English

This term we have been reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio, the story of a boy with a facial deformity starting at high school. The book raises many themes, particularly society’s treatment of those who are different, and led to us questioning our own reactions, conscious and sub-conscious, to physical disability and other forms of ‘difference’. The boy in the book has a rare genetic condition known as Treacher Collins Syndrome and the class learned about the causes and symptoms and read an interview with Jono Lancaster, a young man who lives with the condition. Taking note of some of the scenarios he has faced and of the responses of people to him that he wishes he could change, the class wrote open letters from the point of view of someone with a physical disability, reflecting on how important it is to look beyond appearances.

French

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Notions abordées

Fonctions de communication : Poser des questions et savoir répondre à des questions concernant le calendrier (date, saison, météo…) –Présenter des activités quotidiennes – Demander l’heure – Savoir dire l’heure

Grammaire et conjugaison : Consolidation des notions abordées à la période précédente : la conjugaison de certains verbes : être, avoir et verbe du premier groupe au présent (suite) –La forme négative (simple) de la phrase – Des pronoms interrogatifs (suite)- Les verbes pronominaux

Vocabulaire : Des verbes d’actions quotidiennes– L’heure – L’hiver

Chansons-Poésies-Théâtre

Poésie :Chanson pour les enfants l’hiver Chanson : C’est l’hiver

Activités et Objectifs

Déroulement de la troisième période selon deux axes principaux :

Consolidation des notions étudiés durant la période précédente au niveau de la grammaire et de la conjugaison et des échanges oraux autour du calendrier.
Découverte de nouvelles fonctions de communication comme celle pour exprimer l’heure, les activités quotidiennes à travers différents supports.
Acquérir une base de vocabulaire sur le thème de l’hiver

Objectifs :

Développer l’expression orale dans des situations concrètes de la vie quotidienne
Sensibiliser les élèves à la lecture / écritures des sons complexes, à la grammaire et à la conjugaison française.

Prochaine période

En mars 2022, nous aborderons deux nouveaux thèmes : le sport et la fête. Avec le sport nous verrons notamment les différents sports, comment formuler différentes questions et expressions. Le thème de la fête nous permettra d’exprimer des goûts, des souhaits, de pratiquer des formules de politesse, de demander des prix…., et de parler de la fête célébrée en avril : Pâques.

Mathematics

2D & 3D Shapes and their properties

Introduction to the 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.

Enthusiastic Elms constructed triangles using SSS(side, side, side), SAS(side, angle, side) and ASA(angle, side, angle) and can confidently use their protractor and compass while constructing a perpendicular to and from a point.
Elms used their previous knowledge of properties of faces, surfaces, edges and vertices of cubes, cuboids, prisms, cylinders, pyramids and cones and solved problems where they had to calculate their volume and surface area.

Ratio and Proportion

During this unit, Elms also investigated and solved various problems with ratio, direct and inverse proportion.

History

The theme this term was ‘They Made a Difference’ and Elm learned about the life of Nelson Mandela and his journey from activist to prisoner to Nobel Prize Laureate to President of South Africa.

In order to understand the background to his life, the class learnt about the arrival of Europeans in South Africa, the Dutch in the mid-1600s, followed by the British in the early 19^th century, and the subsequent Boer Wars between the two colonial powers. They learned how Apartheid was incorporated into law by the Nationalist Government in 1948 and of the terrible injustices suffered by the black population.

Geography

This term Elm looked at population and the reasons for its rapid growth from the 1700s, linked to breakthroughs in science and technology, better farming techniques and agricultural machinery, and the Industrial Revolution. They looked at the consequences of population growth and the social an environmental issues that arise.

During the ski trip to the Alps, an instructor gave the class a presentation on how to read mountain maps and signage as well as on the importance of being properly equipped when skiing, particularly when skiing off-piste and what to do if caught in an avalanche.

The instructor gave them a practical task when he hid a backpack in the snow containing an avalanche transceiver (emergency locator beacon) and they set off to find it using the techniques and strategies they had been taught earlier – moving in a zig zag formation until they hear a signal and using the collapsible ski probe poles to locate the item before uncovering it with a lightweight plastic shovel.

Back in the classroom Elm learned about the different causes of avalanches and about one avalanche in Italy in 2015 that destroyed a hotel and killed many of its guests. They learned about the rescue and the remote location that made the rescue challenging for the emergency services.

Science

Earth and Beyond!

This term, Elm class have been learning about the solar system that we live in. We have been looking closely at different aspects of space. For example, as class we explored the effects the Moon has on planet Earth, the life and death of stars as well as deep space to name a few.

The class developed their knowledge and understanding of space and the solar system through conducting their own research. They chose an area of study to investigate further. The information to complete the project is based on reading that they had done in class as well as at home.

