News of the Moment

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Lana

Do you like animals? Do you like doing fun, animal-themed activities? Do you like munching on popcorn while watching animal movies and thinking about how much you like animals? If the answer to these questions is yes, you should come to Animal Rescue’s Elementary School Fun Night!

You’ll be divided up by grade level (grades 1-3, grades 4-5) and even if you’ve seen the movie before, we also have fun activities, snacks, HS students arranged to talk with you about our club, and buses to bring you home. So make sure to bring your friends on Friday, March 23rd! We aren’t charging admission but suggest a 50RMB donation, with all money going to Jaiya’s Animal Rescue. Permission forms will be coming around on February 21st and 22nd; you have until Feb 29th to turn them in to your teacher, along with your donation. Don’t miss out!

Invention Convention Update

Parents, in class today we looked at past 5KP Invention Convention Presentations to give our students a better idea of the end product they are expected to create. Please take 5 minutes to read Mrs Rekate’s blog post, where she gives more details, showcases several former students, and hopefully puts your mind at ease over this project. The main message is:

We are more interested in process than end result!

Writing and Reading

In our Writing and Reading Workshop lessons, students are learning about various inventors, and writing their Research Paper on a particular invention or inventor they are interested in. This paper will be due by Wednesday the 29th of February as we will then display it, along with your child’s invention or research project, on Friday March 2nd.

Friday March 2nd: You’re invited!

Please plan on being here at school between 8.00 and 9.30 that morning. Activities will begin shortly after 8 am with all students showing off their work at their desks and in the 5th grade project area. We will then move over to the Library Lecture Hall by the Main Cafeteria at about 8.45 to have our New Inventors Show with special guest judges. The main winner of the New Inventors Show will win a one year family pass to the Science and Technology Museum in Pudong; you won’t want to miss this thrilling showcase from the ‘best of the best’.

Math

We reviewed the Unit 7 math test today; things were not as bad as they seemed last Friday (apologies for anxiety caused, I had a substitute teacher mark the test which did result in some confusion). This test was actually a more difficult test for many of the students however so far the class average is 88% which is pretty impressive. Well done to Erika for earning her 3rd perfect score this year and a big congratulations to the following students who showed improvement between Unit 6 and Unit 7; Michelle, Taeyun, Pepo, Joon Soo, Aavia and Alex A; especially considering this was an intense unit.

We begin our next unit on Fractions and Ratios tomorrow. Students will benefit from working on the IXL site, in particular on the ‘L’ and ‘V’ sections.

Check out the Unit 8 Family Letter

Animal Rescue

1:1 Laptop Program

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Lana

Hi Parents
As I sit with all of the 5th grade teachers and students today listening and participating in a session run by Robyn Treyvaud about Cyber Safety, I can’t help realize that it is only six months ’til my own daughter will have her own laptop in our Middle School’s 1:1 Laptop Program. My daughter is growing up way too fast.

Considering my 5 year old cried in the car on the way to school today because I wouldn’t let her use the ipad… maybe she is the daughter who should be going 1:1!

During Robyn’s Presentation, I had time to check through my google reader and saw a relevant post by a former colleague, Jeff Utecht. I think in this post Jeff sums up nicely the concerns we may have as our children move into the program. I found this paragraph particularly timely if you don’t have time to read his post:

Remember That You Are The Parent

When it comes to technology, many parents feel that they do not know enough to create limits and boundaries. Because of this they do not feel right taking the technology away. You are still the parent and in your house you make the rules. You have every right to take the computer away from your child if you feel they are not having enough “down time”. I know one family that the whole family felt out of balance so they unplug the Internet in their house. So everyone has to be disconnected at the same time. They use this time to reconnect as a family and just have some ‘down’ time.

Smart Students make Smart Goals

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Lana

Hi Parents

We had a great lesson just now on our Invention Convention Project. Most of the students have made a good start to either their research paper or their research project over the last ten days; however with only 16 days until these items are officially due, it is time for them to create a ‘plan of attack’ and so that is what they did this morning.

