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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Enjoy your holiday!

Best wishes,

Mrs. Harrington, Christine, Joanna, Cecilia, Mr. H and Mr. Kralka

Literacy

This term Elm read short stories: The Hitchhiker by Roald Dahl and The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury. The class read the Hitchhiker closely, in instalments, savouring the unfolding drama and the understated humour of the encounter with a traffic policeman. They became increasingly intrigued by the mysterious passenger, so self-assured and wordly wise compared to the narrator.

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Having enjoyed the story, the class thought about their response to the outcome and asked themselves whether they sided with the traffic policeman or the speeding driver and his tricky passenger. Most of us admitted we were happy with the story’s ending but one person stood up for law and order and sided with the policeman! 

The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury, written in 1951, is a very different story but the class found plenty to talk about in this bleak, futuristic tale of a dystopian city, where crime has been stamped out and a population of three million is policed by one car. We only meet one resident because the rest are at home watching their sinister-sounding ‘viewing screens’. 

Elm also studied poetry this term, focusing on imagery and the different techniques used by writers to ‘paint a picture with words’. We read the beautiful ‘In Memory of My Grandfather’ by Edward Storey and studied his use of imagery, as he compared his beloved grandfather, a rural farming man, to a tree. The class drew pictures of the grandfather as he is depicted in the poem. They then wrote their own poetry, choosing to write about places that had an impact on them rather than people. 

History

This term Elm began to look at the Renaissance and the changes in thinking that led away from the Age of Faith to a renewed interest in the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome. They learnt about the intellectual movement of Humanism and how the new ideas were spread thanks to the printing press.  

They learnt how the wealthy city states now known as Italy were at the heart of the new quest for knowledge that characterised the period and why the region was so economically and culturally important at this time.  

Geography

This term Elm class followed the COP26 meeting, held this year in Glasgow, and learnt about the global climate summits, known as COP or ”Conference of the Parties” that the UN has been hosting for almost thirty years. Afterwards, the class researched renewable energy sources, their pros and cons and uptake around the world and then presented their findings to each other.  

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Science

This term Elm Class have been learning about the different forces that are found all around us. They were set the task of developing their scientific understanding of the range of forces that act upon an object at one time.

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The children formed hypotheses as well as conducting investigations into a chosen force. First, they investigated as a group, then they applied the same template to individual investigations. This enabled the children to take their learning outside of the classroom as well as to apply their literacy skills in a different subject.

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Finally, Elm class were set the challenge of presenting all they had learnt over the term in an educational poster that would be used to support further understanding of the different forces that are found around us.

Mathematics

In Statistics:

Elms constructed and interpreted various data tables, charts, and diagrams, including frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, pictograms, line graphs, stem and leaf charts and scatter graphs (correlation). Elms can clearly distinguish between positive and negative correlation, identify if it is strong, moderate or weak and understand that all outliers are not taken into consideration while drawing the line of the best fit. We then dived deeper into the construction of pie charts and calculated desirable percentage and number of degrees for the specific group of data.

In Algebra: Expressions /Formulae/ System of equations

We worked on simplifying algebraic expressions, used simple formulae and wrote formulae from the problem to identify how they could be applied in real life. We worked on solving problems while substituting specific values into expressions and formulae and then probed further into algebra while finding solutions for the systems of equations.

Spanish

Students learned the Spanish version of the song “A King is Born” for the Christmas show. They played “Loteria” (similar to Bingo) to learn and practise the numbers from 1 to 30. Descriptions of school life and corresponding vocabulary was one of our focuses this term. During the last class of the term, students were able to practise the Christmas vocabulary on Seesaw (classroom app); some of them recorded their voices saying the words.

ICT

Students learned and practised how to make a poster on Google Drawings by drawing, modifying and combining objects and inserting images, text and other useful tools.

Every student designed a poster for the Christmas show. Cecilia’s poster (Oak Class) was chosen to be displayed around the school and later was used on the invitation sent to parents.

Students discovered what HTML is, used HTML to structure static web pages and learned how to modify tags to improve the appearance of web pages.

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French

Christmas Performance ”Hey Ewe!”

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Collaborative Background posters

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Designing and making our Christmas costumes...

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The mighty Oaks and Ecstatic Elms had a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their creative side while making costumes, dancing, singing, creating props and performing on the stage during our Christmas Show.

Thank you and well done to all the Oak and Elm students for their outstanding dedication and hard work during our «Hey Ewe!» performance!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy your holiday!

