Primary Press September 2016

Pr i m ar y Pr ess SEPTEM BER, 2016

Dear Par en t s an d Car egiver s It is w it h sadn ess t h at i in f or m you , t h e par en t s an d com m u n it y t h at I w ill be leavin g In t er n at ion al Sch ool Su va at t h e en d of t h is sch ool year . I'm m ovin g t o Fr an ce!

M y par t n er , Ben w ill be con t in u in g h is r u gby u n ion car eer in Fr an ce; t h e con t r act st ar t in g at t h e en d of t h is year . M y decision is based pu r ely on a per son al level as w e n o lon ger w ish t o live apar t .

ISS h as been 'h om e' t o m e n ow f or alm ost 4 u n f or get t able year s an d I h ave h ad t h e oppor t u n it y t o w or k w it h som e f an t ast ic people w h om I w ill dear ly m iss. Above all, I w ill m iss t h e ch ildr en im m en sely. I believe I h ave 'valu e added' t o t h e pr im ar y pr ogr am sin ce m y ar r ival an d I k n ow t h at it w ill on ly go f r om st r en gt h t o st r en gt h in t h e f u t u r e.

Th e f ou n dat ion s h ave been laid t o gr ow an even bigger , bet t er PYP pr im ar y sch ool of w h ich I believe, w ill be r ecogn ized as on e of t h e best in t h e in t er n at ion al sch ool w or ld. Fiji w ill alw ays be ou r h om e, so I w ill look f or w ar d t o visit in g on t r ips back t o Fiji t o w it n ess t h e gr eat n ess t h at is t o con t in u e.

Du r in g t h e cou r se of m y 26 year + car eer , over h alf of t h ose year s in leader sh ip r oles, t h is sch ool h as been a st an d ou t in r egar ds t o m an y aspect s of sch ool lif e, par t icu lar ly t h e h ar dw or k in g an d dedicat ed st af f w h o w or k w it h you r ch ildr en each an d ever y day. Ou r academ ic r esu lt s speak f or t h em selves an d t h e t r an sdisciplin ar y n at u r e of ou r PYP pr ogr am an d h ow it oper at es in t h e sch ool is leadin g edge acr oss t h e in t er n at ion al sch ool scen e. I can h on est ly say you an d you r ch ildr en ar e ver y lu ck y t o be par t of su ch a w on der f u l sch ool.

I w an t t o t h an k each an d ever y on e of you f or all you r su ppor t , an d f or en t r u st in g m e w it h you r ch ildr en f or t h e past f ou r year s. I am h on ou r ed an d f eel so f or t u n at e t o h ave been given t h e oppor t u n it y t o be par t of t h e ISS Com m u n it y. I w ill h ave so m an y w on der f u l m em or ies of m y t im e h er e an d I w ill be sad t o say goodbye. Du r in g m y f ou r year s h er e, I h ave f ost er ed r elat ion sh ips w it h m an y of you an d I w ill ch er ish t h e m em or ies an d f r ien dsh ips I?ve m ade du r in g m y t im e.

Please k n ow t h at m y dedicat ion t o m y posit ion as h ead of pr im ar y w ill con t in u e as w e en t er t h e last t er m of t h e sch ool year . Th e sch ool cou n cil w ill be w or k in g t o f in d a n ew Head of Pr im ar y t o st ar t 2017.

Alt h ou gh it ?s h ar d t o say goodbye t o t h e par en t s an d adu lt s, t h e h ar dest par t of leavin g w ill be sayin g goodbye t o t h e ch ildr en . I h ave gr ow n so at t ach ed t o t h em over t h e year s an d h ave loved w at ch in g t h em gr ow u p in t o am azin g you n g people. I w ill t r easu r e m y m em or ies of t h em all.

Please accept m y sin cer e t h an k s an d appr eciat ion as I en t er in t o a n ew lear n in g exper ien ce an d lif e adven t u r e of m y ow n .