Once the class had conducted their research they were given time to construct presentation that would clearly demonstrate what they had learnt over this term. They were challenged to think up of different ways to present their findings in a new and exciting ways.

As a result, the class have been able to support development of others understanding of this subject as well as developing their own presentational skills.

DT

”They made a difference”

Linked to our discoveries , Oaks and Elms with some amazing support from Birch and Walnut Classes embarked on their Collaborative Design and Technology journey while constructing our own FISP Book Swap Box.

Spanish

This term, Elm class read and discussed a poem about a rooster named “Colibri”, they enjoyed re-enacting the story and making drawings about it. They learned new vocabulary words related to kitchen utensils and household items by looking at artwork from the Renaissance period. Additionally, students practiced their Speaking abilities by being part of a role play game as waiters of a restaurant and reviewing Spanish greetings and salutations. Furthermore, as part of their Spanish cultural learning they made a Valentine’s Day card and the vocabulary related to this day. By the end of the term they developed their reading and writing skills by learning subject and personal pronouns and its use in sentences. Elm class is shining in Spanish and we’re proud of their hard work.

ICT

This term students created a website about the Solar System on a Content Management System called WordPress. They chose the theme (layout) and got a basic understanding of the dashboard as well as how to manage media (images, documents, audio and video files) and menus. They were able to create new posts and pages with the Block editor besides choosing the layout of these including the header, footer, sidebar and body.

Click on the following link to visit the student’s website: https://elm-ictproject-fisp.com/

Skiing Trip to Val Cenis

During our trip to Val Cenis , the children went on an emotional 6 day journey, far away from home. We were excited to go but tiny bit anxious to leave our parents behind. We were happy to meet new people and learn new things. We were frustrated when something did not work out straight away but were over the Moon with our progress on the slopes after 5 days of skiing. Most of the time we were happy and will remember this trip for the rest of our lives. We have discovered so many new things, learnt so much about ourselves and came back a little bit more independent.

Luiza just joined us,
And she is very mature.
And her tall brother Bruno,
Has a great sense of humour.

They come from Brazil,
But they once lived in China.
They are quite thorough with their work,
Often double check it, even mistakes that are minor.

Soren never went skiing,
But indeed was quite brave.
Don’t have to tell him twice,
He knows well how to behave.

Our Storm is a free spirit,
And runs with the wind.
Had bundles of fun skiing,
It is cold Storm! Where is your jacket? Take a hint.

Dylan often asks questions,
And he often has something to say.
Always went on super steep slopes,
And he never stayed at bay.

Gabriela just joined us ,
She is our DIY Queen.
Had a blast skiing, hungry for knowledge,
Well mannered and to learn she is keen.

Sara loves books,
And she reads them a lot.
She speaks Romanian, English and French,
She is our true polyglot.
She often sings,
And she was skiing like a pro,
Are we skiing now?
Shall I get ready to go?

Leo loves Maths,
And shared some tricks on how to play chess.
There were 4 boys in his room,
But they tidied their mess.

Filip AKA SUPER MARIO enjoyed skiing,
And was super fast on the sledge.
He was a well behaved student,
He pushed himself to the limit, he pushed himself to the edge.

Even Adam came with us ,
And his brother Dylan read him bed time story.
Zoomed down those slopes,
With Mrs Harrington on the first day,
Fighting for their glory.

Roger can crunch numbers,
And goes down the slope with the speed of light.
You should see his face light up,
And he adores the Turkish Delight.

Liam eats books,
On his quest for deep meaning.
Kindle, soft back or hard back?
Say it louder but don’t turn off the light,
Liam is reading.

Lukas loves Maths and he is our skiing pro,
Often sets himself a personal challenge.
Very organised with his stuff,
Just give him a task and he will surely manage.

Jean went down those slopes,
Whatever colour you name it.
Skiing champion he is ,
Just give him your record and he will break it.

Chloé had bundles of fun,
Are we going skiing now, Mr.Kralka?
I better run!
Was tired but marched on.
Had a blister but went on.
Our charming Chloé was our mini Sun.

Cecilia had no fear,
She quickly zoomed down that slope.
Part of our Brazilian Skiing Team,
One day will show off her talent,
Oak and Elm truly hope.

Oscar was ready,
From the moment they said GO.
Superstar on the slope,
And his confidence did grow.
He loves our mother nature,
And he spent so much time in a horizontal position on the slope,
Doesn’t like his ice-cream now,
Totally no problem, just give him some fresh snow.

From Forest International,
We are representing Oak.
And as you can see and hear,
This class is no joke.

From Forest International,
We are representing Elm.
And as you can see and hear,
This class is a Gem.