Cedar Class BLOG 1 Term 1 2022/2023

English

This term Cedar focused on Narrative, examining closely the elements that make it effective through close reading and annotating of short stories and excerpts from writers including Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks and Bram Stoker. While studying details of characterisation and setting the class observed not only the power of vocabulary and figurative language but also the impact of punctuation. With these model texts in mind, the class wrote their own narratives in which the emphasis was variously on a particular incident or a location or setting.

The class also read The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, the story of an Andalusian shepherd who leaves his homeland and crosses into Africa and across the desert into Egypt, prompted by a recurring dream of the Pyramids and treasure. This deeply spiritual book calls the reader to follow their heart’s desire and so fulfil their destiny, while demonstrating through Santiago’s travails that the journey may not be a direct or easy one. Steeped in allusions to the Bible and the Koran the class learnt about some of the key teachings of Christianity and Islam and broadened their general knowledge, learning about omens, the history of Alchemy and the life of Bedouins in the desert.

French

Intermediate Group with Christine

This year students will strengthen their knowledge of French and improve it with the help of  « Adosphere »,their new learning book. We will follow the lives of 8 teenage characters (4 girls and 4 boys) who present their daily life (tastes, emotions, worries) in relation to others and to the surrounding world. In each module there is a specific dialogue with one of the characters with topic-related vocabulary, grammar and conjugation. Some additional exercises are given out to consolidate learning. At the end of each module students will create their own questions (based on what was learned) & add questions to the ZigZag game. The students learned two poems this term ( about school and autumn) enabling them to develop oral skills and vocabulary. 

Just like last year, we do the daily Calendar exercise. This daily routine helps students to cover a large scope of topics like the date, the weather, the seasons, moods and activities. Each student should be able to ask questions to the others and receive answers. This is an interactive exercise in which all students of all levels partake.

After the holidays, the next module (with the character Manon) will cover the topic of the Home and we will also discover Castles in France. We will also talk about Christmas to close this time period. 

Advanced Group with Marie

Durant cette période, les élèves ont étudié plusieurs notions:

en grammaire: la phrase et ses caractéristiques (formes et types), la phrase simple et complexe (1 seul ou plusieurs verbes), la phrase verbale et a-verbale, le nom et le groupe nominal, les déterminants, les pronoms, l’adjectif, les mots invariables ainsi que la nature/classe grammaticale des mots.

en conjugaison: les temps du passé, présent et futur, le verbe et son infinitif, les verbes d’action et les verbes d’état, le présent de l’indicatif de tous les verbes, l’imparfait des auxiliaires être et avoir ainsi que des verbes du 1er groupe.

en vocabulaire: le champ lexical du mythe et du conte autour du monstre, utilisation du dictionnaire.

en orthographe: 3 dictées ont été effectuées.

en mémorisation: apprentissage de 2 poésies “Ponctuation” et “Automne”

en littérature: 2 romans ont été lus et étudiés (selon le niveau de difficultés):

  • Le roman de Renart de Laurence Mokrani
  • Rémi et le mystère de Saint- Péray de Annie Coutelle

5 évaluations ont eu lieu depuis le début de la rentrée:

  • 1 évaluation diagnostique qui permet d’établir le niveau de l’élève et de voir ainsi quelles compétences il a acquises, et celles qui sont à consolider.
  • 4 évaluations portant sur la phrase, le présent de tous les verbes, la nature/classe grammaticale des mots, l’adjectif épithète ou attribut et l’imparfait.

French/English IMYC with Joanna

The Cedar students have two classes a week with me divided into 2 distinct subjects. Every Tuesday afternoon we study various aspects of the unique political and economic alliance of the European Union and every Friday we have global discussions/debates around the subject ‘enseignement moral et civique’ (EMC) – moral & civic teaching (MCT). We began our first term with an Introduction to the EU: capitals/countries of the 27 member states, the common EU values, the symbols of the EU and the goals of the EU. In MCT the students learned what the role of a Student Representative is and the importance of this role in a school setting. The 6 Cedar students will take turns being Student Rep this school year and next term they will present this role to Oak & Elm students and they will organize the vote of a class rep for these two classes.

