Faith, Knowledge and Work
PYP MATTERS May 2014 KFS Primary School PYP Matters Volume 1, Edition 2
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Faith, Knowledge and Work
PYP MATTERS mary Years A monthly publication about the Pri School at Programme (PYP), in the Primary King Faisal School.
The International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an exciting set of educational programs offered in more than two thousand school schools in over 120 countries around the world. The programs focus on student-centred inquiry-based learning and global concerns. They challenge students to think in sophisticated ways about the connections between ideas in different areas of study. They put learning into an international context. KFS Primary School PYP Matters Volume 1, Edition 2
IB at King Faisal School King Faisal School has been an IB World School since June 2008. It offers the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) and IB Diploma Programme (DP) The Primary School has been authorised to offer the IB Primary School since 2012.
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Children with positive reading attitudes tend to be willing to read, enjoy reading, become proficient, and become lifelong readers. On the other hand, children with poor attitudes toward reading may only read when they have to read, tend to avoid reading, and may even refuse to read altogether. A child's attitude toward reading may have a profound impact upon his or her overall academic progress. As children progress from early childhood through their school years, they develop strong likes and dislikes, including positive or negative attitudes toward reading. In grade one B classroom, various approaches are utilized to promote positive reading attitudes. There is a "reading chart" where students' names, reading stages and books of each stage are displayed in a child friendly way. Each student gets super excited when his name is being moved from one book to another every day and closer to a new reading stage. In KFS, we have different reading programs, however kids in grade one seem to mostly enjoy reading "Oxford Reading Tree" fiction books and "Fireflies" non-fiction books. These stories help prepare children for their first steps as readers. Children enjoy exploring the humorous illustrations and familiar situations. While "Fireflies" books introduce non-fiction features from the earliest stages of reading and it helps children explore a wide range of text types. Grade one B learners have increased self-confidence in their reading ability throughout the school year. Each student greatly enjoys reading stories and is willing to discuss what he has read. They have increased their reading comprehension skills and show the ability to share information obtained from reading. Moreover, they show curiosity about what they are reading when they constantly ask questions. Students enjoy participating in-group reading activities and openly help fellow classmates during these open activities. Parents and teachers today face a significant challenge to create a home and school environment that supports a love for reading. We must provide systematic reinforcement, such as praise, to help children realize how much we value reading. Your efforts will bring children the gift of a life-long habit of reading. Ms. Maison Noraddin - Grade 1B Homeroom Teacher
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Faith, Knowledge and Work
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself because when you’re expressing yourself, you’re expressing your identity” Morning assembly in schools, which is one of the most important elements of the school curriculum, enables the students to share their experiences, stories, and anecdotes with others. It motivates them with positive reinforcement in the form of rewards distributed in school community. Grade One’A’ students contributed in the assembly to express themselves through acting.
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They were open-minded in presenting and reflecting how people express themselves in different countries. On the other hand, they were provided with a special training regarding the social behavior of each country that was displayed publicly to the school. The students were confident enough to share the “ARDA”, which is a Saudi traditional Dance, the “BIHU”, which is an Indian Traditional Dance, and the “DABKA”, which is a Jordanian Traditional Dance. First graders were also courageous to sing and dance in front of the primary classes. School assemblies create a sense of unity and belonging that lead to excellence in achievement. Thanks and Best Regards,
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Mrs.Israa Ishaq Grade One ‘A’Teacher Assistant
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Math Through M&M’s Children learn better when they are having fun. Incorporating things that they like, such as candy can make the lesson more entertaining, which will make children not only learn the material, but also develop the desire to learn. Incorporating games within your lessons is a hands-on method of learning,
which
helps
children
excel.
Grade 2 learners were enthusiastic to explore many Math concepts like estimating, sorting, addition, and bar graphs through M&M’s activity. First, students estimated how many M&M’s are in the plate/ bag, then they counted and stated the real amount of M&M’s found. Second, learners were asked to sort according to colors and add two or more colors together. Finally, using the amount of each color, students were asked to record their findings in a bar graph.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I
remember. Involve me and I learn”. Grade 2
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Field trips are a great way for students to learn beyond the classroom walls; they offer students the ability to acquire concepts in a natural environment through exploration and the power of their own imagination. They nurture the students’ curiosity and allow them to become totally immersed in the learning process. Throughout the unit of inquiry “How we express ourselves”, students had the opportunity to learn about different ways for expressing ourselves through arts.
