12T15:32:00.000+08:00

Well done to all the lower school students at today's Holiday Sing A Long.

In my completely unbiased opinion, I thought the Grade 4/5 choir was the best! I took a video of you so will try to upload it onto this post this weekend.

Today's assembly was a great way to get into the Holiday spirit. We even had a wonderful surprise visit from Santa (a la Mr Duncan!) who helped give out yummy treats from our school's PAFA. Thanks parents!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

December Newsletter

2008-12-12T09:49:00.000+08:00

Dear Parents,
Only one week to go before we all have a very well deserved rest. The students have been busily finishing up a variety of projects and assignments. Allow me to share what your children have been doing these past few weeks!

Language Arts
Our major focus this past month has been to examine Children’s stories: looking at the various elements that make up a story; what makes the stories successful; author techniques; and illustrative skills to name a few. We attempted to write our own short Thanksgiving Stories using repetition in our writing. These were incredibly successful and the students had a wonderful morning sharing their books with each other. They are currently on display in our classroom, but when they get sent home, please take the time to look at them – they are very honest and uplifting little books.
Our next task has been to examine picture books and after a very inspiring ‘Visit with An Author’, (thanks to Corien Oranje,) the students have been busy creating and designing children’s large picture books that are based around the theme of endangered animals (linking in with the work we have been doing in science).

In reading, students have been continuing with their work on monitoring comprehension and merging their thinking, working with a whole array of non-fiction texts, examining their features and purpose. The students have also, of course, been reading and evaluating children’s books and continue with their independent reading at home and in the classroom.

Math
In Math, we have come to the end of our Data & Graphing unit. Students have learned how to choose reasonable scales and intervals to show data and have learned how to make and read a variety of graphs, such as: line graphs, circle graphs, bar graphs, histograms and stem & leaf plots. All the students have shown expertise in this unit - it has been most encouraging, as this can sometimes be a difficult unit to grasp.
We will be starting our next unit, ‘Multiplying Whole Numbers & Decimals’ when we return after our Christmas vacation.

Science
Students have come to the end of their Life Science Unit, which looked at ecosystems, biomes, endangerment and extinction and environmental issues. Students produced some excellent endangered animal poster projects and biome mobiles and are currently competing in groups to create the cheapest, environmentally-friendly road system in a ‘Rainbow Bay’ simulation.

Fun & Special Events
The classroom looks amazing at the moment – it is full of the beautiful display work the students have produced this month as well as ‘the Christmas Spirit! The students helped to decorate the Christmas tree I brought in for them to enjoy and every morning we have sung Christmas carols in preparation for our Holiday Sing-along Assembly. Students have also been busy searching through their toys at home to bring in gifts for children less fortunate than themselves.
Starting Monday 15th, our class begins our ‘Secret Santa’ – each day we will be receiving clues from our Secret Santa as to their identity and then On Friday 19th, at a gift giving, they will be revealed! How exciting!

Events to look forward to:
December 12th - Holiday Sing-along Assembly 10am
December 17th - Fine arts Evening 7pm
December 19th – Whole School House Aquatic Festival
December 19th –Half day: school finishes at 11.30pm for Christmas Vacation
January 12th – School resumes

The students have accomplished so much during this first half of the year – I am so proud of each and every one. And I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you parents for supporting and encouraging your children to be the best they can be.

I hope all of you have a wonderful and relaxing Christmas, and look forward to seeing you all again in the New Year! For those of planning to travel this holiday, I wish you safe and pleasant journeys.

Kind regards,

Kathryn Beck
Grade 5B Teacher

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Sssshhhh... It's A Secret!

2008-12-09T13:40:00.000+08:00

www.arundelfire.com

Secret Santa

On Friday, 5B students will draw out another student's name (or Mrs Beck's name) from the class. This means that they will be that person's Secret Santa.

The fun starts on Monday 15th December.
Each day the Santas will secretly leave a clue for their ‘child’.
On Friday, they will place a gift for their ‘child’ under the Christmas tree up to the value of 20,000 RP.
On Friday morning, we will all sit on the carpet, try to guess who our Santas are and then receive the gifts.

