Grade 5 Class Blog

So much has happened this week!

We have had the provocation of our new unit on Climate Change. Mr Eric and Ms Lindsay joined the  grade 5 teachers to present 5 different activities to give the students the opportunity f to become more aware of the differing aspects of this very current and emotive topic. We will be investigating more in the coming weeks based upon the central idea of “People have a responsibility to address environmental change’ looking in depth at our lines of inquiry ‘ Causes and effects of environmental change, Responses to environmental change. We will be studying this  through the key concepts of Causation, Responsibility and perspective.

Also this week, many of the children reflected and shared their learning about their Migration unit,with each other, in a variety of ways including posters, videos, quizzes and slide show presentations. The students worked very hard on this and have reflected and discussed how they can improve their presentation skills in readiness for their exhibition later in the school year.

In Literacy we have now moved from diaries to persuasive writing and so will be working on the features of this style of writing for the next few weeks.

In Maths, we are continuing to focus on time and in particular how to measure and calculate time passing between one event and another.

Friday was a very exciting day!

First we listened to some melodious singing in the Thai assembly hosted again by our very own House Captains and Assembly Squad.

Then we had a very exciting visit from two performers who gave us an insight into their lives and the qualities needed to be successful in theatre.

The Handball tournament came next, what an exciting afternoon with all students doing their best to play well and support their houses.

Another way in which the students can gain housepoints is to enter the House Poster Competition based around the six transdisciplinary themes. Create a poster remembering to have a balanced design, creative use of collage, use realistic drawings and a range of hot or cool colours and make sure that the theme of the poster is clearly defined. We will be eagerly waiting to see them.

Next week we have a Primary school book fair.  from 16- 18th. A great opportunity to get holiday reading books.

Map’s test will continue as per the timetable below.

It has been such a busy week in Grade 5. We have been finishing our diary extracts and preparing our end of unit sharing of knowledge. The students have had some choice as to how they want to present this so have chosen to do so in a variety of ways including posters, films, animations, dioramas and slide show presentations. These will be shared throughout the grade in the coming week.

The refugee diary extracts which the students have been writing are now nearing completion. Some of these have been so moving they have even brought a tear to Mrs Carole’s eyes.  This short extract from Fang Fang’s diary will show you why.

When night fell, I waited until my dad and the stranger fell asleep, I wanted to be alone and in a quiet place for sometime, I looked up at the starry sky, it reminded me of how my mom used to cuddle me in my bedroom. The breeze swept on to my face, suddenly, I saw my mom with my sister waving at me. I ran to them crying with my arms opened for a hug, but a force pulled me back, my sister and mom were going further away from me when I suddenly woke up to see my dad’s face, I looked around for a sign of mom and sister, but they were nowhere to be seen, the little hope that was in me was drained out immediately. Sadness overcame me and I stood up, we were on land with nothing but wood on the floor. I knew we had arrived.  by Fang Fang

All diaries will hopefully be completed next week ready to share.

The students have a much clearer understanding of what exponents are now so we are ready to move onto a unit about time in Maths and will be investigating strategies to find elapsed time.

Next week we will be starting our new unit about Climate change based upon the UN’s global goal 13 Climate Action.

Map’s test will continue as per the timetable below.

Monday 16th was a very dotty day, from dots on our clothes to dots in our art pieces.  The book ‘The dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds which encourages its readers to exhibit the learner profile attributes of being caring, a risk-taker and open-minded to new experiences was the focus of the day and led to an activity  based around aboriginal symbolic dot paintings. Take a look at the slides above to see how a few of these turned out. The students also brought in bottle caps so that these could be recycled into reusable products such as cups and trays.

Our work on diary writing is continuing with the students now learning about the impact famous diaries have had  on the wider community.  Diaries by Anne Frank, Robert Falcon Scott and Samuel Pepys have helped their readers to understand the time periods they were writing in and the conditions in which they lived.

In Maths we will be undertaking a short unit on prime numbers and powers of numbers before skipping onto time.

We have been so lucky! First we had Mr Tri last week to talk about his life as a child refugee and this week we had both Mr Darin(Brendan’s dad) and Ms Koong talking about their own experiences. All of this first hand information really helps the students to understand the real lives of many refugees.

