21 Sep 2018

Yr4 Curriculum Update – 21/09/18

Working together to achieve success for every child

Y4 Camp

Mark your calendars! We will be having our parent meeting about camp on Tuesday, October 23 at 3 pm in the Y4 shared area. We will be sending out the necessary paperwork before that date; all of the paperwork will be due on Friday, October 26. If you have specific questions closer to the camp date, please get in touch with your child’s teacher.

 

Tip #3: Have a sleepover

Some first-time campers  have never slept away from home – arrange for your child to stay at the house of a friend for the night!  It might be a little uncomfortable, but it is good practice for getting used to the feeling of sleeping away from home – and it will help them gain confidence as well. Encourage them to prepare by making a checklist of what they are taking and having them pack their own overnight bag. This is very important because during Y4 camp, every student is responsible for packing and unpacking their own belongings, as well as keeping track of their things!

 

Tip #4: Help manage expectations

Many parents respond to their children’s fear of camp by telling them that they are going to love it and that there is nothing to worry about.  This likely is true, and it is great to remain positive. But don’t forget that you also need to let them know that it might be a little tough until they get used to the rhythm of camp.  They need to know from you that this is perfectly normal and okay to feel this way. Have a conversation about their fears and concerns and brainstorm strategies to deal with them.

(Tips borrowed from “10 Tips to Prepare First-Time Overnight Campers”)

 

Transdisciplinary Learning – It’s all connected!

Consumer choice affects people’s lives and the environment.

 

UOI & Literacy

Students are exploring how different texts serve different purposes. One example of this is exploring the features of nonfiction text – What information can they give us? What are the different text features? Here are two different games your child can play at home to help build their understanding of text features: Memory and Identifying text features.

Students are also learning the skill of synthesizing information, which is when they take what they already know and combine it with new information they’ve learned to form a new understanding. We are using this skill to help them formulate solutions to different problems we’ve identified around KJS. Students will pick a problem to focus on and then will collaboratively come up with a solution that focuses on sustainability and consumer choice. Through their solution, they will work to persuade others to participate in their solutions.

We had the opportunity to host a presentation from Plastic Free Seas (a Hong Kong based environmental charity). Dana, the Director of Operations, shared with us the impact that plastic rubbish has on our Hong Kong beaches and surrounding wildlife, as well as ways we can make more responsible and sustainable choices!

 

Did you know that KJS subscribes to a wonderful website called Big Universe? There are thousands and thousands of fiction and nonfiction books for all different reading levels! Each student has a unique login and the website can be accessed from desktop or tablet – there is even an app available through the iTunes store!

 

Maths

We are continuing to explore the base 10 place value system and building understanding of 3, 4 and 5 digit numbers. One way we are exploring it is by asking them to partition numbers. For example, when we partition the number 2,385 it is the same as 2,000 + 300 + 80 + 5.

When we rename the same number, it means it can be 2 thousands, 3 hundreds and 85 units. Or it can be 1 thousand, 13 hundreds, 8 tens and 5 units. Using pictures can help build a student’s understanding of this tricky concept!

Key maths vocabulary

partitioning, represent, recognise, order numbers, place value columns, manipulatives, units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand

 

Mandarin

In the Chinese classrooms, we continue to focus on the concept of wellbeing and providing different learning opportunities for children to explore their own interests and promote agentic learning.

Here is a glimpse of some of our classrooms:

 

Reminders

  • In line with our unit about making sustainable consumer choices, think of earth friendly ways that your child can celebrate their birthday! As a gentle reminder, we cannot celebrate birthdays with cakes or other treats due to different food allergies

 

Important Dates

September 24-25  – No School, Mid Autumn Festival

October 1 – No School, National Day

October 3 – Parent Workshop: Your Child and Technology

October 11 – Dress Casual Day

October 15-19 – No School, half-term break

October 23 – Parent meeting about camp at 3pm, PTA meeting at 5 pm