We discussed S.M.A.R.T. goals as a class and then wrote up our own goals, using SMART goals as our guideline. We also talked honestly about the other expectations that impact their daily lives and will get in the way of them achieving their best results on the project and paper. Many of our students are extremely busy in their out of school time, some with as many as three activities a night; it is unrealistic to expect them to do project work on these nights when there seems barely enough time to eat a meal with their family so we took nights like this, as well as sleep-overs, birthday parties, family events etc into account in our plans.

Tonight, please look at your child’s science notebook and please read their Invention Convention plan through with them if you have time. I believe that them knowing that we are both focused on them following this plan over the next two weeks, will help your child to stay on track and not be rushed our stressed leaving things ’til the last minute.

Don’t forget to save the date! We want YOU in our project area at 8.10 am on Friday March 2nd to share in our success as we have our Invention Convention presentation.

Below is a video from Youtube on smart goals, I apologize in advance, that it will only work in China if you have a VPN.

Happy Tuesday

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Lana

Monday, February 13 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Raising Cyber Citizens

Parent Evening – Radisson Thumb Plaza, Pudong

Hi Families

With 8 weeks until Spring Break begins, we have a lovely stretch of class time broken up into the month of February and March. During February, a big focus for 5th grade is the Invention Convention which we are studying in Writer’s Workshop, Reader’s Workshop and Social Studies. In our writing time we are learning to write a solid research paper; during reading we are looking at biographies and have also been dabbling in Reader’s Theater which was a lot of fun. During our Social Studies time we are learning about what makes an invention an invention, that inventions are all around us, what the acronym S.C.A.M.P.E.R means and what some of the most important inventions have meant to our world. We are also learning how to be better researches and that ‘googling’ is not the answer to everything; therefore we’ve utilized our online databases this week and I encourage you to check them out as your child will be becoming more and more familiar with them as they continue their schooling.

Invention Convention Clarifications

1. Every child will be writing a Research Paper on and inventor or invention of their choice using the 5 paragraph essay format. Research skills and paragraph writing are being taught and modeled in class, resources are available through our classroom and school libraries as well as the above mentioned databases. Students are not to just ‘google’ for this project. Of course there are some excellent websites out there, one we looked at today is very useful, but we don’t want our students thinking that the internet is the only place to find information.

2. Students are given 3 options for their major Invention Convention project:

*Create/Adapt (an existing) invention using the design process discussed in class, S.C.A.M.P.E.R. guidelines, diagrams, sketches, prototypes etc and be prepared to present it to the class no later than March 1st.
*Complete a research project based on and inventor (not the same one you did your research paper on). This paper should be in depth, including a time line of the inventor’s life, illustrations and/or pictures or the inventor, facts about the person etc.
*Complete a research project based on an invention (not the same one you did your research paper on). This paper should be in depth, including a time line of the invention and how it has changed over it’s ‘life’, the impact it has had on people, illustrations and/or pictures or the invention, facts about the invention including cost, distribution etc.

Only the students who choose the first option are eligible to participate in our “New Inventors Show” in the Project Area on Friday March 2nd. This Show is modeled from the Australian TV Series “The New Inventors” and we are watching several portions of the show in class, ask your child about it. In the past, everyone has had to invent something new, and some students (and parents) have found it very difficult, time consuming and stressful. The added two options are hopefully going to alleviate some of that stress. Students can still have a wonderful and successful experience, learning all about inventors and inventions in class, and still score brilliantly, without creating their own invention. All of the 5th graders projects and research papers will be on display on the morning of Friday March 2nd and we encourage you to mark this date as we would love you to join us here at school, more details to follow.

P.S. If your child could bring a set of headphones to school it would be useful during class time right now.

Math

We are progressing well on our Unit 7 studies in Math and will have our end of unit test on Wednesday the 15th. I am encouraging the students to review their work every single night, rather than waiting until next Tuesday.

