English
Cedar read Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol this term, delving deep into the familiar story of the cold-hearted Scrooge whose exclamation ‘Bah! Humbug’ has become synonymous with a curmudgeonly outlook on life. The class read the story in the context of London in 1843 when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing and thousands lived in squalor and misery. While Dickens used the book to express his outrage at their exploitation and to hold society’s wealthy accountable for the treatment of the poor, it is an uplifting story of second chances and redemption and has plenty of wit and humour. Cedar analysed characterisation, mood and atmosphere in the story and also discovered how our modern concept of Christmas is based on the images created by Dickens in this much-loved novella.
Alongside this, Cedar focused on Expository / Informational writing, and how authors inform and explain their purpose in writing. The class looked at the differences between informational, explanatory and descriptive writing and worked on using effective transitional words and phrases.
French
Intermediate Group with Christine
During this period, from November to December, the first topic we worked on was the one of the House with all his rooms and furniture. They had to be able to name and write properly the different places and all what is inside. We did a focus on the bedroom and each of the children had to make presentation of their dream bedroom including the things in it that reflect their passions (video games, poster or books about animals…). It was also an opportunity to speak about some castles in France and make them do a short presentation of one the famous monument in their own country. We ended this period talking about buying presents through a dialogue in their book and in another dialogue in which they had to do a roleplay.
Through written and oral exercises, they had the possibility to acquired new vocabulary, learn grammar/conjugation structures or review some others.
In January, we will go on working on the topic of purchase and we will speak about food (shops, menu, receipt, healthy food…).
I wish a Merry Christmas to all the families.
Advanced Group with Marie
Pendant cette deuxième période, les élèves ont continué à approfondir les notions de français:
en grammaire: les différentes fonctions de l’adjectif qualificatif (épithète/attribut du sujet), le complément du nom, phrases simples/complexes, les différentes propositions (subordonnées/conjonctives/juxtaposées).
en conjugaison: les temps du récit, l’imparfait, le passé simple.
en vocabulaire: étude de la notion du conte ainsi que la carte mentale du conte, vocabulaire du merveilleux et du fantastique, les différentes origines d’un mot.
en orthographe: l’infinitif et le participe passé, 2 dictées ont été effectuées.
en mémorisation: 1 poésie a été apprise et récitée.
en littérature: choix d’un livre de lecture puis rendu de la fiche en lien avec le livre, apprentissage du schéma narratif.
2 évaluations ont eu lieu durant le 2ème terme.
Spanish
This term we worked on the importance of family in Hispanic culture. We discovered the symbol of «La Llorona» through the popular Mexican song* in its most recent version* and saw the different versions of this legend so popular in the Hispanic world.
Then CHRISTMAS. They discovered the different characters existing in the Spanish Christmas and shared a moment of cooking to discover the TURRON.
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Mathematics
Pythagoras’ Theorem. The children investigated with different triangles and understand the relationship between the three sides of the right angled triangle and know how to find the unknown side when two sides are provided. Cedar students solved different questions where the hypothenuse values were unknown and then used the trigonometric ratios of sine and cosine to find the value of certain angles. Young Cedar looked into real life applications of trigonometric ratios and solved problems with boats, planes and rockets where horizontal distance and angles of depression were unknown.
Cedar students used their previous knowledge of properties of faces, surfaces, edges and vertices of cubes, cuboids, prisms, cylinders, pyramids and cones and solved some complex problems where they had to calculate their volume and surface area.
Elm and Cedar Mathematicians participated in the 1/4 final of the 37 th International Mathematical Games and those that will qualify to the 1/2 final will be notified by e-mail before 18th of March 2023. Well done Elm and Cedar, you did your very best to crunch those numbers and solved some tricky logical problems.
Science
During this term Cedar class enjoyed a wonderful time learning about chemical concepts. Students built on their previous knowledge of the particle theory of matter and developed new knowledge on elements, compounds and mixtures. They developed and demonstrate the spherical model of the atom and that elements contain only one type of atom and therefore cannot be split into different substances.
We had the chance to spend a fantastic learning time on PhET virtual lab where all students discovered which particles affect the mass, name, and charge of an atom. And they play around adding protons, neutrons, and electrons to the atom.
Students had time to study elements of periodic table and their physical and chemical properties. They compared and discussed chemical properties of Alkali, Halogens and Noble gases elements and their reactivity with water.
History
The Cedar class looked at women’s struggle for voting rights in the United Kingdom and in the United States, exploring how women gained the right vote. Students looked at how men and women lived in the Nineteenth and Twentieth century, making sense of the inequalities between their conditions. Students also worked on analytical writing, practicing the structure of paragraph based on the use of evidence to support a point. In the last weeks of the term, students prepared a short presentation on Suffragettes, looking at specific figures of women involved in their campaigns.
Geography
This term the topic was Population and it coincided with Earth’s population reaching eight billion in November. The class looked at population trends, density and distribution around the world and the factors influencing them. The class discussed the challenges faced by countries with ageing populations where birth rates are low; here, young people will soon be insufficient to fill the job market. Conversely, countries such as Ethiopia, which have a growing young population, face the prospect of its young people finding it hard to find work. The class researched their own families for examples of the change in birth rates around the world, in some cases reporting grandparents in families of 10 children or more as opposed to their own two- or one-child family units.
Design and Technology
Birch, Walnut , Oak , Elm and Cedar collaborative Christmas decorations and costume design project.
Soap Project
ART
Over the course of this term, Cedar students worked on the backdrop representing the main theme of the school’s Christmas show “Christmas Stories from Around the World”, using different colouring techniques like water colours and paint. They also worked on other pieces of art – like the cover of the book including all the texts of the Christmas stories performed on stage – reproducing the design they had created for the backdrop.
Global Perspectives
The Cedar class worked on migrations, looking at different case studies from around the world. The main focus of the work carried out by Cedar students was to map out appropriate ideas when having to answer a research question. Therefore, they worked on research skills, trying to select and evaluate the most relevant concepts related with the research question that they have chosen. The students have carried out this work in small groups, creating poster that could map out their ideas.
Drama Workshops
Cedar students accomplished some fantastic work over the course of the term. The students worked on the development of a two-acts comedy that served as introduction and conclusion of the Christmas show. Cedar students worked on how to bring characters on stage, studying their emotional and physical features. They developed voice and improvisation skills, learning how a script could be brough successfully on stage.
Creative Writing Workshops
Cedar students looked at dystopian texts, exploring a variety of mentor texts – Bradbury, Orwell, Jackson – to reflect on the main features and the most important themes conveyed by dystopian texts. The students focused on the planning stage of writing, using the Freytag’s pyramid as a tool to develop the plot of their story. During each workshop, Cedar students had the opportunity of sharing their work with a classmate, discussing ideas, and giving suggestions to each other.