Instructions for 5B
On Monday: Leave a difficult clue as to who you are and perhaps a candy or chocolate etc for your ‘child’ to enjoy.
On Tuesday: Leave a slightly easier clue and a candy/chocolate.
On Wednesday: Leave an easier clue and a candy/chocolate.
On Thursday: Leave an easier clue and a candy/chocolate.
On Friday: Leave a wrapped and gift tagged present under the tree.

Your clues could be funny, could be rhymes, jokes, puzzles, crosswords, word searches, fun riddles etc that give a hint about who you are. Each day they might get easier or every day another part of the puzzle is solved so that at least by the end of the week, your child has an idea who you could be.
i.e.: Rose are red, violets are blue, my name has the letter b in it, and the letter K too.

You will have to think of inventive ways of leaving your clues for your ‘child’ to find. They must not see you leaving the clues or it will spoil the fun.
You should not tell anyone in the class or another class who you are Secret Santa to.
Have fun!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Visit With An Author A Complete Success!

2008-12-04T20:23:00.000+08:00

5B and 5R were truly privileged today to have had a visit from famous Dutch children's author, Corien Oranje.

http://www.corienoranje.nl/

Mrs. Oranje, suitcase in hand carrying a whole array of writing tips in the form of objects, presented us with an inspiring and engaging workshop, telling us about her life as an author. She wowed us with some of the premises of the stories she'd written, about the writing and editing process, how she comes up with ideas, and what it’s like to be an author.

We were all fascinated with her real-life experiences, like her visits to prisons and disaster areas (Aceh after the Tsunami) and how she uses simple devices like newspaper articles to get ideas for amazing stories. She did such a great job at explaining where and how she gets her inspiration for her stories and she was definitely able to provide valuable inspiration for the students, as not only did they line up for autographs, they talked enthusiastically about children's stories for much of the day after her visit. We hope Mrs Oranje might be able to come back and work with us again soon.

Thank you, Corien Oranje! Your visit was absolutely thrilling - the children enjoyed your visit so much. Even I am now inspired to go away and write a book myself! (If only I could find some time!)

Awards Ceremony

2008-12-01T15:26:00.000+08:00

Attached are some photos of all our amazing 5B students who won awards last Friday. Congratulations to each and every one of you. I'm so proud of you all.

And if you didn't make it this time, push yourself a little harder and you WILL be successful. Either way, I can honestly say that I think you are all stars.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview Dec 1st - Dec 5th

2008-12-01T14:58:00.000+08:00

Weekly Preview

Week beginning December 1st

Maths
Chapter 8: Make Graphs
· Choose a Reasonable Scale
· Make graphs
· Graph ordered pairs
· Make line graphs + histograms
· Choose the appropriate graph
Assessment Chapter 8

Reading
Heinemann Activate & Connect
Merge Your thinking With New Learning
Read and think about new information

Group reading – children’s story books

Kindergarten Buddies
Students to read to Kindergarten students once per week.

Vocabulary & Spelling
Biome Vocabulary

Writing
Language and Usage
· Singular possessive nouns
· Plural possessive nouns

Writing Children’s Stories
Writing linking in with Biome Narrative and Christmas theme - A Day in the Life of an Animal to include: habitat, food chain, niche, climate in easy language.

Visit from a children’s author - Corien Mak

Science
Rainbow Bay
Groups compete to create the cheapest, environmentally-friendly road system
· Form groups & assign roles
· Design roadway system
· Elect common council members
· Biodiversity: Everything counts

Fun & Special Events
Decorate the Christmas Tree
Decorate the classroom in Holiday style!
Rehearse for the Holiday Singalong on the 12th
Rehearse for the Fine arts Evening on the 17th

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Thank you!

2008-11-26T11:09:00.000+08:00

Just to say thank you for all the truly lovely birthday wishes and gifts you sent yesterday for me.
I had a wonderful day and feel so blessed to be teaching each one of you and so thankful that you have such supportive and kind-hearted parents.

It's always a double celebration this time of year for me, as it is also Thanksgiving - a great excuse to have friends and family around for a wonderful meal. 5B students wrote some very special short books telling people what they are thankful for.

