Fantastic Friday Frivolity!

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Lana

Don’t forget to wear your house shirts 5KP and let’s get those points moving on up for the PUMA team please!

Tomorrow at 1.30 our students get to enjoy the Pre- K – 4th Grade Winter Concert (parents of those students see the show at 10.30 am on the same day and our Winter Band and Strings Concert is next Tuesday at 1.30 pm.

Most students have their personal narrative in the form of a digital photo story on their blogs now so ask your child to show you what they have come up with and have a look at it with them, the whole process was a lot of fun for everyone. I think for some, the digital part got in the way of them further developing their narrative, but for most, the concept was still worthwhile.

Thank You parents for the wonderful response to the Giving Tree Program this year. We were able to donate 11 full bags and contribute over 1100 rmb, well done 5KP. It will be a wonderful experience for Grace and Roxanne, our Eagle Leaders, to be able to hand these bags over in person on December 10th, my 6 students last year that enjoyed the experience found it extremely rewarding.

Students, your homework over the weekend is to write a couple of paragraphs introducing yourself to your American Blogging Buddies…. yes, finally, we are ready and Mrs Chiavarini’s class have all just been given their blog accounts so we are good to go and your buddy is expecting to hear from you over the weekend. Due to the fact Mrs C has 22 students in her class, 14 girls and 8 boys, we have a few of our students ‘doubling up’ and also a couple of our boys have been paired with a girl in the States, so I think it is going to work really well.

These are the things I want you to introduce to your buddy in paragraph form in the comment section on their blog.

1. Your name, age, date of birth, physical appearance, cultural background, you know, the basics, you’ve done it before!

2. Some information about what a day at SAS is like, the schedule, your subjects, your favorite things to do at school and with your friends.

3. General information about what it is like to live overseas, how long have you been o/s, whereabouts, why, who with, for how long etc.

That is enough to start with, however students, be clear, any disrespectful language, or inappropriate talk will see you taken out of this buddy program very quickly. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. The world is watching and your digital footprint leaves a very long trail behind you so making mistakes now could cost you dearly in the future.

Here is the list of who you are partnered with, let me know if you have any trouble getting onto their blog, remember it is early days for these students, you are a few months ahead of them in this field, so be patient and give good advice and encouragement as needed. As yet, they don’t have any posts on their blog, so maybe you could suggest some good things for them to write about, like book or film reviews, adding some links and making a blog roll.

Girls names are in Red, Boys are in Black.

Alex                     Roxanne
Lauren A. Kevin
Lauren B.          Patricia
Avery                      Kyra
Anabel                    Kyra
Mitchell                  Mike
Caroline F.          Grace
Jack                      Spencer
Maggie               Maddie
Matthew                Kevin
Isabella      Ingrid
Izzy Claire
Barrett Carl Z.
Nick                       Thomas
Brett                   Max
Hannah                 Maddie
Brian                  Carl B.
Andrew              Jonathan
Heidi                     Hsuan Hsuan
Amy Calen
Caroline W.           Mrini
Jason                     Xing Chen

News Just In…

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Lana

Hi Parents and Students, greetings and salutations from room 209, otherwise known as ‘Hamster Haven’…yes, you heard right, the babies had babies…we are building our own little hamster empire here in 5KP! More Power to the Hamsters!

*Thank You so much to the six parents who have volunteered for our Walking with Dinosaurs Field Trip, we appreciate your support.

*Your child should wear something ‘aquatic/watery’ tomorrow for our Dive in to Reading day, Wednesday they dress as their favorite book (not movie) character and Thursday is pajama day and report cards go home. NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY

*Most students will have dental and hearing health screening this week, bring back the forms if you have not done so already as they cannot be screened without your written permission.

*If you would like to have a Giving Tree Bag to fill out as a family, please return the form by Wednesday (it went home last Friday) and I will send a bag home with your child. Anyone who is not filling a whole bag will be paired/grouped with others to fill the four bags our class have been given. (See the attached details below, if you end up filling these bags, we will let you know which child has been assigned to you to shop for. We have about ten days to get our bags filled so let’s aim high, next time you’re at Carrefour or Decathlon, pick up a jacket or a pair of shoes, a sweater of some gloves, every item counts towards making Chinese New Year a brighter time for a special child. Just as Christmas is a special holiday for Western children, the Spring Festival is a magical time for Chinese children. They look forward to the gathering of family members, feasting, visiting friends and relatives, and receiving gifts. Let’s make sure they receive something special from an SAS student this year.

*My wonderful husband sits on the couch every night with his laptop and lately it has been to complete a presentation titled “Being Cybersmart with your Elementary Child” which he is running tomorrow night at the Green Court Club House (flyer attached). He works hard on these presentations and is well read on the topic so come along if the content is something you are interested in.

*School Photos are coming home today if you ordered them

*This Thursday, artist and author Trevor Lai will have a special session with 5KP during period 6, we were lucky to get this opportunity. Trevor is looking for budding artists to help design a mascot for the new Kerry Parkside mall. If you are interested in advancing your child’s artistic endeavors I suggest you spend some time brainstorming the poster for ideas.

Have a great week parents, I am thankful for your support and for you entrusting me with the care of your child.

“1,2,3,4” What are all these numbers for?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Lana

‘New Students’ I wonder what your former report cards looked like…A’s and B’s…Percentages? Comments?

