Newsletter, 20th of November 2015

This has been such a spectacular week! We would first like to thank everyone for supporting this year's International Week. All the activities and the participation of parents made the whole week an amazing one. Thank you for all the activities you prepared about your home countries which the children truly enjoyed. We would also like to thank you for sending your children to school today wearing their lovely traditional costumes, They were all brilliant and they were so proud to wear their national costumes today. 

We started this week by having the children create their own flags. For the past couple of weeks, we have been teaching the children about their nationalities and their flags. It was such a delight to see children identifying different countries' flags and naming their peers who are from that country. The children were then given their own flags this week which they coloured in. 

Our children also showed that their are getting better in counting! One of the activities that they enjoyed this week was stamping different countries' flags and counting them afterwards. It was impressive how our children are getting better at their one-to-one correspondence in counting. 

The children had a visit in the Vietnamese room for International Week! The theme for this year was 'Tet' and we had the opportunity to learn about different traditional things that are usually seen and celebrated during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The children's favourite activity was the dragon dance! Back in the classroom, the children also made their own banh mi! They absolutely loved it! 

Our most favourite part of this week was the international buffet! We had an international feast in the classroom where children enjoyed food from different countries. The spring rolls, pork roll, and the noodles were the popular dishes amongst the children! 

We have been so lucky to have so many special visitors this week! We first had Hamad's Mum from Kuwait who showed us a beautiful Arabic costume and shared to us how Kuwait progressed from being a simple country to the very modern country which it is now. 

A group of lovely Vietnamese Mums also came to visit us. Kaiko's Mum showed us pictures from Hanoi and it was interesting to see how different it is from Saigon. Later on, more Mums took the children to the main playground to play a traditional Vietnamese street game with the children (can knockdown). 

Laisha's Mum came and shared so many things to us about Australia. We learnt about the aborigines who were the first people of Australia and we also learnt about unique animals and places in Australia like the koala, kangaroo, and the Sydney Opera House. Laisha's Mum was also very kind to share with us some Lamingtons which is a delicious treat from Australia! 

Ms Hayley from F3 came down to our classroom with her friend Timothy and they shared to us things about England. She talked about the usual things that English people do on a weekend and we also learnt that England has 4 seasons and that we need to wear some special clothes for each season. Ms Hayley and Timothy had a big suitcase full of things from England and our favourite was the yummy biscuits she shared to us! 

The Japanese Mums (Kazuki's and Mako's) shared interesting things about Japan to us as well! We learnt about how far Japan is from Vietnam and Japan's 4 seasons. The most fun part was when we practised saying greetings in Japanese and when we counted 1-10 in Japanese! We also played a ninja game where we tried to hit a target using a 'shiruken'. It was so much fun! 

Our last visitor this week was Gianna's Mum who read us a traditional tale from the Philippines. It was very interesting to hear a story about a little girl who did not use her looking eyes very well turn into a pineapple which is a fruit which has a lot of 'eyes'. 

We also celebrated Mako and Gianna's birthday this week! Happy birthday! 

We cannot believe how packed this week was! Well done to all our children for trying their best to show sensible behaviour this week and for being brave in trying out different things! We all deserve a restful weekend. 

Please click on this link to see all our photos this week: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9FSIol_oWg_N05MMWItM3E2RlE&usp=sharing

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NOTICES: 

1. We will be back to our normal routine next week. There will be a splash pool session on Monday and Thursday. Library sessions will resume on Wednesday. Please make sure that your children have their swimming things on these days, and that their library book is returned before Wednesday, 

2. Ms Gurvinder, who will be officially back on the 30th of November will be coming on Tuesday morning to come and get to know our F2 children. She will be back from her maternity leave on the 30th of November and will be one of F2's class teachers. Ms Clarissa will still be working with F2 children during our focus activities and on Friday mornings. 

3. The EYFS Family morning will be on the 28th of November (Saturday, 8:30-10:30). This will be a fun morning of fun activities for EYFS children and their families. We hope to see you all there! 

Special Notices for Week Beginning 23 November

Dear Parents,

Here are some special notices for the week beginning 23rd November:

MS GURVINDER'S RETURN TO F2 

As most of you know, I have been covering Ms Gurvinder who is currently on maternity leave. She will be coming back to work on the 30th of November and will be taking her place as one of F2's class teachers. She will be coming for a visit on Tuesday, 24th November to see F2's routines and to also meet our children.

I will still be working across all classes in EYFS (F1/F2/F3) and will be still in F2 on certain days for focus activity lessons and also on Friday mornings.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the F2 parents for being such great partners in your child's learning and development!