Events for your diary…

Treat Day IS this Thursday, send in some cash if you’d like your child to buy a treat.

Monday, February 13 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Raising Cyber CitizensParent Evening – Radisson Thumb Plaza, Pudong

Wednesday, February 29, 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Parent Coffee Hour with Dr. Yong Zhao

Location: Pudong, Library Lecture Hall

Wednesday, February 29, 11:00am-12:00pm Location: Pudong, Library Lecture Hall

The Balance Between Homework and Play: A Presentation for Middle and Elementary School Parents

An Evening with Dr. Yong Zhao (English Presentation)

Location: Kerry Hotel, Pudong Ballroom 1388 Hua Mu Road

Valentines Day is Tuesday February 14th and we want everyone to wear RED! We also want every child to donate a minimum of 10 rmb, giving the money to their teacher on the day, as we’d love to raise enough money for two children who need heart operations. We weill be donating our money to Heart to Heart Shanghai .As my own foster-child has recently had heart surgery that was paid for through the generosity of others, I feel this is a cause close to my own (pardon any pun) heart! So please, dig deep, buy a heart bear for 200 rmb if you want to give even more (see flyer below), and wear red to school (it also happens to be my favourite/favorite colour/color, go Pumas!!!

Important Information:

Treat Day – Thursday, February 9^th

Wear Red Day – Tuesday, February 14^th

Unit 7 Math Assessment – Wednesday, February 15^th

Assembly on Digital Literacy for fifth graders – Wednesday, February 15^th

Invention Convention project and research essay due – Thursday, March 1^st

Invention Convention Science Show (for parents to attend) – Friday, March 2^nd

^{May Day Holiday -Friday April 30th-Monday May 1st}

Band and Orchestra concert – Friday, May 11^th

All Day Field trip to Jinshan Peasant Painting Village – Friday, May 18^th

News of the Moment

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Lana

On January 17th in America people celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Thanks to Mrs Rekate who has gathered together a wealth of resources for us to explore the famous I have a Dream speech as part of out Poetry Unit; the students all have their own copy of this speech too. Scroll to the bottom of this post for a list of quotes from Martin Luter King; use them as inspiration for your own writing.

The speech is rich in the literary devices we have been studying in our unit such as metaphor, simile, personification and analogy; of course there is also much repetition and we compared and contrasted that with several of President Obama’s speeches such as his ‘Yes we can‘ speech and his Inaugural Speech.

In class today we went through the speech several times, watching the clips on You Tube of the actual speech taking place, here and here, (remember youtube may not work at home) and breaking the speech down as a group so that we could make greater sense of the powerful meaning behind all that King was saying.

In class on Wednesday and Thursday, you will have further opportunities to explore the life of Martin Luther King Jr, and in particular his famous speech. by responding to the prompts on worksheets such as this one.

Classroom Responsibilities:

Poetry Unit: We will finish out Intensive Poetry Unit this Friday with a presentation in our classroom. Students will be assessed on their presentation of one original poem as well as all of the original poems that they have published on their blog by Friday. We will continue our Poetry Friday sessions whenever possible throughout the year, as with only a couple of exceptions, the whole class love Poetry.

Lego Unit: Will be completed on Friday. This Friday, you will complete the work on your booklet and submit it for assessment. Your will be assessed on the content and quality of your answers, as well as the participation you have made in class over the course of the Lego Unit.

Math: Math Unit 6 Using Data; Addition and Subtraction of Fractions
For this unit students will need to know how to:
*Read and create stem-and-leaf plots Explain how sample size affects results
*Find common denominators
*Add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators
*Convert between fractions, decimals, and percents
Math Test will be on Friday during Period 4

In other News…
Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is known as “Spring Festival,” the literal translation of the Chinese name 春節 (Pinyin: Chūn Jié), owing to the difference between Western and traditional Chinese methods for computing the seasons. It marks the end of the winter season, analogous to the Western carnival. The festival begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: Zhēng Yuè) in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends withLantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year’s Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chú Xī (除夕) or “Eve of the Passing Year.” Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the “Lunar New Year“.
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of “good fortune” or “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.
Chinese New Year 2012 Welcomes the Year of the Dragon

