Week 16

Dear Parents and Students,

Our Christmas performance was a great success on Wednesday. It was an excellent turnout, and it was great to see so many parents present to enjoy the show. All the hard work over the last few weeks has paid off with a great performance. A big thank you goes out to Mrs Johnson, who has put in so much work with not just our class, but all of the classes at HIS. Thanks also to Mr Ferreira and the Grade 6 students for compèring the show.

In the Classroom:

Maths

We have just completed Topic 8, and our test took place on Wednesday. We also had a benchmark test on Thursday, and a cumulative test on Friday. These tests required no studying, as they are designed to gauge our retention rate of all topics covered so far this year. Next week, we will begin our next topic, which focuses on geometry.

Literacy Workshop

We read and discussed The Stranger. The story instigated some very interesting discussions in our Reading Circles, and we found that a single story can be interpreted in many ways. We also completed our grammar unit dedicated to verbs, and we will review the unit next week. We will also read Cendrillon, which is a story that might seem quite familiar to us all.

Science

We enjoyed another Mystery Science activity this week as we engineered a model carnival ride and observed the properties of force and inertia. Next week, we will extend our project by building a model rollercoaster, which will allow us to continue our investigations of potential and kinetic energy.

Social Studies

We have been reading about and discussing the American Northeast. We are currently investigating how the region has changed since European settlement through to today, and how the Industrial Revolution affected life in the region. Next week, we will focus on what the region is like today, and how it compares with other parts of the world.

Other important information

Next Thursday, we will have a pyjama party in the classroom to celebrate the end of the year and winter vacation. Students are welcome to bring snacks to share, although this is not an obligation. Although it is a pyjama party, please make sure you have appropriate clothing, as another cold air mass is expected this weekend, and it may still be very cold next week. If you wish, you may bring a cushion/pillow/teddy-bear/soft blanky to cuddle up with while we watch a movie.

As you know, on Friday, students will be dismissed at between 12:00-12:10 pm. The departure schedule is below.

I hope everyone enjoys the winter break, and I wish you all safe journeys if you are traveling. We have one more week before our vacation, though, so students, I’ll see you all on Monday!

Friday schedule:

11:30, have lunch

12:00, bus leaves

12:10, parents pick-up

Dates to remember:
Thu.                Dec 12 :           Pyjama party

Fri.                  Dec 13 :           Half Day

Dec 14 – Jan 5                        Winter Vacation