Please save Ms Gurvinder's e-mail address so you can contact her alongside Ms Precious for any concerns related to your children and to the class-- gurvinderpaul@bisvietnam.com

EYFS FAMILY MORNING
This year's EYFS Family Morning will be on Saturday, 28th of November. This will be a morning filled with fun and games for our children. It will be a great opportunity for you to spend quality and fun moments with your child at school. We hope to see you all there!

CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND SAFETY
As you all know, children are prone to spreading bacteria that may cause them to feel ill or sick. We have been reinforcing the practice of good hygiene in our classroom by always reminding our children to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. Please can you help us develop this good habit by also reminding your children more often to wash their hands at all times.

We would also like to request you to please inform us if your child falls sick to diarrhoea and other virus-related illnesses so we can inform our school nurse and have our learning areas disinfected.

Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

Ms Clarissa

Newsletter, Friday 13th of November

What a ROAR-tastic week we've had as we carried on with our safari adventure theme inside the classroom! The children were so excited to see the different safari animals and other enhancements  in our role-play area. They have been wearing animal costumes and engaging confidently in pretend play. We were so amazed with the way they imitated the animals and their sounds!

Ms Christine talked about the different animals that we can see in a safari. The children described each animal using phrases and sentences and it was really impressive! "The elephant has a long nose.", "Tiger has black stripes.", "Giraffe has a long neck.", "The lion says ROAAAAAR!" They also learnt that safari rangers look after the animals and drive the safari jeep to tour people around the safari. We have also learnt new safari vocabulary words such as safari, safari jeep, ranger, rumble, roll, jungle, mane, leopard, gazelle, buffalo, ape, parrot and many more! 

On Wednesday, we all worked together to finish our safari jeep that we made out of recycled materials. We first painted it black then added some colour by stamping animal figures on the jeep. The children decorated it with small bits of textured and patterned material, styrofoam peanuts, old lids, plastic plates and bowls. Making the Safari Jeep was definitely a hit! All the children loved it and are now taking turns in using this in the safari role play area. They have been saying "beep, beep" as they make their way around the classroom. 

In the workshop area, the children painted animal puppets such as monkeys, hippos, and lions. The teachers have been really impressed with how they painted within the lines and handled the paintbrushes with control. The children identified the basic parts of the animals such as the head, tail, legs and arms. Their artwork are now displayed in the classroom!

In the maths area, the children have completed various animal-themed counting puzzles. The teachers were very happy to see that the children worked together to finish and even talk about the animals and numbers on the puzzle. We have been practising proper counting from 1-10 and recognising the numbers.

Our reading garden was filled with lots of safari and jungle themed books. We have also added some non-fiction books for the children to learn how animals live. The children independently chose books and shared them with their friends. Some children even pretended to be the teacher whilst their friends act as the students. It's splendid to witness such a scene! Through reading and scanning through the pictures, the children were able to expand their knowledge about various animals, know their significant features and learn how they live. We have also been reading lots of stories with the children such as The Parrot Tico Tango, Rumble in The Jungle, Snap!, Giraffes Can't Dance, It's A George Thing and lots more. 

In the mark-making wall, the children drew lines to match the animals and their skins. They identified the colours as their teachers guided them into describing the textures. They learned new words such as stripy, scaly, rough, hairy and dotty! It was wonderful seeing them take turns, help each other and learn together.

In the soft play room, we play with different toys. On Monday, we played Duck, Duck, Goose! The children were very good at following directions and running confidently. 

They we're all very excited to be chosen as the goose and have a go at chasing their friend. On Tuesday, we played with the scoops and balls.The children identified colours and searched for balls with the same colour as their scoops! 

 On Friday, the children played with the parachute game. They had a go at raising the parachute up and down and turning it round and round! Ms Clarissa was very pleased with how well the children listened and followed instructions. 

In preparation for the International Week next week, Ms Precious taught the children a new song titled, "The World Is Round."

THE WORLD IS ROUND

  

The world is round, the world is round

The world is made of land and water

A large of land is called a CON-TI-NENT

Asia, asia, asia, asia

Asia is the largest continent

Australia is the land of the kangaroos

Australia is the land of the koalas too

Antartica is the coldest continent

The rhinoceros and the hippopotamus

Where can we find them? AF-RI-CA!

Europe is the land of the musicians

Europe is the land of the artists too

There are 2 Americas, there are 2 Americas

North America, South America

North America, South America

There are 2 americas, there are 7 continents!

Where are we now? ASIA!

They learned lots of new vocabulary words such as round, land, water, continents, Asia, Australia, Antartica, Africa, Europe, North America and South America. They all tried their best to pronouce these words clearly and learn the actions. We are very proud of our F2 children! 