 Best wishes,

Mrs. Harrington, Christine, Joanna, Cecilia, Mr. H and Mr. Kralka

English

Elm read King of Shadows this term, a historical novel set in Elizabethan England. The book follows the story of Nat Field, a young actor in The Company of Boys, an American theatre troupe chosen to perform at The Globe Theatre in London. Nat finds himself transported back in time and performing with William Shakespeare and a host of other real historical figures working with Shakespeare at the new Globe Theatre of the 16^th century.

While the book touches on the themes of grief and loss (Nat has lost both his parents), it provides an introduction to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Nat performs his role as the mischievous sprite Puck.

Elm researched the actors featured in the book and presented them in character and after studying the text and ‘translating’ the unfamiliar Elizabethan vocabulary, they learned by heart the dialogue between Puck and the Fairy in Act 2 Scene 1 of the play.

The class also wrote ‘first hand’ accounts of important events in history, combining factual research with creative imagination.  Beginning with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the class covered an eclectic range of experiences, from the attack on Pearl Harbour to the Battle of the Somme, the destruction of Pompei by the eruption of Vesuvius and the Greek Trojan Horse entering the city of Troy.

French

French IMYC

Mathematics

During this unit, we worked on finding percentages of amounts and fractions of numbers. We revised rounding whole numbers and decimals and converted percentages, fractions and decimals.  We practised finding the equivalent fractions by multiplying/dividing the numerator and denominator by the same number and then converted mixed numbers and improper fractions. We also worked on solving various problems with percentage increase and decrease. Being able to calculate percentages is very important these days and Elms practised solving various problems with interest rate, VAT and tax. The skills acquired will be very useful later this year during our ” Young Entrepreneurs” business project.

Geography

Both classes examined the theme of Sustainability in Geography this term, Elm with a particular emphasis on sustainable cities and the problems faced by densely populated and growing urban centres, and Oak on the issues relating to the depletion of natural resources as well as the need to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. In their research they came across the Wonderbag no-fuel slow cooker that has such a positive impact in the developing world. They discovered that this simple product allows families to reduce cooking fuel consumption by up to 70%, reducing carbon emissions and deforestation. Importantly, it reduces the need to cook for long periods of time over open fires, a practice that exposes populations, but mostly women and children, to harmful particles released from burning biomass such as wood and dung. It also frees the same women and girls from hours of unpaid labour.

Inspired by the simple concept, Oak and Elm decided to make their own thermal cooker using a cardboard box, polystyrene and some bubble wrap – and an old blanket to throw on top.  They were ready for the Wonder cooker challenge, the Wonderbox versus the Wonderbag (lent by a member of staff). Two pots of rice, two cookers, two excellent results.

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History

The History theme this term was ‘Respect’ and it took the class on a journey that began with a reflection on what Respect is and the different ways it is demonstrated around the world. The class then used their understanding of the term to examine the various reasons why people left Britain and Europe in the 16^th century to start new lives in the New World. They then examined why, after a couple of centuries, the settlers revolted against the British Crown’s tight grip and increasingly unreasonable demands.

Spanish

The ELM class had “All About Me” as a theme this term or “Todo sobre mi”.  They learnt to sing the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in Spanish and the vocabulary for more parts of the body. Through questioning, they practised how to present and talk about themselves. They also learnt how to use the verb ‘to have’ in the positive and negative forms. We played BINGO to learn the alphabet and vowels. The class talked about the foods they like and don’t like. They studied the use of definite articles and how to identify if a word is masculine or feminine. The end-of-term project was on the Day of the Dead Celebration in Latin American countries and the children made flowers and drew skulls and candles for the altar.

Science

Mad about Science!

This term Elm Class have been building on their knowledge and understanding of plants and the different varieties/categories that these plants are found. First, we took an in-depth study of the reproductive part of a plant and discussed their importance. From this, we explored and discussed the reasons why plants have adapted to suit their environment. Taking our understanding further we researched plant cells and made comparisons to human cells. Appling our new knowledge and understanding of this to conduct an in-depth study of a leaf.

Applied Scientific enquiry skills

We took our learning outside the classroom and explored the local environment we used this to apply and our understanding of classification plants that are common to woodland. We were about to successfully find a range of different varieties along with some new ones we hadn’t learnt about.

Taking it further

We decided as a group to conduct an experiment using moss collected from the forest floor. As we had learnt that moss doesn’t have roots but thrives from moisture we decided to place the moss in different coloured water to see what would happen. The results were impressive!

ICT

ELM learners compared calculating machines from the past to modern general-purpose computers. They also discovered how all computing systems, regardless of form or capability, make use of the same components: a processor, memory, storage, input and output devices, and communication components.

The class looked at how the hardware components used in computing systems work together in order to execute programs. They defined the term ‘artificial intelligence’ and learned how to train Google Teachable Machine to classify images.

OAK and ELM visit YAMASHITA’S FARM in the Yvelines.

