01 - Copenhagen International School

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Samantha Fern Deputy Principal of Primary and PYP Coordinator What has been happening in Primary? As is always the case in any inquiry cycle in the PYP here at CIS there comes a time for sharing discoveries and presenting learning. Nothing has been truer in the last month in the Primary School. Each and every child took home their portfolios for the second time this term, continuing the process of showcasing and discussing their progress with one of their favourite audiences, their parents. Feedback took the form of letters of encouragement to the children as well as questions and clarification of future goals, all of which help with student reflection and inspire renewed motivation. Another part of sharing our learning with the community is the ‘Open House” where parents are invited in to school to view firsthand the results of their child’s learning at the end of a Unit of Inquiry. We had the PYP 4 who demonstrated their literary, artistic, dramatic and musical learning as a culmination of their Fantasmagorical unit. The children loved this unit and were excited throughout. They began with a dress up day of fantasy characters and ended with a summative expression of a fantasy or emotion through the arts. Videos of the puppet shows, YouTube clips, skits, poems and stories were made available to parents during the open house event, along with the presentations produced in collaboration with their arts teachers. The PYP 5 students shared discoveries about different forms of energy, focussing on questions and experiments as they gave parents a tour of their scientific process. The PYP 1 classes explored different homes during their second unit, inviting parents to give feedback on their creative designs and understandings. The PYP 3 class went on a journey to discover the structure and history of different cities, particularly Copenhagen, along with a comparison of a city in their origin country. They asked parents to help them in evaluating their creative brochures. It is significant to note that a natural link occurred during this unit when the primary students were invited to view the ‘eco city’ designs produced by MYP 3 and were encouraged to analyse the structures against relevant social concerns. The Kindergarten classes, as part of their age appropriate focus on discovery through ‘play’ were involved in a variety of ‘game experiences’ and invited parents to participate in their learning. They taught parents games such as Marbles, Hopscotch, Sorte Per, Dominoes and Checkers and the children all agreed “It was great to be a teacher for the afternoon!” At the end of November the upper primary classes, under the guidance of their music teacher, created a concert. It was an ‘extravaganza’ of musical talent and worth the hard work of all concerned. Similarly, the Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime produced by the primary drama club will undoubtedly be worth every ‘penny / bean / giggle / pie in the face’ invested! Worthy of note is the composting of organic materials quietly initiated by PYP 2 as part of their Reduce, Reuse, Recycle unit. Their investigations into the ‘greening’ practises found in local businesses, alongside CIS efforts to minimise our carbon footprint and actively become a Green School, as well as the introduction of two solar powered computers through the Greenies club speak strongly of the commitment to sustainability in our community. Dates to Remember December 5 Holiday Fair 11 St. Lucia Assembly 18 Whole School Assembly, 11:00 Students Dismissed, 12:00 January 11 School re-opens 21 PYP for newcomers , 18:00 28 PYP round table discussion, 13:00
such as wikis, podcasting, blogging, … for improving teaching and learning. There will also be a session on designing webpages so that teachers can start to use the website to communicate with their students. A session on the ethics and safety of internet use will provide us with further details to enhance our own internet use policy. We are in the midst of a discussion within school about the use of laptops and increasingly believe that all Secondary School students should have their own or access to a laptop for lessons. This is an ongoing discussion and we will give you more details next semester. Simon Watson Secondary School Principal Enjoy the vacation, and I hope to see you again in the New Year, refreshed and ready for the challenges of Semester 2. Already the first semester is almost complete, with only a few weeks remaining until the vacation. For MYP 4 to DP 2 students, their focus during December will be the semester examinations, culminating in DP 2 with mock examinations. We have restructured the week before examinations for MYP 4 & 5, in order to utilize this time better. We have broken the week down into larger blocks of time for each subject so that students do not have to skip from algebra-topoetry-and back again in the same day. When preparing for examinations it is important that students plan their revision. Working in a comfortable room without distraction with scheduled breaks will help most people. Switching off MSN, mobile phones and YouTube would certainly help me concentrate, but I am told that I am too old to understand the complexities of how the young mind works. Making a list of questions to ask teachers is essential to overcome obstacles in understanding. All examination results will be available after the vacation and Semester 1 reports will be ready by the end of January. School starts again for the students on Monday 11 January 2010. However, teachers return to school on Thursday 7 January and have two days of Professional Development, led by Alan November http://novemberlearning.com/. Alan November is a much sought after consultant and recognized throughout the world for his ability to inspire and support teachers in their use of technology. The focus of the two days will be how to best use web 2.0 tools, Dates to Remember December 2-4 MYP 1 & 2 Lübeck Trip 3-4 DP Study Days - No School 5 PTA Holiday Fair 7 PTA Meeting 8 Language B Information Meeting , 9:30-10:40, PAC 7-10 CIS Climate Conference 7-17 DP 2 Mock Exams 11-17 MYP 4 & 5 Exams 14-17 DP 1 Exams 18 Whole School Assembly, 11:00, Gym Students Dismissed, 12:00 January 11 School re-opens 18 PTA Meeting 22 NECIS U12/U14 friendly game with Hamburg 22 NECIS Varsity Basketball friendly game at Sigtuna
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