French (Beginner group with Joanna)

For the final term of the school year our theme from Zig Zag was the Town Centre (centre ville). The students learned a lot of new vocabulary and they did a ‘plan de ville’ of their town and presented it to their classmates and they made posters too.

Directions- à gauche, tout droit, au coin de, en face…

Road signs- dangers/interdictions/obligations/indications/services/directions

Points of Interest- Gare, librarie, bureau de poste, école, boulangerie, boucher, cinéma,

mairie, piscine, café, restaurant, supermarché…

French (Intermediate group with Christine)

During this period, we mainly talked about Health through Humanitarian aid. Different possibilities are offered to those who want to help, and this is what we discovered throughout the lessons.

We started this session with the case of students discussing between themselves on how to organize a fundraiser for the organization “Les Restos du Cœur” which gives food to people in need. We then spoke about “Emmaüs”, a well-known association in France which collects second-hand objects and furniture. Students from Cedar, Elm and Oak, staged a comic (“La boom Humanitaire”) talking about how a group of friends decided to give out personal things to help this association.

In addition to that, we read and discussed about other documents talking about “Téléthon” which supports medical research and deals with first aid we can give when we are part of an accident.

This is an interesting subject which has given us once again the opportunity to see and practice the grammatical side of the language.

We also read different stories involving Inspector Omniberge, to develop reading skills and find the solution to the mysteries!

French (Advanced group with Marie)

Nous avons poursuivi l’étude de notre programme de français. Durant cette cinquième période, les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français en articulant leurs apprentissages autour des différentes matières :

en grammaire: révision des natures et fonctions des mots, des compléments de phrases (lieu, temps, manière, de but, de moyen)

en conjugaison: l’impératif présent et le présent du conditionnel (avec révision des temps du passé)

en orthographe: la polysémie, les bases grecques et latines des mots, les homophones/homonymes et antonymes, les préfixes et les suffixes, noms génériques et noms particuliers

en mémorisation: 1 dictée a été faite et 1 poésie a été apprise et récitée

en poésie: création d’un poème pour la fête des mères et découverte d’un acrostiche à l’occasion de la fête des pères.

en littérature: la mythologie grecque avec la lecture du livre Le message d’Athènes d’Odile Weulersse puis différentes fiches de lecture, lectures silencieuses.

1 évaluation a eu lieu pendant cette 5ème période.

French IMYC with Marie

Cette cinquième période a été consacrée au thème de “l’entreprenariat”.

Nous avons aussi abordé le thème des abeilles à l’occasion de la journée mondiale des abeilles (le 20 mai).

English

Besides working on their spelling, grammar and reading comprehension, this term Elm class discovered the poetry of Alfred Lord Tennyson, learning and reciting the short but striking ‘The Eagle’, as well as the anguish-filled ‘Break, Break, Break’. We also returned to a previously learnt poem by Robert Frost, ‘Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening’. The class identified the figurative language techniques in the poems and their effects. Alongside this, the class also studied persuasive language techniques, observing the use of emotional versus logical persuasion. They identified the differences between claims and arguments and read articles to observe how these are used persuasively.

Geography

Elm continued to learn about land biomes this term, finishing with the tropical rainforest biome. The class enjoyed learning about these exotic regions of the world, with their unusual flora and fauna, and the particular characteristics that make them such a rich resource for life on the planet. Working in pairs, the class put their learning about biomes to the test in an Escape Room challenge.

History

During this term, the Elm class delved into Renaissance history. They visited the Musée Carnavalet in Paris and explored its collections on the rule of Francis I and Renaissance France. The students also studied the religious changes that occurred during the Sixteenth century, particularly in the Tudor period. To represent the religious changes of the Tudor era, they created a religious rollercoaster!

Global Perspectives

The Elm students delved into the foundations of sustainable entrepreneurship, researching the reasons behind the creation and success of these businesses. They worked in small groups, examining not only the types of sustainable businesses but also the factors contributing to their creation and success. At the end of the term, each group presented their research results by creating a poster.

Art

The Elm students focused on art and design, decorating a simple everyday object like a clock. They drew inspiration from the four seasons and the books they read both in and outside the English classroom. Additionally, the students created another large canvas, choosing a beautiful garden painted by Vincent Van Gogh as their inspiration and creating their own 

Creative Writing and Drama Workshops

In both drama and creative writing workshops, the Elm class learned how to write a dramatic script and performed it on stage during the school’s summer show. The students familiarized themselves with the foundations of dramatic writing, focusing on dialogues and stage directions. They rehearsed the script and continued to learn how to move on stage and project their voices appropriately in front of an audience.