Asafumi Yamashita – The Haute Couture Vegetable Grover.

Linked to our learning in Science based on ‘Plants and flowers’,  we visited an inspirational gardener who shared some of the tricks of the trade with us. The children eagerly shared their knowledge of the subject, asked questions and attentively listened to his remarkable story. Self-taught, Asafumi Yamashita grows vegetables with a secret he calls ‘the Yamashita method’. He produces about 50 Japanese varieties a year on 3,000 square metres (a third of this surface being converted into greenhouses). His vegetable garden is modest in size compared to an average farm, but for Asafumi Yamashita what matters is quality not quantity. Some say that he whispers to his vegetables and listens to the voice of his land.  The way Mr. Yamashita  puts it is that he writes a poem while growing his vegetables and top chefs in Paris write music that goes with his poem. Lucky customers who enjoy those delicious dishes sing the song that was composed for them with love. We were lucky enough to taste his delicious vegetables and even brought some home to share with our families.

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Trip to the Louvre

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Forest Challenges and Tabata

Since the beginning of the year, Oak and Elm classes have been engaged in our weekly Forest Challenge and very intense daily 7-minute work-out ”TABATA”. The main purpose of these challenges is to practise team building skills and to develop resilience as it is often tough to accomplish a challenge at the first attempt. We learnt that it is important to stay focused until the last moment and clearly recognise that the last push could make a difference to the team. In our next challenges we will concentrate on fair play and communication which will improve our personal, partner and team working skills.

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Singing workshop with Kareen Clair

Halloween at Forest International School

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Literacy

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The Spring Term saw Elms delving into the diary of anxious teenager Adrian Mole as he struggled to cope with outbreaks of spots and his parents’ marital troubles.

Adrian Mole’s Parents by Uttara Nair

Pauline and George Mole

Adrian Mole’s parents are quite careless and irresponsible. They don’t seem to care about Adrian Mole. They are also alcoholics and always keep on smoking. I guess that is one of the main reasons why Adrian Mole is un poco loco. He tries to get their attention but they are too busy in their own gloomy life to take any interest in their child’s life. They are so careless that they didn’t even realize that Adrian was reading magazines that are not age appropriate like the Big And Bouncy. Even after they found out about the magazines all they cared about was the phone bill that he had hidden and not about the inappropriate articles he was reading. They were also so busy doing nothing that they didn’t even name the dog!! His mom had moved in with Mr. Lucas but after some months she came back to Adrian’s dad. I actually feel sad that Adrian has such negligent parents and no adult to look up to.

Adrian’s friend Nigel by Liam Coetzee

Nigel’s role in the story is as Adrian’s best friend. They both go to the same school. Nigel has a very modern large house with an amazing room. It has everything, a stereo, spotlights over his bed, an electric guitar and a colour television! Adrian goes on Nigel’s racing bike. It has a water bottle, a milometer, a speedometer, a yellow saddle and very thin racing wheels. It is the coolest bike ever and Nigel does not even truly appreciate it. Nigel and Adrian do lots of things together. They like to watch movies and go out to buy things. They both unfortunately also like the same girl, Pandora. Pandora has lovely hair and becomes Nigel’s girlfriend. This makes Adrian very mad with his friend Nigel. Pandora is Adrian’s lost love!

Adrian Mole’s Character by Lila Monnet

Adrian says he is an intellectual and he dislikes the dog. He is in love with a girl named Pandora and has a bad relationship with his parents.

Some enjoyed his naïve accounts of the goings-on at home and at school while others were less appreciative. Nevertheless, they got to know the Leicester youngster who was Britain’s most celebrated teenager before the arrival of Harry Potter.

The would-be intellectual makes numerous references to literature throughout his diary, only to reveal his ignorance. “I read a bit of Pride and Prejudice, but it was very old-fashioned. I think Jane Austen should write something a bit more modern.”

Elm, like the rest of the school, were captivated by the incubating eggs and then by the chicks that emerged from them. They produced poems and pictures and built runs with activities to keep them entertained. They also researched the murky world of egg production, the various methods used by farmers and the terminology that we encounter in the shops: battery (cage), free-range, barn, organic – what do all these terms mean?  

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Elm discovered that the reality of ‘barn’ and ‘free-range’ egg production bears very little resemblance to the images of rustic farmsteads and grassy meadows that they conjure up.

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“E-BAOBAB ” – Someone’s rubbish, our treasure

There is a lot of Mathematics in growing trees, especially if they are made out of plastic! On our “eco-friendly / e-baobab” mission we estimated, calculated, measured and looked at the different possible solutions for “growing” our tree.

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The key to our e-baobab tree is the simple concept of ‘No Rubbish, Only Resources’. 