I look f or w ar d t o a sen sat ion al t er m 4 w it h you all t o en d m y t im e h er e at ISS. Kar en

Fr om th e H ead of Pr im ar y A fantastic month of primary activities and learning has once more past.

We have had a very successful athletics carnival, a literacy week filled with super reading and writing challenges, a visit from world renowned children's author, Craig Smith, student led conferences and our Year 5 Exhibition. So very busy but definitely worthwhile! Without all of our hardworking teachers, assistants and and office staff, these events would not be the successes that they were. Well done to all involved!

During the term, our Year 5 students were busily preparing themselves for their exhibition. How very proud we are of all of our students and teachers as they showcased and celebrated their learning through an extended, collaborative inquiry which marks the culmination of their PYP learning experience. The exhibition is an important part of the PYP curriculum and demonstrates the students' abilities to conduct in-depth research using key concept questions to drive their inquiry and apply the transdisciplinary skills. Bravo to the Year 5 students and their teachers!

Early next term, in week 2, the Year 3 - 5 students will participate in the annual ISA assessment here at school. In this primary press, we have included some information for those of you who are not aware of what ISA is and why we participate in this international assessment. All results are usually available at the beginning of the new school year.

Thank you to all those parents who attended our student-led conferences this week with their children. We continue to find that these conferences are most beneficial in that they actively engage students in their own learning process. Through the conferences, students also learn the process of self-evaluation and develop organisational and oral communication skills.

Demonstrating empathy has been our focus attitude for the last few weeks of term. An information sheet included in this primary press discusses what it means to be empathetic and how we can help our children to be so.

Next term, we celebrate with the whole school, Fiji Day at our Fiji Day whole school assembly. This will be in our first week back to school on the Friday. We encourage all students to embrace the spirit of this day and come dressed in Fijian dress/bula wear.

Recently, we had class photographs taken for our annual school magazine. Parents have asked if these will be available for sale. During next term, we will organise a way that we can share these photographs with you all so as you too can have a digital copy of your child/children's class photographs. Maybe it will be through Dropbox, an online sharing program or something else. We will let you know.

This term we said farewell to our lovely office assistant, Ms Viri who has given birth to a little girl and is now on maternity leave. We wish her all the very best and look forward to her joining us again in 2017. To assist Lorna in the primary office in Viri's absence, we welcome Miss Adeva.

Please help us to make her feel welcome in her new role. Miss Adeva will be in this position in a work experience role.

We wish you all a safe and happy holiday. We are already excited to begin our last term of the school year on Tuesday, October 4. See you all then.

Karen and the Primary Team

The ISA is designed specifically for students in Grades 3?10 in international schools and schools with an international focus, whose language of instruction is English.

Schools use the ISA because: it is not specific to a single curriculum; it tests core skills in mathematical literacy, reading, writing and scientific literacy; the test material is eclectic, drawing on many cultural and national sources; the assessments are designed with the knowledge that more than half of the test takers have first languages other than English; it includes writing tasks and open-ended questions to better illuminate students? thinking processes; it provides diagnostic information that can be used at the school, class, or individual level; performance on the ISA can be related to international benchmarks;t hey can evaluate the reliability of their internal assessments and confirm that they are aligned with international expectations of performance; scaled ISA scores enable monitoring of student performance over time; and it enables comparison of the results of their Grade 8 ,9 and 10 students with the PISA results for each country that participated in the latest PISA administration.

Con ten ts The ISA improves learning by: 3

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measuring individual 4 I nt r o students' achievement in order to reflect on and address strengths and weaknesses; monitoring an individual's or group's progress over time; evaluating instructional 5 Shor t Ar t icle programs against objective evidence of student performance, to diagnose gaps, and to measure 6 Long Ar t icle 1 growth in learning between grade levels and from year to year within one grade level; comparing 10 Long Ar t icle 2 subgroup performance (for example, girls and boys; students from different language backgrounds) to see where there may be unexpected results and try to understand them; and providing normative data in relation to selected populations to ?see how we are doing'.

