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The Newsletter - March Edition 2013 - 2014 From the Principal
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Events Preschool Assembly Learner Profile Awards Carnival New PE Equipment Desktop Computers
Class Activities Early Years Preschool Grade 1/2 Grade 3/4 Grade 5/6 EAL & EFL
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Dear members of our school community,
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February is the first month of our second term. Even though second term has just started, there are prepara=ons ongoing to have a successful start for the next school year. As you know, the school calendar for the next year has been put up on our website to give you security in planning. As well, we have an almost complete overview on who is going to stay in our school. In April our school will hit the number 100 for the first =me in history!!!
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Since we have a growing number of pupils in grade 1/2, we will have a separate grade 1 and a separate grade 2 next year. There have been many very qualified applica=ons for the teacher posi=on in grade 2. It shows, we are a small but exci=ng school, that aKracts parents and teachers as well.
Important Information Calendar Celebration of Books PTA Meeting PYP Workshop for parents
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During the first week of February we had our 3 ways conferences. These conferences are part of our profile as a school as well as of the IB program. We want to make sure, that pupils, parents and teachers have a shared understanding about the educa=onal and academic progress of each pupil.
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In February we took part in the Interna=onal Student Assessment (ISA) and we are awai=ng the outcome. ISA provides valid individual informa=on as well as significant data about student achievement in comparison with other IB schools.
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On February 13th and 20th we had Board mee=ngs, that dealt with important and future orientated topics. The Board made a necessary but courageous decision on improving the teachers salary scale to be aKrac=ve for competent teachers. It also decided on the future of our Oktoberfest. There was the choice whether we should have a more family like Oktoberfest, mainly organized for the school community or to have an Oktoberfest, that is opened to the city of Kobe and the Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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The Newsletter - March Edition 2013 - 2014 Kansai region, by addressing suppor=ng families, companies and other ins=tu=ons. The Board finally decided for an Oktoberfest that is promo=ng the Deutsche Schule Kobe/European School in an extensive way. In the future we will have a steering commiKee out of 2 Board members (marke=ng and PR), 2 members of PTA and 1 teacher and Principal. As you can see on our calendar, the next Oktoberfest will be on October 11th. As you could read through email, the Board had decided on significant improvements for cooling. Even though there is s=ll an ongoing discussion, we have an agreement to closely monitor the development of temperature in summer and to adapt the decision according to the monitored informa=on.
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We had a unique event on Saturday 22nd in our school. With much prepara=on and an encouraging par=cipa=on of members of the Board, PTA and teachers as well as a former member of the Board, the first ‘future workshop’ (ZukunYswerkstaK) took place. Mr. Markus Pieper, a consultant for the German Schools Abroad moderated the workshop. What exactly is a ‘future workshop’ and why did 17 par=cipants sacrifice their weekend to take part? It is a place to think about development and ideas that could be relevant for the school’s future. With the help of an external moderator it tries to involve crea=vity and intelligence without denying the tradi=on by using the past, facts of the present =me and ideas about the future. It opens for more-‐dimensional perspec=ves and helps to iden=fy possible ways to go. And that is what we did. In the end we had several groups who worked on specific topics. (‘our unique selling point’ and what to do with it, and ‘our language concept’, because language is one reason why parents choose our school, ‘our policy structure’ and effec=veness of collabora=on among the bodies of the school, a ‘perspec=ve with Middle School ‘and ‘facili=es and resources’). I believe there was an agreed understanding, that this workshop provided relevant experiences together and had future orientated results. We did not discuss it but I believe, there should be a follow up workshop in 12 months to evaluate the results and to iden=fy further steps. I would like to thank all par=cipants for their contribu=ons to our school.
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Last week was a collabora=on between Konan Elementary School and our school. The partnership started many years ago and when it started, the building of the Deutsche Schule was located close to Konan School. Since we have moved to Rokko Island, we established more contact with Kindergartens and schools on the island. With these thoughts the teachers decided to end the partnership with Konan School. For the last =me we visited the school on February 28th. Konan Elementary School put an impressive effort to give this last event some glamour. The pupils constructed and coloured kites which were given to us in the end. We were aware, that the teachers of Konan School were not happy about our decision and we did not feel easy with our decision. We like to thank the teachers of Konan School to have worked together with us for a long =me and we have respect for the way they accepted our decision. I wish you a beau=ful and heart warming spring.
