Homework, due 4/10

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, this week's homework has not been printed on paper. It will only be posted online this evening under our 'Homework' tab.

Also, some students did not complete their homework last week, and have been asked to finish or redo last week's assignments as well.

Please email me at jennifer.douglas@isvietnam.org if you have any questions.

Regards,

Ms. Jenny

Our Learning This Week

Here are photographs of some of the work we've been doing in class this week.

We learned about the growth cycle of a seed and made paintings to show how seeds grow and change.  We made labels and used time connectives to explain the sequence of growth.

We also practiced retelling stories in our own words, looking for the key events, and using time connectives again to sequence our story.  Then we drew a cartoon to illustrate our writing.

In math, we've been looking at a few different addition and subtraction strategies, such as making tens and adding/subtracting to a 'tidy number' (a number that ends in zero like 10, 20, 30, etc.) and then adding/subtracting what's left.

 




Finally, we've been developing our vocabulary about the different parts of a plant.

Exploring Seeds and Plants

This week, Grades 4 and 5 got together to conduct different experiments on plant and seed growth.  We planted 3 types of beans,  as well as lettuce, pumpkin, and morning glory seeds.  We are measuring them as they grow, and investigating to see if seeds will sprout without water, in the dark, or in a cup full of water.

We also took some seedlings from outdoors and replanted them in pots to keep in our classrooms.

Mooncake Festival

Hi everyone,
    Just a late reminder that tomorrow ISV will celebrate the Moon Festival.  Please join us at 11:30am for traditional songs, dances, food, and games.

Entry fee:

60,000 VND in advance

100,000 VND on the day

We hope to see you tomorrow.

Kind regards,

Ms. Jenny

Request For Materials

Dear Families,
    This week, Grade 4 has started their new Unit of Inquiry on Plants.  We will be looking at how humans use plants for different purposes, the parts of plants, how plants grow and reproduce, and the role plants play in an ecosystem.

During this unit, we will also be growing different plants, hopefully creating a class garden, and doing experiments with plants and seeds.  We would therefore like to request that if parents have any of the following supplies at home, that students be allowed to bring them to school to use in class.  We are looking for the following items:

• seeds
• potting soil
• gardening gloves
• trowel or small shovel
• gardening shears
• cups or pots to grow plants in
• paper towels
• Ziploc plastic bags
• watering cans
• cotton wool
• masking tape

If you have any of these items you can spare, it would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Regards,

Ms. Jenny

Lunch Order Forms

Lunch order forms have been given to students today.  Parents should tick which lunches students would like to eat next week, and return the form to the classroom teacher by Friday.

Thank you,

Ms. Jenny

Homework

New homework for this week has been published on the 'Homework' tab.  Please click on the tab to read the instructions.  In addition to the items listed on this page, students should also be reading a book for 20 minutes every day.  This book does NOT have to be in English.  Students may read in Vietnamese, Korean, or whichever language they are most comfortable with.

Students will bring home a new notebook from school today.  This is to be their homework book, and all homework assignments should be done in this notebook.  Homework will normally be given out on a Monday, and should be returned to school by Friday. Please contact me if you have any questions, at jennifer.douglas@isvietnam.org.

Regards,

Ms. Jenny

Plants, Plants, Everywhere!

As an introduction to their newest unit of inquiry, How the World Works, we went on a 'plant walk' around the school.

We observed the great variety of plants around our school, and realized we have a lot to learn about them.

What type of plant is this?  Is it growing on the rock? Can plants grow on rocks?

We noticed an interesting insect, and wondered what it was doing. Is it trying to eat this plant? What kind of insect is it?

Class Schedule

Dear Families,
   Posted here is the first draft of our class schedule.  Some of the time slots will be adjusted as we go along, but for now the most important days to note are when the students have P.E. Monday and Tuesday, students will have regular P.E. class in the gym, and will be expected to bring their P.E. kits to wear. This should be their house color shirt (red, yellow, white, or gray) and sport shoes.

On Friday, students will be swimming and will need to bring their swim kits to school.  This schedule, and the final draft version, will be posted permanently under the tab marked Organization at the top of the page.

Thank you, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Ms. Jenny

Week 2 Updates

Grade 4 got to play a game of giant Snakes and Ladders at the end of their math lesson.  They also practiced their graphing skills by making bar graphs and pie graphs about data they collected from their classmates.  Please click on the Photo Gallery tab at the top of the page to see pictures of the students' graphs.  I will try to organize photos in the Photo Gallery area from now on.

Reminders: Today was our first day of outdoor recess, which was very exciting for the students. However, it was very hot today, so I'd like to remind parents to send a hat and sun cream (optional) with their child on sunny days.

Thank you, and I look forward to a great week of learning with your children.

Ms. Jenny

Healthy Snacks

Dear Families,
    At ISV, we want to encourage lifelong healthy eating habits in our students.  Therefore, we'd like to request that you only send healthy snacks to school with your children, and no junk food.

Examples of healthy snacks are- cheese and crackers, seaweed, fruit, carrot/cucumber sticks, yoghurt, rice, sushi, kimchi, sandwiches.

Unhealthy snacks that we don't want to see at school include- crisps/chips, candy, store bought cookies, soda/pop.

Please join us in encouraging healthy eating habits at ISV.

Thank you,

Ms. Jenny

Swimming Tomorrow

Tomorrow all students from Grade 1-5 will go swimming in the afternoon.  Please send a swimming kit with your child that includes a swimsuit, towel, goggles, sandals, and a swim cap for girls.

Thank you,

Ms. Jenny

Second Day of School

Minh Anh and Thien Cam enjoyed sorting and creating patterns using colored counters.

Dong Ha did an excellent job cutting out and organizing numbers for our hundreds chart.

The boys relaxed after lunch by looking at some of the great new books we have in class.

The girls read a book together with our class kangaroo.

First Day of School Photos

Grade 4 going on a tour around the school.

We enjoyed meeting the Grade 5 students and getting to know all the teachers.

Welcome to the First Year of School at ISV

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the first Grade 4 class ever at the International School of Vietnam. My name is Ms. Jenny, and I am very excited to be your teacher this year.  We are very lucky to be a part of this new adventure, paving the way for future ISV students.  We have a beautiful new school, a lovely, large classroom, and lots of great resources to work with.  I'm looking forward to getting to know you and your families, and to embarking on a learning journey together.

Please take a few minutes to look through the different tabs at the top of the blog to become familiar with the layout.  I will be using blogger to communicate with families this year, and will share notices, reminders, homework information and more, using the blog format.  For parents, we will be looking at the blog as a tool for helping students at home on our parent information evening.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day, and I can't wait to get to know you all.

Warm regards,

Ms. Jenny