Grade 3 Class Blog

Dear Parents,

As requested, KIS teachers have compiled a selection of holiday activities to support families and the community over the Songkran break.

We have tried as far as possible to select activities which do not require a lot of screen time and can use what resources you have available at home, there are many for you to choose from.

These are all optional activities, there is no requirement to do any of them, just have fun.

We ask that you DO NOT post any of your holiday activities on See Saw or Google Classroom as this will have two effects for us:

• disrupt the flow of our learning platform for when we return

• create a huge amount of additional work for teachers who will have to clear posts when we return, time we would rather spend constructing high quality learning for your children

Please follow the links to find age appropriate resources and KIS Spirit Challenges.

This link will take you to the KIS Primary Library site where you will find three pages developed especially  for you to engage and enjoy:

1. An online resources page with online reading resources, read aloud sites and STEM resources

2. The Holiday activities page where you will find:

•  a slide show of play engagements for EY1 and EY2 by Ms Marie

• a slide show of fun activities and stimulations for EY3 – G2 by Miss Kirsten

• a booklet of choice activities for G3 – G5 themed around the profile of Risk taker (compiled and kindly shared by PYP teachers at Malvern College in Hong Kong)

• A selection of Physical Activity challenges from Mr Ben

• Stem and Reading Bingo from Ms Lindsay

• A selection of Musical Challenges and a singalong from Mr Chris

• A few IT challenges from Mr Eric

3. KIS Spirit Challenges

We hope that you and your family have a safe 2 week break and we look forward to viewing what has been shared through the KIS Spirit Challenges on our return to being a community together.

We can not thank you enough for all of your continued support through this really challenging time and we are so proud of everything our students have been doing.

Have fun and enjoy, Happy Songkran,

G3 Team

We have planned an exciting and interactive programme to maintain the continuity and progression in Learning, which continues with our curriculum coverage.

Each day, we will be logged-on between 9 and 10am to check-in with Students and go through the plan for the  day.

There will be 4 MUST DO lessons/activities posted on to your Child´s Google Classroom. Students will also have some extra choices from the CAN DO options. Instructions will be given where each task should be done eg for some tasks, your child may need to complete it on SeeSaw. We will be using platforms that the children are already familiar with from class.

We will be monitoring this carefully and give helpful feedback/encouragement, to see who has logged-on and submitted work – especially around 3pm

This is a great opportunity to develop our Children´s Self-Management and 21st Century Learning Skills.

Here are some tips:

• Make a plan for the day that will work for you and your family.

• Block off times for school work, leisure/snack breaks, exercise etc.
• Balance screen time (Some tasks can be completed on paper or practically in the kitchen). Students can then take a photo of their work and upload it onto seesaw or share it with us.

• Dedicate a place in your house that is most free of distractions that your child can complete their learning in.

• Be proactive!

• We welcome your feedback and are here to help. Please email us with any questions you may have, or any support you need.

• Stay connected

• We want to ensure everyone is feeling engaged and supported with one another in this learning community. Reach out, if we can help you in any way to make home learning more successful. You can check updates on the Home learning link on the right tool bar of this blog for updates.

Stay Cheerful and Safe 🙂

Thanks for all your support.

Recently we have observed some behaviours that have not followed our Grade 3 Essential Agreements and are disrupting Learning.

So we have now introduced a fairer and more consistent behaviour management approach that aligns with the KIS Quality Learning Behaviours and empowers learners to make positive choices, including thinking carefully about their language.

Thank you so much to all those who attended this morning’s coffee meeting. As promised, please find below the slides from the workshop session along with a selection of additional resources. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.

‘Strategies to help develop your child’s English writing’

wordmats

sentenceopeners

saidisdead

VCOP Pyramids KS1

VCOP Pyramids KS2

Writing Tips Mat

gRADE 3 cOFFEE MEETING

We will be holding our G3 Parent’s coffee morning next Wednesday  4th March at 8am in Grade 3C Classroom, to share ideas and practical strategies on how we can build Children’s writing together. See you there!

This week we are  entering the “Going Further” stage of our inquiry. Students will participate in a Robot Wars on Wednesday where they will code directions/angles for a Sphero challenge…to get their ‘bot through the maze/space planet.