These look great on display, don't you think?!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Book Donation Wish

2008-11-21T14:21:00.000+08:00

Classroom Wish Letter from Mrs. Beck to the Parents of 5B

Dear Parents,

As you know, ‘Our Book Club’ is coming to our school from Monday to Thursday next week. I hope that you will be able to support your child’s growing ability to read for pleasure. A home filled with books is one of the best ways to support your child's growing ability to read, and to succeed at school.

I have been working hard with 5B students on making sure they find books to read that are reading level appropriate and that will infuse in them a passion to read independently. This is so that they that they begin to find reading an enjoyable pastime, rather than a chore.

One of my goals this year has also been to develop and extend our class library, as although we have some good novels, we do need a greater variety.

The Book Fair offers an easy way to make a contribution directly to our classroom. The catalogue shows a whole range of books that I think will add greatly to student knowledge and enrich our classroom library.
When you look at the book club order sheet, please consider purchasing an extra book and donating it to our classroom. These donated books will become a permanent part of the Grade 5 classroom library that will benefit students today and for years to come.

Every gift will be recognized with an insert on the front page identifying your family or child as the donor. Your generosity can make our classroom more exciting and stimulating to young minds.

Alternatively (or additionally!), any used books that you have at home that you'd like to donate as you feel they would be of value to the classroom library, please feel free to drop them in - the more books of a variety of age levels and genres the better!

Kind Regards,
Kathryn Beck

Thank you so much for your support, as always,
“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Kindergarten Buddies

2008-11-21T11:14:00.000+08:00

Above are a few pictures of 5B students reading storybooks to their new Kindergarten and Grade 1 'buddies'! Today was our first day of this new venture and I have to say that I was so impressed by our class! 5B students were so kind and patient and they really managed to engage the 'little ones' into the stories.
Future teachers in the making!
Well done!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Explorer Presentations

2008-11-21T11:07:00.000+08:00

As our last Social Studies project of the term, students were asked to thoroughly research a famous explorer and produce an oral presentation on their explorer.

Yesterday, we were 'wow'ed by The Mighty Sharkfins with knowledge about Roald Amundsen (who explored the Antarctic) and The World Conquerors produced an engaging presentation on Marco Polo's amazing adventures.

Today, we were taken into space by the US Marine Adventurers who were entertaining us with tales from Neil Armstrong's life and his successful mission as the crew to land on the moon.

The students not only showed pictures and photographs, they also dressed up to give us more of a 'feel' about their explorers.
Well done, 5B! A great way to end the 'Caravans' project.

Winning teams will be announced very soon.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Welcome Da Sol!

2008-11-21T11:01:00.000+08:00

A very warm welcome to our new student, Da Sol Lee, who joins us from Korea. He has spent much of his life in Korea, but has also lived overseas in Moscow, Russia.

We hope you settle in quickly into the NJIS routine and are so glad that you are part of our class!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

5B Students Wow Audiences in 'Cinderella'

2008-11-14T14:40:00.001+08:00

The LS Drama Exploratory put on a great show for all of us at this morning's assembly.

A HUGE well done has to go to Gaby & Hee Won, our class Drama stars for their fantastic performances in today's 'Cinderella'. You both did so well and looked great up there - who knows, one day you might be up for an Oscar!

Gaby played a perfectly sweet little dancing mouse and Hee Won, as Prince Charming had the audience in stitches in his opening scene as he threw away, in disgust, pictures of the female members of staff!
We are all very proud of you.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

UN Day at NJIS

2008-11-12T09:23:00.000+08:00

Attached above is a photo from our UN day performance last week. 5B did so brilliantly with their performance of 'Free To Be Me & You' by The New Seekers. The lyrics from the song were used in our class novel 'Bridge To Terabithia' and as it is a song about freedom and diversity, we thought it would be great to sing for UN day.

It was truly a whole class effort, and what an amazingly talented group of musicians and singers we have! Below is a link to a video of their performance that Joel & Lennart's mum took and put on YouTube for us. Well done guys, you sounded great!!

