United We Stand…

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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!

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fundraiser ideas
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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.

Kimbra Power…teacher…mother…reader!

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I love my google reader as it means I don’t have to spend too much time surfing for the things I like. One of my favorite subscriptions is to A Year of Reading which I think my friend Tara in Bangkok got me onto a couple of years ago, she is a librarian at I.S.B. and we have similar taste in books. Half of my class already have their own google reader and it really is a great idea, especially if you have your own computer. I have it set as my home page and am always going to links from there and also appreciate that I don’t have to leave that page to read things if I don’t need to. I am happy to help parents set one up if they want, or, ask your child!

A Year of Reading always has something interesting; sometimes it suits me as a teacher or parent, and often it is useful for my students. A few days ago this post came in and I have really enjoyed thinking about it and discussing it with my class, what a great way to reflect about your reading practice. Today in class 5KP and I are working on starting our own lists. At first the students were not sure about how to start but once they looked at Franki’s list they were encouraged by the broad range of ideas that she had about her own reading.

We wonder if we will ever make it to 100 things about us as a reader, but know that it is a goal worth pursuing.

Here we go…

100 things about me as a reader

  1. I don’t like to read the back cover, the blurb, on any book before I begin it or while I am reading it, I am always suspicious it will give away too much, the same goes for d.v.d.’s, the blurb spoils it for me.
  2. I often choose to read a book based on the recommendation of a friend.
  3. What should I read next is one of my favourite databases and I use it to find out what I should read next, especially when I have just finished reading something special.
  4. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is the last GREAT book I read.
  5. Reading is, and always has been, one of my favourite ways to pass the time.
  6. When I am reading a good book, I take it everywhere me, I even sit in the car places and just read it, I arrive early at the doctors to read it, and shhhh, I even take it with me to the toilet!
  7. I really hope my daughters love to read as much as I do.
  8. Having the love of reading in my heart is a gift.
  9. I thank my parents for encouraging me to read as a child, and for reading to me as I grew up.
  10. Bridge to Terabithia is one of my all time best books as I read it in grade 5, with my best friend Monika, and it was so special to both of us. We then made a secret hideaway which we called Terabithia, we had a theme-song, a secret handshake, passwords and lots and lots of fun.
  11. When I read, if the book is good, I skip some of the details about scenery and things like that to get to the dialogue and the action.
  12. I try really really hard to hide what is happening on the next page when I am at an exciting bit, like at the end of a chapter. Sometimes I even physically hide the parts ahead of where I am reading with my hand as I am just so tempted to sneak a peak.
  13. I don’t like listening to any music when I read, or really hear anything at all, I like silence when I read.
  14. I love reading to my daughters
  15. I bought a kindle in June
  16. So far I still prefer paper books to kindle books
  17. The best thing about the kindle is the wireless shopping for books, that is super exciting
  18. I read more online now than I ever have, I really read a lot online…mmmm, a great deal…. mmmm too much?
  19. Most of the non-fiction I read is read online, I’d say 90% of it at least
  20. I prefer to read lying down in bed
  21. I still get confused about the difference between fiction and non-fiction, I nearly always have to say “fact is stranger than fiction” whenever I am trying to think of which one is which, crazy huh!
  22. I am going to bed to read my book right now!
  23. I am half way through several books right now and that is driving me crazy!
  24. Reading one book from start to finish is certainly a preference for me. When it is a book I really enjoy, I can finish it very quickly, that is my favourite type of reading.
  25. I love book lists such as top ten non fiction of 2010 or best books for teenage girls etc.
  26. My most recent favourite booklist was about the top 100 books for elementary students
  27. I also really enjoyed this list of books for men on one of my husband’s favourite sites, the art of manliness. Although the titles are geared towards men, there were plenty of books on there that I have read, or want to read.
  28. I read The Prince by Machiaveli as a 12th grader and didn’t understand it much at all. I would love to go back to it now I am a ‘grown up’…what is that saying “youth is wasted on the young?”
  29. J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” is one of my favourite books, so wonderful.
  30. I was impressed earlier this year when two of my boys, Jonathan and Kevin read and enjoyed this classic, “Call of the Wild” by Jack London.
  31. The last book I started and finished was The Stranger by Albert Camus. My babysitter, Alicia, was reading it for school and so I borrowed it from her. Chatting with her about it made me miss teaching high school English as discussing books is one of my all time favourite pastimes.
  32. Did I mention chatting about books is one of my all time favourite pastimes?
  33. Reading about my children is interesting to me; I have really enjoyed this parenting series since my good friend Jen Munnerlyn introduced it to me years ago… I was not convinced when I picked up the first book “My four year old” but just checked “My ten to fourteen year old” from the library today so they must be doing something right! Although dated, there are still so many aspects that are spot on!
  34. Australian author Mem Fox is one of the most wonderful advocates for reading aloud to your child and for reading in general; if you have not read her fiction DO IT. If you have not read her non-fiction DO SO! She is my literary hero.
  35. Reading about travel is probably my favourite non-fiction area after reading about my children, actually, I think it may be a tie. I used to love the Lonely Planet Guide Books and we now have quite a collection, however, with so many great sites out there now, our book collection has sort of fallen by the wayside.
  36. I have never owned a cook book. I don’t like cooking. I don’t like reading about cooking although looking at the pictures can have me salivating. I eat…but I don’t cook!
  37. Following the newberry awards is one of my favourite (mmmm, have to find another word for favourite, so sick of the red line underneath it screaming “you are an Australian, you are an Australian) ways to keep in touch with the best in young people’s literature.

