Birch Class, Term 3, 2023-2024

Through an active, rich and diverse curriculum, we continued to make excellent progress in our learning during this term.

Maths

In Birch Class, our exploration of mathematics this term has focused on the intriguing topics of mass and volume. Through interactive activities, we’ve delved into measuring capacities and volumes practically. Furthermore, our adventures in the forest involved measuring various objects in both centimetres and metres, offering real-world applications of our learning.

Literacy

This first term of 2024 the students have continued to progress with Jolly Phonics and they have now studied the 42 sounds of this method. We are now consolidating what we have learned and we are working on our spelling of ‘Common Exception’ (tricky) words such as do, to, today said, were etc. and also ‘High Frequency’ words such as the, and, from, can, could etc.

The students have been introduced to the prefix ‘un’. They understand that it changes some words and that it is like adding the word ‘not’ (ex: kind-unkind/happy-unhappy) or that it means the opposite of something (ex: zip-unzip, pack-unpack). They played educational games and made their own sentences and changed their board display with their prefix work.

The students were introduced to their first ‘Guided Writing’ activity. They were given an image and were encouraged to talk about it and then use their own imagination by answering the questions: who/what/when/where and writing down their story independently. We also read the book One Snowy Night which the students particularly enjoyed and we did reading comprehension activities/sequencing of the story and as an end of term treat we watched the beautiful short movie.

French with Marie

Cette troisième période a été bien chargée en apprentissage puisque plusieurs notions de grammaire et de conjugaison ont été abordées en plus des nouveaux sons et des fiches de lecture et de compréhension. Nous avons abordé différents thèmes tels que l’hiver, la galette, le Nouvel An Chinois, les crêpes, la saint Valentin…

Les livres lus durant ce terme ont été les suivants:

De ces albums, ont découlé différentes activités qui ont permis l’exploitation de ces histoires. Nous avons donné du sens à l’apprentissage des voyelles et des consonnes.

A chaque début de semaine, vos enfants ont appris et chanté une nouvelle chanson:

J’aime la galette, Le bon roi Dagobert, Trois esquimaux, Les petits souliers, Petits Flocons blancs, L’amour brille sous les étoiles.

Les objectifs de cette période ont été:

– d’approfondir la langue française

– de s’exprimer de manière plus fluide

– de renforcer la syntaxe en s’exprimant oralement

– de connaître et d’acquérir les sons et les consonnes ( F, D, V, È/Ê,P, OU ) ainsi que le principe du code alphabétique

– d’ associer le nom de la consonne et de connaître le son qu’elle produit

– d’approfondir le geste graphique en s’exerçant à écrire en attaché (écriture cursive)

– se familiariser avec la dictée

– de lire et de comprendre les histoires lues, de livres (collection Sami et Julie): Super Sami et Le Carnaval

– de réciter une poésie “L’hiver” de Karine Persillet

– de chanter collectivement une chanson

Science/Geography

This term in Birch Class, our scientific journey has been an exhilarating exploration of the world around us. We began by investigating the essential elements that shape our environment, from rocks to soil, discovering their significance in our daily lives.

Continuing our exploration, we delved into the captivating realm of weather, learning about different weather patterns, seasons, and the factors influencing our climate. Through hands-on activities and observations, we gained a deeper understanding of the natural forces at play.

Furthermore, our curiosity led us beyond Earth as we ventured into space. We marvelled at the wonders of the planets, observed the mesmerizing phases of the moon, and contemplated the vastness of galaxies.

Design and Technology

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Collaborative creation. There is so much art in me!

In Design and Technology projects, Birch and Walnut students had the opportunity to extend their understanding of different carpentry techniques while creating their ‘Computer Components Eiffel Tower’. The children were eager to get on with the project straight away and demonstrated precise actions while disassembling old computers and safely used a drill, heat gun and a screw driver. Collaged paper, melted crayons and electronic components beautifully fitted together as one and Birch and Walnut students are proud of their recycled materials Eiffel Tower.

Science Experiments with snow

During the snowy January days, Birch and Walnut scientists investigated with snow and tested different materials to find good thermal insulators and conductors. Students devised different experiments where they measured the time, temperature and amount of water formed after snow or ice was melted.

Building our survival skills in the forest– Forest Challenges

During our whole school forest challenges and team building activities, the children were engaged in a variety of physical and logical tasks. Not only that they started to develop a sense of belonging to the team but also tried to overcome frustration when something was not going their way. As a team, they tried to work on these tasks and often agreed on the strategies and techniques that they had to use. The main mission for these challenges is not only to allow children to have fun but also enrich their set of skills that will be useful for the rest of their lives.

The children worked on their Morality, Enquiry, Cooperation, Communication, Thoughtfulness, Respect, Resilience and Determination personal goals.

These skills are vital to acquire from an early age and knowing ‘how to get up when we are knocked down’ is very important.

Forest and PE

Topic

We have had a very busy and exciting start to 2024 in French Topic class! The main theme for this term was “Our World” where we learned a lot of new vocabulary related to this topic. We also celebrated La Galette des Rois, La Chandeleur and Le Nouvel An Chinois.

We’ve read these books:

We’ve also studied the Carnaval around the world

Music

This term, we’ve studied the musical tail “Pierre et le loup”

Chinese song

Art

This term, we’ve studied the painter Mondrian.

And they’ve made some crown as well

Chinese Art

The children of the primary section learnt about the story told of 12 animals that competed in race and of how now each animal represents a new lunar year. We learnt about the importance of red envelopes and how to write in Chinese. They also made a Dragon puppet.

Walnut Class and Birch have been a hub of creativity and experimentation. We’ve explored a variety of materials, allowing our imaginations to run wild. From paints to clay, we’ve embraced the opportunity to express ourselves through different mediums. It’s been a term of artistic exploration and self-expression.

Coding and Programming Workshop

This term, Birch class worked on different games to develop their coding and programming skills. They performed activities related to sequencing, debugging, loops and functions. Students showed they were able to learn by themselves and solve different problems. They also designed programs in ScratchJr, by the end of the term they made a Valentine’s Day Card.