Dear Grade 5'ers,
What a wonderful year we have had. Thank you so much to all the students and parents for being so excellent. I have truly enjoyed this year more than you can imagine.
Since our "Moving Up" party (which was a huge success, thanks parents) we also had our Key Assignment day, the Spring Concert and Sports Day.
We have so many wonderful memories from throughout the year. Many of the students took the video I put together reviewing our year home on USB sticks. For those who didn't get it on a USB stick, you can actually download the file here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wdtq9dmjvrszwwm/Grade%205%202013-2014%20End-of-Year%20Movie.mov
Just be aware that this file is 1.41GB, which is very large. You will need to find a stable internet connection and probably download the file overnight. If you are really struggling to get the download, you can email me personally at [email protected] and I will try to find another way to get you the file.
What a wonderful year we have had. Thank you so much to all the students and parents for being so excellent. I have truly enjoyed this year more than you can imagine.
Since our "Moving Up" party (which was a huge success, thanks parents) we also had our Key Assignment day, the Spring Concert and Sports Day.
We have so many wonderful memories from throughout the year. Many of the students took the video I put together reviewing our year home on USB sticks. For those who didn't get it on a USB stick, you can actually download the file here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wdtq9dmjvrszwwm/Grade%205%202013-2014%20End-of-Year%20Movie.mov
Just be aware that this file is 1.41GB, which is very large. You will need to find a stable internet connection and probably download the file overnight. If you are really struggling to get the download, you can email me personally at [email protected] and I will try to find another way to get you the file.
A Time for Farewells
As well as being an exciting time, as we are about to embark on new journeys, this is also a very sad time. We have two student in our class who confirmed earlier that they are leaving the school. Maelle was only at QISS for two months. We always new she would be going back to France. Still, it is sad when you make friends with someone and they have to leave just as you are getting to know them. Secondly, Stephanie is leaving to move to Denmark after spending most of her life in China. Stephanie has built deep, deep friendships with her classmates, so it was especially difficult for some of them to say goodbye. Emily also confirmed on the last day of school that she is leaving QISS. She is moving to another school in Qingdao. Unfortunately because of the lack of notice, we didn't have time to prepare anything special for Emily, but here are two farewell messages for Stephanie and Maelle.
Maelle
Stephanie
We wish Maelle, Stephanie and Emily all the best for their next phase in life. It was wonderful for me to meet you all and I feel proud to have had you as my students.
Maelle
Stephanie
We wish Maelle, Stephanie and Emily all the best for their next phase in life. It was wonderful for me to meet you all and I feel proud to have had you as my students.
Unit 4 Key Assignment
Follow this link for video footage of the Unit 4 Key Assignment:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvhtf1t7y5onqww/Unit%204%20Key%20Assignment.m4v
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvhtf1t7y5onqww/Unit%204%20Key%20Assignment.m4v
Summer Slide: The Summer Review Pack
Each year, students leave to go on summer holidays and when they come back, their academic reading and writing levels have dropped significantly since they left.
I am a big advocate of students just having a fun, relaxing summer break where they have time to live real life experiences. I want them to run, swim in the ocean, hike a mountain, walk through a forest, meet new friends in random adventures around the city or around the world, wherever they may be.
At the same time though, I don't want them to lose all of the vital academic skills they have built up during the year. Students should read as much as they can. The links are clear; students who read more are better readers, better writers and just general better students. They learn new perspectives through reading. In fact, a great book can be one of the real-life experiences they get through the summer break. There is a wonderful sense of achievement of discovering an amazing book on your own and reading it through.
So, below is what I and the school would like students to do during the break.
I am a big advocate of students just having a fun, relaxing summer break where they have time to live real life experiences. I want them to run, swim in the ocean, hike a mountain, walk through a forest, meet new friends in random adventures around the city or around the world, wherever they may be.
At the same time though, I don't want them to lose all of the vital academic skills they have built up during the year. Students should read as much as they can. The links are clear; students who read more are better readers, better writers and just general better students. They learn new perspectives through reading. In fact, a great book can be one of the real-life experiences they get through the summer break. There is a wonderful sense of achievement of discovering an amazing book on your own and reading it through.
So, below is what I and the school would like students to do during the break.
Below is the reading log I would like students to complete over the summer break. At the bottom you can see the login information for www.tumblebooks.com . The username is qiss and the password is books. The students can use this website to find books that are not on raz-kids.com. Of course, if they are not up to level Z on Raz-kids, they can continue to use raz-kids books also.
Don't forget the value of reading a physical book. If you can find good quality English books at their reading level over the break, that would be perfect. I strongly encourage them to visit a bookstore and spend an hour or so browsing through the books to find a few that they are interested in.
Don't forget the value of reading a physical book. If you can find good quality English books at their reading level over the break, that would be perfect. I strongly encourage them to visit a bookstore and spend an hour or so browsing through the books to find a few that they are interested in.
The students also all have a 'Reader's Book Log'. I would like them to complete the "Mapping the Story" and the "Picture and Journal" pages for at least 10 books over the summer. This will help them to continue practicing writing skills. They know what they should do. We have discussed it in class. Please encourage them to do this regularly, rather than just waiting until the end of the break to do it. They need to be activating their brains on a regular basis to stay fresh.
Students should try some math work also. There are fun games they can try on IXL.com, or they can just re-practice the skills we have learned throughout the year, so they are fresh when they get back to school. Remember, the login details for IXL.com will be firstname+lastname+254 and then the password will be student. Only two students have a different password and they will know what it is. So, for example, username: jasonlim254 password: student
Here are some further ideas for activities to do.
Thanks again for being awesome.
Signing off for 2013-2014 Grade 5 academic year.
Mr. Matthews :)
Signing off for 2013-2014 Grade 5 academic year.
Mr. Matthews :)