Bats = Spooky… Spooky = Bats!

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

Come along and feel the Pudong School Spirit as our Middle School presents the Halloween Musical Bats

Show Times:
Wednesday, October 27- 5:00pm
Thursday, October 28- 3:15pm
Friday, October 29- 3:15pm

Tickets
– 30 rmb and go on sale today outside of the cafeteria or anytime in the middle school office
– 10 rmb discount given at the door on Friday for anyone in a Halloween costume
– Show runs about 1 hour and 30 mins.
– Wed show buses run ASA routes after the show
– For Thur/Fri shows audience can catch ASA buses at 5:30 or Staff bus at 5:00
– Show is appropriate for all ages

BATS

What’s the big deal about goats?

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Ask your kids tonight if they learned anything about goats today?

Our new Global Ugandan Project was launched today in the school which lead me to read Beatrice’s Goat to the class which then lead me to read Give a Goat by Jan Schrock .

We spent time viewing the website about the Ugandan Global Project and talking about children around the world less fortunate than us and ways we could help them.

Today your child will be bringing home a sheet of paper with information about the Project and how we have come to be involved. There is also a section for them to tally the money they can make by taking part in the fund-raising part of the project which, along with the awareness a project like this creates, is a very important aspect. Considering we begin our Cultural Studies Unit this week and we are celebrating United Nations Day here at school next Friday, this is a very timely project.

UGANDAN GLOBAL PROJECT LETTER TO PARENTS

Parents and students, you can also go to some great links about Uganda as posted on 5th grade teacher, Ms Yick’s blog and read a lot more about the history of the project on Mrs Toa’s blog.

As far as looking into the Heifer organization which we read about and discussed today in class, I will leave that up to families, but here is a link to one of their catalogs.

News of the Moment

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Hi 5KP families

Welcome back after the October Holiday, I hope you had a restful time with your family wherever you were.

Parents, if you are interested in keeping informed regarding some of the changes educational literacy is going through then I suggest you attend the evening with Dr. Jason Ohler. I had two workshops with him last week, your child will be hearing him present at school this Thursday and you are invited to hear him speak about “New kids, New Media and New Literacies” next Wednesday the 20th of October. Check out the Elementary Pudong Blog for details. I found him to be an enthusiastic, interesting and entertaining presenter with plenty of relevant things to say.

Math

The class has started unit three in math which is primarily focused on Geometry Explorations. I have added a couple of useful sites to my blogroll for them to work through but I wanted to draw your attention to this one as it may also help you understand some geometrical terms that will enable you to help your child in this unit (scroll down to the geometry, B, section. This one is also very popular with the kids as they work to beat their best time connecting geometry terms with their geometrical shapes. I like it too, however I have not beaten the kids yet! They LOVE to win!

Writer’s Workshop

We begin our second personal narrative this week as we start the Second Unit of Study with, “Raising the Quality of Narrative Writing.”
The students will use the feedback they received from their first narrative to help them craft their next piece. Areas for improvement include
:focusing more on one small seed topic rather than a giant watermelon topic,
:remembering to keep your writing in either the past or present tense (past is the easiest, especially as it is a personal narrative) and :making sure to read over your work many many times to see how it sounds as you make your editing changes.

Reader’s Workshop

We continue to work through our reading with our partners paying attention to they say we can make predictions and ask questions of our texts. The students must either be reading, writing about their reading or talking about their reading during these lessons. We began listening to Madeleine L’Engle read her Newbery Honor book, A Wrinkle in Time today as our second read-a-loud. The students are encouraged to bring in blankets/cushions as we snuggle up for 3 x 30 minute sessions each week of this mysterious story.

Social Studies

This week we move on from our Science Unit on Mixtures and Solutions and begin our Social Studies Cultural Studies Unit. I love teaching and learning with the class during this unit as it raises so many questions about what culture is, what we can learn from our own culture and how we see ourselves as American/Chinese/Korean/Canadian or a mixture of several different cultures. As all of your kids are considered third culture kids, you may want to attend Laura Cowan’s session this Wednesday at 10 am at Malones in Pudong, check here for more details.