Our E-Baobab project challenges the modern-day single-use culture, ‘Buy today and throw away tomorrow’. It teaches students to see value and potential in everyday objects. It also teaches them to build and construct, and to think about how things work. It involves project-based learning and the construction of useful or fun devices using recycled materials the children have helped to source themselves. These projects not only allow the children to use their re-cycling imaginations, they teach them about construction, carpentry, mechanics and engineering.  The challenge of constructing something from old or used materials is motivating because it has a bigger purpose behind it. As the students become aware of the problems, they become engaged in the solutions, as they learn that something used need not be useless.

“Pensez au tri! Jeter vos détritus à la poubelle!” Instructions for recycling are so misleading that we thought we had to do something about it.

Our message is that it is never too late to start to make changes, and that together each one of us can help to change the world. 

We like to think that we are putting the ‘éco’ into ‘école’. Thank you to all the FISP families for their amazing input during this project and a big round of applause to Elms for their dedication and hard work.

History

The theme was Generation Games and had us reflecting on how societies around the world treat the elderly and what our attitudes are to old people. Elm were overwhelmingly appreciative of the older people in their lives, particularly their grandparents.

To encourage recognition of older people’s lives and respect for their experiences, often things that are totally outside of our own, we had a first-hand account of what it was like to be in Berlin when the city was divided by the Wall. Unsmiling soldiers with machine guns at the checkpoints, searching the car for smuggled goods on the way in and smuggled people on the way out; shabbily dressed people and poorly stocked shops on the Eastern side, people afraid to be seen talking to foreigners.

The children were rightly shocked; how could a wall have been built to divide a city as everyone stood by and watched? They learned how it was constructed, why it was built (to keep people in rather than keep people out) and of the brave men and women who escaped and those who didn’t.

They learned how it came down in 1989, more by accident than design.  They enjoyed the anecdote about people handing the East Germans bananas, a highly prized commodity that was all but impossible to come by on the Eastern side of the wall.

Pupil’s wrote diary entries in the persona of someone living in the East when the wall came down.

Geography

Birds are returning from over-wintering in warmer climes, and we decided to investigate their annual journeys around the world, many of which are extraordinary feats of endurance.

We discovered that bird migration is fraught with dangers and that many birds who set off do not return. When we looked into the list of dangers migrating birds face, we discovered, as usual, that humans play a major role, through light pollution from cities, glass in high rise buildings, wind turbines and destruction of habitat.

Pupils chose a bird and tracked its migratory path on a map, noting the countries traversed. It is incredible to think that the swallows arriving in France have been on an epic journey, on routes that might pass through the Sahara Desert or along the west coast of Africa or the Nile Valley.

Mathematics

We worked on recording, describing and analysing the frequency of outcomes of simple probability experiments involving randomness, fairness, equally and unequally likely outcomes. Elms constructed and interpreted various data tables, charts, and diagrams, including frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, pictograms, line graphs, and scatter graphs (correlation). Elms can clearly distinguish between positive and negative correlation, identify if it is strong, moderate or weak and understand that all outliers are not taken into consideration while drawing the line of the best fit. We then dived deeper into construction of pie charts and calculated desirable percentage and number of degrees for the specific group of data. We also worked on calculating the ratio and proportion and then solved various problems that involved these.

Egg project: Mathematics ( Statistics)

Linked to our “Egg project”, we created our own hypothetical and real problems based on our incubator and then constructed various graphs to represent our findings. In algebra, we closely looked into linear equations and then learnt how they could be represented geometrically. We substituted random values in these equations which subsequently helped us draw: y=x, y=x-1, y=x-2 and what they represent. We were quite lucky with our little chicks as nearly all of them hatched. In reality, our final linear equation was y=x-3, where x (x=13) was the number of the eggs in the incubator and 3 the number of chicks that did not hatch.

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Science –“Egg project”

How to train your chicken in 30 days?

Elms created different training facilities that enabled them to observe, stimulate and love their new fluffy friends even more.

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Science / Biology

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We started this unit by using microscopes to study cell structure and their functions and then compared the main parts of the animal and plant cells. We closely looked at the chick embryo development and then followed them on their 21 day journey.

Elms compared the respiratory systems of humans and chickens and then pinpointed the similarities and differences. We were intrigued by the complexity of the chickens’ respiratory system where they get two doses of oxygen for the price of one breath.

We discovered how a spirometer is used to measure the volume of air inhaled and exhaled. Elms then discussed Tidal, Residual, Inspiratory and Expiratory Reserve Volumes and how they differ in men and women and the altitude that they live on. We also learnt about the similarities and differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration and how they produce energy. We used a virtual model of a chicken and followed “that egg in the making” and were egg-static to discover the main stages of egg development (fertile and infertile).

