English

This term Elm studied figurative language in poetry, learning how to identify such devices as simile and metaphor, personification, alliteration and onomatopoeia. They also learned about the varying types of rhyme found in poetry and reflected on their effects.

The class read Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, the story of a young girl who befriends a squirrel who has superpowers. This highly unusual book was a big hit with the class who found it entertaining but it also challenged them with high level vocabulary and some serious themes. The class analysed the characters and their relationships, developing the discipline of supporting their responses with evidence from the text.

French

Beginners Group with Joanna

The theme for this term linked to our daily workbook (Zig Zag 2) is La Maison (the house). We have studied new vocabulary linked to objects (lampe/lit/bibliothèque/armoire/bureau) that are found in the house as well as the different rooms in a house (grenier/cave/salon/salle à manger etc.). The students all individually presented a drawing of their own bedrooms and the objects/furniture they have, they all did a really good job. We also continue to work on our French verbs (this term spelling tests on les verbes en ER au présent). Throughout the term we learned songs in French for the Christmas show and the students sang them all beautifully on the 10th of December at the Théâtre de Bailly.

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.

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.

French IMYC with Marie

Cette période a été consacrée aux grands explorateurs ainsi qu’aux répétitions pour le spectacle de Noël.

Spanish

This term we learnt about the human body, the family and the Christmas tradition in Spain. The family and its various members served as a basis for us to approach Christmas in Spain. We discovered and learned the VILLANCICO (Christmas song) «Campana sobre campana»* and exchanged «los regalos del amigo invisible»

Click here:

 https://www.google.com/search?q=campana+sobre+campana+youtube&rlz=1C1GCEA_enFR970FR970&oq=campana+sobre+campana&aqs=chrome.3.0i131i355i433i512j46i131i433i512j0i512l4j0i22i30l4.14879j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e925e6b8,vid:c1QVf4ywHrY

Mathematics

Elm students investigated with the different 2D shapes and then found area and perimeter of compound shapes, including those with the circles where circumference and area had to be found.

Elm students used their previous knowledge of properties of faces, surfaces, edges and vertices of cubes, cuboids, cylinders, pyramids and cones and solved problems where they had to calculate their volume and surface area. Elm students understand how to use the formulae for calculating the volume but also know their meaning and how these formulae are formed.

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 Elm students had the opportunity to learn about the the unique properties of mater and change of the state under the effect of temperature. They discussed everyday solids, liquids and gases, considering their shape and volume and tabulate their identifying properties.

Elm students could model the changes of motion and arrangement of particles during boiling, evaporation, condensation, freezing and melting.

Elm students analysed and evaluated heating or cooling curves and plot graphs, draw conclusions about the melting and boiling points of substances. 

During the PeTH virtual lab all students lerned to carry out an investigation to see how the temperature of ice changes as it is heated to its boiling point.

History

Our Elms looked at the Age of Discovery, exploring how sailors and merchants discovered new areas of the world. They looked at early modern world maps – spotting differences with the modern ones – and discovered what instruments and tools early modern merchants used to sail or to travel along the Silk Road. In the last weeks of the term, students worked in groups preparing a short presentation on a specific figure of the Age of Discovery.

Geography

This term Elm learned about rivers. Using the Thames as an example, they followed its course from source to the sea, observing how it grows from a spring seeping up from the ground into a stream to become a river deep enough for boats and barges just 40km from its source. They learned that it ends its journey in the Thames Estuary and that as a consequence it is a tidal river.

The class learned how rivers shape the land around them and looked at some of the landforms created, including v-shaped valleys, waterfalls, gorges, meanders and oxbow lakes. Rivers are a key part of the water cycle and the class studied the process as well as how rainwater reaches rivers. This led to discussion about how we make use of rivers and a look at the processes involved in obtaining our water supplies.

Design and Technology

Linked to our learning in science we created our own Christmas candles and then in ICT lessons designed different labels to

Designing and creating our Christmas costumes.

Soap Project

ART

Elm students worked on the backdrops for the Christmas show, looking at the stories to be brought on stage and using their imagination to recreate the atmosphere of each story. Students worked with stencils, collage, and paint, combining these different techniques to design colorful backdrops. 

Global Perspectives

The Elm class looked at the theme of diversity, exploring different winter traditions and celebrations from around the world. Elm students worked in small groups, researching information on five different traditions: Saint Olaf, Saint Marteen, Santa Lucia, Bonfire Day and Festa Juanina. Each small group created a poster to present the results of their research to the whole class. 

Drama Workshops

Our Elm worked steadily on two different drama techniques: freeze frames and mimes. The students used these techniques to bring on stage two stories for the school’s Christmas show: “The Night Before Christmas” and “The Fairy of Strasbourg”. Elm students worked on the representation of emotions through face expression and on the portrayal of actions through body language. They also practiced the use of voice, learning how to speak loud and clearly when on stage.

Creative Writing Workshops

Over the course of this term, the Elm class worked on fantasy stories. Students looked at mentor texts – like The Hobbit – to get inspired and gathered information about the features of fantasy stories. They created their own fantasy protagonists, drawing and highlighting their characteristics. They also worked on the design of their story’s plot, using the “story mountain” as a planning tool. Students included the opening, the build-up, the problem, the resolution, and the ending, planning their story around these sections.

Christmas Celebration

Patience, persistence and artistic flair brought us together for an amazing celebration at the Theatre de Bailly where our students and ‘Christmas stories’ shone bright on the stage.

Merry Christmas !

All the very best!

FISP Team

English

This term Elm studied the Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank as part of their learning about World War II in Europe and Hitler’s relentless persecution of Jews.

Not much older than themselves, Elm observed how Anne’s life changed, from happy middle-class girl whose preoccupations were friends and boys, to the mature and reflective person who pondered the meaning of life and concluded that ‘in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.’