Students will also investigate a NASA Mars Explorer Rover, to see how technological advances are pushing the boundaries of exploration.

Replacement Residential Programme:

Lots of fun activities will be on offer such as Creation stations (cooking, craft and Lego), Pancake Races and Story Pyjama party!

House Swimming on Thursday 10am – please bring swim kit, 

House wide games/ team games Friday 10am – please bring sun block, sun hat and wear House T-Shirt.

Homework – a special creative challenge has been set (which helps tune-in Students to our next unit). Create a wearable outfit by upcycling used materials. Get ready to share on Friday morning at 8am.

This special shortened week is devoted to celebrating Reading and Books. We have organised a wide range of specially themed activities centred around our live Skype link-up with renowned Cypriot Greek Illustrator, Katie Sabry who has published stories based on her real-life rescue CATS. On Thursday our Students will have a chance to interview Katie on the process of book-making, as well as the influences of her art work.

Katie will be giving us tips on how to draw and portray different CAT characters. Our G3 Students will be writing Poems based on a Street Cat using imaginative Similies figurative language. We will also be making a link with T.S. Elliotts poems and see how the musical/film brought these alive.

Other work will include a mini-author study on Roald Dahl. (Did you know he wrote all his books when he lived in Mr Matt´s home town in U.K.?!!)

Plus, Miss Toni will be sharing some Maori Stories from New Zealand on Home-Language Day – Wednesday. Thanks to all the Parent volunteers who will also be doing Read Alouds.

On Friday we have the Book Character Dress-Up Day. Students should come dressed as a book character for us to play ¨Guess Who?¨ Prizes will be given to those who have shown the most imagination and creativity making their costume. Students will be asked about why they have chosen that character and also to describe how that character fits into the book plot.

Last Week: Many thanks Parents for all your Support with uur Explorers Living Museum (see pics on slide show below). The Children were well prepared and enjoyed being hot-seated by visitors, proving they had gained a lot of expertise on the impact of their chosen Explorer. We will be doing some personal reflections on this – so look-out on See-Saw.

Homework: No formal grid will be sent home this week but there are some optional activities to from – click on our Homework Link page. We also encourage children to read a lot this week and make their costume for Friday.

Polite Notice: Please make sure your Child does not bring in any snacks in their bags. Healthy snacks are provided at all our breaks by the school and for all those attending after school. Many thanks for your support helping us to promote healthy eating. 9we also do not want mice, coakroaches  and ants being attracted to the cubby area).

Grade 3 are now mid-flow preparing for their summative assessment – becoming experts in their chosen Explorer, ready to be hot-seated in character (1st person) by their peers on Thursday (Parents are welcome to see it this Friday morning). The Students are encourage to make a map, imaginary diary entry, time-line and artefacts to add interest for visitors and help with their understanding. We are particularly interested in hearing about the impact of their Explorer´s discovery. This is a great opportunity to be creative and bring the history alive.

Maths:

Close links are being made to the unit and also with P.E. We have been using the compass points to consider angles turns and rotations (Clock-wise and clockwise). Students have continued to practise giving directions on a map too.

WANTED! Parents who speak different languages…

As part of International Home Languages Day and our Book Week, next Wednesday we would love to invite-in Parent volunteers who would be willing to read and share a story or poetry book in their home language. Please sign-up on the Google doc link that was sent out by email on Monday.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Wednesday 12th Feb – 3C Three way conferences

Thursday 13th Feb – G3 Students to bring in any props or dress-up items for Living Museum 

Friday 14th – G3 Parents invited to view Explorers Living Museum from 8.15am

LONG WEEKEND MID-TERM HOLIDAY Monday 17th & Tuesday 18th – NO School for Students.

Wednesday 19th Feb – PYP Book Week Artigras 

Children may bring-in money all week to spend at Book Sale in the atrium.

Wednesday 19th – Poetry Writing & Lunchtime Tongue Twister Competition

Thursday 20th Feb – Cat Illustrations: Live link-up with Greek Illustrator, Katie Sabry.

Friday 21st Feb – Book Character Costume Dress-up. Prizes for the best effort & imagination.