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During our visit to Ceramique Cafe, students were able to use their fine motor skills and paint different sculptures based on their imagination.
They were fascinated and got pretty excited by the visit, were very happy and felt enthusiastic about their own learning which was shown through their big smiles………. Therefore, being creative helps you achieve your goals more effectively, it leads you to new pathways and you will hardly believe what you find out about yourself, it is also a way of expressing and a way of finding yourself.!! ! Rana Khaled Homeroom teacher Grade 1 C
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In our first Summative Assessment, "How We Express Ourselves", students were asked to be creative and invent a product and an advertisement for that product to be displayed and possibly sold to a very captivated audience. Persuasive language was the order of the day as students vied with each other to convince audience members that their product was the best and brightest or the most useful and beneficial. Students did an excellent job with their posters, products, and persuasive savvy to demonstrate both their creativity and their learning for this unit.
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For the "Who We Are" Summative Assessment, students presented a Science Fair which showcased and demonstrated what had been learned about the Systems of the Human Body. During the Science Fair, students demonstrated a solid, working knowledge of one or more of the Systems of the Human Body, such as the Skeletal System, Muscular System, Nervous System, Digestive System, Circulatory System, Respiratory System, or Immune System. In addition, students were able to show and explain how these Systems are sometimes compromised and destroyed by poor health and disease, while also offering cures and/or alternative life choices which can positively affect the health of such Systems and restore the body to its intended working order. To accomplish this, students made posters to show how Body Systems function and to show the difference between healthy organs and diseased organs, exhibited models of Human Body Systems, wrote research papers to attain knowledge of certain Body Systems, and prepared well-spoken presentations in order to explain what was being shown on the posters, through the models, and in the research papers. By doing this, students were able to actually SEE the results of their learning on display.
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For the "How We Organize Ourselves" Summative Assessment, students worked on one of two projects, based on whichever they chose. The first project choice was to form an NGO in order to meet the needs of a city or a country through various social and economic activities and community services. The NGO had to be well-organized and have a meaningful, well thought-out purpose for its existence. There had to be careful planning and the ability to demonstrate how the NGO could successfully help the people and make the region become a better place to live. The second project choice was to create their own city and to plan the infrastructure, laws, and organizations necessary to make it a viable, well-established place to live. Students would create a model of the city, with documents to showcase its laws, constitution, and heirarchial structure in order to demonstrate how the city is organized. In either choice, all students were required to participate in the work in a serious and thoughtful manner and be prepared at any time to explain his group's project and give an articulate presentation. To perform this task, students were required to make posters which highlighted the plans, laws, etc. of the NGO or the city, make models of some or all of the infrastructure of a city, write papers, based on research, to clearly show the intentions of their chosen NGO or the plans of their city and to prepare well-spoken presentations in order to explain what was being shown on the posters, through the models, and in the research papers.
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In order to learn and prepare for the Science Fair, students attended lessons in the Science Laboratory as part of their research. Mr. Mahjoub Saeed was extremely helpful in helping our students to gain useful knowledge which would lay a strong foundation for their Science background.
Students were very happy to visit ABB, a Saudi organization that is concerned with the supplying of energy throughout the country of Saudi Arabia. Our students were very enthusiastic with their questions and were quite attentive to the generous hosts who guided the students on a well-planned tour of the facilities. ABB also demonstrated their kindness with an excellent lunch for the students, as well as a variety of gifts such as hats, flash disks and thermoses. For the students, this was a very enjoyable and beneficial learning experience.
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KFS Primary School
The Learner Profile Risk-Takers
Caring
Communicators Reflective
Thinkers
Inquirers
OpenMinded Knowledgeable
Principled
Balanced
The IB Learner Profile is the at attributes and descriptors th at IB define the type of student th hopes to develop through its programs.
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KFS Primary School Diplomatic Quarter PO Box 94558 Riyadh 11614 P: (+966) 11 4820802
Ext 1101
E: primary@kfs.sch.sa www.kfs.sch.sa @KFS_Primary
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