Category Archives: Cultural Studies

I’m backkkkkkkkkkkkk!

Posted on by
5

I have been TOLD in no uncertain terms by Maddie that I MUST update my blog as she is tired of reading the same old thing… So, as I am a good student and always do what I am told, here I am!

I was so sick sick sick last week, it is just great to be alive! Thanks for all your well wishes students; I am so proud of you for behaving well for Mr. B, it made is easier for me to rest and recover.

IMG_6266

Here are some goals for us to work towards:

*Getting our photo story of our second personal narrative on our blogs by November 30th so we can celebrate with a publishing party

*Completing our Cultural Studies Project, also to be launched to the world by November 30th

*Bringing in at least one full bag of second hand clothing and or blankets/toys for the Used Clothing Drive. We will leave the clothes outside the library doors and they will magically be whisked away by the wonderful Mrs. Toa.

*Remember if you would like to buy any Margriet Ruurs books please send the money in with your child and I will make sure he/she gets them. Paperback books are 70 RMB and hardcover books are 115 RMB.

IMG_6263

*If you would like to take home a baby hamster, ask your parents if you may be allowed to have a small pet… Ash and Shadow are now grand-parents to 5 new fresh and furry babies! Remember, you will have this pet for the Winter Break… who will look after it if you are not there?

Here are the notes from today’s Writer’s Workshop Lesson

CHECKLIST FOR SECOND PERSONAL NARRATIVE

*CAN YOU IDENTIFY ONE CLEAR SMALL SEED MOMENT THAT IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE STORY?

*DOES THE START OF THE NARRATIVE CAPTURE YOUR INTEREST?

*DOES THE PIECE FINISH IN A WAY THAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE READ A REAL SHORT STORY; IT HAS AN ACTUAL ENDING?

*IS THERE SENTENCE FLUENCY? ARE SENTENCES DIFFERENT LENGTHS AND DO THEY START WITH DIFFERENT WORDS?

*IS THERE A CLEAR STORY MOUNTAIN THAT BUILDS TO A CLIMAX/PEAK?

NOW…
1. Go to your blog.
2. Copy and paste your narrative into a word document and put it in your s drive, title it second personal narrative.
3. Start making changes on your own narrative based on the checklist.
4. When you have made as many changes as you can, go back to your blog and see if your partner has given you any changes to make.
5. MAKE THOSE CHANGES
6. Start thinking about where you would add a photo/transition/dialogue slide/ to your photo story and put that information into your word doc (perhaps in another color or font)
7. Try and find 5-10 photos that you have OF THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE, if not, find photos of the people or places involved in the experience, do your very best to find AUTHENTIC photos, they will really enhance the quality of your photo story.
8. Think about what music you think would best fit the images you are using and the story you are telling, remember, MUSIC TRUMPS VISUAL so make sure your music will fit the theme of your story, eg, happy, sad, exciting, mysterious. Don’t just choose music because you like the singer or it is your favorite song right now.
9. Decide on the music and transfer it to a USB or know where it is online so you can locate it easily at school.
10. Now you are ready to start putting it all together.

Homework tonight is to go to another student’s blog in your class (I told you who this afternoon) and do the same task as above for them, providing constructive feedback on the 5 points we discussed to improve on the quality of their narrative.

Also Get your math test corrections done and test signed to return tomorrow please

Also Return signed consent forms for the consent community outreach dental and eye programs

Also Wednesday Readers are due

Ouch! Talk about a bad hair day!

Posted on by
8

Hello Wonderful Students of mine… I miss you more than you miss me, I promise!
I started writing on your blogs just now to give some encouragement on your projects and then I started freaking out that there were no projects! Some of you haven’t added to your draft page since October 21st? What’s Up???

Here are your lessons for Thursday and Friday with Mr. Bromley, I promise to do my best to be back next Monday, it has been a pretty awful week for me but I have a great small moment story to share with you about an MRI I had today… very spooky but a GREAT SEED MOMENT was created.

This is how I look right now. It really really really hurts to use the computer. I can’t read anything… My head is sore. My eyes burn, my sinuses are all messed up and I feel sick and achy will all the medicine I am on. So if I CAN TYPE THIS… you can get moving with some of the work below! Make me proud 5KP.

Photo on 2010-11-10 at 20.47

Thursday and Friday Period 1 and Period 2 (borrow laptops from another teacher for one of these periods or use a lab in the library if no laptops are available)

Writer’s and Reader’s Workshop
Spend one of these two period’s typing up your second personal narrative (depending on when laptops are available) Spend the other period working on your own personal reading. As you read your book over these two days, use sticky notes to ask questions about things you don’t understand or wonder about. Keep the notes in your novels, we will be discussing them next week. The notes might be lists of words you don’t know, examples of similes you like or things that don’t make sense, use the yellow sheet of reader’s notebook questions on the wall to guide your thinking as you read.

