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The current situation continues to be challenging for lots of people in Nepal. This week we supported 16 families of one of our community schools by providing relief packages.

Lots of Mathematics going on in Early Years. Bilashita, from Foundation 1,  built a tower using books. The tower is taller than her when she sits down. I wonder if this will be the same when she is standing? 

The Foundation 2 students have been exploring the numerals 6, 7 and 8. Matthew baked yummy number cookies, Noah made a spider using playdough and counted the legs and Adira drew a ladybug with 6 legs, a rainbow with 7 colours and a spider with 8 legs. Amazing explorations!

Year 1 started their All Dressed Up IPC topic with a Zoom meeting joined by princesses, pilots, spidermen and lots of other interesting characters. The students have been learning about different climates and the different materials that can be used to make clothes.

The students in Year 2 practised map reading skills and they added grid references and located the features on their own treasure island.

As part of their ‘Footprints from the Past’ topic, Year 3 have made a start on Adventure Stories. This week, they studied the components that make an ‘exciting’ plot using a story mountain consisting of an opening, a problem, a dilemma, a resolution, an ending and (sometimes) a moral. They then took a story or film that they knew and applied it to the mountain.

Year 4 have been studying the poem ‘The Magic Box’ by Kit Wright, which starts:

After studying the poem’s language, they have then used their own adjectives and similes to describe what they would put in their own boxes.

Continuing on with their IPC topic of ‘Earth as an Island’, this week Year 6 have been creating their own island maps. Drawing on work completed around Ordnance Survey maps, the Year 6 maps included carefully thought-out symbols and keys and were set up to practise newly learned skills with 6-figure grid references! 

Year 5 have been looking at the IPC topic ‘Moving People’ over the last few weeks, exploring the different reasons people move – be it a choice they made or one that was forced upon them. This week, their focus has been on economic migration, exploring definitions related to the topic and picking out new countries for various individuals to move to.

As we move into the tail end of our first term at Ģ����Ƶ, it is great to see that KS3 are still keeping their high standards and effort. Students have been challenged all the way through this first term, but it is great to see that they are facing these challenges and deciphering how to get past them. It is clear to see that all of the KS3 students are developing a huge amount of resilience which is a key characteristic that will be taken with them, not only through school, but into further life.
This week saw the students set a new PSHE task to complete over the next couple of weeks. They are to get creative in making a graffiti wall with key themes that are present in a film/book/art of their choice. They should then explain about how these key themes have impacted their lives. It would be great if parents could discuss these key themes and other school subjects with their children to gage an understanding of what they have been doing whilst online.

Continuing the theme of PSHE, all of KS3 were set the assignment of completing a well being diary for the last two weeks. They were to document the different activities they have been doing. There were some absolutely fantastic examples and it is great to see how KS3 students have been focused on their wellbeing. 

There have also been some great individual projects that have been completed by KS3. Year 9 have been looking into monologues and performing them for their drama assessment. The year 7’s have been looking into animal cells and what the properties of these are. They had specific scientific instructions to follow regarding how they drew the cell and had to add detailed labels to each one. 

Finally, the year 8’s have been looking into the Musculo-Skeletal system and have been making powerpoints to demonstrate their learning. Some students went as far as making a superb video!

Year 7 have been getting creative to demonstrate their understanding of musical structure and form. From pets to people to produce, nearly everything you can think of has been used!  Pavitra used herselt while Shaivee used fruit!

Year 8 have started using Garageband or a musical notation software to create minimalist music. Prashida (Image) and Chaya (Mov)  have both shown how you can take a very small clip of music and turn it into something more complex!

Congratulations to Tanushka for receiving the student of the week. Many teachers have commented that she is a joy to have in the classroom and mentor group, which is extremely refreshing to hear. All of her work is being completed to a high standard and she is always heavily involved with live lessons. Additionally, her attendance for the last five weeks has been fantastic.

A massive well done to Tanushka for upholding such high standards and transitioning so well from Year 6 to Year 7. She is thriving in a difficult situation and demonstrating many of the characteristics that the school strives to teach children, at such a young age. Keep up the good work!

As week 6 draws to a close, I am constantly reminded of how hard our KS4 students are working.  Many students face challenges, but it is in the face of these challenges that we can see our students grow, not only academically, but also personally. Continuous Learning is helping provide our students with opportunities and challenges, and how our students respond to these is helping equip them for life after school.

Prioritisation of tasks being but one of these. That said, with many live lessons and independent work, it is important that parents continue to enter into discussions with their children and offer help and guidance to ensure all work is completed as best as possible and deadlines are met. 

Some KS4 students have been participating in Model United Nations (MUN).  Sharvi, Vani, Shridha, Fahad, Abayaa, Ayus, Meghna and Ole have joined the MUN club this year and have started preparing for the THIMUN Singapore conference, which will take place in November. This week, MUN members practised speech writing and delivering on the theme of gender equality. Impressive points made indeed! 

Year 11 Geographers have embarked upon their coursework.  However, this year their coursework will not actually involve the usual field trip to the River Lele to gather data, but as per CAIE guidelines, use data collected from previous years.  Like so many things this year, students will have a virtual field trip.

Year 10 this week were continuing with their scenography unit in Drama This time they were focusing on makeup design. Here are a few of their sketches for a vampire character.

Year 11 are really showing off their English language skills this week. Not only can they deal with the demands of the CAIE English Language paper, but they can also explain these demands to others with not at all forced links to young adult fiction!

This weeks’ student of the week is Yang in Year 10.  Yang has consistently worked hard and delighted many of his teachers not only with his diligent approach to his studies, but also his general enthusiasm.  Have a look at his outstanding .

Like all of us, Yang is very much looking forward to being able to be back in a classroom environment.  Miss Cockle, his mentor, says her 1:1 meetings with Yang are one of the highlights of her week.  Here is what Yang has to say:

I think what I am enjoying from school right now is probably that I get to spend time on subjects, which I enjoy the most. I get to decide when to study what and have effective planning.  And, of course, I am desperately looking forward to getting back to school and meeting my friends.  My hobbies are to play basketball, piano and sleep.  Amongst these, right now, I think my favourite thing is sleeping! My advice to my friends would also be ‘having enough rest’ and be energised and optimistic (health is everything!).  And lastly, I would also not advise anyone to trust atoms because they “make up everything”!

Another busy week of continuous online learning! 

Below are some tips for taking pictures with your phone that I have stolen from year 12 Media students’ blogs! 

Make ’em laugh.

Speaking of evoking emotion, sometimes the most memorable photos are the ones that make us giggle. The image of an older woman wearing a brightly-colored shirt stating “Hi hater” is funny because it’s unexpected — and there’s a part of us that admires her, too. The second image of the dog toy on a dinner plate pokes fun at classic Instagram food shots, but it’s from a dog’s perspective. If you can make your audience laugh, they’re likely to enjoy your photo. – Sneha

Seoyun and Joeun’s  work on reciprocal trigonometric functions particularly impressed Ms. Morgan (and me!) today and shows a creative way to share knowledge of maths.

Key stage 5 student of the week is Anju! 

She has been nominated by her teachers and in particular for her fantastic work in psychology this week. 

Mr Piaf says she has shown such determination in psychology and received near full marks on the test, despite this being her first term studying the subject.

Anju’s advice: Don’t give up when things go wrong in the beginning cause failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. You can always ask your teachers and friends for their support. Always be happy:)