ICT

ICT lessons have provided pupils with the principles of technology information and computation, which have been applied through programming. Computing enables pupils to become digitally literate; in other words, they are able to express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology as well as being active participants in a digital world.

Elm class have started developing coding and programming skills to create their own video games by using “Scratch”, a programming language that develops mental skills.

They have made several kinds of video games around the egg-exciting IPC theme of this fourth term, “ Eggs”.

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First, they started exploring and discovering the Scratch world. Little by little, they began to develop their own ideas and conclusions in order to make specific actions. For example, to move the sprite up and down, they had to use the Y-axis; to move the character right and left the X-axis had to be used. As can be seen, computing has deep links with mathematics, which allows pupils to apply their maths knowledge.   

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Once they had acquired the basic principles, Elm class went deeper, trying to improve and make their video games more complex, adding score bars, special variables to double their score, obstacles, background music, sound and pop-up messages.

Finally, they ended the term with a creative project called “Video game week” during which they showcased their capability, creativity and knowledge of computer science, digital media and information technology.

The aim of this week was to share their games and to explain how they were made. Each pupil presented their game and explained the code process. 

 The presentations ended with a Q&A session.

French/French IMYC

Spanish

VALENCIA, BEAUTIFUL CITY

This term we focused on sightseeing: What kind of sights and attractions can we find in a city or town?

I presented my home city of Valencia. We did a little research and we found loads of interesting facts about this beautiful Spanish city: Plaza de toros, Miguelete, ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias, the old part and the modern part.

While learning about these sights and buildings, they practised using adjectives, such as: Viejo, tradicional, nuevo, moderno, tranquilo, popular,…

WE TRAVELLED AROUND SPAIN!!!

I gathered pictures of some emblematic cities of Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Galicia, Salamanca, Sevilla, Mallorca, … These photographs were placed around the classroom and pupils had to travel around and guess which city they were visiting. The task was the following: Guess the name of the city and its location and describe it using at least five adjectives. They collected all the information in their notebooks as though putting together a guidebook. Once they had all travelled around the cities, they shared their information.

WE ARE GOING ON HOLIDAY!!! WHAT DO WE NEED?

We reflected on the different places that you can visit when on holiday: the mountains, beaches, forests, … Then we brain-stormed about which things to pack for that “excursion”. Pupils came up with lots of ideas, for which they learned the Spanish words, thus broadening their vocabulary.

QUICK ROUND OF SHORT QUESTIONS.

At the beginning and end of each class, we always spend a few minutes on ‘short questions’. I pose them questions that they have to reply to, briefly and clearly; for example: ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?, ¿Qué has hecho hoy?, ¿Cuál es tu serie/película/comida favorita? Afterwards, pupils note down all new vocabulary.

Literacy

This term Elm read George Orwell’s Animal Farm. They followed the events of the animals’ liberation and subsequent subjugation with interest, sadness and indignation. They observed how the literate animals very quickly exerted influence over the less educated and able and how greed and selfishness destroyed the dream of sharing and equality. e made the connection between the animals in the story and the real people and events they represent. We learned also about the difficulty George Orwell had in getting a publisher to print the book, considered controversial during a time when Britain needed Russia as an ally against Germany.

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Allegory/Political Satire

“Some animals are more equal than others.”

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Elm dabbled with a bit of political graffiti

Elm have been following the progress of the Vendée Globe and have put together a newsletter on this most exciting yacht race that takes place every four years.

Presentation by ELM CLASS

In addition, we have been looking at the differences between formal and informal language, and the different situations in which we use them.

History

In History this term Elm looked at the role of competition in business and the economy. They observed global giant Apple and noted that its products are not made in the US but in China. Why? To benefit from cheaper labour and to keep profits high and costs low. They learned about the working conditions of the people in the Apple factories, their low pay and long hours. All this to set the scene for the Industrial Revolution in 18^th century England.

Elm learned that prior to the mid-1700s England was a rural society with most people living in small villages and towns. They learned about the innovations in the weaving industry that ended the skilled handcraft industries of agricultural England and led to migration out of the countryside into rapidly growing cities. They then studied the terrible living and working conditions of the poor and the exploitation that led Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to write the Communist Manifesto.

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Geography

 In Geography we looked at why certain regions developed rather than others, looking at natural resources such as coal and iron ore. We looked at the rivers and the network of canals built to transport materials to the burgeoning industrial cities.

