This week we start the really exciting part of the Unit of Inquiry “A World of Trade”. We will be preparing the goods and services for each group as well as planning an advertisement. More details are below.
Reflections – 17th – 21st November
Students continued keeping a ledger of the money they earned to spend at the trade fair. They also experienced the pain of being taxed for different offences (such as the noise pollution tax, the bad manners tax.) They all realise now that taxes and fines are a part of adult life!
Students were organised into their trading groups and started to discuss the goods and services they may sell at the fair.
Students also watched a video about fair trading and the specific case of the small banana growers in the Caribbean struggling to keep their businesses going because of the power of the multinational companies.
Unit of Inquiry
This week students will continue the preparations for the goods and services they will sell at the Trade Fair in the last week of term.
For the Trade Fair it is important to remember two things:
1. Each student can spend no more than €10 on buying goods for the fair. We would like students to keep spending as low as possible and use recycled materials etc or items they already have at home
2. Students from years 3 to 6 will be buying goods at the fair using our year 6 currency (the Bargo). No real money will be used.
If you have any questions regarding the fair please send a message to Mr Barrett in the school diary or via email.
Mathematics
This week we will continue to focus on multiplication, including multiplication of decimals 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
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
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
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
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Newsletter 17th - 21st November
We are fast approaching Christmas break and we have many exciting events just around the corner, including the Christmas Fair and the Junior School Concert (see dates below). The next month promises to be a busy month, both in and out of the classroom. Help support your child in our current unit by asking them to explain what they have been doing in class.
Reflections – 10th – 14th November
Following on from our work on barter in previous weeks, the children learned more about money and how it has developed and progressed over time. The children also competed in a competition to design the Year 6 currency (ie. the BARGO) which will be used in our current unit of inquiry. The children had lots of fun and generally submitted high-quality designs, with the winners having their designs printed off and distributed to Years 3-6 for use at the end of our unit. The children also began work on creating a ‘country profile’ poster for a randomly assigned country, outlining certain facts (found via our class blogs) about their country including its political system, currency, main exports, trading partners, etc. We also graphed the survey results of an earlier homework task (using MS Excel) where we found out where the majority of our clothing, food and electrical products come from.
This Week
Unit of Inquiry
This week we will continue to investigate the trading relationship between various countries, namely what products these countries export and who their main trading partners are. The children will be presenting their findings in the form of a poster. We will also begin to use the BARGO in class as part of our miniature economy. Throughout the week and in the weeks ahead, the children will earn BARGOS to use during our final assessment. But BEWARE, as well as earning BARGOS, the children will also be taxed each week, ie. income tax, noise pollution tax, etc.
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. 45 X 7) using a variety of methods (both mental and written). In order to support our multiplication work in class, the children have been told to practise their timestables up to 10 as part of their homework. It is very important that your child practise their timestables if they can’t recall these basic number facts. The children will also begin using a ‘Ledger’ to record various financial data, eg. debit, credit , balance, etc. in preparation for our summative assessment. These calculations will mainly involve the addition and subtraction of numbers up to 2-decimal points.
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. We will also use our research skills to complete our ‘country profile’ posters and to write about the major industries and exports of different countries from around the world. Meanwhile, our reading groups will continue to work hard at improving the children’s reading and comprehension skills in relation to non-fiction texts.
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. Look for the A World of Trade link in the Unit of Inquiry menu box to find great websites and information for you and your child.
* Use the class blogs as part of your child’s reading homework. There are many great links to interesting websites and articles on our World of Trade page. Why not ask your child to read a particular article and report back to you the main facts from their reading!
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
* Holiday - Monday December 1
* Christmas Fair – 6th December, 2008 at SDIS
* Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – Wednesday 17th December, 2008
* End of term 1 - Friday, December 19 (classes finish at noon)
* The first UOI reports were sent home last week. Could you please return the UOI reports to school as soon as possible (complete with your signature and any comments you have made). As indicated in the letter attached to the UOI report from Mr Thompson, this is one of the changes to our reporting procedures for 2008/09. We hope you found the new UOI report informative. Please feel free to pass on any feedback you may have.
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
Reflections – 10th – 14th November
Following on from our work on barter in previous weeks, the children learned more about money and how it has developed and progressed over time. The children also competed in a competition to design the Year 6 currency (ie. the BARGO) which will be used in our current unit of inquiry. The children had lots of fun and generally submitted high-quality designs, with the winners having their designs printed off and distributed to Years 3-6 for use at the end of our unit. The children also began work on creating a ‘country profile’ poster for a randomly assigned country, outlining certain facts (found via our class blogs) about their country including its political system, currency, main exports, trading partners, etc. We also graphed the survey results of an earlier homework task (using MS Excel) where we found out where the majority of our clothing, food and electrical products come from.
This Week
Unit of Inquiry
This week we will continue to investigate the trading relationship between various countries, namely what products these countries export and who their main trading partners are. The children will be presenting their findings in the form of a poster. We will also begin to use the BARGO in class as part of our miniature economy. Throughout the week and in the weeks ahead, the children will earn BARGOS to use during our final assessment. But BEWARE, as well as earning BARGOS, the children will also be taxed each week, ie. income tax, noise pollution tax, etc.
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. 45 X 7) using a variety of methods (both mental and written). In order to support our multiplication work in class, the children have been told to practise their timestables up to 10 as part of their homework. It is very important that your child practise their timestables if they can’t recall these basic number facts. The children will also begin using a ‘Ledger’ to record various financial data, eg. debit, credit , balance, etc. in preparation for our summative assessment. These calculations will mainly involve the addition and subtraction of numbers up to 2-decimal points.
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. We will also use our research skills to complete our ‘country profile’ posters and to write about the major industries and exports of different countries from around the world. Meanwhile, our reading groups will continue to work hard at improving the children’s reading and comprehension skills in relation to non-fiction texts.
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. Look for the A World of Trade link in the Unit of Inquiry menu box to find great websites and information for you and your child.
* Use the class blogs as part of your child’s reading homework. There are many great links to interesting websites and articles on our World of Trade page. Why not ask your child to read a particular article and report back to you the main facts from their reading!
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
* Holiday - Monday December 1
* Christmas Fair – 6th December, 2008 at SDIS
* Junior School Concert, Celebrations Around the World – Wednesday 17th December, 2008
* End of term 1 - Friday, December 19 (classes finish at noon)
* The first UOI reports were sent home last week. Could you please return the UOI reports to school as soon as possible (complete with your signature and any comments you have made). As indicated in the letter attached to the UOI report from Mr Thompson, this is one of the changes to our reporting procedures for 2008/09. We hope you found the new UOI report informative. Please feel free to pass on any feedback you may have.
With thanks,
David Barrett, David Gocentas and Ms Isabel Costa Pereira
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