Math Class
You will be tested on Unit 4 on either Monday or Tuesday depending on how well I believe you have comprehended the skills in this unit. So, work on the next section of the journal, use your math buddy to help you and complete the accompanying skills links for each section. I think you should have one more study link to complete on Thursday night… perfect! Don’t waste your time, if I hear you have, the test will be Monday for sure. The unit is brief, use your time to revise your skills. Make up questions for each other to test your knowledge and remember, the test will be covering the content you have covered in the study links…

Social Studies
Again, you will need to either use another 5th grade classes laptops or use the library downstairs. IF these options aren’t available for both periods each day, then spend the remaining time looking through the box of cultural studies books on the sofa and take notes (as wonderful Claire did last time) in your reader’s notebook.

I’m impressed with an idea Mr. Neill had on his blog recently. Go to this post and complete exactly the same task Mr. Neill has asked his students to do. BUT ALSO go to one student in Mr. Neill’s class and comment on their post. So, have you got it? Can you follow instructions? You’ll have:

*Your own post
*A comment on a 5KP student’s post
*A comment on a 5DN student’s post
This should all be done on the CULTURAL STUDIES draft page which sadly, so far, is NOT LOOKING GOOD!

Now, go to Ms. Yick’s Cultural Studies example again, and continue working on your own draft page. Before you go onto the tasks below, you need to make sure you have completed at least:
*3 of the features of culture (two paragraphs minimum for each feature, eg, 2 for education, 2 for recreation and 2 for life as a kid)
*2 of the big idea questions (again, two paragraphs minimum for each feature)

When you have finished these tasks AND ONLY THEN, whether it be on Thursday or Friday, you can then do the following, as always, IN ORDER.
*Go to your blog, how ever many widgets you have… HALVE THEM! I am serious, students, some of you crashed my computer tonight, and I am not in the mood for that. Some of you have over 20 widgets, GET RID OF half of THEM or Mr. Power and I will enjoy getting rid of ALL OF THEM over the weekend.

*Go to the next four people in the class (look at the names on the cubbies, you know the routine) and go to their cultural studies draft blog page and leave a comment telling them how you think they are going. I expect everyone to have done 3 features of culture and 2 big idea questions by the end of Friday’s class.

Those two tasks are homework for the weekend if you don’t get them done Thursday and Friday.

Ingrid and Patricia, please clean out Ash’s cage on Friday at recess and make sure he has enough food and water for the weekend and please please please make sure he can’t get out!

Boys and Girls, I am counting on you to be well behaved and respectful to Mr. Bromley as he is doing me a big favour looking after you so well this week. I do miss you, and I look forward to rewarding you next week with some extra special treats and coffee bar passes. We have a great session with visiting author Margriet Ruurs coming up.

Ask Mr. B to start thinking on Thursday about who he will give Student of the Week to tomorrow as well as a few coffee passes to those of you that have gone out of your way to work hard and do your best!

Got any money 5KP?

Posted on by
5

On Tuesday, we were fortunate enough to watch the Kliptown Youth Program from South Africa perform traditional gumboot dances. We were treated to heart-felt vocals, accompanied by rousing dance performances that left the students moved physically and emotionally. At the end of their performance, these gentlemen were able to share a bit of the history of the gumboot dance, as well as personal stories of the youth involved in their program. It was a perfect match for our study of cultures.

There have been many healthy discussions about how privileged each of us are in our current lives and how we should be grateful for what we have in light of what others in our world may not have. Please speak to your child about this moving performance. If you’d like to make a donation to assist this worthwhile organization, I’ll be collecting money through November 9th to be deposited into their account, give if you can 5KP, I know you appreciated their performance but I also know how much you’ve recently donated to Uganda too!

Don’t forget to check out Mrs C’s blog over the weekend to get a feel for the students you will be online buddies with. They would get a kick out of seeing some comments from you on there.

Enjoy your long weekend and I look forward to hearing about it on Monday.

November already? Surely not…

Posted on by
1

Alas, it is true…we can now officially start speaking of the Winter/Christmas break as being next month, and in between then we just have conferences, report cards, Thanksgiving, more narrative writing, some essay writing, lots of blogging, a couple of math tests, our cultural studies unit and have I forgotten anything???

Here are the conference times I have you booked for. I look forward to meeting with you all this Thursday and Friday. Please try and be there for the start of the conference as you can see the schedule is tight.

Screen shot 2010-11-02 at 9.50.24 AM

Here are some great photos from last Friday’s Halloween Festivities. The kids had a really great day and I was proud of their behavior and attitude.

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

In other news…

Calling All Cute Pets – Photo Competition!

Do you have a cute puppy?  Does your cat pose for the camera like a bright-eyed model?  Then this contest is for you!

Pudong’s HS Animal Rescue Club is creating a calendar of animals to be sold just in time for 2011.  Submit your favorite photos of your pets and we will choose the best to be included as the months of the calendar.  But don’t worry – everyone’s photos will also be put in thumbnail size at the back of the calendar!