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“E-baobab” project

We discussed very important environmental issues and tried to do our part to make our world a better place. We shared our ideas on why and how people use and waste plastic and don’t even think that they harm our environment. There is a lot of Mathematics in growing trees, especially if they made out of plastic! On our “eco-friendly / e-baobab” mission we estimated, calculated, measured and looked at the different possible solutions for “growing” our tree. We experimented with the pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal and octagonal rings in order to construct the separate layers of our solid plastic tree. The children then rolled up their sleeves, used collected plastic/plastic bottles and  created their own ‘ECO-BRICKS’. We practiced presenting our findings in front of our peers and then adapted the speech accordingly for the younger audiences.

If you had 400 plastic bottles, what rings would you use for your tree?

How high would it be? How would you arrange them?

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Teaching Birch and Walnut Classes how to use the basic 2D shapes in our E-baobab construction. Adapting the language to the audience, explaining our method and important construction steps.

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If you would like to build your own E-Baobab tree, all calculations are provided. Save the planet! Make that big difference! “Mathematical calculations by Roger, Uttara and Jean. Presentation by Uttara.

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Mathematics

Algebra: Expressions /Formulae/ System of equations

We worked on simplifying algebraic expressions, used simple formulae and wrote formulae from the problem to identify how they could be applied in real life. Elms practiced plotting straight line graphs while carefully building the table of values for the equations. We also built, analysed and interpreted real-life graphs. We worked on solving problems while substituting specific values into expressions and formulae and then further dived into algebra while finding solutions for the systems of equations.

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Science

FORCE, ENERGY and WORK

We solved various problems to find out how FORCE, ENERGY and WORK are related. We looked into the three laws of motions and then reenacted the experiments that were later used in our film. The children designed their own experiments with the travelling objects that can or cannot change their speed in different conditions. We calculated the average speed and the acceleration of an object and then tested, compared and calculated unknown variables. The children formulated hypotheses, practiced planning their investigations and made predictions. After carrying out their investigations they made accurate measurements to gather data to test their hypotheses. They identified patterns in the results and drew conclusions based on the evidence. On a few occasions they had to retest their findings and suggest ways in which their investigations and working methods could be improved.

“Newton’s Laws of Motion” – Directed and edited by Joshua Fisher

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“Three Laws of Motion” – RAP- Dedicated to Sir Isaac Newton by Elm Class

What is all this commotion?

About the 3 laws of motion,

If you need a solution,

Just ask Isaac Newton!

Who is Isaac Newton?

And why do I care?

All that I know,

Is that he had grey hair.

So who is this Newton,

And what did he do?

Is it this guy with the toucan,

Whose shirt is quite blue?

Or is it this artist who painted the crown?

Or am I being such a big clown?

Pretty please tell me now,

I heard it was sold for 80 million pounds.

The first law states,

The objects’ fate.

The exact words,

Are for the nerds.

The objects in rest,

Will remain at rest.

And the objects in motion,

Will remain in motion.

They call it Inertia,

But what could it be?

Look back at the previous verse,

And then you will see.

Second law of motion,

All that comes with it.

Objects’ mass times the acceleration,

To find the force put out upon it.

The third law of motion clearly states,

For every action there is an opposite reaction.

How birds fly in the sky?

Because if they fell, they would surely die.

Vendee Globe/ Remote control Boats

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For those that do care,

And want to see.

There are some boats,

That sail at sea.

Remote control boats,

And free sailing yachts.

Thanks to the Buoyancy,

They are staying afloat.

We used some recycled materials,

And nothing was bought.

Sailing is quite challenging,

And not as easy as we thought. 

ART/Design and Technology

Pinball Machine construction project and recycled material art

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Design/ Plan/ Estimate/ Measure/ Cut/Drill/ Attach/ Check/ Fix

It does not fit!!! What did I do wrong?? How do I correct my mistake???      I can do this!!!

The children also used standard measuring units while working on measuring length. We worked on estimating, measuring, cutting and hammering our wooden materials for our Pinball Machine.  It was evident for the children to spot their mistakes and realise where they went wrong. We could clearly see why it is important to measure and remeasure and only then cut it once.

Pinball Machine: Blue prints and 3D models/ mechanism

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ICT

In ICT lessons we have been learning about hardware and software components that make up computer systems. We learnt how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system and discovered a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including how to protect our online identity and privacy.

Goals that have been achieved during this term:

– Understanding the hardware and software components that make up computer systems, and how they communicate with one another and with other systems.

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– Knowing how to use the technology safety, which includes gaining knowledge about viruses and how to avoid them.

In order to have an overview of all this information, we created mind maps about viruses, by using an online software called Canva.

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– Being able to recognise inappropriate content and knowing how to report it.

– Understanding how to protect your online identity and privacy by role playing, placing them in real context and situations.

Based on the cross-curricular approach, which develops our skills and knowledge through interconnected topics, we created calligrams about morality, as well as, e-books about IPC themes (cooperation, communication, thoughtfulness, adaptability, resilience) in order to present them to Birch and Walnut class.