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=zBZaJnqgF30

After a second performance for the school, we were all treated to a fabulous International Food Fair in the gym by our wonderful parents. I don't think I've eaten quite so much and of such a variety in a very long time! Look at the colours below of some of the food on offer - it looks like a piece of art!

Weekly Preview 10th November 2008

2008-11-11T10:57:00.000+08:00

Week Beginning: November 10th 2008

Reading
Unit: Monitoring Comprehension
- Read, Write & talk – thinking your way through a text
Using an article entitled ‘A Focus On Girl’s Education’ from Time For Kids. This is an article about the disparity between girls’ and boys’ education dealing with fairness & inequality. This has been chosen so that the students will have many thoughts and opinions on the matter and will hopefully spur lively conversation.
- Using a variety of reading texts to practice the skill of purposefully talking and writing about what they have read.

Writing
Writing Techniques
- Continue newspaper article skills and working on IT skills using ‘Publisher’.
Grammar/Usage
- Nouns
- Single and plural nouns
- Singular possessive nouns
Plural possessive nouns

Math
Unit 2: Algebra, Data & Graphing
- Write & Evaluate Expressions
- Order of Operations
- Functions

Social Studies
World Geography
- Continue to close up ‘Caravans’ Unit

Science
- How Do Organisms Compete & Survive in an Ecosystem?
- Investigate how body colour helps animals survive using M&M experiment.
- Learn about the ways in which organisms compete.
- What is Extinction & What are its Causes?
- Investigate Vanishing Habitats
- Learn About Extinction & its Causes

Spelling/Vocab
- Science Words

Fun / Social
LS Drama play on Friday
- help make set, props and costumes.

November Newsletter

2008-11-11T10:36:00.000+08:00

November Newsletter

Dear Parents,

Wow! Hasn’t time flown by? It’s hard to believe we are actually coming to the end of Trimester 1 and soon enough, Christmas holidays will be upon us! As we enter Trimester 2, we are still knee-deep in many units, but all are ending with exciting projects.

Before I tell you about what 5B are studying, I want to say thanks for all you do to help each of your children be successful and confident as they learn. Enjoy reading the report cards you will be receiving at the end of this week!

Math

We are currently deep within our Algebra unit. Students are getting so confident with their skills – ever since they learned the order of operations and a nifty 3-step process of solving equations and making sure that the terms are equal on both sides, 5B have been having real fun solving the complex problems. Well done, 5B!
The next math lessons will be on data and graphing which will just about wrap-up Unit 2. Graphing can be challenging for students - daily practice is definitely encouraged! In our next unit, we will sharpen our multiplying skills of whole and decimal numbers.

Science

A couple of weeks ago, we began our study of Biomes and ecosystems, and the students are doing an excellent job. This past week, students have learned how energy flows through ecosystems and are currently learning all about adaptations and how body colour helps organisms survive (or not) in their environment! We will be doing a fun investigation with M&M’s (yay for chocolate!) to test our hypothesis.
The next few lessons will be devoted to learning about extinction and its causes and endangered species. I am hoping that we will be able to adopt some endangered animals or help save some conservation land as a class. If you are interested in finding out more, there is a wonderful website: http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/index.cfm
The children will also learning about biomes and will be involved in developing a Biome Mobile to reflect their understanding of a particular biome.

Rainbow Bay
Our study of Biomes will culminate and we will end it with a fun, challenging simulation called Rainbow Bay. Students work in groups to build a network of roads in the fictitious community of Rainbow Bay. As mayor, I will evaluate each group’s plan based on cost and environmental responsibility. This unit is always very popular with students as they have the opportunity to show what they have learned in Science in a meaningful, hands-on way. Our next unit will be Atoms & Matter which will involve many experiments in the science lab, tests and a major culminating project.

Social Studies
We are now into the last week of our ‘Caravans’ simulation – which team will win is anybody’s guess as thanks to the daily fate cards, the number of points and gold coin amounts can quickly change.
The next unit we will start in the new year. This will take a close look at culture through our investigation of India, Gandhi and Civil Rights. We will investigate how India’s physical geography as well as its cultural history contributed to the idea of civil rights around the world.