Last Friday, Ms Clarissa and Ms Thuy talked about the events that will happen during the International Week celebration. They showed photos of children in their national costumes, food from different countries and flags of the different nationalities we have in the classroom: Vietnam,  Kuwait, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Australia, USA, England. We had fun naming our friends who came from the said countries. The children are very excited to hear some parents and teachers talk about the culture and traditions of the countries that they're from! 

And of course, a week won't be complete without news sharing! The children had a go at sharing the activities they do during the weekend. It's lovely to hear the children talk about their family and their hobbies outside of school. Some children shared confidently whilst their friends listen. We are glad to see that Monday News Sharing encourages children to talk more about their hobbies and interests. 

Thank you parents for your ongoing support, we appreciate your cooperation in all our activities!

NOTICES: 

1. We are having an International Buffet on the 18th November (Wednesday) down in the canteen. This great activity is going to be led by the parents and the canteen staff. For those who would not be able to help in this celebration, may we please request you to send a plate of food from your home country which can still be enjoyed cold. You can send the food with your child in the morning and the school staff will serve it at lunchtime during the buffet. Thank you so much!

2. There will be NO SPLASH POOL SESSION ON THURSDAY (19th November). Instead, we will be doing activities in celebration of International Week.

3. All children have to come to school wearing their national/traditional costume on FRIDAY (20th November). Please send your children to school on time (7:55) as the EYFS children will parade in the school gym during the beginning of the assembly. This will be at 8:00am. You are welcome to watch your child in the gym. We will be coming back to the classroom right after and will take a class photo and proceed with the day’s activities.

Thank you parents for your ongoing support, we appreciate your cooperation in all our activities! Have a wonderful weekend! 

Ms Christine, Ms Clarissa, Ms Precious and the F2 Team

International Craft Fair 2015

  

International Craft Fair

Wednesday 18th November

Children will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of craft activities from different countries.

Some activities are free of charge and some require tokens.

Tokens can be purchased from Ms Duong in the office from

Monday 16th of November.

Each token costs 10,000 VND.

Paid activities will cost 1 token .

We suggest that children buy a maximum of 5 tokens  but they may buy more if they wish.

All money raised will be given to charity.

Newsletter, 6th of November 2015

This week started with some of our children sharing their activities over the weekend and over the holidays. The children sat in groups whilst the teachers showed some weekend and holiday photos which were uploaded on the blogs. It was such a delight to see how interested all the children were in their friends' holiday and weekend activities. Some of the children were also very confident to speak about their activities in front of the class.

This activity has really been helpful in developing our children's communication skills as well as in developing our children's awareness of individual differences amongst their peers outside school. Thank you Mummies and Daddies for updating your children's blogs! We hope we can continue this habit throughout the year! 

The children enjoyed a variety of new things in school today. Following our children's interest, we have been transforming our role-play area into a safari jungle. A lot of great pretend play has been going on as children act as jungle animals! 

There were also jungle animal sets in our small world area which the children absolutely loved! All of them have been playing alongside each other, taking turns, and creating interesting play situations with the animals. Some say the animals are travelling to the zoo to see the people, and some also said that the animals are trying to escape a bigger animal monster! 

We have also transformed our reading area into a "Reading Garden" which is now a more calm and relaxing area for children to read. The children love accessing this area and have been independently choosing books and even reading books to one another! 

This week, we reinforced our children's number learning through a couple of activities. We are pleased that most of our children know their number language and are gradually understanding the proper ways of counting. We will be continuing this in the coming weeks to strengthen our children's number skills. 

In the sandpit, the children also had an opportunity to use their finding, digging, and teamwork skills. Together, they used their hands to dig for animals and counted how many animals they have found all in all. It was such great fun with lots of fine motor and number practice! 

The children also had opportunities to practise their body and hand control skills. In the main playground, the children played games that tapped on their safe running, balancing, and body control skills. In the classroom, the children used their hands in free painting and in creating shapes with elastics on the Geoboard. The IWB also featured a BusyThings activity for children's early writing skills. 

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NOTICES 

1. Please always remember to bring your child's complete swimming kit (proper bath towel and swimsuit in a bag) on Mondays and Thursdays. We also encourage bringing goggles as the children have started swimming under the water. 

2. The International Week celebration will be in a couple of weeks. On this week, there will be a dress-up day wherein children will be coming to school in their lovely national costumes. There will also be activities about different countries where parent participation is highly encouraged. If you would like to volunteer, please feel free to inform any class teacher. 

It has been such a fantastic week for everyone! Thank you for your support and have a great weekend! 

Ms Clarissa, Ms Precious, Ms Christine, and the F2 Team