Term 2 Week 11: Mar. 28th-April 1st

It’s been another fun and eventful week in EY1. Firstly, a huge thank you to this week’s Special Helpers – Charkin, Lalin, Ty, Sea, Yadin, Smile, Myra, Etta, Proud and Anya – for setting good examples and helping us stay organized. 

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This Week’s Learning & Fun
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This week, our EY1s go to visit the Auditorium again! This time, it’s to see the PYP Exhibition. This special celebration of learning happens at the end of a student’s PYP journey in Grade 5 where they showcase their learning by sharing their understanding of real-life issues they have studied.

“As PYP Learners, we are empowered to take action,” was the theme of the Grade 5 students’ presentations. The exhibition was very interactive and students could ask some of the presenters questions and try out some of the groups’ hands-on activities that they have set up.

Many EY1 students were able to make connections with our current unit of inquiry on caring for living things. Some shared that they felt sad learning that sharks were harvested for their fins. The exhibits on pollution, plastic waste and the negative impact of sunscreens on ocean life struck a chord with many children as well. One Grade 5 student’s call to action was to have more flowers planted around KIS campus because he noticed that there weren’t many. The EY1 children said they felt “happy” after seeing this exhibit because they, too, would like to see more flowers.

Photo Gallery of Visit to the PYP Exhibition

Book Week & Book Character Day

The theme for this year’s Book Week was “Tales From Around the World.” Not only did we get to hear stories from around the world, we even got to hear some of the stories in various languages. Our very own Ms. Ran read the story, il Brutto Anatroccolo (The Ugly Duckling), in Italian! Ms. Dinnhe was able to call in with the EY1 class and shared one of her favorite stories, Go to Sleep, Gecko!, a folktale from Bali. To listen to other stories shared by the KIS community for Book Week this year, click on this link.  

For Book Character Day, our students and teachers got dressed up in their favorite book characters. Have a look at the photos and see if you can guess which book these characters are from?

Photo Gallery from Book Character Day

 

Unit of Inquiry & Fun Friday

To follow up on their learning, the students practiced as a group and then they got a chance to show their understanding at a center where they sort the different types of living things that we had talked about and nonliving things into their appropriate categories. 

Last week, we were able to meet Mr. Gerry’s dog and asked questions about how to care for an animal. This week, our focus is on how to care for plants. So for this week’s FUN FRIDAY, the students planted their own seeds and began to care for them. We will continue to use our thinking and reflecting skills to form our understanding of what plants need based on our observations and our choices on how to care for the plants.

Photo Gallery – Week of Mar. 28th-Apr. 1st

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Parenting Corner
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Some food for thought…

One of the things (among many) that parents need to think about when raising children is to try and ensure that our children have enough to eat and that they are eating well. 

Did you know that many of the common foods we give our families have a lot of hidden added sugar?

Sources: Healthy Food Guide and Harvad.edu

What is the recommended healthy daily intake for children? 

For children ages 4-6, the recommendation is no more than 5% of their daily caloric intake, or approximately no more than 19g or 5 tsp of sugar per day!

Sources: Royal Society NZ and WHO

As we can see from the information above, a child who had a blueberry muffin from Starbucks (6½ tsp) or a cola drink (9 tsp) has already surpassed her daily limit of sugar consumption. 

Why is this important to know? 

Because much research shows that too much sugar on a daily basis can impact our health and well being negatively in many ways. The ratio of sugar intake to a child’s smaller body size means the impact is magnified in children compared to adults.

   
sources: Good Parenting Brighter Children, Health Ambition and HotzeHWC.com

What can we do?

Sugar can be swapped out for healthier alternatives. Below are a few sites with tips and suggestions to get started. It may seem like a lot of thinking and work at first, but once it becomes a habit, it’s much easier to do. Considering the health benefits and long-term effects on our children, the effort is well worth it.

• Life is Sweet… with These Easy Swaps – Heart.org
• Sugar Swaps – NSW.gov
• Sugar Swaps! – That Sugar Movement

 

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Upcoming Dates & Reminders
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For Next Week:

• • April 4 – EY1 Swim Day – Bring swim bag and all necessary items.
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  • April 6 | Chakri Day (school & office closed)
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  • April 7 | Songkran Celebration in EY1
    Students are invited to wear their Songkran outfits to school. There will be some activities for the children. As per usual, please pack a spare set of clothes.
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  • April 8 | End-of-Term Celebration in EY1
    More info to be shared early next week.
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  • April 8 – Library Day – Return books to check out a new one!
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  • April 8 | 8:30am | Special HOS Parent Coffee
    [For Meeting Link, see email “Parent Update from the HOS – April 1“]
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  • April 8 | Last Day of Term 2

Looking Ahead…

• • April 11-15 | Songkran Holiday – No school for students.
    (April 13-15 school & office closed)
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  • April 18 | First Day of Term 3

Thank you for your continued support and partnership! Have a restful weekend!

EY1 Team 😊

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