Further information can be found here: https://www.acer.edu.au/files/ISA_About.pdf Students at ISS from Year 3 - Year 10 will be sitting their ISA assessments on these dates: October 11 and 12. (Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 2)

Book Ch ar acter Par ade A wonderful time was had by all at our recent Book Character Parade during Literacy Week. Even some of our teachers got into the groove! Check out some of the terrific costumes and most of all, the smiles on the childrens' faces during our parade.

Cr aig Sm ith Au th or Visit Craig Smith, author of many children's picture books such as the Wonky Donkey, Wilbee the Bumble Bee and My Daddy Ate An Apple recently visited ISS during our literacy week celebrations.

It 's not often we can access such renowned authors and talent so thank you Craig for making yourself available during your Fiji holiday to entertain us. We loved it!

Craig's presentation was loads of fun and was enjoyed by all students and teachers from Early Childhood to Year 6.

Craig's website can be found here: http://www.craigsmith.co.nz/Home/

Year 1 In term 3, we finished off our Unit of Inquiry on How the World Works. Students all loved creating their very own structure for the possibility of when the Olympics games would ever come to Fiji.

Students had to consider the available materials, culture and the environment here in Fiji. The students had a great time testing if their structure was cyclone proof by using a hair dryer to blow on it. We finished of the UOI by filming each student describing their structure, which was then put into a short film.

We have now started our new Unit of Inquiry about Who We Are. This unit of

inquiry is linked with Hindi Studies. Students are learning about their rights and how they need to be protected for them to remain healthy and safe. Students are working closely with Ms Chandra to learn more about how people in Indian culture keep themselves healthy. So far students have learnt what their rights are and what they are not. At the beginning of this unit some students believed they had the right to eat 1000 chocolate but they soon realised, that was not the case. Students have also defined what it means to be healthy and safe in their personal lives and here at school. We all had a great

time making some roti with Ms Chandra. Following that we used the roti to teach fractions, cutting and dividing it with our friends. This unit of inquiry will follow into the beginning of Term 4.

Yea r One -Quote Author

Primary Athletics

It was a very beautiful sunny day for our primary athletics carnival., despite the wet weather that we had experienced for a week leading up to the big day. We really had a lot of fun and everybody enjoyed the carnival.

We wanted to see students taking part in the athletics zone competition, so we decided to run only the events that are offered during the zone meet. Events including long jump, high jump [for under 11/12 only], cricket ball throw, softball throw for the field events and running to include 50m, 75m for all and the 100m for under 10 and 11. We also held an open 800m event.

We were not allowed to use the grass in the stadium so we had to move the throwing events to Bidesi park. Our Reception and year 1 students also participated in fun relays in the morning session before heading back to school.

The eagles scooped both the girls and the boys points with scoring and won overall house champion.

Our ribbon presentiaton was held at Week 8 primary assembly where we gave out ribbons for the 1st, 2nd and third positions.

We are yet to confirm the date of the zone competition in term 4. We have selected the first and second positions to represent the school in this zone competition and parents will be informed of our zone preparation and our training programs.

Well done to everyone who participated in the athletics carnival and a vinaka vakalevu to all the parents and teachers who helped to make it such a great success!

Volleyball Our new skills in week 8,9 and 10 involve passing or digging in volleyball. Now that we have finished with athletics we are providing students with a touch of a different sport with added active involvement and participation during class.

UOI

PSPE

Our current Unit of inquiry focus with the year 3?s is on exploration leading to discovery. Our PSPE focus on exploration based on the movie Pocahontas where students identified some of the activities in the movie that were related to sports.

After plotting Marco Polo?s journey on their big map and getting the ideas, they were also able to plot the rugby seven?s series leading up to the Rio Olympics.

Now the students are working on their ?crazy run fitness activity?whereby each student has to plot something on the map with a clue and the whole class in a fitness class will run around the mapped area to try and locate it using the clues given on their maps.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consetetur sadipscing elitr.