Spanish

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER

Linguistic objectives worked on:

– To introduce oneself and one’s surroundings

– Talking about a person’s routine

– Talking about their tastes and school.

– Present tense, basic prepositions, linking words, affective verbs (GUSTAR type)

– Numbers and their daily use: statistics, date, time, age…

Cultural objectives worked on :

– Computer graphics of the social world

– Geography of Latin America

– Mexico and “Día de Muertos

PROJECT: ALTAR DE DIA DE MUERTOS

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

Once the contact has been established this term we will work in a flipped classroom. This is based on prior work done by the child at home on the given topic with written, audio or visual material.

Language objectives:

– Talking about projects, giving and asking for personal information.

– Expressing gradation

– Talking about knowledge and skills

– Lexicon: countries, inhabitants and languages. Jobs and studies. Leisure activities. Family

Cultural objectives:

– Spanish as an international language

– The family in the Hispanic world

– Intercultural families.

– Christmas and Nativity celebrations.

Mathematics

In Algebra: Expressions /Formulae/Algebraic Fractions/ System of equations/Straight-line graphs

Cedar 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. Students also investigated how to find the solutions to the system of equations when they are represented graphically.

Cedar studied graphs that are expressed in the form y=mx+c and calculated their gradients and intercepts with the y-axis. We then worked on drawing parallel and perpendicular lines and found midpoints of a line segment. Cedar students prepared posters on these topics and practiced teaching/presenting them to their peers.

Science

Cedar class initiate this term with deep biological concepts by studying deeply the cellular leaf structure. Furthermore, they identified the plant cell structure responsible for photosynthesis.

Cedar class had also the chance to make an organized study about Mitosis. They were able to identify the different stages of cell division, naming the stage of the cell cycle as well as reproducing Mitosis stages on a card board project.

Students have been introduced to genetic concepts and started by buit up a vocabulary Map to identify genes, genomes, phenotypes, genotypes, and Alleles.
Cedar class then could successfully finalize a Meiosis division to find out why kids don’t look like their parents and what can increase genetic variation like the random chromosomes recombination and Crossing over.

History

The Cedar class started the year by working on historians’ methodology. The students explored different kinds of primary sources used by historians and put together a presentation on an historian’s work they were interested in. The students also started to look at global history, creating a big timeline that includes historical events from different areas of the world. They have ended the term by looking at the Industrial Revolution, analysing the impact that it had on European society.

Geography

Cedar learnt about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) this term, its manifold applications and how it has revolutionised data gathering and analysis.  

The class began the term using multiple paper maps to bring together information for choosing the location of a cinema. They then looked at the same project using the layering of information via a GIS mapping application and saw the speed and efficiency of GIS as it brought together statistical  analysis with the visualisation and geographic benefits offered by maps.  

The class looked at GIS uses in crime mapping, urban and transportation planning, accident and hotspot analyses, to name but a few of its applications.

Design and Technology

‘My chair is not very comfortable. Can I design and make my own?’ 

‘I spend a considerable amount of time sitting on my chair, I really think it should be VERY comfortable and VERY chic.’ And that is how it all started… Cedar students then researched and discovered different artistic, comfortable and not so comfortable but very stylish chair designs and embarked on the journey to create their very own. The children sketched their designs, created 3D models and presented their blueprints to their peers. 

Cedar students have sought their materials and will start building their creative constructions during the next term. 

The children continued to develop their carpentry skills by applying them to creating and building ‘Eco Logs Press’ while helping out Elm Class and enjoyed playing the ‘Sling hockey’ game made by Birch and Walnuts and came up with some design suggestion on how their game could be improved.  