Language Arts

Inspired by Halloween stories, 5B students are currently learning how to write news reports and creating newsletters that show their journalistic skills. They have really worked hard at drafting and editing their ‘spooky’ reports and I hope that we can publish their efforts on our class website.

Each week we review and consolidate grammar techniques. Students have worked hard this month so far at sentence construction, types of sentences, and proper and common nouns. This regular drilling of skills is sure to aid the children’s writing.

In reading, we are starting a new monitoring comprehension unit whereby the students are taught to listen to their inner voices when reading and to use fix-up strategies to check their comprehension, to name just a few skills. Through this program, students will be introduced to a whole variety of different genre.

We have also been working hard at choosing level-appropriate reading books and I have spent time in reading conferences with individual students, assessing their reading skills and helping the students set targets.

We will be working on a special reading assessment programme starting from next trimester and this will greatly aid the students in understanding their weaknesses and strengths and hopefully empower them to read more and learn to love reading.

And that's it for now! Thank you again for all your wonderful support of the amazing students we have in 5B!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Imaginary Country Maps

2008-11-04T22:51:00.000+08:00

We are just about coming to the end of our first Social Studies Unit - 'World Geography'.

As a culminating activity, 5B have spent the past couple of weeks designing their own small imaginary countries, in order to demonstrate the knowledge that they have learned.

Students had to show the name, the longitude and latitude of their countries, the climate and landscape, the cities and towns, as well as include physical features such as rivers, lakes, bays, gulfs, volcanoes, mountains, rain forests. Students also included road systems, residential areas, airports, shopping complexes and other important human features of their country.

Once their designs on paper had been finalised, groups chose one map to create in 3D using clay.

The students all enjoyed going back in time to their kindergarten days when playdoh and clay were used on a daily basis!

The 3D maps that they have almost completed are looking great.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Weekly Preview November 3rd 2008

2008-11-03T09:08:00.000+08:00

Week Beginning: November 3rd 2008

Reading
Unit: Monitoring Comprehension
- Read, Write & talk – thinking your way through a text
- Using an article entitled ‘A Focus On Girl’s Education’ from Time For Kids. This is an article about the disparity between girls’ and boys’ education dealing with fairness & inequality. This has been chosen so that the students will have many thoughts and opinions on the matter and will hopefully spur lively conversation.
- Using a variety of reading texts to practice the skill of purposefully talking and writing about what they have read.

Writing
Writing Techniques
- Writing a persuasive/opinion essay
Grammar/Usage
- Nouns
- Common & Proper
- Writing with Nouns

Math
Unit 2: Algebra, Data & Graphing
- Use Addition Properties
- Problem Solving Skill – Using A Formula
- Chapter Test – (Algebra – Using Addition)

Social Studies
World Geography
- Display Clay Imaginary Maps
- Continue to close up ‘Caravans’ Unit

Science
Ecosystems
- Watch a DVD on Ecosystems
How Do Organisms Compete & Survive in an Ecosystem?
- Investigate how body colour helps animals survive

- Carry out an experiment using M&Ms
- Learn about the ways in which organisms compete.
What is Extinction & What are its Causes?
- Investigate Vanishing Habitats
- Learn About Extinction & its Causes

Spelling/Vocab
- Science Words

Fun / Social
‘Free To Be You & Me’ Song
- Practice for our UN Day performance on November 5th

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T10:36:00.000+08:00

We had a great Halloween at school - everyone did a fantastic job at getting dressed up in costume and performed so well at assembly - 5B had an attack of the nerves a little bit, but everyone was so impressed with how the class had learned all the lines and kept within the beat! Well done, 5B!

The haunted house that the High school put on was brilliant and although it was too much for some of 5B, I think it's safe to say we were all feeling the Halloween vibe by the end of it!

Have a great Halloween weekend!

Week beginning October 27th

2008-10-27T13:43:00.000+08:00

A Preview of the Week
Here is a weekly preview of what we are studying during the week!

Week Beginning: October 27th 2008

Reading
Unit: Monitoring Comprehension
Noticing when you lose your way – monitoring your inner voice to focus your thinking.
- Using an article entitled ‘Stealing Beauty’ by Hannah Beech. This is a piece of adult text to show how we can go back to repair comprehension and refocus our thinking.
- Using a variety of reading texts to practice the skill of puzzling through text in order to understand our reading.
Using level-appropriate novels to enjoy reading.

