The weekend a friend bought me a book that I have totally bonded with. It is entitled “Reading Magic”. The author is Mem Fox who is well know for her popular children books. In the book Mem Fox explains why reading aloud to young children has an incredible impact on their ability to read and on their entire lives. As an expectant mother I am looking forward to reading and bonding with my child and hoping a love of reading will develop. As a teacher I have found this book invaluable to reinforce the importance of read-a-louds and making time for literature circles, CMC times and silent reading times. If you ever get a chance while wondering around a book store take a look for this exceptional book.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.We had a great time on Thursday preparing and making a healthy and fun lunch. On the menu was Cranberry Cooler, Tacos, and fruit dip with fresh fruits. Thanks to Noa and Kayla for the wonderful recipes. Also thanks to the parents and helpers who were able to get all the ingredients together in such a short time. The lunch was a great success and no one left hungry! (or ill) After lunch and the clean up, we settled down and watched the movie Matilda. Peter (Abigail’s father) has read us the book during his many visits to the class. The class wanted to watch the movie and we decided to make comparisons between the book and the movie. These comparisons lead to great discussions about why a director would change parts of books and how an author would feel about these changes. We also talked about how important it is to visualize when reading and how movies take away that skill. The last connection we made was to our Child Rights Unit. Ask your child what they thought the connections were.
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Friday February 12th represented Red Hand Day around the world. Since 2002 the Red Hand Day has been celebrated annually and worldwide; it draws attention to the situation of child soldiers. On Red Hand Day public protest, demonstrations and other activities take place. The Red Hand Day’s symbol is a red hand which has been used all over the world by many organizations in order to say NO to child recruitment and the use of child soldiers. The hands we traced and the messages that we wrote will be sent to the United Nations to show our support for this cause. Take a look at some of the pictures we took while making our red hands.
Joanna
Last Friday each student made a personal goal to achieve while training for the IronKids event at the end of the month. I was so proud of their efforts and it seems each student was able to reach their goal. We will continue to make personal goals each time we hit the track. It is nice to see some natural runners out there and even the kids that are struggling have made some great strives! If there are any parents out there who would like to model “pacing”, please let me know. Unfortunately in my condition I am unable to show them. Peter (Abigail’s dad) took some amazing photos last week. Take a look at his link. http://www.emmett-photography.com/International-School-Manila/Grade4-TriKids/11165843_o5adw#782706347_ckNqB
Joanna
So much is happening this month! This week we were visited by CNN’s 2009 Hero of the Year, Efren Penaflorida, who spoke to the Grade 4 students on Tuesday, Feb 2nd, to inspire them to “unleash the hero inside” and make a difference in the world around them. On Thursday Feb 4th we saw the Children’s Musical Theatre performance of “Dig It!” which was a huge success. Not only were we entertained by some really cool songs, but we even learned a bit about ancient civilizations! We had two students from our class Roi and Katie! Well done to the both of you and Ms. Linell for all your hard work!
On Friday, Feb 5th the kids threw me a surprise birthday party. It was kept a very big secret and I was shocked by the great organizational skills the “Birthday Committee” displayed. Thanks for a special day! This Saturday, Feb 6th is Family Fun Day here at ISM, and I know the students are excited about it, I hope you can manage to come!
The pace does not slow down next week either! Next Monday and Tuesday, Feb 8th and 9th, the Grade 4 students will be producing their mid-year writing samples. On Wednesday afternoon the students will have their MS Transition Assembly, and Grade 4 Parents have a Middle School Transition Parent Meeting from 5-6pm in the Little Theater. Parents, I hope you can attend that meeting!
We are continuing to practice our running around the high school track. Today we set personal goals, which every student was able to achieve. With help from Ryan’s brother we were able to “pace” ourselves around the track. If there are any parents who would like to come in and run with us please just let me know!
Thanks to Peter (Abigail’s dad) who has been reading Matilda to the kids regularly! We are also looking forward to Marnie (Noa’s mom) coming later in the month to read to the class.
Have a great weekend!
Joanna
Before the holidays we made no bake Snowball cookies. The kids worked together in their table groups, using a recipe and the ingredients they brought from home. The activity was a great success and we have some hidden talent for cooking in this class. If you have any no bake recipes please send them along. We would love to try them! The kids love to cook and it is good for group work and problem solving.
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Welcome to Thi Dieu Anh and her family. This is our third new addition to our class this year, and we have all been getting to know one another! I believe the phone tree is complete please email me if there is any change in your contact information.
We have had a great time with our new unit on child rights. The students have been very responsive to the sensitive issues surrounding child rights. When you have a chance ask your child about what they have been doing in this unit. There have been many great discussions in class and it would be nice if they make connections outside the classroom.
Sports day is fast approaching I am happy to say Adrian’s mom has volunteered to help the kids learn a quick routine to go with their sports day cheer and name. We will need a few more parents to help with the dance steps so if you have a talent for dancing and the time please let me know.
Finally, today we went out to the high school track to run, walk, or jog the 1.5 km that many of the kids will be doing for the Iron Kids event on Feb. 28th. I was very impressed with the dedication and determination. Don’t get me wrong it was not easy but afterward we talked about the benefit of physical exercise. Please talk to your child about the experience they had today. Also, the kids are getting to the age where they will need to be using deodorant on a daily basis.
Take care,
Joanna
I hope everyone had a fantastic break it was a well deserved one! I have heard lots of exciting stories from the kids. We had a wonderful adventure in Myanmar and spent the New Years here in Manila watching the incredible fire works! I would like to thank everyone for their generous gifts especially all the sweet treats. My waist line is getting bigger but unfortunately it is not all baby! Also thank you for the gift certificates to SM, Neil and I will be shopping for all those baby things very shortly. It was nice to see a number of parents out for our class party. The kids had a great time!
We have two new students to join our class, Ryan and Grace both started this week. Welcome to them and their families. I will send the new phone tree later this week via email.
I am excited about starting the second semester. It is now time to get the kids ready for middle school. This will include higher expectations, more work, a focus on independence, and explaining the process to both students and parents. This will be an exciting semester but very busy!
I am also very excited about our new unit of inquiry on Human Rights. This unit is intense but so rich in information; I can see the kids really getting involved. The unit will be starting in a few weeks.
Of course no update would be complete without my appeal for parents to come and read to our class. If you have already made an appearance you are more than welcome to come back! There are many spots available just email me and we can set up a time!
Take care and all the best for the New Year!
Joanna 
We will be having our class party Tuesday December 15th in the afternoon. Thanks to the parents who have been organizing this. It will also be Ji Woo’s last day. She will be moving to Belgium with her family. On Wednesday I will distribute the reports. Class will be dismissed at 12:00 PM on Wednesday so we can all get a jump start on our break. I wish everyone a safe and happy break where ever you may be. All the best in the New Year!
For the past few weeks we have been collecting books, used and new, to donate to Papaya Academy. They were hit very hard during the floods and we wanted to help restore their library. On Thursday some Papaya kids where here at ISM participating in ICARE, through the high school. We were able to bring the books directly to them and tell them how sorry we were that their school was so badly hit. We also did a great job collecting gently used toys for the workers of our school. I believe there will be enough presents to go around. The kids seemed to really understand the meaning of helping out. Thanks to the parents who have support these two activities.