Gr een Cot t age Gr eet i n gs Sept em ber Gr eet in gs from the little Green Cottage.

Children in the Early Learning center celebrated Lit er acy Week f r om t h e 30t h Au gu st t o t h e 2n d Sept em ber On the Monday during literacy week, we had the pleasure of meeting and greeting the author, Mr Craig Smith. Amelia Singh got her Wonky Donkey book and we had our copy of Willbee the Bumblebee autographed by him . Tuesday, we visited the library and we listened to Year 7 read out their poetry. Wednesday was the book character parade after which we had Year 6 coach us for badminton. On Friday morning, we had the honour of hosting our Fathers for breakfast for Father 's Day celebrations. After Friday morning tea the children got to choose from three ROALD DHAL?S movies JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, MATILDA, THE BFG (BIG FRIENDLY GIANT).

Thank you, Vinaka Vaka Levu, Dhanyavad, Merci Beaucoup, Gam Sa Han Ni Da, Arigato and Chee Chee Nee to all who helped in making Father ?s day a success and for the creative costumes for their book character parade.

We welcome Varanisese from Australian-Pacific Technical College (APTC) who will be with us until the end of the year completing her certificate 3 in Early Childhood Education and Care.

To all our Green Cottage families thank you for your support and smiles, contributing to a happy learning environment.

Birthday greetings to: 15th September - Georgia Kennedy 25th September - Charlie Sly Please be advised of the following important, Green Cottage dates: Tuesday 4th October- Term four commence.

The Green Cottage team, Ms Fariah, Ms Josephine, Ms Tanya and Ms Jacqui

Where do cows go on a Saturday night?

To the MOOOOOOOOOOOoooooovies.

Counselor's Corner B ula from your school counselor!

Things have been busy this month as I continue to meet with years four and five, individuals, and the girls? wellness group.

In class, we?ve continued to focus on the Stop, Think, Do curriculum ? especially emphasizing how to handle teasing and bullying. Oftentimes, students overuse the term bullying ? believing that anytime they have a disagreement with a friend, this person is a bully. This month, I?ve focused on the definition of bullying and how to handle it when it happens to you or witness it happening to someone else.

Bullying is in t en t ion al, r epeat ed or sever e h ar m to someone else. This harm can be ph ysical harm (hurting another ?s body or property) or ver bal harm (name calling, threats).

There is also social/ em ot ion al bullying where one person is intentionally excluded or rumors are spread. Cyber bullying is the use of cell phones, instant messaging, e-mail, chat rooms or social networking sites such as Facebook and Snapchat to harass, threaten or intimidate someone.

Depending on the situation and their own level of comfort, students can do several things when they see bullying take place or they are victims themselves.

Seek immediate help from an adult when bullying occurs. This is not weak. It?s reporting a problem and getting help.

Use a confident voice, look the bully in the eye and tell them to stop.

Walk away. Ignore.

Shrug it off.

Ask a friend for help.

Join up with other kids.

Include everyone.

Help others who are being bullied.

Use your STOP, THINK, DO steps when dealing with conflicts.

We?ve discussed allies versus bystanders.

Bystanders watch bullying take place and take no action. They may even join in the laughter.

Allies help.

An ally can do any of the following: Speak up to the bully alone or in a group.

Tell the bully what they are doing is ?not cool.?

Privately or publicly comfort the victim with words of kindness.

Walk with the victim when the bully is around.

Go with the victim to report the bullying to an adult.

Express disapproval of the bullying by not joining in the laughter, teasing, rumors, or gossip.

School should be a safe place for all students. If you have any concerns about your child being bullied, please speak to the classroom teacher.

The last few weeks have been a fun learning adventure for year 3 students.

We have begun a new Unit of Inquiry? Exploration and Discoveries, where we have been learning about the reasons why people take risks and venture out of their comfort zone to explore new places and planets and go in search of new discoveries.