Roots and Shoots
SAS Roots and Shoots invites all families to offset their carbon footprint from winter/CNY travels. Envelopes were distributed to the youngest child of every family. If you wish to make a contribution – it’s not too late! Please insert your donation into the envelope, seal it, and have your child return the envelope (with their name and grade) to their homeroom teacher or the /high/middle/elementary school office. Further information can be found printed on the envelope or tinyurl.com/0carbon. This opportunity is completely optional – the last thing we want is to cause any stress! Have a great Chinese New Year holiday!
If you have any questions, please contact Edwin at edwinzen@gmail.com

Famous Martin Luther King Jr. Quotations

Pick one and write a poem inspired by the quotation, then add it to your poetry anthology on your blog.

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.”

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

“I’ve seen too much hate to want to hate, myself, and every time I see it, I say to myself, hate is too great a burden to bear. Somehow we must be able to stand up against our most bitter opponents.”

“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time.”

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

“At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.”

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

“I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.”

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

For this unit students will need to know how to:

Read and create stem-and-leaf plots

Explain how sample size affects results

Find common denominators

Add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators

Convert between fractions, decimals, and percents

Math Test will be Wednesday January 18th.

Happy (Short) January

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Lana

Hi 5KP families, both new and old! Welcome to Michelle who has settled in beautifully in the last 24 hours and we look forward to Shaleigh joining our class next Monday; we are still missing a couple of our classmates and look forward to the day we have a full class (yesterday we were only 2/3 full with 6 of our students not here yet!

With only 2 1/2 weeks between our Winter Break and the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) there is much to be done and a short time to do it in.

Math
Our students completed the Pre-Test for our 6th unit in math today, focusing on Using Data and the addition and subtraction of fractions. We will begin the Unit tomorrow and go over the Pre-Test results as a class once we have everyone here.

Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop
We are focusing intensely on Poetry over this period time and I’d love you to do a bit of homework for me parents and share with your children any poems/nursery rhymes/stories you have shared with them as younger children. For example, I always read nursery rhymes with Hannah when she was little, we would sing them together and do the actions, favourites included English classics such as Mary Had a Little Lamb (I never knew it had so many verses), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (a third verse, who knew?) and The Grand Old Duke of York. With Mimi, our second child, I have not been as good at teaching her so many of these traditional nursery rhymes and thank Mrs Borden for doing the job for me so well this year. I have also shared many poems with the girls that my father and grandmother shared with me as a child.

If you could comment on this blog post with an answer like the one above, or e mail me, or just talk to your children about your response, I’d really appreciate it. We are going to really enjoy this unit together as I am very passionate about Poetry and we got off to a great start on our Poetry Friday’s back in September, October and November.

Science
We continued with our Lego Unit today working on building Simple Machines. It is amazing seeing how capable the students are, there are a lot of detailed instructions to follow and we begin each lesson with a lengthy discussion, today it was about Levers, ask your child what a lever is and see if they can tell you what the new 7 letter word is they learned today as they built their own levers. The first correct answer on my blog or e mail wins a coffee pass for tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, students should wear their house shirts please to earn points for their team. There are also several envelopes and newsletters coming home about the Roots and Shoots initiative and also the Family Literacy Event coming up, so please check your child’s bag if they are not forthcoming; youngest child only.

Happy Friday!