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Best wishes, Gerhard Lebherz, Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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EVENTS - PRESCHOOL ASSEMBLY
Central Idea: All living things go through a process of change.!
Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Can you put them in the right order. Butterfly, Chrysalis, Egg, Caterpillar
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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EVENTS - LEARNER PROFILE Principled
Ca
g n i r
Risk Taker
Reflectiv e
Th in
Balanced
Inqui rer
ke r
Op
M n e
ed d in
Knowledgeable
or t ca i un m m Co
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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EVENTS - LEARNER PROFILE
r Fü
ich l rg o s
Sachkundig
it e r e b o k Risi
A us ge gl ic he n
Aufges chlosse n
er k n e D
Charakterfest
Selbstkr
Fo rs ch er
Ko mm un ika tiv
itisch
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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EVENTS - CARNIVAL
Carnival was hosted by the PTA this year. Everyone dressed up and the PTA distributed gifts for everyone. There was music and a chance to show off the costumes.
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan
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EVENTS - New P.E. Equipment
Today a lot of our new P.E. stuff arrived. All of the students were really excited to play with the new balls, foams, shirts, ladders, diving and swimming items. Grade 1 & 2 were lucky and the first one who inquired every piece.
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All the students of DESK want to say THANK YOU to the PTA of our school, who supported us with this
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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EVENTS - Desktop Computers
The computers run Edubuntu (http://www.edubuntu.org/) which is a Linux distribution. It is open source software that has been tailored to educational uses. Using different Operating Systems also offers the students more breadth to build and transfer ICT skills to become more familiar with using 21st Century Technologies in general.
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We may still require some LCD monitors that parents or school community members can donate to us. They do not have to be very new as they require less processing power to run them.
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If you have a monitor you can donate - Please let Mr. White or Mr. Seifert know.
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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EVENTS - Desktop Computers
Last week Mr. Taniguchi, the father of a child in Kindergarten, brought us 12 computers for our school. Starting from next week on, we will use them for class and especially improve our ICT skills.
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Thank you very much Mr. Taniguchi. Students and teachers of DESK appreciate that donation very much!
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Early Years !
Water pours….it fills another container….How many scoops do I need to fill the container…..Wow!!!….I’m counting so well. I am a Mathematician.
I Wonder, does it Float or Sink?
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Why is finding out so FUN!!!!!!
Why do some items float, or sink….Is it the shape, colour or material. Let’s make some predictions. What will happen it I do this or that. Let me test that again. Wow!!! I am a Scientist.
I like this green water…..It fills the glass jars…it makes a noise when I tap it….the noise changes as I fill or empty the jar. I can make different sounds…..I made a tune…..Wow!!! I am a composer…..
Play, Inquire, Discover.
Materials at play
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Pre School
Life cycle of animals in P.E.
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The students of Pre School know a lot about the life cycles. Time to prove their knowledge in P.E. The students were supposed to express the life cycles of a plant, horse, butterfly and chicken by movement.
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Grade 1 & 2 !
Grade 1 & 2 End of Unit Celebration Preschool and Grades 1 & 2 hosted a Cultural Festival to end their units on Celebrations. Several parent volunteers came together to share some culture from their home countries. Activities the parents taught the students included: traditional art, food, clothes, games, and language. Countries that were represented were: France, China, Korea, Japan and India. We thank all the parent volunteers who came to help out and for sharing their cultures to our students!
CHINA
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Grade 1 & 2 !
INDIA
France
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Grade 1 & 2 !
Korea
Japan
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Grade 3 & 4
Grade 3/4 have been looking into geographical skills. They created their own topography in the school’s raised garden. You can see they created a mountainous terrain. They then carefully added contour lines to represent height increments. Taking a Birds eye view gives us a representation of a topographical Map that tell us about the 3 D nature of the landscape.
