Newsletter 24th - 28th November

The Unit of Inquiry “A World of Trade” is going well and the students are excited with the arrival of the new Year 6 currency and the task of earning money for the trade fair. No doubt they have told you about that.

Reflections – 17th – 21st November
The children completed the competition to design the Year 6 currency (ie. the BARGO) which will be used in our current unit of inquiry. The children’s high-quality designs caused the teachers to decide to have more than one winning design. In fact we chose several, and these will all be used for the new currency. Students began keeping a ledger of the money they earned to spend later at the trade fair. They also learned that we don’t only earn money, but we spend money. So each class has determined ways in which money can be taxed (such as a noise taxes for noisy students, bad manners tax etc) Students can earn money for working well, good behaviour etc and their ledger keeps a record of their credits and debits.
Last week was disrupted due to Sports events on Thursday and Friday and Mr Barrett’s absence at a conference. The students managed to complete a lot of quality work related to Trading and also revised lots of Maths skills.

Unit of Inquiry
This week we will be investigating fair trading and how the world economy can affect different people and countries. Fair trading will be an important issue in our own trade fair. We will also select our groups for the trade fair. There will be 3 or 4 students in each group.
For the Trade Fair it is important to remember two things:
1. Each student can spend no more than €10 on goods for the fair. (This means each group will have €30-€40 altogether)
2. Goods sold at the fair will be paid for by all students using our year 6 currency (the Bargo). No real money will be used. Students will not be paid back for the money they spend to buy the goods for the fair.

Mathematics
This week we will continue to focus on multiplication in our number groups. We will practise multiplying various two and three-digit numbers using whole numbers (eg. 48 X 78) and start to multiply using decimals. It is important for students to develop a sound knowledge of decimals before they enter Year 7. And decimals, of course, is the basis of most systems of measurement and currency throughout the world.
It is very important that your child is fluent with all timestables. We will continue with regular tables practice.
We will also do some revision testing of work covered so far this term.

English
Our major focus continues to be on persuasive texts, particularly the structure of such texts and the language companies use to convince consumers that they ‘need and/or desire’ certain products. Reading groups will continue to work hard at improving reading and comprehension skills in relation to non-fiction texts about trading.


What can I do to help?
• Don’t forget to check the class blogs to find links to sites that will support your child in their class work. There are two new sites to help with spelling to make homework more fun.
• Look at the homework tasks for the week to make sure your child knows what to do. Please make sure all homework is neat and well set out. Remember, work that is not neat and signed by a parent or guardian will not be marked.

Upcoming Events and Reminders:
• Holiday – 1st December
• Christmas Fair – 6th December, 2008 at SDIS. Don’t forget to bring in goods for the baskets. They can be left in Reception.
• Toys etc for the Student Council collection should be left in the classroom.
• Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – 17th December, 2008
• End of Term 1 – 19th December (classes finish at 12:00pm)

With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira