KG Class Blog

Week #17: Dec. 11th – 14th

Posted on December 11, 2018 by rachel.dr

We are now down to our final few days before winter break.
Below are a few reminders about what’s happening this week.

Wednesday 12th December
– PYP Awards Assembly 8:30 – 9:30am
Parents of children receiving an award have been informed and are welcome to attend.

– KG Class Party 1:00pm – 2:30pm
– Mini performance in KG of ‘Giraffes Can’t Dance‘
We look forward to celebrating the end of the first term with us.
Thank you for your food/drinks donations.

Thursday 13th December
– Swim class as usual

Friday 14th December
– Final day of Term 1
– Half day for students (dismissal will be at 11:30am)

Monday 7th January
– First day of Term 2

Library Books
Please return all library materials as soon as possible.
Regular library class visits will resume in January.

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KG Christmas Party: Giraffes Can’t Dance

Posted on December 7, 2018 by lisa.di

Parents

KG will be performing a quick play based on the book Giraffes Can’t Dance. Each child has been given a role. If you know that you will not be here next Wednesday, please let your class teacher know.

We would very much appreciate if you could please help your child memorise the lines over the weekend. The children dancing have been told what movements they will be doing.

Christmas Party Dec 18 – Google Docs

giraffes_cant_dance

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KG Class Party

Posted on December 4, 2018 by rachel.dr

KG Class Party: Wed. 12th Dec.

For those who wish to bring in treats to share for the class party, there is a sign-up sheet on the KG bulletin board (see below).

Students may dress up in ‘party clothes’ (no uniform necessary) on that day. The party will take place from 1:00pm – 2:30pm.

Parents are welcome to attend.

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Week #16: Dec. 3rd – 7th

Posted on December 3, 2018 by rachel.dr

If you are viewing this message through your email,
please click on the link below to view the full content of this week’s blog post:
https://klearning.ict.kis.ac.th/kblog/kg/

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Absences
Please remember to CC Ms. Aim (sissadee@edu.kis.ac.th) in the PYP office if your child is going to be absent on any given day. Thank you for your cooperation.

* * * * *

U of I: How We Express Ourselves
Students explored emotions through facial expressions through art and play and used this to create their own characters.

They also used their fine motor skills to create illustrations and share their ideas about what they would like to see in a newly-designed school playground.

We got lots of imaginative suggestions such as waterslides, pirate ships, ball pits, dinosaurs, and trampolines.

Numeracy
Apart from our Daily Data, KG students have been exploring a number of mathematical concepts through the various classroom play centers. As seen in the slideshow below, students have been making connections to measurement (weights and lengths), shape and space, number, and symmetry.

Literacy
Students have begun making connections to high-frequency words through their reading and handwriting.

They are practicing leaving finger spaces between words.

Hour of Code event at KIS
To celebrate Computer Science Education Week together with students around the world, we will have an Hour of Code event at KIS on Tuesday 4th at the PYP atrium.

From Cubetto to Tynker, there are coding activities for children of all ages.

To read more about these programs, please click on the following links:

https://www.primotoys.com/
https://www.kodable.com/
https://www.scratchjr.org/
https://www.tynker.com/

* * * * *

Library Books

Please return library book folders on Friday morning.
Thank you.

* * * * *

Christmas Wishes
A big thank you to all who donated a Christmas present to a child in need. For those that haven’t yet, we still have names hung on the Christmas tree of children who are hoping to receive a gift at the party this weekend. The Christmas Party where the gifts will be distributed is this coming Sunday December 9th. All donated gifts will be picked up this Friday.

Please remember to stick the tag on the outside of the gift that you are donating so we know which child to forward it to.

Thank you so much for your generosity.

* * * * *

Important Dates

Wed. 5th Dec.: SCHOOL CLOSED
In remembrance of HM King Bhumibol‘s birthday

Mon. 10th Dec.: PD Day (Professional Development)
SCHOOL CLOSED for students

Wed. 12th Dec.: KG Christmas Party 1:00 – 2:30pm
Sign-up sheet for snacks/drinks will be posted outside the KG classroom.

Wed. 12th Dec.: Awards Assembly, 8:30 – 9:30 am in the auditorium
Parents of children receiving an award will be informed in advance and are welcome to attend.

Friday December 14th: Last day of Term 1
Half day for students: Dismissal at 11:30 am

Mon. 7th Jan.: Term 2 begins

* * * * *

Message from the SEA: New PE Uniform Announcement
PE Uniform Announcement Letter_30Nov18

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Christmas Wishes

Posted on November 29, 2018 by rachel.dr

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Week #15: Nov. 26th – 30th

Posted on November 26, 2018 by rachel.dr

If you are viewing this message through your email,
please click on the link below to view the full content of this week’s blog post:
https://klearning.ict.kis.ac.th/kblog/kg/

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Swimming Class This Week
Mr. Max will be away this Thursday.
KG’s swimming classes have been rescheduled as follows:

KGC – Swimming class on Tuesday 27th November (TOMORROW)
KGA & KGB – Swimming class on Wednesday 28th November

*Note: PE classes will also be taking place as normally scheduled.

Please send your child to school with their swimwear on these days.

Thank you.

* * * * * * * * * *

Thank you for “Going Blue” and giving your donations in support of United Nations Universal Children’s Day last week. Below is a message from EY1:

Dear All,

Thank you so much for your contributions and support. We are happy to announce we are donating a total of 14,431 baht to the HUB!
It was lovely to see so many people wearing blue today and to hear the conversations happening in classes about the significance of Universal Children’s Day.

Thank you again.
EY1

http://www.childlinethailand.org/en/what-we-do/the-hub

* * * * *

Literacy – Sentence Writing
Students are continuing to develop their fine motor skills while they practice writing sentences in their ‘A Book About Me’ booklets:

Research Skills –
Asking Questions is one of the skills that we are learning about in Kindergarten. It is an important component of our developing Research Skills. Last week, Ms. Lisa introduced KG to a game called ‘Guess Who’ which helps us to practice this very skill.

Guess Who? is a two-player character guessing game.
Each player starts the game with a board that includes cartoon images of 24 people and their first names with all the images standing up. Each player selects a card from a separate pile of cards containing the same 24 images at random. The object of the game is to be the first to determine which card one’s opponent has selected. Players alternate asking various yes or no questions to eliminate candidates, such as “Does your person wear glasses?” The player will then eliminate candidates (based on the opponent’s response) by flipping those images down until all but one is left. Well-crafted questions allow players to eliminate one or more possible cards. Questions might include:

“Does your person wear a hat?”
“Does your person wear glasses?”
“Does your person have a big nose?”

Students are beginning to construct an understanding of how to ask ‘yes or no’ questions, as well as using that information to figure out which characters to eliminate on their game board. They are enjoying the challenge of figuring out their opponent’s mystery character.

Unit of Inquiry – How We Express Ourselves
Last week, groups of students went to visit the HS art room to explore their creativity through creating individual clay tiles. This week they have continued this activity in the KG classroom. This will be a 2-part process. Once their tiles are complete, they will be baked in the kiln, after which the students will have the opportunity to paint them. They will then go back into the kiln for a second baking.

Here are examples of some of the creations our students produced so far:

Loy Kratong
Last Thursday we celabrated Loy Kratong at KIS. Many individuals dressed up in traditional Thai clothing, and some of our classmates performed a Thai dance during the lunch break. Thank you to Betty, Gale, Hina, Rapang, and Pingping for being risk-takers and expressing themselves through their dance performance.

Thank you to those who were able to join in on the kratong making with the students during Thai class on Thursday afternoon. We hope you all had a wonderful evening.

Library Books

Please return library book folders on Friday morning.
Thank you.

* * * * *

Important Dates

Fri. 30th Nov.: House Spirit Day (Please wear house shirts on this day.)

Fri. 30th Nov.: Parent Forum (8:00 – 9:30am in the AP Room)

Wed. 5th Dec.: SCHOOL CLOSED
In remembrance of HM King Bhumibol‘s birthday

Mon. 10th Dec.: PD Day (Professional Development)
SCHOOL CLOSED for students

Wed. 12th Dec.: KG Christmas Party (details coming soon) 1:00 – 2:30pm

Fri. 14th Dec.: G3 – G5 Holiday Concert (End of Term 1)
(Half day for students: Dismissal time to be announced)
KG will not be performing at this concert.
EY – G2 performances will take place at the end of the school year.

* * * * *

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Week #14: Nov. 19th – 23rd

Posted on November 19, 2018 by rachel.dr

If you are viewing this message through your email,
please click on the link below to view the full content of this week’s blog post:
https://klearning.ict.kis.ac.th/kblog/kg/

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Tomorrow (Tuesday 20th November) is…
United Nations Universal Children’s Day

In celebration of this day, to benefit the HUB, raise awareness, and support local children, EY1 is hosting a Free Dress Day tomorrow, Nov. 20th for a minimum of a 20 baht donation.
The theme for this years Universal Children’s Day is “Go Blue”. Children and Staff are encouraged to wear something blue.

If you have any questions or would like more info from EY1 please do not hesitate to ask! http://www.childlinethailand.org/en/what-we-do/the-hub

* * * * *

Literacy – Letter Formation & Sentence Writing
Last week students continued practicing different components of lowercase letter formation as well as begun practicing writing a sentence each day connected to the day of the week.

This week, students are continuing to practice writing sentences, this time telling us about themselves in a booklet entitiled, “A book about me”.

Daily Data – Making Predictions & Mathematical Connections
Some students have begun to make predictions about our daily data by documenting the date and how many days we have been in school before we discuss them in our morning meetings. This is one way that students show their understanding of patterns in our daily lives.

Students have also been exploring various centers around the classroom, making connections to space and shape, number, and patterns.

Unit of Inquiry – How We Express Ourselves
Last week students began sorting photos of their artifacts into different categories. As more and more students began sharing their artifacts, they started making connections to those of other students.

Once everyone’s artifact was sorted, students were given the opportunity to reflect on how the different types of artifacts (such as sports, toys, and music) made them feel. Here are some of their reflections:

ICT – Coding with Mr. Eric
Last week, KG students visited the ICT lab where they were introduced to coding.
“Coding is a basic literacy in the digital age, and it is important for kids to understand and be able to work with and understand the technology around them. Having children learn coding at a young age prepares them for the future. Coding helps children with communication, creativity, math,writing, and confidence.”

Here is a link to an article about why coding is important for young minds:
http://blog.learningresources.com/5reasonskidscoding/

What’s happening in our KinderGARDEN?
It’s been a busy few weeks in our outdoor space. Students have been working together to build trellises for our cucumber and watermelon plants, a house for our mushrooms, planting different types of seeds, and tending to the sprouts.

Thank you to all who have supported us by supplying used water bottles for planting our sunflower sprouts, as well as those who have given a donation to purchase some of our final products so far (mushrooms and sprouts).

Divali/Diwali at KIS
Last Friday we had our belated Divali celebrations at KIS. Many staff and students dressed in Indian clothing in recognition of the celebrations, and students around the school participated in storytime, making a rangoli at the PYP atrium entrance, and a few mothers volunteered to do mendhi on the hands of those wishing to give it a try.

“Mehndi or mehendi is a form of body art from Ancient India, in which decorative designs are created on a person’s body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant.”

Thank you all for your ongoing support and being open-minded and joining in on celebrating one another’s cultures. It’s one of the things that makes KIS such an extraordinary place to be and helps teach the students international mindedness.

Library Books

Please return library book folders on Friday morning.
Thank you.

* * * * *

Important Dates

Tue. 20th Nov.: Universal Children’s Day (donate 20 baht and wear blue to school)

Thu. 22nd Nov.: Loy Kratong (students are invited to wear traditional Thai Dress)
Loy Kratong 2018 Letter

Fri. 30th Nov.: House Spirit Day (Please wear house shirts on this day.)

Fri. 30th Nov.: Parent Forum (8:00 – 9:30am in the AP Room)

Wed. 5th Dec.: SCHOOL CLOSED
In remembrance of HM King Bhumibol‘s birthday

Mon. 10th Dec.: PD Day (Professional Development)
SCHOOL CLOSED for students

Fri. 14th Dec.: G3 – G5 Holiday Concert (End of Term 1)
(Half day for students: Dismissal time to be announced)
KG will not be performing at this concert.
EY – G2 performances will take place at the end of the school year.

* * * * *

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Week #13: Nov. 12th – 16th

Posted on November 13, 2018 by rachel.dr

Unit of Inquiry: How We Express Ourselves
Yesterday, Avani’s mom came to KG to do a presentation on Indian dance. It was a wonderful learning opportunity for the students to understand how dance can be part of culture, religion, storytelling, and expression of emotions.

Thank you, K. Pari, for taking the time to share this with us. And a special thank you to Avani for being a risk-taker and getting up in front of the whole class to show us the dance.

SYTYCD
Last week we attended the So You Think You Can Dance! competition in the auditorium which was hosted by KIS.

KIS entered 3 teams in the competition, one for each age group (Primary, Lower Secondary, High School). KIS dominated final results with some fantastic performances. Primary “Dynamix” won Primary and Overall, Lower Secondary “L.O.D.” won Lower Secondary, and High School “The Illusion” finished 2nd in a very tightly contested High School group.

Literacy & Math in Kindergarten
This week we have begun incorporating sentence writing into our daily data, making connections to the day of the week.

Students are also practicing how to write sentences, expressing how dancing makes them feel.

* * * * *

Resolving Conflict with Kelso’s Choices
Part of learning how to solve problems using Kelso’s Choices is recognizing what those choices are and how they are used.

Below is the third and final video showing examples of how we can use Kelso’s Choices to solve small problems. Please review it with your son/daughter.

Q1: Which strategies were used to solve small problems in the examples in the video (you can refer to Kelso’s Wheel below to help you remember)?

Go to another game
Talk it out
Share and take turns
Ignore it
Walk away
Tell them to stop
Apologize
Make a deal
Wait and cool off

* * * * *

Library Books

Please return library book folders on Friday morning.
Thank you.

* * * * *

Internet Safety
Mr. Eric has created a website with some helpful resources about internet safety. Follow the link below to have a look!
https://sites.google.com/edu.kis.ac.th/kis-pyp-internet-safety/home

* * * * *

Important Dates

Fri. 16th Nov.: Divali celebration at KIS

Fri. 16th Nov.: Parent Forum (8:00 – 9:30am in the AP Room)

Thu. 22nd Nov.: Loy Kratong (students are invited to wear traditional Thai Dress)

Fri. 30th Nov.: House Spirit Day (Please wear house shirts on this day.)

Fri. 30th Nov.: Parent Forum (8:00 – 9:30am in the AP Room)

Wed. 5th Dec.: SCHOOL CLOSED
In remembrance of HM King Bhumibol‘s birthday

Mon. 10th Dec.: PD Day (Professional Development)
SCHOOL CLOSED for students

* * * * *

A Few Friendly Reminders…

Diwali (English: /dɪˈwɑːliː/) or Divali is from the Sanskrit dīpāvali meaning “row or series of lights“. The conjugated term is derived from the Sanskrit words dīpa, “lamp, light, lantern, candle, that which glows, shines, illuminates or knowledge” and āvali, “a row, range, continuous line, series”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali

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KIS Guidelines for Uniform and Accessories

At KIS, all students are required to wear the school uniform. KIS values and respects individual preference on uniform accessories: however, it is equally important that the selection of uniform articles should correspond to KIS student unity and characteristics, promoting a sense of community in an educational setting.
Guidelines can be found in the KIS Family Handbook 2018/19.

Shoes
Classic sandals; closed shoes; trainers. No flashing lights. If your child cannot tie shoe laces, it is recommended that they wear shoes with Velcro straps.

Socks
Black or white only

Hats
KIS hats. These are available at the uniform store on campus.

Nail Polish / Tattoos
No nail polish or tattoos (including sticker tattoos)

Earrings
Small, simple, safe, and appropriate

Jewelry
For safety reasons, only necklaces (for religious reasons). They can easily be caught on the play equipment. Students should not bring non-essential items to school.

Hair Accessories
Small, simple, and either black, white or blue (school uniform colours). No character/animal headbands or large colorful bows/ties.

Sweaters and Jackets
Only KIS jackets. These are available at the uniform store on campus.

Swimming
Only KIS swimming attire for classes during the school day. Students may wear non-KIS attire for after school swim classes.

Thank you for your cooperation.
KG Team

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Week #12: Nov. 5th – 9th

Posted on November 5, 2018 by rachel.dr

New KG Student
We have a new classmate, Leia, who joined KGB this week.