The school also celebrated Literacy Week. The Author Craig Smith came to talk to us about his book, The Wonky Donkey?. Daisy Stewart a local children's book illustrator dropped by and talked to us about how to become an illustrator. We participated in a book Character Parade, pajama day, story writing activities and a design a door competition.

Yea r Thr ee's Lea r ning Adventur es

Ima g in a t io n h el ps us t o expr es s o ur s el v es .

Rec ept io n Sept ember is s ue

Th is un it w e h ave been in quirin g in to th e differen t w ays th at people can express th em selves. Out cen tral idea is ?im agin ation h elps us to express ourselves?. W e h ave been readin g lots of books an d sh arin g our perspectives an d reflection s.

Have a great break an d see you n ext term !

W h at kin d of th in gs could you do if you h ad a frien d like Beekle?

Play fairies, m on sters or dragon s. Catch butterflies.

Make m ud pies.

Fly to th e m oon . Play gam es.

Pain t th e rain bow in th e sky.

Jum p on th e clouds like a tram polin e.

W h ere do you w an t to go?

Can dy Lan d Th e en d of th e rain bow Ch ocolate lan d A h ouse m ade of lollies W orld of toys Gian t lan d San ta's toy factory Fairy lan d

I feel w ild w h en ....

I am playin g outside.

People are m ean to th eir frien ds.

I am really h un gry.

I w an t som eth in g really bad.

I am really an gry I am h avin g fun !

Fijian Studies Excursions have been an important part of our learning. The excitement and curiosity excursions stimulate with the inquiry questions asked and the information gathered and recorded is vital to the PYP curriculum.

We?ve also had the privilege of hosting visiting speakers like Rako, students of the Fiji School of the Blind and Mr Veikoso of the Conservatorium of Music to share their knowledge and expertise with us.

Lover of Colou r - Year 4H Th e gen r e of illu st r at in g began in 1657 w it h Com en iu s?s OrbisPictus, a pr im er lik e t ext w r it t en in Lat in an d in t en ded f or ch ildr en . Th e pow er of a good ch ildr en's illu st r at or can st ay w it h u s w ell in t o adu lt h ood an d is of t en som et h in g sh ar ed f r om par en t t o ch ild.

Ch ildr en's illu st r at or s w or k in a var iet y of m edia, f r om book s t o w eb con t en t t o pr odu ct design . Du r in g lit er acy w eek , w e w er e lu ck y t o f in d an illu st r at or livin g in Su va w h o w as m or e t h an h appy t o sh ar e h er st or y w it h t h e st u den t s.

Daisy St ew ar t , or igin ally f r om New Zealan d, h as n ow lived in Su va f or 13 year s. Sh e is a pu blish ed Illu st r at or , ar t ist an d n ow w r it er . On Tu esday, 30t h of Au gu st sh e h eld 3 x h alf an h ou r session s w it h t h e st u den t s explain in g h er playf u l appr oach t o ar t . Fir st sh e sh ow ed t h e ch ildr en h er ?t r avel bag?, f illed w it h a good pen cil, sh ar pies, r u bber an d a sk et ch book . ?You can f in d m ot ivat ion ever yw h er e. Don?t be af r aid of m ak in g m ist ak es. Th at ?s w h at t h e r u bber s ar e f or .?

Sh e explain ed t o t h e class h ow Illu st r at or s w or k w it h pu blish er s an d som et im es also w it h au t h or s t h em selves. Wh et h er an ar t ist h as appr oach ed a pu blish er t h em selves, w or k ed w it h an agen t , or h as been scou t ed by t h e pu blish er , t h eir w or k t oget h er is sim ilar t o t h at of ot h er f r eelan ce illu st r at or s. Pr oject br ief s ar e sen t t o ar t ist s, t h ey w or k ou t bu dget s an d deadlin es, sk et ch es, con cept s, an d ar t is sen t back an d f or t h u n t il a pr oject is com plet ed.