Woodworking projects are extremely important for developing children’s creative and critical thinking skills. Through these projects, not only do children get to handle and smell the wood but also learn how to use the different carpentry tools. They develop their mathematical thinking, broaden their scientific knowledge and, most importantly, acquire a ‘can do’ mindset. 

ART

The Cedar class worked on the representation of global issues through art. They have looked at various example in art history, from Van Gogh to Picasso and Keith Haring. They have realised posters using different types of colours and techniques and have chosen a specific global issue to represent.

ICT

Cedar students learnt about the basic syntax and concepts of Python programming such as printing basics, comments, math, variables and re-assigning variables. They integrated these concepts and applied them into different projects and lessons. These ideas have helped them to think outside the box and practice their problem-solving skills. They’re becoming experts and we are very proud of them. They will continue to discover Python next term.

Liam

Global Perspectives

Cedar students looked at human rights, learning how to develop and investigate a specific research question based on their own interests. They have chosen different topics, analysing them from national and global perspectives. Students’ work focused on right of speech, the rights of minorities, gender and the right to education and the acquisition of civil rights. They have presented their research, by producing either a poster or a digital presentation.

Drama Workshop

The Cedar class worked on the design of crowded tableaux, representing complex scenes. They spent the last few weeks of the term developing tableaux including ten freeze frame and representing stories drawn on Greek mythology.

Creative Writing Workshops

The Cedar class created their own writer’s notebooks, setting up individual goals for the creative writing sessions. They have also worked on fictional stories and journals, writing a fiction or a non-fiction text inspired by the school canoeing trip in September. Students also worked on individualised writing goals, reflecting on what they want to focus on when writing. They ended the term by looking at the features of dystopia, on which they will continue to work in the next term.

Forest Exploration and Mushroom hunting

Canoeing Trip

Oak, Elm and Cedar classes canoeing on the tranquil waters of “the little arm of the Seine”.

Located between Vétheuil and Haute-Isle in the Vexin Regional Nature Park, this spectacular and secluded section of the Seine was a source of inspiration for many impressionist painters.

Halloween Celebration

Oak, Elm and Cedar students creatively collaborated together while designing their exciting Halloween activities for the rest of the school.

Enjoy your holiday, Cedar!

FISP Team

Oak Class BLOG 1 Term 1 2022/2023

English

This term Oak learnt about genre, identifying a wide selection of books into the different categories. They focused on adventure and fantasy and noted how many features are shared but how there are distinct differences. They looked at the different stages of a fantasy story, from the introduction or exposition to the incident that sets off the action through to the story’s resolution. The class then wrote their own opening to an adventure or fantasy story.

We used the model texts to examine the use of adjectives and adverbs, noting how they bring colour and life to the story and help the reader to visualise a scene.

We also focused on pronouns, when and how to use them. The class are also learning to conjugate the many irregular English verbs and are practising using them in the present, past and future tenses.

French

Beginners Group with Joanna

The students have had a busy first term revising (for those who began learning French last year) & learning new vocabulary. We are beginning to grasp the basics of what may seem the rather daunting French grammar/conjugation rules in a fun, yet educational way with lots of visual prompts, class conversations as well as with the ‘Zig Zag+2 Méthode de Français’ workbooks/audio guide and through learning poems/songs with our classmates.

Intermediate Group with Christine

As soon as Sophie and Vega joined the Elm and Cedar intermediate level in October, they took part in the presentation of the daily calendar which helps them to learn and ask each questions about the days of the week, the date, the weather, the season, some activities, their mood… Everyone really appreciates this interactive activity which takes place at the beginning of each lesson. They also learned how to tell the time.

Sophie and Vega have their own reading and exercises adapted to their level. Meanwhile they also share some activities with the rest of the class on some specific topics for instance the presentation of class rules. Having both good French oral skills, they were part of the ‘girls team’ in one game where the older ones had to ‘build’ questions on the basis of the different themes seen in their first module of their learning book (the general topic was about school in France).

