Term 2 Week 16

Dear Parents,

Term 2 is over! We did so much this term! It was hard work but a lot of fun!

I didn't assign much homework for the vacation. This was a very long term and Term 3 will be quite busy. I would like for students to mainly rest and refresh over the short vacation. I did send home a paper with some activities today which allows students to spend as much or as little time on it as they want.

We had a very busy week! In English class we read about how different cultures celebrate New Year's Eve. We practiced reading for understanding, and answered a lot of comprehension questions. We also found examples of similes in our shared reading book. We practiced identifying similes and also learning common similes.





In Maths class we looked at 2D shapes again. This time, we focused on symmetry. We shared what we already knew. Then we looked at some examples of objects with symmetry. We found out that some can have more than one line of symmetry. We folded shapes along their lines of symmetry to help visualise and understand this concept more.




We read about the life of J.K. Rowling. The students were very excited to find the Harry Potter books in the school library in English and in Japanese! We picked our favourite Hogwarts houses and made Harry Potter bookmarks.






We read about the painter Frida Kahlo. We had a very nice reflection after we read the story. We talked about how she had a very difficult life and how she overcame her struggles. We talked about how she felt that she didn't need to walk because her dreams and passion made her feel like she was flying. A student commented that her art was "weird but beautiful", which I really liked!
We learned how to draw a face. This tied in nicely with our maths, as we used a line of symmetry to help us. We then drew and painted our own faces (self portraits), just like Frida Kahlo!













We did a little research to build on the knowledge that we have of artists and their inspirations and correct any misconceptions we had.











We shared our facts and opinions on some famous artists.








Now that we have a decent understanding of our unit, it was time to start thinking about YEP! We brainstormed ideas. We will continue to work on this after the break.


Here is what our Inquiry Cycle looks like half-way through our unit!


To better understand our related concepts, we wrote our own definitions of each word to share them with our classmates. We decided that we have a good understanding of creation, expression, and inspiration, but maybe we need to use a dictionary to find out more about meaning.


Yesterday, we had a great time at the talent show, Abroad's Got Talent. There were a lot of performances and it was great to see so many children being risk-takers. It was great to see students from our class perform too!










After lunch, we enjoyed our Winter Party! We painted photo frames, listened to music, and chatted to our friends. Everyone was in high spirits! When we put the class photo into the frames, a student described it as "adorable". Everyone agreed!





Finally, we relaxed and watched a movie, Happy Feet, while enjoying some juice and snacks. It was a lovely end to the term!








Reminders:
-The first day of Term 3 is Tuesday, January 7th.

Have a happy and safe vacation!
See you in 2020!
Ms. Stacy.

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