Upcoming Events

• G3-G5 Map Testing: September 30th-October 11th
• School Closed in remembrance of HM King Bhumibol 14th October
• School Closed October Break 21st -25th October

Week 9th-13th September

Grade 5 have had another busy week researching the reasons for migration in order to understand why people would leave their homes for an unknown and in some cases very uncertain future.  Mr Tri’s visit on, Wednesday, to share his experiences as a child refugee encouraged the students to think about the learning they had been doing in a real life context and to empathise with the situations they had been studying and brought about lots more questions to inquire into. We thank him for his time and bravery in sharing his story!

The film the students watched on Friday gave further insights into the lives of refugees and helped them to understand the realities of life in a new and unknown place. As can be seen our first two lines of inquiry ‘Migration Journeys’ and ‘Reasons for migration’ are well and truly being developed, shortly we will move onto our last line of inquiry ‘Impacts of migration’ and investigate not only the impact on the migrant but also the societies they enter into.

We are continuing our work on diary writing and encouraging the students to think from another’s perspective putting themselves  into another persons life to help them understand the choices which people make, linking this to our migration unit.

In Maths the focus has been place value and the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using both practical strategies and learning written methods. Shortly we will be moving onto a unit on time.

We have again been discussing the great need to read consistently both inside and out of school. It would be really helpful if you could spare some time to talk to your children about what they are reading. If you are unsure of how to start here are a few questions.

• What is the main idea? What happened at the end of the story?
• What do you know about the main character that you were not told?
• What does this book remind you off?
• What books have you read which have a similar theme or message?
• What background knowledge do you have which relates to this text?
• Did you reread sections which were difficult?
• What message does the author want the reader to know?
• Why did the author write this piece?
• What background knowledge do you have which relates to this text?
• Did you reread sections which were difficult?
• What questions do you have about what you read?
• What else would you like to know?
• what do you think was the most important part?
• Would you read a similar book again? Why?

Upcoming Events

• Dot day. Please allow students to wear dotty clothes and bring in plastic bottle tops. September 16th 
• Professional Development Day (School Closed): September 19th

• September break (School Closed): September 20th

• G3-G5 Map Testing: September 30th-October 11th

This week

The students have been developing an understanding of the vocabulary surrounding our migration unit. Try asking them about ‘forced migration’, ‘rural-urban migration’, or the difference between an ‘emigrant’ and an ‘immigrant.’ As a connection to our work in Maths, they have also investigated the vast numbers which are associated with refugee camps around the world.

The skill of diary writing has been the focus in the student’s language learning , reading the diaries of famous people, identifying the features in these and then writing their own extracts. 

The house captains did a great job today, not only leading the assembly but also by directing students where to sit, in their houses, at lunch today. This is to promote a greater house feeling. The assembly squad led by Santi organised the proceedings very well and the film created by Mr Nic and Namo which encouraged all of the students to understand the dos and don’ts of how to play on the new playgrounds was very informative and wonderfully created.

Thank you to all the parents who attended our coffee morning on Friday 30th. For any parents who could not join us,  this is the link to the powerpoint we shared. Do not hesitate to ask your class teacher any questions which arise from this.

Upcoming Events

• Dot day. Please allow students to wear dotty clothes and bring in plastic bottle tops. September 16th 
• Professional Development Day (School Closed): September 19th

• September break (School Closed): September 20th

• G3-G5 Map Testing: September 30th-October 11th

Closed!

 It is not often Grade 5 close their doors but that is exactly what happened on Monday afternoon. The students were locked out of their classrooms and had to find a place to go. The difficulty lay in the fact that most other rooms on their floor had conditions of entry such as must wear glasses, must have been born in Europe, must have proof of following the Buddhist faith. Most students found a place to be but several felt very unwanted in the places they had chosen and one poor student ended up alone on a raft. All of this was to enable the students to empathise with refugees and to encourage  them to investigate the central idea ‘Human migration affects communities, cultures and individuals.’ 

When the students reflected afterwards words such as confused, unwanted, terrible, exciting, different, scared, were all used. Many of the students were able to link their own feelings with those they believe refugees must feel. The activity promoted some really insightful questions and lots of interest in the investigation to come.