After the holidays, we will go back to learning, reading and writing with Ratus and other reading material. We will focus on the topic of ‘The Home’ together with Cedar and Elm classes and we will conclude this period with a Christmas song. 

Advanced Group with Marie

Durant cette période, les élèves ont étudié plusieurs notions:

en grammaire: la phrase et ses caractéristiques (formes et types), la phrase simple et complexe (1 seul ou plusieurs verbes), la phrase verbale et a-verbale, le nom et le groupe nominal, les déterminants, les pronoms, l’adjectif, les mots invariables ainsi que la nature/classe grammaticale des mots.

en conjugaison: les temps du passé, présent et futur, le verbe et son infinitif, les verbes d’action et les verbes d’état, le présent de l’indicatif de tous les verbes, l’imparfait des auxiliaires être et avoir ainsi que des verbes du 1er groupe.

en vocabulaire: le champ lexical du mythe et du conte autour du monstre, utilisation du dictionnaire.

en orthographe: 3 dictées ont été effectuées.

en mémorisation: apprentissage de 2 poésies “Ponctuation” et “Automne”

en littérature: 2 romans ont été lus et étudiés (selon le niveau de difficultés):

  • Emilie et le crayon magique d’Henriette Bichonnier
  • Histoire à la courte paille de Gianni Rodari

5 évaluations ont eu lieu depuis le début de la rentrée:

  • 1 évaluation diagnostique qui permet d’établir le niveau de l’élève et de voir ainsi quelles compétences il a acquises, et celles qui sont à consolider.
  • 4 évaluations portant sur la phrase, le présent de tous les verbes, la nature/classe grammaticale des mots, l’adjectif épithète ou attribut et l’imparfait.

French IMYC with Marie

Cette première période avait pour thème “Identité et Communauté”.

Dans un premier temps, les élèves devaient dessiner un de leur camarade (tiré au sort) et les autres devaient deviner qui c’était. Puis, nous avons étudié le monde pour ensuite converger vers l’analyse de l’Europe (d’un point de vue géographique mais aussi politique).

Au travers de leurs recherches, les enfants ont découvert et ont appris pourquoi et comment s’était formée l’Union Européenne.

Nous avons abordé plusieurs points :

– les différents continents et pays du monde et la recherche des caractéristiques de plusieurs pays (capitale, monnaie, langue parlée…)

– la formation de l’Europe (son histoire)

– les 27 pays qui la constituent

– les symboles de l’Europe

– les traités qui l’ont fait évoluer

– la politique de l’Europe

Par groupe de 3, ils ont travaillé sur un aspect de l’Europe. Ils ont élaboré des “posters” qui ont été assemblés à la fin. Puis ils ont répondu à un quizz “Jouons avec l’Europe”.

Ensuit, nous avons analysé certains monuments européens les plus connus avec un petit film projeté en cours:

Enfin, nous avons aussi appris 3 chansons: Dire bonjour c’est joli, L’oiseau et l’enfant, We can make a difference.

Spanish

Mathematics

In Number/Place Value:

Oaks worked on counting, reading, writing and ordering four- and five-digit numbers. The children ordered and compared three-digit and four-digit numbers and positioned them on the number line. ‘Crocodile Charlie’, who is really greedy, always eats the largest numbers. He showed the children where to use greater than > and less than < signs. The children practised and refined their written methods for addition and subtraction and then discovered or perfected grid multiplication and chunking division methods. Oaks then solved one-step and two-step multiplication, addition and subtraction problems involving numbers, money and measures.

In Number/Fractions:

During this unit, Oaks practised finding the equivalent fractions while analyzing different bar and pizza diagrams and then moved onto multiplying/dividing the numerator and denominator by the same number. The children can confidently add and subtract fractions with the same denominator and know how to simplify fractions or write the improper fraction as a mixed number.