Homework

Students, don’t forget, this week you will have a study link to complete each night as well as your regular reader’s notebook entries. You should also try and spend some time two or three times a week on one of the math sites we looked at today in class to help you with your geometry skills, don’t wait until just before a test to revise on things like this. I’d also like you to read Daniel’s story as he has worked so hard on it. Daniel was one of my best writers last year and he has sadly moved to Korea now, please add a comment to his story after you have read it telling him your favorite part of his story. By Wednesday, I expect you to have added to your blog your completed Fun Fiction with Story Spine piece. I have added it below to refresh your memory. On Wednesday and Thursday nights you will have the opportunity to check out your classmates’ work on their blogs.

Screen shot 2010-10-11 at 1.54.22 PM

Thank You to our 5th grade room mother, Lisa Coe, for helping us keep up to date with the many things going on here at S.A.S.

Have a great week 5KP

October Break and IOWA Testing

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Students, I hope you are enjoying the wonderful weather in Shanghai or wherever you are for your October Holiday. Sadly, my holiday is now over and I am back in class getting ready for your arrival on Monday and doing some of my own learning.
Finally, I have had the time to upload the soccer day clip to the school portal. Apologies to those of you that don’t star this time, remember, it wasn’t me actually taking the photos!!!

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

IOWA TEST INFORMATION

Dear Parents,

Students in grades 3 – 8 will Iowa Test of Basic Skills during the week of October 25th.

Shanghai American School provides many different sources of assessment throughout the year. One source of information is our program of standardized achievement testing. The test series we use, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, is a norm-referenced test. This means that a student’s scores indicate how he/she compares with a representative sample of peers (the norm group). This gives us an idea of how our students’ academic achievement compares to students at public and private schools from the United States and other international schools.

The following is a list of subject areas students are evaluated in:
• Vocabulary
• Reading Comprehension
• Language: Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation, Usage and Expression
• Mathematics: Math Concepts and Estimation, Math Problem Solving and Data Interpretation, Math Computation

Reading comprehension includes: understanding factual information; drawing conclusions; inferring feelings of characters; and determining topic, viewpoint, attitude, structure, and style.
Math Concepts and Estimation includes: numeration and operations; measurement; fractions, decimals, and percents; and equations and inequalities.
Math Problem Solving and Data Interpretation includes: single step addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems; multiple step problem solving strategies; reading amounts; comparing quantities; and interpreting relationships.

Important Suggestions and Reminders:

• Students should get a good night’s sleep and eat breakfast before coming to school.
• It is important to remember that any individual’s test score is only a measure of how well he/she performed on a single assessment on a given day. The score may be different another day due to testing conditions and the physical and/or emotional state of the individual student.
• The IOWA is only one source of data the School uses to measure student achievement.

If you have any further questions, please contact your classroom teacher or the elementary administration.

Thank you,
Sacha McVean
Elementary Principal, Pudong Campus

That’s all for now 5KP, make sure you do some work on your Shelfari widget if you are able.
See you Monday, don’t forget you are our star student Mrini!
The hamsters say hi and they can’t wait to see you again!!!

Ready to See some Pictures???

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It’s been busy, it’s been exciting, and it has involved a lot of help from the parents of 5KP.
Thank You Parents. Students, please give your mother and father a big, friendly hug from me!
I am so happy you came along today to help us out at Expo, Xie Xie to Flora, Brian, Marilyn, Kristen and Olivia for coming along today. We could not have done it without your amazing assistance, patience and time.

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

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

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

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

And in other news for those of you STILL with us after all this viewing…

Shanghai American School will close one hour early on Wednesday, September 29th and Thursday, 30th.
The Shanghai American School administration has been informed that the Shanghai Municipal Government will be closing surface streets and some bridges in the downtown areas of Shanghai starting tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

Our transportation coordinators and the YEAP Transportation company have confirmed that this will severely limit many of our bus routes from both campuses. Based on this information, we will be closing school at 2:00 p.m. both days. There will be no after school activities on either day.

Please contact your building principal or your supervisor if you have any questions.

Please check out the Elementary School Principals Blog for information about our Ugandan Fundraiser that will be coinciding with UNITED NATIONS Day on October 22nd. Our children will be taking part in a walk-a-thon that day, more details to follow. There is also information there regarding a visit to our school by Jason Ohler. Dr. Jason Ohler is a speaker, writer, teacher, researcher, and lifelong digital humanist who is well known for the passion, insight, and humor he brings to his presentations, projects and writings. He will be working with our students in class after the October Break and there is an opportunity for you to meet with him as well if you are interested.

Have a great week, enjoy your October Break and thanks for loaning me your great kids for the year…

It’s a Book

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http://www.teachertube.com/embed/player.swf

TeacherTube Videos – It’s a Book.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

To give some background on this clip, my colleague and friend, Mrs Toa told me about this clip on the weekend and it sounds just perfect considering some of the work I am doing through my Plymouth Library course, as well as just the general humor of it anyway. It is certainly relevant considering all the tech conferences I have been too recently. It also makes me think of how my 9 and 3 year old daughters handle technology, Mimi (3) always wants images to slide across the screen after hanging out with iphones etc for half her life and gets frustrated when images don’t move.