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Grade 5 & 6 !
Off the Grid
Tread Lightly
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Hypothesis of the students: “It will be very inconvenient.” “We will only eat fish and vegetables.” “We might go to the greenbelt and hunt for something.” “I think we might have a little trouble with lunch.” “I thought it was gonna be like a survival game.” “I think Monday would be a bad day for me, because I cannot do something with my electronic device.” “Going to be a nightmare.” “We will mess up the whole thing.” “I think we will have a good success.”
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - Grade 5 & 6 Review of Hypothesis and Conclusion:
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“I did not think that we would do math and language lessons outside and buy food. I learned that this is very inconvenient.” “We needed to team work together.” “It was better than I expected. We had fun with the making of the food. It took up most of our time.” “It was fun to eat and it was fun to play too. Also it was fun to do team work.” “Overall, I thought it would be more strict than today, because we used economy. I have learned how important economy is.” “We still used a lot of economy but still it was very inconvenient. I also learned how poor is the animals that got caught and eat by human.”
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - EAL & EFL iting ts have been wr The G3/4 studen their s as a part of narrative storie past s, work. In storie Unit of Inquiry g th e n us ed . D ur in te ns e is of te the on they focused English lessons, verbs d the sounds of ending forms an ents ud nse. The st with a past te e! enjoyed the gam
The G1/2 students in the EFL class have shown their creativity by making patterns. They verbally shared their patterns with their peers. “My pattern is rectangle, circle, circle …” “Mine is pin k, red , pur ple , pin k, red …” Oh , someone discovered symmetry!!
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Class Activities - EAL & EFL So, what d o we do afte r having a bath?
a, b, c, d, e, f, g..
The students in Preschool have been busy working on a variety of language activities.
r, for rainbow.. m, for mushroom
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Important information - Calendar
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March Dates
Day
Event
2 - 7 th
Mon - Friday
Celebration of Books
12th
Wednesday
School Board
17th - 21st
Mon - Friday
Project Week
19th
Wednesday - 9:30 a.m.
PTA Meeting
24th - 28th
Mon - Friday
Holiday
April Dates
Day
Event
11th
Friday - 4:30 p.m.
PYP Parent Workshop
17th
Thursday
Easter Egg Hunt - Early Years
21st - 25th
Mon - Friday
Spring School Trip
25th
Friday
Sleepover (Preschool/ Grade 1/2
28th - 6th May
Mon - Tuesday
Golden Week
May Dates
Day
Event
7th
Wednesday
School open after Golden week
30th
Friday
Open Day - to be confirmed
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Important information Celebration of Books March 3-7, 2014
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We will hold a school-wide Celebration of Books. This week is intended for students to celebrate their knowledge of books they have read within the context of our school program. Individual classes will be taking time each day to celebrate reading and books-giving time to praise children’s enjoyment of reading.
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The theme of the celebration is the Learner Profile. The IB Learner Profile is a list of 10 traits that children strive to embody: Risk-Taker, Communicator, Inquirer, Thinker, Reflective, Caring, Open-minded, Principled, Knowledgeable and Balanced.
Project Week - Open Day for Parents March 17th - 21st, 2014 ! Parents will be invited to join the Final day of the Project Week on Friday, 21st March, 2014. ! Please wait for the Project week letter for further information. Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Important information
PTA Meeting !
Wednesday 19th March 2014 !
From 9:30 a.m ! ! ! !
Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org
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Important information ! ! !
Parent PYP Workshop !
FRIDAY APRIL 11th 2014 4:30 p.m.
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Parents are invited to offer their ideas or questions about the PYP.
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Please submit the following form.
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http://goo.gl/MXa9qr
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The PTA will also be asking the school community for their input.
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Deutsche Schule Kobe – European School 3-2-8 Koyochonaka Higashinada-ku, Kobe 658-0032 Japan Tel.: 078-857-9777・Fax: 078 857- 9775・http://www.dskobe.org/・mail@dskobe.org