Writing
Writing Techniques - Newspaper Articles – How to write a successful article.
Grammar/Usage - Nouns, Singular & Plural Nouns, Singular Possessive Nouns
Plural Possessive Nouns

Math

Unit 2: Algebra, Data & Graphing
- Expressions & variables
- Write Equations
- Solve Equations

Social Studies
World Geography

- Continue challenges in ‘Caravans’
- Complete Caravan’s unit with a ‘Mapping Of an Imaginary Country’ clay model.

Science

How Living Things Interact
- How Does Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem?
- Investigate what eats what in ecosystems
- Learn about how energy is transferred in an ecosystem

Spelling/Vocab
Science Words

Fun / Social
- Pumpkin Carving for our assembly on Friday.
- Halloween Witch Hip Hop Rap - Practice for our assembly on Friday
- ‘Free To Be You & Me’ Song - Practice for our UN Day performance on November 5th

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

October Party Pics!

2008-10-26T19:02:00.000+08:00

We all had a great day on Friday as we celebrated all the October Birthdays.

We sang, ate, then ate again and ate some more, and we played a balloon game where you had to pop a balloon and then do the task that was hidden inside! (We had chickens clucking and monkeys jumping around the room, silly songs sung, ugly faces pulled and some pretty good disco divas!)

A big thank you all the parents who sent in yummy food and drink and especially to Mrs. Dadlani (David's Mum), Mrs. Mak (Joel, Justin & Lennart's Mum) and Mrs. Riley (Jaya's Mum) for staying to help celebrate and then clean up!

A good time was had by all!

We missed you Jin Hee, but celebrated for you, in your absence! Hope you're feeling better.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

First Science Lesson Of The Year!

2008-10-21T19:29:00.000+08:00

What an exciting afternoon we had today - it was our first Science lesson of the year and we got straight 'out there' into the world, predicting, observing and recording rather than reading 'all about it' from a text book!

Our first unit of study is 'How Living Things Interact' and to start it all off, we'll be understanding what ecosystems are all about.

Today, students learned that the word 'organism' means 'a living thing' and brainstormed all the organisms they could think of. Then, we learned that an 'ecosystem' is anywhere where organisms can live and interact with each other, so we predicted what kinds of ecosystems we would find around our school.

Then, in small groups, armed with bug collectors, sample jars, magnifying glasses, string, crisps (to be used to lure and observe life), sketch paper, pencils and note books, we marched on outside and started exploring!

Squeals of delight could be heard all around the school as students found ants and caterpillars and butterflies and birds and giant snails and other evidence of life interacting.

Although we only had a short amount of time, it was amazing just how much we found.

So, if you fancy yourself as a scientist and are out for the day, why not choose some of these 'safari' tasks and discover an amazing array of ecosystems underneath (or above) your very nose?!

Safari Tasks
A. Look for signs of animals: tracks, homes, evidence of eating, fecal deposits, pathways. What do these signs tell you about who lives here?
B. Look for signs of who eats whom/what. Try to determine the food chain in which this animal exists. Do the animals you have discovered live off of nature or human intrusions (garbage, gardens, pet food, etc.)?
C. Do you see any animal homes in human-built structures?
D. Do you see any plants growing on man-made structures?
E. Be a bird-watcher: Where do you see them? What do they seem to be doing? What do they look like (color, shape)? Can you identify any of them? (Common city birds are crows, sparrows, finches, mockingbirds, jays, starlings, pigeons.) How many of each species do you see?
F. Compare the "wildlife" to human-influenced life: what plants are growing wild, or planted by people? Are there any wild animals? Are there any domestic animals?
G. Be an ant-watcher: Where do you see them? What are they doing? Do you observe any division of labor going on? Can you influence their behavior by scattering food particles?
H. What do you see that is reflective of human impact? Do you see any harms or benefits from that impact?
I. Lift a rock, move a twig, turn over a leaf. What do you see? (Be sure you put what you moved back the way you found it.)
J. Walk along a five to ten foot space. (You can bring along a 5 or 10 ft. length of string.) List all the different species of plant you see. If you don't know their names, just count them. Now do the same for all the animals that are there. (This technique is called walking a transect.)
K. Use your sense of smell. What is the dominant smell in the area? What is it caused by? Is it natural or man-made?
L. Pick one plant or animal at your level to examine as thoroughly as you can. If it is an insect, you can put it in the bug box, but be sure to put it back when you are finished observing it. Sketch or photograph it. Why did you pick this item?
M. Find a texture that is: (Identify the ones you find.)
hard__________ soft__________ sticky__________ prickly__________
furry__________ rough__________ smooth__________ slippery__________
N. Close your eyes. Listen to the sounds around you. Which one do you notice most? Why? Is it a sound from nature, or man's creation? If you have a tape recorder, record for a while. Play it back and see if what you focused on was what the tape recorder picked up.