Tuesday came! The day when the house captains were to be revealed! Everyone was very excited but we all knew that not everybody could be chosen however more opportunities for leadership would arise in council representatives and the assembly squad.

Well done to the winners for

Tosakan- Maya, Phip

Hanuman-Gift, Oscar

Naga-Kaede, Zijian

Erawan-Sophia, Kaj

We have 7 new students in Grade 5 this term so welcome to our school-

Alice and Sophia in G5A

Ben, Feline and Tong in G5B

Ronav and Curtis in G5C

We wish them all well.

Upcoming Events

• Professional Development Day (School Closed): September 19th

• September break (School Closed): September 20th

• G3-G5 Map Testing: September 30th-October 11th

Introducing Grade 5 2019

Grade 5 have had a very busy two weeks getting to know each other, their new teachers and the classroom routines. We have seven new students, more on them next week, and one new teacher to KIS as introduced last week. The students have been creating time-capsules, investigating the Learner Profile attributes and presenting their perspective on these, and building their team spirit through games. 

Also, most importantly, they have been writing their class essential agreements as below. 

Grade 5A Essential Agreements 

Creating an inclusive and caring community

We will be caring and inclusive to others

We will show empathy to others  

Taking Ethical Action

We will show ethical action by expressing commitment to our learning.

We will take ethical action to improve our world.

Striving for understanding

We will be inquirers

We will collaborate as a team

Nurturing passion in ourselves and others

Showing others the things we love to do inspires 

We agree to try new things

Grade 5B Essential Agreements

Strive for understanding of ourselves as learners, and as members of a caring and inclusive community.

Develop our passions and share these by taking ethical action locally and globally before, during and after our PYP Exhibition.

To act upon the specific examples we have shared on our QLB charts and continue to add more as the year progresses for the benefit of all of us.

Grade 5C Essential Agreements

Creating an Inclusive and caring community

We show empathy to others

We are balanced when playing and learning.

We are caring and inclusive to others.

Taking Ethical Action

We take ethical action to improve our world.

We take responsibility to act and speak with integrity.

Striving for Understanding

We collaborate together in a respectful, supportive and open-minded manner.

We are focussed, enthusiastic and determined learners.

Nurturing Passion in Ourselves and Others

Through pride, enthusiasm and commitment to developing our own passions, we inspire others to find their own.

It is really inspiring how close these agreements are to each other. 

As part of the learning behaviour – Taking ethical action, 27 students in grade 5 displayed risk taking by putting themselves forward to become house captains and presented themselves to the rest of their houses in Friday’s assembly. They all did brilliantly so it is unfortunate that only two can be picked from each house. The final choices as voted by all members of the house will be announced on Tuesday, we can hardly wait!

Upcoming Events

• Grade 5 Parent coffee morning Friday 30th August 8am in AP Room (We look forward to seeing you there.)

• Professional Development Day (School Closed): September 19th

• September break (School Closed): September 20th

• G3-G5 Map Testing: September 30th-October 11th

Important Notes

• Water Bottles should be brought to school everyday and returned home to wash every Friday.

• Students need to wear uniforms to school everyday and change into PE kit at school

• Please adhere to the uniform policy in the parent handbook available on the G5 blog

• Student pick-up starts at 2:30-2:45 in classrooms. 2:45 onwards students are to be picked-up in Supervision Room (library)

• To see the teacher for a short chat, see us after school at 2:30 most afternoons, but for a longer meeting, please make an appointment through the office with Ms. Aim or email your teacher to set a convenient meeting time.

• Class starts at 7:50 am so please bring your child  to school on time.

• …..For a more complete list of details of life and policies and practices at school, please refer to the Parent Handbook….

Parent Forum BTS 23819

Dear Parents Guardians and Students,

Welcome to Grade 5 at KIS.

We are so pleased to welcome you all back to a new academic year filled with discoveries, adventures, creation, inspiration, knowledge and spirit! In Grade 5 we aim to consolidate all learning you’ve had throughout the primary years and to move ahead with this in adding new insights, skills and knowledge in preparation to Grade 6. There are many exciting engagements and topics we will inquire through and we three classes will do so as a family, sharing in each other’s learning and journeys.

Although separated by walls, we move around and blend a lot between the three classes so you can be sure that your children will be under the wings of all three teachers this year. We differentiate in many ways: within a child’s own class and throughout the grade for Reading, Mathematics, and UOI learning.

There is much to share about the upcoming academic year and this will be done through the Back to School Coffee Morning Meeting. More details to come soon about this.

Now let’s introduce ourselves

Ms. Carole Parker

Initially working in the UK with the British Curriculum I became interested in linking subjects to give students a more rounded, real life and integrated experience. I strongly believe that students should be given the opportunity to make decisions for themselves and that they should be guided and encouraged to lead their own learning. In my last school in Bangkok I led the school to become authorised as a Primary Years Programme (PYP) School, previous to that I was the grade 5 teacher so having enjoyed that experience I am really looking forward to this year and especially the students exhibition unit.

Moving to Thailand with my two daughters then aged 4 and 8 and my husband has turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. My daughters have now graduated successfully from the IB diploma course and are now back in the UK. I love living in Thailand, the friendly people, fantastic locations and the fabulous food are just a few of the reasons why. I am so excited to be joining the KIS community and am looking forward to a challenging yet rewarding year. Thanks, Carole

Ms. Rachel Loveridge

I am very happy to be teaching in my fifth year at KIS and once again be in grade 5.  I love the PYP  Exhibition, music and mathematics!  I also however love getting to know the new grade five students and seeing them mature throughout the year in so many ways. I enjoy the transition from PYP to MYP and had years of 8 experience teaching middle school in my homeland of New Zealand before I began my international career in Shanghai way back in 1997.  I have also taught in Jakarta, Singapore and Zhuhai China, where i was the PYP Coordinator and DP.

I have a new team this year with Mr Nic and Ms Carole and our wonderful EA’s Ms Kaow and Ms Nitcharee whom I’m looking forward to working with very much!  I also have two sons and a husband in the secondary school at KIS and I look forward to getting to know you all as parents too, over the year.

Mr. Nicholas Monnin

I am a Canadian teacher born and raised in Ottawa Ontario. I love nature and outdoor activities such as: sailing, climbing, cycling, swimming and camping. Oh and I’m also into acrobatics and motorbike racing as well. 

I’ve always had a passion for working with children since my early years, either in camps as an instructor, as a leader in the Scouting movement or aboard floating classrooms on ships. I have been teaching lower primary, upper primary and early years students for the last 22 years. I have taught in international schools in  international school in Taiwan, Thailand and most recently in Singapore. This is my sixth year teaching in KIS and my 8th year teaching in the IB. I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, this means that I learn best when watching and moving my body. How do you learn best?

I believe that education should nurture children’s ‘whole’ being, focusing on the integration, and developmental milestones of the mind, the spirit and the body. Creating a love of learning which fosters the development of intellectual, emotional and physical aspects of children is a part of my ethos and it is tailored to be fun, as life is meant to be (even fractions can be fun!). I firstly build my knowledge of a child’s individuality and then differentiate the learning with authentic curricular engagement. A holistic multidisciplinary approach, I believe, enables children to work towards becoming, confident, creative and compassionate individuals walking with certainty on their paths of life. I look forward to getting to know all of you throughout the year. See you around school!

Upcoming Events

• Primary School Back To School Forum: August 23rd
• Professional Development Day (School Closed): September 19th
• September break (School Closed): September 20th
• G3-G5 Map Testing: September 30th-October 11th

Important Notes

• Water Bottles should be brought to school everyday and returned home to wash every Friday.
• Students need to wear uniforms to school everyday and change into PE at school
• Please adhere to the uniform, policy in the parent handbook available on the G5 blog
• Student pick-up starts at 2:30-2:45 in classrooms. 2:45 onwards students are to be picked-up in Supervision Room (library)
• To see the teacher for a short chat, see us after school at 2:30 most afternoons, but for a longer meeting, please make an appointment through the office with Ms. Aim or email your teacher to set a convenient meeting time.
• Class starts at 7:50 am so please bring your child  to school on time.
• …..For a more complete list of details of life and policies and practices at school, please refer to the Parent Handbook….