The world through Grade 2 eyes

Dear Parents, We are certainly getting down to the final few days of the school year.  We are beginning to pack the classroom up and getting our final things organized. Different bits and pieces will be coming home throughout the week as we clean up the classroom. Here are a couple of reminders of what [...]

Dear Parents, We had a very busy week with Festival of the Arts taking up a bit of the week.  We watched a few performances and had the chance to create our own art through clay.  It is amazing that with the same resources and the same instructions, student creations could be so different. They [...]

Dear Parents, We are about to begin our final unit of inquiry ‘Sharing the Planet’ for Grade 2.  The central idea is: ‘Plants sustain life on Earth and play a role in our lives’.  As a part of this scientific unit, we will be growing and looking after plants in the classroom.  We are asking [...]

Dear Parents, It has been an exciting week preparing for our student led learning reviews.  The students are incredibly excited about the opportunity to show you what they have been learning at school.  It does take a little bit of preparation but it certainly is worth it when a student can lead their parents through [...]

Dear Parents, I wish everyone a wonderful Spring break.  I hope everyone gets the time off with family.  I will be heading back to Melbourne to spend the week with family.  Liz and Matilda went a week before me so I am very much looking forward to seeing them again! For the holidays, I am [...]

LS students may audition to perform in our Student Showcase as part of the Festival of the Arts 6-10 May. Student Showcase Audition Registration: 18-28 March. Please register your child via this link. No late registration will be accepted. Audition Registration: 18-28 March Auditions: 16-18 April Student Showcase Performance: week of 6-10 May Exceptional performers [...]

Dear Parents, I will be away this Thursday and Friday (21st & 22nd March).   I am attending the IB Asia-Pacific Regional Conference to present as a teacher-researcher practitioner.  It is a great opportunity to share my knowledge and also attend other presentations to learn from other teachers across Asia.  Unfortunately, this does mean I need [...]

Dear Parents, As a part of our new unit of inquiry ‘Where we are in place and time’, we had some significant individuals visit Grade 2 today: Rosa Parks Steve Jobs Amelia Earhart Mother Teresa I have asked the students to bring a picture/book/information/etc. on a person who they believe is ‘significant’.  We have not [...]

Dear Parents, Thank you to the parents who made it for our role plays on Friday.  They were very low key plays but the class enjoyed the opportunity to perform.  The important part to this was giving the students an authentic audience to perform in front of for their learning.  This will set us up [...]

Dear Parents, I made mention in my blog post last week that we are in need of an audience for this Friday to watch us perform our role plays.  Please see the details below. What:  Reading to entertain an audience.  We are performing role plays as a part of our reading groups. When: Friday March [...]

Quick reminder that 2A are visiting the Book Fair tomorrow (Thursday) at 2:00pm in the LLAC.  Parents are welcome to join us.   If not, you may want to give your child some money so that they can choose a book to buy.  I suggest somewhere between $100 – $150.  If you are reluctant to give [...]

Gong xi fa cai/Kung hei fat choi! I hope everyone had a terrific break and ready for some exciting weeks of school coming up.  Liz, Matilda and myself  had a very relaxing time in Penang although the beach and the big pool were a little intimidating for Matilda! Although, this was a short week, we [...]

On Monday we will begin our new unit of inquiry.  The theme of ‘How We Organize Ourselves’ is the focus.  Students will be inquiring into the value of goods and services and examine how this is connected to what people buy, sell and produce. To jump start this unit and get the children immersed immediately, [...]

Please note that I have just been informed the ‘100 Days Smarter Cookie’ order form is due tomorrow (Thursday).  If your child wants to order a cookie for the 100th day of school, please print the form out tonight and get them in tomorrow morning. Brendan

Dear Parents, We had our dental visit on Monday and appears our teeth are in pretty good shape.  No complaints (from students or dentists) so that is always a good sign. All areas of the curriculum this week have been a continuation from last week.  For writing and reading, we have continued working with non-fiction [...]

Dear Parents, Thank-you for the generous Christmas present.  My wife was very happy with the gift voucher to Zuma, the restaurant.  I just hope she will consider taking me when she uses it! We had a great last week of school with a well organized class party on Tuesday.  Thank-you to Denise and all the [...]

Dear Parents, I have been known to say ‘what an exciting week at school’ quite often, but this week (and the next 5 weeks) was true to that phrase.  The class is incredibly excited about our new unit of inquiry.  The enthusiasm for ‘Space’ is exciting and the knowledge students already have is amazing (I [...]

Dear Parents, Thank-you to everyone for their time and effort to be a part of the 3-Way Learning Reviews.  The School does have high expectations on parents to be involved in their child’s learning and it is clearly obvious that the parents of 2A are no exception!  It was great to have the time for [...]

Dear Parents, I was amazed how respectful our students were during our Remembrance Day service yesterday.  You could hear a pin drop as the students listened to the speakers and choir perform.  I spoke with Mr. Croy and Mr. Hughes afterwards and they agreed as to how impressive the audience was during the service.  Well [...]

Dear Parents, We have our very exciting ‘Space’ unit of inquiry coming up soon and want to take advantage the resources available to us. If you know of a guest speaker, a field trip we could take or some websites we could use, please let us know.  Typically, students are very excited about this unit [...]

Apologies for the late blog post- I forgot to push the published button on Friday! Dear Parents, It is good to be back at school after a refreshing break.  But as I am beginning to learn as a new parent, holidays are not as relaxing as what they use to be! We had a fantastic [...]

Quick reminder that we have our class photo tomorrow.  Please make sure your child is full summer uniform. No P.E. uniform please! Thanks, Brendan

Dear Parents, This will be a short update since we only had a three day week.  For writing, we went through the process of drafting, editing and publishing a short piece of writing.  The use of action verbs and adjectives was exciting to see.  Having taught Grade 1 last year, the improvement these students have [...]

Dear Parents, I am very sorry for the late notice, but we have needed to change our performance time for 2A’s Spotlight Performance.  We rehearsed at 12:20pm on Tuesday and it is at the same time the Upper School have their lunch break.  As a result of this, the students were unable to speak over [...]

Click here to find the script for our Spotlight Performance courtesy of Jason Kennedy. Remember, this is a low key performance in comparison to our traditional whole year level performances. Hope to see you next Thursday @ 12:20 in the Alan Dick Forum!    

(Please note that this note will be sent home tomorrow) Dear Parents, READ, READ, READ! We are excited and eager to begin our home reading program! Beginning tomorrow, your child will be bringing books home for you to share together (this could mean your child reads to you and/or you read to your child). Children [...]

Dear Parents, In proud association with Mr. Jason Kennedy (performing arts teacher) and Mr. Geoff Ko (dance teacher), 2A will be involved in the very first CDNIS Spotlight performance this term!  Details below: What: 2A Dance Performance When: Thursday 27th September Time: 12:20pm  – 1:00pm (show time will be about 20 – 25 mins) Where: [...]

Dear Parents, The class is beginning to settle in really well.  Due to a few unwell students and late starters, we have yet to have a full class at school so far.  I am hoping that will come very soon! It was great to have 2A host the assembly yesterday for the Grade 2 students.  [...]

Here are the following dates for Grade 2 assemblies this year.  Everyone is welcome to attend: Day: Friday Time: 10:10 – 10:50 Where: Alan Dick Forum (6th floor) Dates: 31st August 21st September 12th October 31st October (Halloween- Wednesday) 2nd November 9th November (Remembrance Day) 23rd November 14th December 25th January 8th March 12th April [...]