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In order to enrich our creations, we used the augmented reality on the characters of our stories.

Walnut and Birch class experienced an authentic 3-D illustration.

Spanish

During this term, Elm students have been introduced to the following contents:

Vocabular:

-classroom objects: identify and name them (lápiz, pizarra, profesora, bolígrafo, libreta, libro, pegamento,…).

– the weather (¿ Qué tiempo hace hoy?, including the season of the year).

– the days of the week (¿Qué día de la semana es hoy?, ¿ Qué día de la semana fue ayer/será mañana?).

-family (madre/padre, tío/tía, primo/prima, sobrino/sobrina, hermano/hermana) and farm animals.

Grammar:

-singular and plural (ad -es or -s, depending on the ending of the word).

-male and female (including articles: el/la/los/las).

– how to make short sentences (subject, predicate, verb and verb complements).

-to translate into Spanish, English sentences (and the other way round, including vocabulary seen).

-adjectives, which we have applied to the vocabulary already seen (el perro grande, el conejo saltarín, el caballo marron).

Speaking:

-answering and asking questions related to objects (¿Cómo es esta mesa?, ¿Cómo es esta casa?).

-to introduce themselves (Hola me llamo…. Tengo …. Años y estoy…).

-to introduce someone.

Writing:

-Descriptions

-Dictation to review vocabulary and grammar

French

IMYC: Discovery, Curiosity, Development and Competition’

This half term, the Elm class children went sailing around the world while following the Vendee Globe race. We learnt many interesting facts about 33 solo skippers, campaign they support, missions they carry out and challenges that they are facing.

It was an inspiring event that taught us a lot about courage, physical and emotional strength, team-working, exploration and adventure-seeking. The children followed the position of the boats on a daily basis, analysed their speed, weather conditions, built graphs for clear understanding and made their own conclusions. We also learnt interesting facts many sailors that were very happy to share their own experiences via daily podcasts.

Literacy

This term Elms let their imaginations run free and wrote creepy Halloween-themed stories and Christmas stories. We looked together in class at famous story openings and the art of capturing the reader’s attention at the outset. We looked at the importance of building up atmosphere and describing setting and character.

We finished the novel There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar. We were all happy to see Bradley find his feet and leave behind his self-destructive behaviour, thanks to the subtle guidance of school counsellor Carla. This book was really appreciated by the whole class, even the less keen readers were eager for the next instalment of Bradley’s troubled school days. As you know, we are enthusiastic followers of the Vendée Globe round-the-world yacht race, which has captured all our imaginations.  In November we were lucky to have zoom interviews with two experienced sailors, Joshua Bradfield and meteorologist Jean-Baptiste Chauvet who are only too aware of the dangers and difficulties facing the Vendée Globe skippers.  They shared with us some of their own sailing adventures as well as the practicalities of preparing for a voyage and the eventualities to be ready for. They also answered our questions, including what to do in a storm, their scariest and best moments at sea, and the marine life they have encountered. Joshua Bradfield’s account of being rescued by the French Navy and having to sink his damaged yacht left a lasting impression on us all! All good material for our upcoming Vendée Globe newsletter.

Vendée Globe

Zoom Call with Joshua Bradfield/Sailor

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Zoom call with the Meteorologist

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In keeping with the theme of circumnavigation,  we have been following another trip around the globe, Jules Verne’s classic Around the World in 80 Days. We are enjoying the adventures of the mysterious Phileas Fogg and his long-suffering butler Passepartout, pursued by the determined Detective Fix who is convinced that Fogg is a master criminal.

Mathematics

Area of Trapezoid, Rhombus, Kite, Circle and Compound shapes

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The children learnt how to calculate the sum of the interior angles by using a formula or by drawing lines from the same vertex in order to create a number of triangles. We solved some simple and complex algebraic equations in order to find the missing angle in various 2D shapes. Using our knowledge of calculating the Area and Perimeter of simple 2D shapes, we learnt how to calculate the area, perimeter and circumference of more complex compound.

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Angles in Parallel Lines and Polygons

We worked on constructing triangles using SSS-(side-side-side), SAS –(side-angle-side) and ASA-(angle-side-angle). We know how to use the compass, ruler and protractor to indicate provided angles and sketching lines and know how to use this information in order to construct the desirable triangle.