Taken from 'Urban Science:Living Ecosystems' Science project

by Patricia Dung, UCLA Science Project

Co-DirectorEsther Zack, UCLA Science Project Facilitato

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Birthday Party 24th October

2008-10-19T21:47:00.001+08:00

On Friday 24th October, 5R and 5B will be celebrating all the Grade 5 October birthdays' in one big party during lunchtime in 5B's classroom.
(David, Jin Hee, Hee Won, Joel, Lennart, Justin, Jaya)
There'll be some pizza, crisps, drinks, cake and other goodies to enjoy!
Yay!
A big thank you to the parents of the birthday guys and gals for providing the food and drink!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

ISA Tests are Over!

2008-10-16T20:39:00.000+08:00

Yay! Well done everyone - you all worked so hard. No one likes doing tests, and you were all such troopers.
Now back to reality! We're all back to normal days once again tomorrow.
A big thank you to all the parents who came to see me over the past few days at the parent conferences - it was so good to meet up with you and I do value all the support and encouragement you have for our class.

Some reminders for 5B
Don't forget that on Monday you will all be showing your country PowerPoint presentations in the theatre, so bring your USB's with your slide shows on them! I can't wait to see them - you have all worked really hard on them, so they will be great!

You will also need to prepare for your weekly oral Caravan presentations over the weekend.

Okay! Happy Friday!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Happy Birthday, Jaya!

2008-10-16T10:55:00.000+08:00

Jaya is 11 today!
Yay!
Happy, happy birthday, Jaya!
Hope you have a wonderful day (even with all the testing) and we hope that the year ahead has great things in store for you.
Enjoy!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Best Of Luck!

2008-10-14T21:52:00.000+08:00

Just sending all of you wonderful 5B students many, many, many good luck vibes for tomorrow and Thursday on your ISA tests.
Just do your best. And if you're in need of words of wisdom, remember my favourite quote below!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Triple Birthday Wishes!!

2008-10-10T18:28:00.000+08:00

Happy, happy, happy birthday to the three birthday boys: Hee Won, Joel & Lennart!

Here's hoping your day is a wonderful one and that the year to come has many wonderful adventures in store for you!

Sorry I could not be there to share your special day at school today. I was busy at a teacher's conference learning some great new teaching strategies to try out on you all!

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown

Important Events & Updates - Archives

2008-10-08T23:03:00.000+08:00

April
Welcome back after our long Easter weekend. I hope that those of you who celebrate Easter had a wonderful time with your friends and families.

Important Dates
April 9th - Election Day - No School
April 10th - Good Friday - No School
April 12th - Easter SundayApril 13th - Back to School
April 13th – 17th International Language Week.
April 13th – French Day
April 14th - Multi-Cultural Food Bazaar
April 15th – Chinese Day & Cultural Performance
April 17th – Indonesian Day - Multicultural Assembly 7.45am
April 17-19 - Bali IISSAC Swimming & X CountryApril 20th - Earth Week
April 22nd - Earth Day Scool-Wide Assembly
April 24th - Grade 3P Assembly

Don't forget - May 1st is 5B's Class Assembly! Woo Hoo!

March
I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend last weekend. We started Trimester 3 this week and students are busy getting started with lots of new units. Only two more weeks till our next holiday! Yay!