Science

First Term was a great pride to Oak class, who enjoyed many scientific concepts in biology. All students made minuses observations to identify the different parts of plants and their functions. Students were introduced to photosynthesis and highlighted the importance of Light, water, and Carbone dioxide in plant growth and food making process.

We had the opportunity to learn about Greenhouse effects and to grow some seeds inside a beautiful Greenhouse that they have the chance to make at school with Mr Kralka.

At the end of the term Oak discovered more about leaving things classification and Human body systems like the circulatory system and respiratory system.

History

During the term, the Oak class looked at the idea of chronology, making sense of how historians talk about time. They also looked at Stone, Bronze, and Iron Age, investigating how people lived and which materials they used to make objects for their everyday life. They learnt how stone, bronze and iron were used to make not only hunting weapons but also house and decoration objects.

Geography

Oak learnt about the Solar System this term and made a poster featuring some key information about each of the eight planets that revolve around the sun. They know the order of proximity to the sun of each planet, about the ‘Gas Giants’ and the time it takes the different planets to orbit the sun. They also learnt about earth, in the so-called ‘Goldilocks Zone’, with conditions just right to support life. They learnt that Earth spins on its axis and takes 24 hours to orbit the sun, which led to us looking at time zones and the International dateline. The class then moved on to Weather and Climate, learning the differences between these two terms and looking at the different climate zones around the world and their distinguishing features.

Design and Technology

Linked to our learning in Science, based on plants, we measured, estimated and solved real-life problems. We worked with different materials and carpentry tools to create our own greenhouses.  The children were asked to think about the different materials that they needed to use for their specific designs. They all came up with very different ideas and were encouraged to share and discuss with each other before agreeing on the final version of their product. 

The children continued to develop their carpentry skills by applying them to creating and building ‘Eco Logs Press’ while helping out Elm Class. 

Woodworking projects are extremely important for developing children’s creative and critical thinking skills. Through these projects, not only do children get to handle and smell the wood but also learn how to use the different carpentry tools. They develop their mathematical thinking, broaden their scientific knowledge and, most importantly, acquire a ‘can do’ mindset. 

ART

The Oak class worked on their self-portrait, looking at the work of the Renaissance painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo. As Arcimboldo, the students moved from a naturalistic portrait to a collage portrait inspired by the autumn nature. The students went to the forest, collecting the materials they liked the most for their collages.

ICT

Oak students were introduced to a programming application called Scratch. By the end of this term they are able to create animations incorporating movement and images, use x y coordinates to move sprites on the stage, alternate between different sprite costumes, incorporating time and motion and import sounds to use in their Scratch projects. We should be proud of their fast learning and hard-work.  

Global Perspectives

 Oak students looked at how towns could be environmentally friendly. They considered the towns in which they lived and put together some ideas to lead their local communities supporting more actively the environment. They have created a poster displaying all their ideas and recommendation in a very creative way!

Drama Workshops

The Oak class started to get familiar with the use of the body, focusing on gestures and facial expressions as ways to express emotions and to represent actions. They have practised abstract and naturalistic freeze frames, working in groups, and collaborating with each other.

Creative Writing Workshops

Oak students started the term by creating their own personalised writer’s notebooks. They also worked on a writing stimulus based on real experience – the school’s canoeing trip – in the form of a fictional story or a journal. They used their memories – and their imagination – to create very funny and interesting pieces of writing drawn on their canoeing experience. The Oak class ended the term by looking at the role that writers have in inspiring other writers.

Forest Exploration and Mushroom hunting

Canoeing Trip

Oak, Elm and Cedar classes canoeing on the tranquil waters of “the little arm of the Seine”.

Located between Vétheuil and Haute-Isle in the Vexin Regional Nature Park, this spectacular and secluded section of the Seine was a source of inspiration for many impressionist painters.

Trip to France Miniature

Halloween Celebration

Oak, Elm and Cedar students creatively collaborated together while designing their exciting Halloween activities for the rest of the school.

Enjoy your holiday, Oak!

FISP Team