On e of t h e st u den t s ask ed w h at Daisy t h in k s is m ost im por t an t w h en illu st r at in g a ch ildr en?s book : "As f ar as w h at m ak es a good illu st r at ion f or k ids, t h e f ir st t h in g t h at com es t o m y m in d is t h e u se of colou r . I am a t r u e lover of colou r ,? Daisy r eplied.

On e of h er illu st r at ed book s is called Kof i an d t h e Talk in g Dr u m an d w e h ave it available in t h e sch ool libr ar y.

Year 3/ 4B

The Migration unit has generated a lot of conversations and discussions, not only in our classroom but also with the other year 4 classes. We were fortunate to have had 3 guest speakers who had migrated as political refugees who spoke about the reasons, the risks, the challenges they faced and how they have contributed to development in their new countries.

From this unit, the students were able to articulate the impact of migration on populations and how migration impacts future development. We had Mr Tim teach the students how chants have changed overtime and how they are used in protest, work and sports. This focus in music was displayed during the Year 3/4B and Year 4 assembly. As their holiday assignment, the students are bringing home their summative task. They may need assistance in identifying a migrant to interview.

We are happy to welcome Hoyeon Jeong from Korea to our class, but sad to say goodbye to Ms Jana Karountzos, a practicum teacher and also an alumni who completes her attachment this week. She has been successful in capturing the attention of certain students especially in writing and in maths. We wish her the best with the rest of her training.

Happy holidays!

Year 3/4B Team

LIBRARY Term 3 has been a busy and exciting term. Student?s visits the library on scheduled days to exchange their books and learn to use the resources that we have. This term, we used Padlet and Seesaw to write book reviews. These reflections is available through our library blog: http://issfijilibrary.weebly.com/blog

ECH 1

We celebrated library and literacy week in week 8. Students took part in library activities aimed at teaching children to locate resources in the library and to encourage a love for reading and books.

We were very fortunate to have the author of the ?Wonky Donkey,?

Craig Smith perform to our students on Monday. Here are some of the things students say:

ECH 2

?I really liked how Craig Smith sang all his books. I also liked how he sang the alphabet backward!? Myah Y3/4B ?One of the best things I like about Craig Smith presentation was that he was making rain drop sounds in his mouth and fart noises and he was picking kids to hold the puppets while he was singing the wonky donkey, daddy ate an apple and the other books he publish. ? Kalama Y4S.

Reception shades inspired by the book ?Shades

This term, we joined students around the world to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl. Here?s some of the things our students say they would give a Roald Dahl character and the most villainous character in the book they read: ?I would give a house to the fantastic Mr fox because he doesn't have a house to live in.? Senuka 4H ?I would give a present to Sophie from the BFG it would be a dream - catcher because then she can sleep without waking up."Divija

Year 1 used LEGOs to build structures they researched on using books and World Book

?I would give a present to Ms Honey, a box of chocolates because she had them before when she was a kid and Ms Trunchbull took it.? Calvin ?The worst villain character would be the twits because they are cruel and selfish.? Nicole S ?I will choose Charlie because he is very poor and does not have much food. The villains in the story are the four children because they are all greedy for candy and chocolate.? Euan 4H

Year 2 & 1/2M...researching about the food chain and recorded their discovery on prezi

Thank you to the parents and students who purchased books through Book Club. The books will be ready for collection in Week 1 of Term 4.