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Science /Design and Technology

(Float/Sink/Buoyancy force/ Vendée Globe)

Students learnt about Archimedes’ Principal through the story of the “Archimedes and the golden crown”. They discovered about the density and displacement to the king. Elm students learnt about forces that act upon an object lowered in the liquid via experimenting with the different objects of different density. They also experimented with the objects of the same density lowered into the liquids of different density and how it affects where the objects will float in the liquid. We also experimented with the objects of different shapes and observed how it affects how they float or sink in the liquid. Based on this knowledge we created our own boats made out of the recycled materials and we will let them sail in our own “DEEP BLUE” of the swimming pool.

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ART with Mariana Gonzalez

“This term we worked from the theme of the Vendée Globe. The maritime context in which this regatta takes place, proposed us to work with watercolour. The relationship with water, colour and imagination were an important part for the children in this workshop. The artist seen this time was the great British watercolourist: William Turner.”

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Fantastic Plastic

Joshua Fisher (Middle School student) created an animation to teach his younger peers why plastic bad

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We don’t want this plastic to float in the Ocean that is why we have made our Plastic Fantastic sculptures

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History and Geography

Pupils learned about oceans through the Vendée Globe competition in History and Geography class this term. The Vendée Globe is a non-stop sailing competition for solo sailors which takes place once every four years. The Vendée Globe event was our entry point into learning more about the mysteries of the ocean.

Elms learned to identify the different oceans and continents, about the various characteristics of the ocean which affected the Vendée Globe sailors such as the doldrums, gyres and fast winds of the Southern Ocean, and learned to present a specific characteristic or phenomenon of the world’s oceans. We learned about the machinations of ocean currents, the direction of ocean currents and winds around the globe, how oceans affect weather and climate patterns across the world, and how wildlife in the ocean is affected by pollution and global climate change.

We created a podcast to educate people on all the different aspects of the ocean, from pressure to the Coriolis Effect to the acidification of the ocean. Pupils researched their topic in further depth via and recorded their voices on a computer to later publish as a podcast with various episodes. Please listen to your heart’s content and enjoy!

Learning objectives achieved this term: We learned to…

– understand the characteristics which separate an ocean from other bodies of water such as lakes or seas

– identify and locate the different continents and oceans of the world

– understand how heat allows ocean currents to rise, salt allows ocean currents to fall and how the two can interact together

– show on a blank world map the direction of wind and ocean currents through an understanding of the Coriolis Effect, the interaction between high and low pressure, and differences in density due to the fact that heat rises and cold sinks

– predict how climate change may negatively impact oceans through acidification from higher temperatures among other effects

– appreciate the dangers of our use of plastic and its negative impact on ocean habitats

– learn about the extremes of the oceans in terms of changing climate patterns, hurricanes and other forms of extreme weather

– identify and observe different marine wildlife and understand how these animals interact with / compete against one another for food and living space

– organise a presentation on a topic about the ocean into something simple, structured and informative

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ICT

This term we tied our ICT in with our history and geography. We played some games from NASA to better learn ocean currents and the complex relationship that can be created from currents, heat and salinity. We also used the Internet to do further research on an assigned ocean topic. Using this research, pupils presented their topic by researching an ocean topic in great detail, writing out what to say, and finally recording their voice to create a podcast episode. Check out the podcasts in the history and geography section.

Learning objectives achieved this term: We learned to…

– create a podcast in which a specific ocean topic was described by individual pupils so as to describe the oceans more holistically

– research material using a variety of reputable websites and sources

– organise online research and classroom input into notes and later structure them into a presentation

– learn the basics of Audacity as a means for recording voices

“E-Baobab” project

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Linked to our Eco project we used our maths skill and tried to estimate and calculate how many bottles we will need. (It all depends how high we want to go… but it looks like 600 bottles if we want to go high enough) Calculated the circumference of the tree and then the heights.

“Your rubbish – our treasure”

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Involving our local community

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For Armistice Day on November 11, we looked at how the day is commemorated around the world, in particular Europe and Britain.  We discussed the importance of remembrance and recognition of those who lost their lives in the two world wars, so many of them very young. We learned about the origins of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in the UK and US and the beautiful poem that inspired it, In Flanders Fields.

Trip to the Château de Monte-Cristo

To support our French Curriculum and our study of the “Les Trois Mousquetaires” novels by Alexandre Dumas, Oak/Elm Classes visited the Château de Monte-Cristo located on the hill of Port-Marly. Dumas lived in the castle for a short period of time to escape the turmoil of the city when he was at the height of his fame. The children enjoyed his marvelous gardens and had a quick peek into château d’If where he wrote his masterpieces.

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“The magical Christmas Jigsaw“

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Elms had a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their creative side while making costumes, dancing, singing, creating props and performing on the stage during our Christmas Show.

Thank you and well done to all the Elm class students for their outstanding dedication and hard work during our « The magical Christmas jigsaw!» performance

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy your holiday!

 Best wishes,

Mrs. Harrington and Mr. Kralka