Sailing Trip to Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer

One week adventure so far away from home. Oak, Elms and Cedar pushed themselves to the limit, physically and mentally while kayaking, surfing and catamaraning. Young adventurers improved or learnt new skills but most importantly matured and became a little bit more independent.

Mathematics and “Young Entrepreneurs” 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.

Oak, Elm and Cedar visited Koezio , adventure park located in Cergy.

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 partially have covered the cost of this well-deserved class activity.

Gardening Project

Harvesting our own sweet peas and potatoes. Cucumbers and tomatoes will continue to grow over the summer.

Green Garden – Whole School collaborative project. Our second Eco-Ecole badge ‘Alimentation’.

End of year certificates of achievements and Les Concours de Archimedes (Mathematical games and enigmas)

Well done and all the best!

Enjoy your summer!

FISP Middle School Team

Literacy

Elm are currently reading The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd and have enjoyed trying to work out the whereabouts of Salim, the boy who went up on the London Eye and never came down. They have discussed the possibilities and written diary entries for the boy’s worried mother and for Salim himself, based on their theories for his disappearance. The book’s narrator is an autistic teenager called Ted who struggles with social interaction and whose attempts to decode language (he often takes idioms literally) as well as body language are both touching and humorous.  The book lends itself to reflection and discussion about autism and a different way of seeing the world. The book has lots of cultural references for the class to explore, from the Tate Modern and Andy Warhol to Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the tower blocks that Ted’s father knocks down in his role as a demolition expert.

French

Beginners group with Joanna

We have been very busy this term in French class. The students have been learning new verbs such as avoir (to have) et étre (to be) au présent as well as learning about ‘les déterminants’ (determiners) those little words that are placed in front of the noun and that determine whether or not the noun is masculin/féminin ou pluriel (ex: le, la, les, un, une, des, mon, ma, mes, ce, cet, cette, ces). They have also learned a poem and presented it very successfully (videos hereunder). Since we are living in France ‘pays de la gastronomie’ we have also had the opportunity to celebrate La Galette des Rois & La Chandeleur by baking galettes and making crêpes with the two other French classes.

Intermediate group with Christine

From January to February we explored the world of collections and passions, with Antoine, one of the eight students featured in our study manual. As a reminder, in December we had spoken about the topic of houses with Manon. Through this new topic, we discovered the collections and passions of Antoine and then gave all the students the opportunity to give a presentation of their own collections or passions. By doing this, we learned that one of the students has a passion for shells, another for turtles, specific books, specific cats, dogs…

As each student gave their presentation, others were able to ask them questions about their passion (why, since when, how many…?)

In order to speak about their passions, they had to use some specific sentences such as « ma passion c’est… », « je suis passionné(e) de… », as well as specific adjectives (ce/cet/cette/ces). Those who asked questions also had to master questions « how many/combien de » etc.

In this lesson, we also had to master numbers up to 100 (orally and in writing) when speaking about prices or pocket money.

Alongside this topic, the class learnt a poem about Winter, and because of Epiphany in January and Pancake Day in February, we spent time reading and preparing two popular recipes « galette des rois » and « crêpes ». Cooking is appreciated by all the class and it was fun for us all to work together.

After the break, we will start a new lesson with Akiko who will speak about food, recipes, and healthy meals.

Advanced group with Marie

Cette troisième période a été bien chargée au niveau des apprentissages. Les élèves ont continué d’intégrer les notions de français.

en grammaire: les différentes propositions, voix active/ voix passive, les compléments de verbe (cod, coi)

en conjugaison: les temps du récit imparfait/passé simple, le passé composé, le participe passé/infinitif

en orthographe: le pluriel des noms et des adjectifs, le féminin des noms et des adjectifs, une dictée préparée

en mémorisation: 2 poésies ont été apprises et récitées

en littérature: choix d’un livre de lecture (Cheval de guerre de Michael Morpugo) puis fiches à rédiger en répondant aux différentes questions, étude du genre poétique et versification

en expression écrite: employer un verbe pour construire une phrase

2 évaluations ont lieu pendant cette 3ème période.

French IMYC with Marie

Durant ce terme, les élèves ont continué à étudier les explorateurs. Ils ont d’abord fait des recherches sur un des célèbres personnages (Zheng Hu, Christoph Colomb, Magellan, Vasco de Gama, Marco Polo, Jacques Cartier, Bartolome Dias), puis ils ont élaboré des affiches par groupe de 2 ou 3 enfants.