Last LAST post of 2011

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Lana

It was a wonderful celebration today between Pre K and 5th grade students as we got together to share gifts and snacks for the last time in 2011. As always I was proud of the way the 5th graders looked out for their reading buddies, putting their arms around them, helping them choose food and open presents and later on outside. After our snacks were finished with and we were all on a bit of a sugar high, it was time to burn off some energy in the playground so we took off with books in hand. The reading lasted for around ten minutes and then the lure of the swings took over. I’m not sure who had more fun pushing who but there was lots of laughing and running, squealing and shouting as our Reading Buddies made the most of their time together. We will miss Michelle from 5KP and Rebekah from Pre K when we get together again after the Holidays. Keep safe girls and never forget your great mates back in SAS Pudong. Happy Holidays boys and girls, see you in 2012.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615

Last Post of 2011

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Lana

Hi Parents

2.5 days to go… the countdown is well and truly on!

I introduced the Secret Santa idea to your children ten days ago, and many of them have been swapping presents,

doing kind deeds and leaving small gifts around for each other. Tomorrow is the day they are supposed play Secret Santa and

give a wrapped gift to their classmate.

I bought some ‘back up’ gifts just now, as I talked to a couple of students this afternoon who were not sure they had

anything yet… but hopefully, most or all of them are organized and don’t let their ‘receiver’ down tomorrow.

Thanks for your help, I know this is a busy time of year for you, I tried to put the responsibility on the students,

not you, but I know that is not always the case (my daughter is also participating!!!)

Happy Holidays, Keep Safe and see you in January

Kimbra

2.5 days to go… the countdown is well and truly on!
I introduced the Secret Santa idea to your children ten days ago, and most of them have been swapping presents, doing kind deeds and leaving small gifts around for each other. Tomorrow is the day they are supposed to play Secret Santa at our 5KP classroom party and give a wrapped gift to their classmate.
Many of them had also bought something to give their reading buddy when we went to Santa’s Workshop, so I encouraged the rest of them to buy something very small for our Reading Buddies party tomorrow… party, party, party!
I bought some ‘back up’ gifts just now, as I talked to a couple of students this afternoon who were not sure they had anything yet… but hopefully, most or all of them are organized and don’t let their ‘receiver’ down tomorrow.
Thanks for your help, I know this is a busy time of year for you all; I tried to put the responsibility on the students, not you, but I know that is not always the case (my daughter is also participating!!!)

As you travel around, probably by plane, during the holiday season, keep in mind our Roots and Shoots Program.
Zero Emission Travel is a chance for families to give back to the Earth by offsetting carbon output from family travel. Simply 25 RMB can plant one tree in Inner Mongolia and remove 250 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Donation envelopes can be picked up from ES, MS, or HS offices starting from Jan 4, 2012, and will also be handed out. A donation will place your name in the EAGLE magazine, and a tree with your name on it on a paper cutout version of the Inner Mongolian forest. For more details please visit: www.tinyurl.com/0carbon.

Depending on when your child is leaving for the holidays…
Wednesday and Thursday-Math Test
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday-Essays are Due

Here are the ASA Dates for the New Year along with who is doing what; paper copies will be sent home with your child before the vacation but I know they sometimes get misplaced with the excitement of the holidays!

Happy Holidays, Keep Safe and see you in January (Bye Bye Michelle… Don’t be a stranger!)

The Power of One

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Lana

This morning, thanks to a link sent to me by my friend and colleague, Tina Bui, our class departed from their essay writing for a wee while to check out something special going on in the world; kids their age making a difference.
We went to the Huffington Post where the students spent twenty minutes looking through the short snapshots about 11 kids who made a difference in 2011. Students then followed more links to read about children who raised money, gave of their time, and inspired change in others and then wrote about who they thought was the most inspirational and why, on their own blogs. Take some time to read who your child admires; it is always inspiring reading about other people who do good; something all of us could learn from.

It was interesting to see who the kids chose; did they choose the person who raised the most money, the one who was the youngest… what about the 11 kids on screen really affected your child? Was it the issue? Have a conversation with your child, about the Power of One.

the barefoot librarian

Kimbra Power

Author Archives: Lana

News of the Moment

1:1 Laptop Program

Smart Students make Smart Goals

Happy Tuesday

Hi Families

Events for your diary…

News of the Moment

Happy (Short) January

Last LAST post of 2011

Last Post of 2011

The Power of One