Students who’ve been at S.A.S. for awhile… how many ‘2’s have you received in years past…how many ‘4’s???

What are your hopes and dreams for your child’s report card next week parents? Are you aiming high? Preparing for the worst?

None of my current students have received a report card from me before so I’ve spent some class time this week showing them the reports I have been writing, because they are THEIR report cards and it is more important than anything for me (well, not ANYTHING, but you know what I mean) that my class understand how I give their grades and why I am writing what I am. When I say writing, parents and students, I mean laboring, dwelling, reflecting, thinking, pondering, worrying, comparing, drafting… report cards seem to be a pretty important gauge of a child’s progress here at S.A.S. and so I really care about what goes into them. There are so many considerations, reports are so subjective.

The conversations we’ve had this week have been great, especially as the Library Pages went around doing their own assessment today for our Margriet Ruurs decorate-a-door competition, congratulations to Mrs. Dixon’s Second Grade Class. The fact that one quarter of my class were involved in this process, ensured some lively discussion about how difficult it is when you are comparing and assessing something that is essentially so different? How can you compare the merit of a first grade finger painting of a camel with a 5th grade poem; a hand drawn picture of Margriet Ruurs with a photocopied but beautifully colored illustration from one of her books? I think it was great for the class to have some dealings with assessment so they can see how complex the idea is.

So, for the record, I want you to know some things one week ahead of when you’ll be reading these report cards yourself.

1. 1 is the number of 1’s I have given out at in 6 years at S.A.S. (It is the lowest score that can be achieved on our report card?

2. I give 2’s…lots of 2’s… but I don’t think I give as many as I should!

3. 3 is for 3, it is a great place to be, when I give a 3, I hope you feel hap-py! (read with rhythm please)

4. I think a number 4 on the first trimester report card is very very rare and I don’t give them lightly.

I hope you take some time to read the comments I’ve written on your child’s report card (their eyes immediately jumped to the numbers when we were looking at them this week), admittedly there is some cutting and pasting going on with longer narratives, however, I try really hard to let you know that I KNOW your child and have their best interests, their ongoing learning and their happiness in mind as I teach them and as I write my comments.

The day you are reading these report cards, I will be in Hong Kong attending an EARCOS conference over my weekend titled:

Assessment: From Planning to Analysis, Formative & Summative Assessments

This will be run by Bambi Betts, an educator I have been hearing about since I arrived in Shanghai in 2005, she has visited our campus a number of times. One of the main reasons I want to attend this conference is because assessment is really not one of my favorite things… I enjoy the process of the work, the journey, far more than the destination, we often learn so much along the way, it seems so cruel to some all of that learning up with a number or a score. How can I capture in a couple of paragraphs all the great things I share with your child each day for three months at a time?

So I am hoping to hear some things at this conference that enable me to see assessment with fresh eyes.

Baby we were born to read…

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Lana

Mmmmm, maybe some of your parents are Bruce Springsteen fans and are singing along with my catchy headline…and maybe not, either way, I fear I may have just lost your attention 5KP but I am singing a great song in my head right now!

Our visiting author Margriet Ruurs only has a couple of days left with us so if you are interested in buying one of her books to have personally autographed…time is running out my friends!

Our Love of Reading Week will start off next week from Nov. 22 – Nov. 25. 5KP let’s get into the reading spirit by wearing appropriate clothing for the day to be a part of our school community!

Monday – Nov 22 – Hats off to Reading! Wear a favorite or goofy hat on Monday to show that reading is the best!

Tuesday – Nov 23 -Dive into Reading! Wear some swimming gear to show that you think reading is worth diving into!

Wednesday – Nov 24- Dress up as your favorite book character! Show your love of reading by dressing as the person, animal, or thing!

Thursday – Nov 25- Cuddle up with a Good Book-Pajama Day! Wear your favorite pajamas to school! We love reading in our pajamas!

Friday – You can wear those p.j.’s all day if you like as you snuggle up reading your report card during your Thanksgiving Day Holiday…

I’m backkkkkkkkkkkkk!

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Lana

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.

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.

*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 November 10, 2010 by Lana

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.

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!

November already? Surely not…

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Lana

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.

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

United We Stand…

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Lana

Thanks for your patience 5KP, here are the photos of the wonderful times we had as S.A.S. celebrated United Nations Day complete with a Ugandan Fund-raising Walk and a visit from a Pakistani Author. As we continue to raise money until this Thursday, keep your eye on our thermometer and see if you can help us reach our goal!

On a more serious note…don’t forget we have our Unit Three Math test tomorrow 5KP, review your shapes, especially triangles and polygons, and angles and you should do very well in this test.

Halloween is coming up as you may have heard and the children are strongly encouraged to wear anything ‘Halloweenish’ to school on Friday, we will have a parade in the morning and I know it will be an exciting day for everyone.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

And now a word from our visiting author… Margriet Ruurs is the next wonderful author you will be fortunate to meet in November. She will be doing two presentations for our class. Why don’t you check out her website and say hello, let’s make Margriet feel really welcome at S.A.S. (Remember, the youtube movie WON’T work at home unless you have a VPN.

It’s called a thermometer!

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Lana

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.

the barefoot librarian

Kimbra Power

Category Archives: News