News From the Elementary Principal Ben Voborsky
Hello GAA Community,
Last weekend, I spent in Dubai completing the hiring for the 2015-2016 School Year. It is great to have all the pieces in place in February. This really assists our forward planning process and is the cornerstone of a successful school year next year. While our leadership team is looking ahead, we are also focused on a positive end to this school year. It will be here before you know it!
Book week was a huge success with presentations, picnics, readings, and character day. We even celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday. One of my favourites is: Oh the thinks you can think! It is a very PYP book.
There are so many THINKS that a Thinker can think!
Preparation has been in full swing for the first Grade 5 PYP Exhibition which will be held May 19-21st. Today the Grade 5 team facilitated an exercise to get our student thinking meaningfully about the transdisciplinary theme of How We Organize Ourselves. This activity will help guide them in choosing their exhibition topic. Students documented big ideas, essential vocabulary, questions, and their overall thinking. The provocation activity was inspiring! Mentors have also been identified from the wider GAA community demonstrating the K-12 importance of the exhibition.
Think! Think and wonder.
Wonder and think.
How much water can fifty-five elephants drink?
Please put the PYP Exhibition date on your calendar now. Our students will be taking action! You will be able to find our more about it at Student Led Conferences.
I look forward to seeing you at the Elementary Art Festival next week.
Have a great weekend,
Ben Voborsky
Elementary Principal
PYP NEWS
Inquiry based learning in the Elementary classroom
At GAA our teachers spend time ‘tuning in’ to students’ thinking early in an inquiry The early phase of inquiry (often referred to as ‘tuning in’) is commonly seen as a time in which to engage students – often by ‘immersing’ them in experiences related to the topic. This phase, however, is also critical as a kind of ‘reconnaissance’ time. Here, we encourage students to share the conceptions and misconceptions they have and to make ‘visible’ their current thinking about the subject/question. This can be a challenging phase for a teacher because it requires a deliberate ‘stepping back’ as students theorize, hypothesize and wonder. The work that is produced at this stage can activate powerful reflective thinking later in the inquiry as it is returned to and self assessed. When they can compare their earlier and later thinking they become more conscious not only of what they have learned but of how their thinking has changed along the way. Using structured learning journals is useful way to document changes in thinking and understanding as a unit progresses.
This movie from Mr Farrow and his students demonstrates what the tuning in phase of the inquiry cycle looks like in a PYP classroom.
Sofia Lyons, IB PYP Coordinator
At GAA our teachers spend time ‘tuning in’ to students’ thinking early in an inquiry The early phase of inquiry (often referred to as ‘tuning in’) is commonly seen as a time in which to engage students – often by ‘immersing’ them in experiences related to the topic. This phase, however, is also critical as a kind of ‘reconnaissance’ time. Here, we encourage students to share the conceptions and misconceptions they have and to make ‘visible’ their current thinking about the subject/question. This can be a challenging phase for a teacher because it requires a deliberate ‘stepping back’ as students theorize, hypothesize and wonder. The work that is produced at this stage can activate powerful reflective thinking later in the inquiry as it is returned to and self assessed. When they can compare their earlier and later thinking they become more conscious not only of what they have learned but of how their thinking has changed along the way. Using structured learning journals is useful way to document changes in thinking and understanding as a unit progresses.
This movie from Mr Farrow and his students demonstrates what the tuning in phase of the inquiry cycle looks like in a PYP classroom.
Sofia Lyons, IB PYP Coordinator
What Does An IB Audience Look Like?
With the upcoming Elementary Arts Festival next Wednesday, March 11th, we will be implementing a new policy of audience expectations for all GAA Auditorium events. As an IB school we practice our best attitudes during performances, empathizing with the performers on stage. These are the actions we observe:
1) We are silent and listen respectfully.
2) We sit still in our chairs with our hands in our lap. (Please refrain from waving to performers on stage as this distracts the performer).
3) We focus our attention on the presenter and appreciate their hard work.
4) We clap when a performer is finished to show our appreciation.
5) We keep our feet on the floor instead of the chairs, and to switch rows, walk to the end of the row and use the aisles instead of climbing over the seats.
We will have a wonderful student house crew to help out with the ushering and audience traffic flow. If you have any questions, please locate a student wearing black with their student ID.
Food or drink should be consumed in the lobby. During the performance, please turn off your cell phone so as not to disturb the performers with a ring or the sound of text messaging. If you must take a call, please wait until the performer on stage is finished and then quietly leave the auditorium. Last but not least, please turn off the flash on all cameras as this will distract the performers.
We look forward to sharing our performing arts next Wednesday! Please come see us!
With the upcoming Elementary Arts Festival next Wednesday, March 11th, we will be implementing a new policy of audience expectations for all GAA Auditorium events. As an IB school we practice our best attitudes during performances, empathizing with the performers on stage. These are the actions we observe:
1) We are silent and listen respectfully.
2) We sit still in our chairs with our hands in our lap. (Please refrain from waving to performers on stage as this distracts the performer).
3) We focus our attention on the presenter and appreciate their hard work.
4) We clap when a performer is finished to show our appreciation.
5) We keep our feet on the floor instead of the chairs, and to switch rows, walk to the end of the row and use the aisles instead of climbing over the seats.
We will have a wonderful student house crew to help out with the ushering and audience traffic flow. If you have any questions, please locate a student wearing black with their student ID.
Food or drink should be consumed in the lobby. During the performance, please turn off your cell phone so as not to disturb the performers with a ring or the sound of text messaging. If you must take a call, please wait until the performer on stage is finished and then quietly leave the auditorium. Last but not least, please turn off the flash on all cameras as this will distract the performers.
We look forward to sharing our performing arts next Wednesday! Please come see us!
Grade 1E decorated their door for book week! Can you guess what book it is?
Kindergarten Corner
Please take a moment to read this interesting article on the benefits of a good nights sleep that our wonderful teachers in KG came across.
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/01/why-sleeping-may-be-more-important-than-studying/
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/01/why-sleeping-may-be-more-important-than-studying/
Math in the KG Kitchen Lab
MEASUREMENT – Using both standard and non-standard measurment
MEASUREMENT – Using both standard and non-standard measurment
TIME – learning about the passage of time
AREA- determining how many cookies cutters will fit on a rolled out dough. Learning how much sauce they are able to spread on a pizza and how much cheese is needed to cover the pizza.
Dear Parents,
As we are getting close to the end of our second swimming unit, we would like to invite you to come and watch your child during their swimming lesson. This will take place during the week of the 15th to the 19th March.
Please ensure that you confirm with the class teacher as to what day and time your child has swimming.
4
We look forward to seeing you there!
Kind regards,
Ms. Iliana, Ms. Claire & Ms. Rachelle