You can only submit two photos per family so make sure to pick your best shots!  And if you have a picture that fits a season or month, that is extra great.  Submit via email to marney.rosen@saschina.org by November 15th at noon at the latest.  Don’t forget to include names (yours and your pet’s!)

All proceeds from calendar sales go to Jaiya’s Animal Rescue.

Today we were so fortunate to have two special presentations at our school. The children met Canadian Chinese author Trevor Lai during their LLB block today and before recess they were treated to an amazing performance by Gumboot Dancers from the Kliptown Youth Center in  Johannesburg, South Africa. Here is a great example of their work you can check out if 1. you live outside of China or 2. you have a vpn!

What great additions to our cultural studies unit! Speaking of that, our amazing 5KP students raised so much money for Uganda that I was blown away. Special mentions to Calen, Maddie and Roxy who contributed over 1,000 rmb each through sponsors and a huge pat on the back to Carl Z who not only raised over 2,500 rmb, but contributed a large part of that himself! Our class raised close to the 13,000 rmb that we hoped for. I am so proud of your efforts.

You are all very special kids. x

It’s called a thermometer!

Posted on by
3

fundraiser ideas
<a

WE NEED TO RAISE AT LEAST ANOTHER 1000 5KP SO WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH WE'VE RAISED! NOW THE MONEY IS LOST IN OUR CHEERLEADER'S HAIR!!! IT READS 9395 RMB THOUGH, WAY TO GO 5KP

Let’s get that thermometer filled up for Uganda!

In other news, the Elementary Blog has great information about this Friday’s United Nations Day Celebrations. My Mum is in town luckily (as I can’t cook) so I am recruiting her to make some Aussie Lamingtons and Meringues on Thursday night to sell at the Bake Sale Friday. All the money will be going to the Ugandan Fundraiser.

Here is the information regarding how you can help with fund-raising on the day and thank you to all of you who have encouraged your child to collect money for Friday’s ‘Walk a mile for Uganda’ walk as well as sponsoring them yourself. One of the best things about being so fortunate is the ability to be able to help others.

As part of UN Day the students have also launched a Uganda Global Project to raise money for the ABC Divine Foundation Primary School to build a playground. As part of this effort all of the ES students have been filling up their pledge cards for the Walk/Run a Mile Marathon to be held this Friday morning. Secondly, a Uganda Bake Sale will be conducted during the elementary school lunchtime. Each of the students will be able to purchase items for 5 RMB, again all the money goes to the primary school. If you would like to send in an ethnic food from your home country or just send in any treat to sell please send it in with your child Friday morning. Please NO NUTS.

Your children are encouraged to wear something ‘from home’ on Friday, whether that is elaborate or simple is not an issue, it would just be great if they all made an effort. Events will be exciting that day with an author visit from Pakistani Rumana Husain, the Ugandan Walk and our visits to the UN Day stalls in the High School Gym. I look forward to seeing you here if you can make it.

Our Cultural Studies Snap Shots

Posted on by
1

Here are the first of our Cultural Studies snap shots with Sabrina, Safeen, Sam and Whitney. See their blogs to read more about their learning journeys.  Please leave comments on student’s blogs as you look at them to show how impressed you are with their efforts. Below are the rest of the class, you can find Misha, Nick, Nicole and Rosa by clicking here. Gen, Kevin, Matthew and Miranda are hiding here. Here are Daniel, Erin, Emily and Emma. Last but of course not least, you will find Albert, Ale, Bobby and Da Eun here.

Students you are able to copy and embed the video of yourself into your own blog and I expect this done by Friday November 20th. You click on the word embed at the bottom of your video and copy that code directly into your blog when you are writing in the back end under your html tab. However…do NOT JUST COPY IT, I want one paragraph with it telling me one thing you learned during the project, about yourself, your culture or even another person’s culture. I wonder who will be the first one to get this done…

Sabrina

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Safeen

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Sam

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Whitney

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Super Snap Shots of Culture

Posted on by
3

Here are four of our Cultural Studies snap shots with Misha, Nick, Nicole and Rosa. See their blogs to read more about their learning journeys. Please leave comments on student’s blogs as you look at them to show how impressed you are with their efforts.

Misha

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Nick

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Nicole

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Rosa

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Amazing Cultural Studies Snap Shots

Posted on by
1

Here are four of our Cultural Studies snap shots with Gen, Kevin, Matthew and Miranda. See their blogs to read more about their learning journeys. Please leave comments on student’s blogs as you look at them to show how impressed you are with their efforts.

Gen

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Kevin

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Matthew

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Miranda

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

More Cultural Studies Snap Shots

Posted on by
1

Here are some more of our Cultural Studies snap shots with Daniel, Emily, Emma and Erin. See their blogs to read more about their learning journeys. Please leave comments on student’s blogs as you look at them to show how impressed you are with their efforts.

Daniel

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Emily

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Emma

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf

Erin

http://portal.saschina.org/video/flv_player/Main.swf