Please join us in welcoming her to Kindergarten.

* * * * *

Literacy
Last week we began exploring stories by author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. So far we have done read-alouds of The Dot and Ish, and will be looking at Sky Colour next.

All of these titles lend themselves to nurturing the creative spirit and celebrating the creative process. These tie in well with our current unit of inquiry about expressing yourself: different ways of communicating feelings and ideas.

Here is a read-aloud of the story, Ish.

* * * * *

Math
We are continuing to make numerical connections and learn how to represent numbers using tally marks. Below is a video showing how to form numbers 1 to 10.

For the past few weeks, students have been practicing how to represent a number by tracing the tally marks one day, then trying that same number on their own the next day. Below are some examples of students’ work.

* * * * *

Unit of Inquiry
This unit’s central idea: Self-expression allows us to communicate our feelings and ideas.
Students are beginning to make connections to the meaning of ‘expression’. One tuning-in activity that the students participated in involved this painting that was donated from the middle school (see below).

Students used watercolours to reproduce the painting themselves, then reflected on how they felt about the painting and/or the experience. See below for some examples of the students’ work.

* * * * *

Resolving Conflict with Kelso’s Choices
Part of learning how to solve problems using Kelso’s Choices is recognizing what those choices are and how they are used.

Below is another video below showing a examples of how we can use Kelso’s Choices to solve small problems. Please review it with your son/daughter.

Q1: Which strategies were used to solve small problems in the examples in the video (you can refer to Kelso’s Wheel below to help you remember)?

Q2: How do we know whether a problem is a BIG problem or a small problem?

Go to another game
Talk it out
Share and take turns
Ignore it
Walk away
Tell them to stop
Apologize
Make a deal
Wait and cool off

* * * * *

Library Books

Please return library book folders on Friday morning.
Thank you.

* * * * *

Important Dates

Fri. 30th November: House Spirit Day

Please wear house shirts on this day.

Wed. 5th December: SCHOOL CLOSED
In remembrance of HM King Bhumibol‘s birthday

Mon. 10th December: PD Day (Professional Development)
SCHOOL CLOSED for students

Fri. 14th December: G3 – G5 Holiday Concert (End of Term 1)
(Half day for students: Dismissal time to be announced)

* * * * *

Hello Parents.
Thank you for taking the time to attend our second Coffee Meeting this morning. We were once again happy to have such a great turnout. We would like to thank Ms. Alex, our PYP counselor, for joining us in our presentation as well as sharing her insight and ideas on how parents can support children’s learning at home to reinforce the communication, social, and self-management skills they are learning about at school.

Please click on the following link to view Ms. Alex’s PYP Counselor Information page.
https://klearning.ict.kis.ac.th/kblog/counselor/

For those of you who weren’t able to attend, there is a PDF copy of our slideshow below. The videos that were part of the slideshow are not accessible from the PDF. We are currently converting them to a format that can be posted here on our KG Class Blog.

You will receive an email when this process is complete so you may view them at your leisure.

Social Emotional Skills in KG

Thank you again, parents, for your continued support in your child’s learning. It is very much appreciated.

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Unit of Inquiry: Expression (Artifacts)

Posted on November 1, 2018 by lisa.di

Unit of Inquiry: Expression (Artifacts)

Artifacts are a way of beginning conversations about our inquiry with the students. It allows students to showcase their understanding of what we might be learning and connect to something from their own experiences.

Our unit is about expressing our ideas and emotions. When we express ourselves we communicate feelings or views through speech, writing, some form of art, or behavior. Our artifact should highlight how our children prefer to communicate these ideas and feelings. It might be a message they are trying to communicate or it might be a feeling.

If you are unsure about what they should bring, please ask. Here are two artifacts that have been brought into KG this week, communicating both emotions and feelings. Don’t forget the artifact can be expressing information or an idea also.

KG Team

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Week #17: Dec. 11th – 14th

KG Christmas Party: Giraffes Can’t Dance

KG Class Party

Week #16: Dec. 3rd – 7th

Christmas Wishes

Week #15: Nov. 26th – 30th

Week #14: Nov. 19th – 23rd

Week #13: Nov. 12th – 16th

Week #12: Nov. 5th – 9th

Unit of Inquiry: Expression (Artifacts)

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