Ensuite, ils ont construit un des 3 objets utilisés par ces grands explorateurs

– le groupe des caravelles

– le groupe des globes

– le groupe des boussoles

Ils ont appris et chanté 2 chansons: Les petits souliers de Guy Béart et Aux Champs Elysées de Joe Dassin.

Geography

This term Elm learned to distinguish between physical and human geography. They learned that human geography involves trends and patterns in human population and the impact of human activity on the environment. They then learnt about land use and economic activity and trade links. As part of this, the class looked at the journeys that products, such as bananas and cocoa beans, take from farm to store, a multi-stage process more complex than they had imagined. This led to a discussion about Fairtrade and why this organisation had been set up.  Working in pairs, the pupils chose a specific Fairtrade product and investigated the countries in which it is produced and the benefits (or not) to the people involved in the numerous stages of the growing, processing and transporting of these products to our shops.

History

The Elm class explored the changes and the great discoveries related to the Renaissance period. They looked at the amazing improvements that the Renaissance brought to Europe, looking at art, architecture and science. The Elm class analysed the extent of the change that occurred between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, looking also at how inventions like the printing press stimulated the circulation of new ideas in Europe. They also learnt about the developments in towns and court, getting familiar with figures of Renaissance princes like Francis I and Henry VIII. 

Science

Elm students learned about material changes to help them remember information about acids and alkalis and how they work safely in the laboratory. We had the chance to create a universal indicator from red cabbage and test it on different solutions. Students learned about Litmus paper and pH scale to identify the acidity of different materials and planned a full investigation to neutralize alkali or an acid.

ICT

Elm class focused on the creation of websites for a chosen purpose. They identified what makes a good web page and used this information to design and evaluate their own website using Google Sites.  Elm class started a simple program to build in and test within the new programming environment, before transferring it to their micro:bit. They used Scratch to create a ping pong game.

Mathematics

In Statistics:

This term, Elms constructed and interpreted various tables, charts, and diagrams, including frequency tables, bar charts, pie charts, stem and leaf diagrams and line graphs. We practised solving comparison, sum and difference problems using information presented in bar charts, pictograms, tables and line graphs.  Elm students worked on solving different statistics problems where information had to be analysed in order to calculate the required average: range, mode, mean and median.

In Probability and ratio:

During this unit, we discovered vocabulary related to probability and know that Impossible, Unlikely, Even Chance, Likely and Certain relate to 0, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1, respectively. We then solved probability problems where we had to find all possible outcomes and calculate the probability of the desirable outcome. We then moved onto solving problems with ratio and now know how to simplify ratios and how to use ratio to compare quantities.

On the 2nd of February Elm and Cedar students participated in Les Concours Archimède. Les JEUX ÉNIGMES SOLIDAIRES pour collégiens francophones depuis 1989.

These puzzle games allowed children to highlight their knowledge, clearly express their mathematical thoughts and use their sense of observation.

37th International Mathematical Games

6 of our Elm and Cedar Mathematicians will participate in the 1/2 final of the 37th International Mathematical Games and on the 18th of March will proudly represent our school. Good luck with crunching those numbers and solving tricky logical problems.

Design and Technology

Elm students will proudly represent our school in the Thomas Edison Pitch Contest where they will present their prototype, explain how it works and what difference it will make. Most importantly, Elms will work in teams and will try their best to achieve their set goals collaboratively.

Helped out with the compost bin,
And wormery contraption.
Participated in “Thomas Edison competition”,
And have acquired the DIY foundation.

Automated food dispenser for dogs
Is under construction creation.
And quite tricky system to create water
Out of thin air is our ambition.

Measuring, thinking,
designing and plotting .
Think outside the box
And nothing is blocking.

Will work hard on our projects,
To make our future brighter.
Do you know what was invented first,
Matches or lighter?

Teamwork approach,
And communication,
We will pull it through even during our holiday,
If we will find dedication.

Art

Over the course of this term, the Elm class explored the work of Pointillist painters, looking at the work of artists like Paul Signac and Georges Seurat. Each student focused on a different subject to portrait, creating different kinds of landscapes and using both their memories and their imagination to create them. By using paint, the students created their own Pointillist piece of art, working on the relationship between light and shades of colours. 

Drama Workshops

Over the course of this term, our Elms practised improvisation and learnt how to incorporate body language, face expression and the use of voice in an improvised performance. Students worked in different groups, creating improvised scenes based on different stimuli, like a specific scenario or a group of objects. The Elm class also learnt how to give feedback when watching a performance, highlighting elements of appreciation, and providing suggestions.