Em p at h y Aw ar d Reci p i en t s Gideon Tor a Tat su t o set oya Hu dson Ar m st r on g Year 5B Daisy Wild Leo Kr u ger Ar ch ie Wyley Seijn Par k Jacsk on Du Ibr ah im Aw ais Ch loe M an aog Lan git ou t ai Fak a?osi Joab M ast aph a Isaac M ack en zie Tak u m a Kok u ba At t icu s Gr ay Asen aca TAgi St an ley M at t h ew s M illa Ken n edy-For an Ch r yst el Papavassilou Year 5M M alia Lar sen Talei Cak au k eivu ya

Dolly Kar an M ar y Pr asad Olive Ch oe An t h on y Bar ber M ah ir Sok o Rovian a Gin a Su ah Par k Seir a Kok u ba Elain a Th om pson Tevit a Falet au Joseva Baleiveicau M u r ph y Har r is Ru xan dr e Vleigh e Pr yan sh i M oh am ad Azf ir Ch r ist oph er Sopin Isla Rober t son

M u sic w it h M r . Tim Our UOI focus for the past 4 weeks has been with our Year 4 classes as we journeyed into their new UOI on ?Human Migration?.

We looked at Human migration through the music lens and discovered the earliest beginning of music existence and how music has evolved through time.

We looked at how chants were composed in the early days and the purpose for these different chants.

During our Finding Out phase we found out that as migrants moved with time, most of these chants evolved and for some chants the purpose changed in the context of how they are used in our present day and age.

Our students classified categories for example:

chants into different

Religious Chants, Protest Chants, Working Chants, War Chants and Sports Chants, to name a few.

We also began deconstructing the structure of these chants and went into depth on a Religious Chant called the ?Gregorian Chant? and looking into the music elements they posed. In the Gregorian Chant we learnt about its Melismatic form.

While looking at protest chants we also discovered its musical structure with its ?Call and Response? elements.

Looking at Exhibition 2016, our year 5 students weaved their magic during their opening night as they presented on originally composed song.

This performance marked the birth of our Primary Band: ?Minor Majors?

This band consists of a Bass player, a drummer, 2 guitarists, 2 Ukelele players, 2 rappers, a lead female vocalist and year 5 students as back up choir. ?Minor Majors? displayed an exceptional performance showcasing their talents on how they express themselves and delivered a memorable performance setting a benchmark for our current year 4?s as they prepare to move into year 5 next year.

For the love of Music?

Mr Tim

Active, compassionateand lifelonglearners..... ??Ms. XX, a boy teased us for playing with another boy during play time and we don?t think it?s nice.? ?Why don?t you play with the boy who teased you every day until the end of the week? ?Really, can we do that?? ?Of course, you can!?

That was the beginning of a series of deep conversations and discussions on the topic of gender equality in Year 4. Two days later the girls returned to say that they were not welcome by the kids playing rugby during lunch play. We discussed what they could do to be included in the game. Later that day, this discussion was repeated with the whole class and we reflected on what it meant to show international- mindedness through gender equality. The analogy of the wings of a bird was used to demonstrate the cooperation of female and male, humanity being the bird. If the world of humanity was to soar to the heights of progress, it would be dependent entirely on the movement of its wings. If the wings of humanity, female and male, were united in their efforts and maintained equality in all endeavours, then we would undoubtedly soar in the firmament of progress. Conversely, if one wing was injured or failed to work properly, the bird would not be able to fly and would circle around aimlessly in the dust, the progress of humanity would be severely compromised. Included in the discussion was the recent Fiji Rugby Sevens gold medal win and the Fijianas who also participated in the Olympics. The atmosphere was subdued, it felt as if something had taken place but no one could say what exactly.

The next day, one student shared a proposal to start a new rugby club that was inclusive of everyone. She requested to share a YouTube video titled Always#likeagirl (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs) to share her perspective with her classmates. Once the video ended, the students were encouraged to practice gender equality so that they would spearhead the next phase in attaining the equality of men and women for their generation.

That week, 3 boys signed up for the club. After sharing their idea with the Head of Primary and getting her support, the students shared their invitation with other students in the upper primary classes. More students started to show interest in this initiative. Signup sheets were strategically placed in the upper primary block.

The journey still remains long and arduous. But, if our Year 4 students have shown their capability to come together and consult peacefully about this sensitive issue and take small steps, rapid and sustained, towards a united resolution, then the future is in great hands. May these children show us how to attain new heights of international-mindedness and global citizenship envisioned by the IB mission statement. n great hands. May these children show us how to attain new heights of international-mindedness and global citizenship envisioned by the IB mission statement.

Wh at 's New in Year 2?

What is Advertising?

Why do people advertise? What are the different ways to advertise? How does advertising affect people?s choices and opinions? What is the difference between a need and a want?

These are the lines of inquiry that are helping our Year 2 students to find out about advertising. The inquiry began with a Year 4 aided provocation where they tried to persuade Year 2s to buy imaginary products. The activity allowed students to begin to think about the reasons why we make the decisions to buy the things that we see advertised. Right now we are learning about the different kinds of advertisements there are and the techniques that advertisers use to attract their target audience.

In the Art room Mrs. Stice is helping us to take a careful look at techniques used in print ads. We are enjoying investigating colours, font sizes, design and slogans. We look forward to experimenting with advertisements of our own in Term 4.

Year 7 Cell Presentations We were delighted to receive an invitation from the Year 7s to listen to their presentations on animal and plant cells. The invitation came after the Year 7s found out that we had been learning about plants and animals in our inquiry into Ecosystems. They did a wonderful job of sharing their knowledge in a way that was interesting and easy to understand. The Year 2s loved their use of cake and other delicious sweets to create models of cells. We were very lucky to be allowed to share ion the eating of their models after the presentation. We thank the Year 7s, Ms. Shelly and Mrs. Tulele for allowing us to learn about cells and gain new presentation skills by watching our Year 7s in action.

We wish you all a very happy and restful term break. See you in October!

Year 1 in Un it of In qu ir y ?Wh o We Ar e.?

Hindi Studies

Th is u n it of in qu ir y is lin k ed w it h Hin di St u dies.

St u den t s ar e lear n in g abou t t h eir r igh t s an d h ow t h ey n eed t o be pr ot ect ed f or t h em t o h ealt h y an d saf e. For h ealt h y livin g t h ey n eed t o eat h ealt h y f ood, dr in k lot s of w at er an d par t icipat e in r egu lar exer cise. As a h ealt h y m eal, st u den t s m ade r ot i an d lat er cu t it in t o f r act ion s of h alves an d qu ar t er s f u r t h er con n ect in g t h e UOI t o M at h s.

ECH 2 In qu ir y Un it ?Tellin g a St or y ?

Wat ch in g Kat h ak (Classical Hin di Dan ce). We t h en t r ied som e of t h e m oves!

Chutti Shoobh ho

Happy Holidays Mrs Chandra

Namaste

The students have now wrapped up their Unit of Inquiry into ?Sharing the Planet?. As reported last Primary Press the student visited a mangrove ecosystem to discover firsthand what makes up an ecosystem. To continue with this learning the students were required to choose an animal, research its characteristics, the habitat in which it lives, threats to the animal, and its food web. With this research the children created a diorama of an ecosystem for their animal to live and survive in. The students then needed to research threats to the ecosystem and then suggest ways and action to prevent the ecosystem and the animal from destruction and extinction and present this in an online ?Prezi?slideshow.

Take a look at their amazing work ? I am very proud of their accomplishments. The students needed to show the Learner Profiles of being knowledgeable, thinkers, caring and communicators as they presented their work during their Student Led Conferences.

Well done 1/2m.

New Zealand forest

Ocean

If you want to try out Prezi yourself go to ? ? .. www.Prezi.com ? ? ?

Forest

Sophia P - Prezi

Hongyi - Prezi

Tropical forest

Sofia A - Prezi Reflections: I showed confidence ? I felt that I could do it (Elijah)

Temperate forest

I showed confidence ? I can finish it! (Lillis) I showed commitment ? I did my best and didn?t give up.

(Leo) I showed resilience ? I started again when my diorama got lost. (Archie) I showed cooperation ? I worked with others most of the time. (Driya) I showed respect ? I listened to Ms MacKellar and knew what to do. (Ethan)

1/2M M a kes Ama zing Connections