The class reflected upon and wrote about the resilience of human nature under the most dire and frightening circumstances, as demonstrated by the residents of the Annex. At the same time, they observed the petty arguments that broke out among the same group of people forced into such close proximity with one another with no respite, while the ‘hiders’ risked their lives each day to protect them.

Elm class learnt a poem this year called Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson. It is about the driving force of hope that burns in human beings, even when life is at its bleakest:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

The courage, resilience and hope for the future expressed by Anne Frank through her diary entries is testimony to the power of hope.

French

Mathematics

In Geometry and measures, Elm worked on identifying and constructing congruent triangles, and constructed similar shapes by enlargement, with and without coordinate grid. In Statistics , the children constructed and interpreted different tables, charts, and diagrams, including frequency tables, stem and leaf diagrams and pie charts. In Algebra,, Elms worked on solving Formulae problems and linked to our Young Entrepreneurs project, constructed and solved real life problems while calculating profit, expenses and interest rate.

Young Entrepreneurs Project – Business project

A business is more than just a product or a service. Behind every item that we buy, every service that we use, there is a story. Running a business involves many skills – creativity, leadership, team work, communication, budgeting, planning, design, customer-awareness and many more. During this unit, children learnt these vital business skills, as they embarked on their business journey. The children were encouraged to take risks, be independent and realise that the hard work that goes into planning and setting up a business pays off.

The children engaged in team activities to create their business plan, research the market, practice pricing and budgeting and design logos and slogans. Four teams created their own stylish leaflets and implement strategies to increase their profit.

We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience. – John Dewey

Like all serious business people, Elm and Oak Young Entrepreneurs met to reflect upon the performance of their respective business projects at the Summer Fete. Their ‘project retrospectives’ were a moment to think about:

· What they had planned to do

· What actually happened

· Why it happened

· What they would do next time

· What they learnt

· How they can improve

Ginormous THANK YOU to all our customers for supporting our business venture ! We would not have been able to do it without you!

Trip to Accrocamp St.Germain en Laye

Oak and Elm visited Parc Accrocamp, a tree climbing adventure park located in the forest around Saint Germain-en-Laye.

This event took place to celebrate the achievements of our Young Entrepreneurs who, as you know, recently devised, planned, acquired bank loans for and ran businesses, the proceeds of which have covered the cost of this well-deserved class activity.

The tree climbing activities will see the children discovered a variety of courses, including rope bridges, zip lines and scramble nets, high up in the trees (safely secured in harnesses, of course).

Science

This term, Elm class learnt about cells and the reproduction. The children focused their learning at looking closely at the functions of the cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole, mitochondria and chloroplasts. They did this by learning how to observe, interpret and record cell structure using a light microscope. From this the class were asked to observe and record the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells, doing this by taking a close look at the structural adaptations of some unicellular organisms.

Once they had collected their data the Elm class were asked to present their findings to their peers. They did this by creating their own presentations as well as setting themselves their own success criteria to achieve this task.

History

This term was all about World War II and as well as learning about the war itself the focus was about how and why it happened. Our research led us back to the outcome of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles.

Elm learnt about the punishing terms of the treaty that were intended to crush Germany but in doing so sparked a nationalist backlash that unleashed Hitler. They learnt about the attitudes and goals of the main parties responsible for imposing the terms: France, the U.S. and Britain.

The class learnt about the outbreak of WW2 and the German occupation of Europe. To reverse German expansion the allies needed a presence in Europe and the beaches of Normandy were chosen as the entry point. Both Oak and Elm learnt about Operation Overlord and took a trip to Normandy to see for themselves some key sites of the D-Day landings, with a visit to Omaha Beach, the Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetery. The also visited the Overlord Museum dedicated to the memory of this key event in WW2 and full of fascinating military equipment and memorabilia.

Geography

This term Elm learnt about coastlines and how they are constantly changing and being worn away, principally by the power of waves.

The class learnt about what causes waves and how they shape the coast.

They learnt the geographical terms to describe the processes of coastal change: erode, transport, deposit, longshore drift.

The learnt about the landforms created by waves and how to define and recognise them: beaches, bays, headlands, caves, arches, stacks, wave-cut platforms, spits.

They also looked at some of the reasons why the coastline in the UK is eroding fast, with a particular focus on the village of Happisburgh on the east coast, where the sea is gradually taking the ground from under people’s homes. They researched the different kinds of coastal defences that are available as part of ongoing coastal management of the land-sea boundary.

ICT

This closing term, Elms used Colab or ‘Colaboratory’ from Google, it allowed students to write and execute Python. The students worked in an introductory project to learn the correct format to input string variables into Python. They came up with their own ideas for menus (starter-main-desert) and chose three options to offer each day, some of them added drinks to their menus. Here is an example of one of the student’s work:

Students learned how to use Canva (website used to create professional designs) and spent their last term days working in the Summer fête posters. Here are examples of their work:

Elms showed their ICT skills by learning how to use a new platform and finding the solutions to the everyday challenges that each lesson brought. Well done Elms!

Spanish

This last term, Elms developed their Spanish skills by learning about infinitive verbs, identifying them from a text and being able to conjugate those verbs in present tense.

They were able to find the lyrics of two popular songs in Latin America (Color Esperanza and La Copa de la Vida) by choosing from a list of words. They found the meaning of those words and were able to sing the songs out loud. They found out that some names of Sports in Spanish and English are almost the same or quite similar and reviewed the vocabulary related to these Sports plus some important information. They were able to read and answer related questions from a text. Buen trabajo Elms!

Sports Day

Enjoy your summer, ELMS!

All the very best from Mrs. Harrington, Christine, Joanna, Cecilia, Lucia, Mr.H and Mr.Kralka