Important Dates
Mon March 9th - National Holiday - NO SCHOOL!
Tues March 10th - Trimester 3 starts
Wed March 13th - Report Cards IssuedLS Awards AssemblyNewsletter Distribution
Friday & sat 13th & 14th March - US Drama Play 'Unwrapped'
Sunday 15th March BIS Fun Run
Friday 20th House Competition & 11.30 early dismissal
21st - Ji Ho's 11th birthday

February
Wow, isn't the time flying?!Before we know it, it'll be Easter.

Important Dates
February 16 - Fidelia's Birthday - YAY!
February 17, 18, 19 - LS Performing Arts Assembly Rehearsals
February 18 - LS Inter House Dodge Ball Competition
February 20 - LS Performing Arts Assembly
February 27th - Professional Devleopment Day - NO SCHOOL!

January

Welcome Back and a very Happy New Year! We have lots of exciting things happening at school to look foreard to. Let's hope the rain doesn't give us too many problems!

Important Dates
January 16th - Newsletter Distribution
January 20th - PAFA Meeting in Library 8am.
Jnauary 22nd - PAFA Chinese New year Bake Sale 5B, 5R, 6B
January 23rd - PAFA Lion Dance
January 26th - Chinese New Year Holiday - No School!
January 30th - LS Vacation Slideshow & newsletter Distribution

December
Warm wishes for a wonderfully merry Christmas and a relaxing and peaceful holiday!

Important Dates
December 12th - Holiday Sing-along Assembly 10am
December 17th - Fine arts Evening 7pm
December 19th – Whole School House Aquatic Festival
December 19th –Half day: school finishes at 11.30pm for Christmas Vacation
January 12th – School resumes

November
November 21st
Well done to all the students who won awards at the LS awards assembly. Only four weeks left of school now – Christmas will be here before we know it! Enjoy reading the reports that go out today. Your children deserve to be congratulated on their accomplishments.
Important Dates
November 21st - LS Awards Assembly & Pizza Party
November 24th – PAFA Meeting 8.30am Library
November 25th to 28th – Book Fair & Order Club
November 25th – Mrs. Beck’s Birthday!!
November 28th - LS Performing Arts Show
December 12th – LS Holiday Sing-along

November is a very busy month. Trimester 1 ends on Friday November 14th. Time is flying by!
I hope to see many parents at the various concerts and assemblies we have planned.
Important Dates
November 5th is the UN Fine Arts performance 7pm
November 6th UN Day Assembly 8am & PAFA Food Display
November 7th - No School (Report Card Writing)
November 14th - LS Drama Production Assembly

October
24th - A huge thank you to Mrs. Dadlani for volunteering to be our class Mum! Yay!
21st - Thanks to all the parents who came to parent conferences last week - it was wonderful to meet with you all and share with you the accomplishments of your children. Don't forget upcoming events:
Friday 24th October it's the October Birthday party;
Friday 31st the Halloween dress up, assembly and trick or treat;
November 5th is the UN Fine Arts performance.
6th - Welcome back to school! Don't forget that there are parent conferences on October 15th & 16th and that on both these days, your child will be going home early at 12 noon.

September
26th - I hope you all have a safe, wonderful and relaxing Idul Fitri holiday! See you in a week's time.

22nd - This Friday 25th September, all lower school students will be taking part in a 'Knowledge Bowl' House trivia quiz. Good luck to everyone! Don't forget that it is an early finishing day - students leave at 11.30am.

A big thank you to all the parents who came to 'Open House' last week. It was wonderful meeting you all.

August
29th - Parents, don't forget that there is an 'Open House' night on September 4th from 7:00 to 9:30. It will be a wonderful opportunity to meet with you all, if you are able to come. See you then!

26th - This coming Friday 29th, there will be a school-wide House sports competition for most of the day. Parents are all invited to come and watch and cheer and lunch will be provided by the PAFA. It would be gerat to see all you parents there!

19th - Welcome to Grade 5B's website! I hope this will be a great way for keeping the lines of communication open between student, teacher and parents! Let me know if you have any great ideas for improvements.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown