Term 1 Week 15

Central Idea

Natural materials can undergo changes that may provide challenges and benefits for society and the environment.

This week, we have started the new unit of inquiry with a focus on science. As you can see from our central idea above, some of the language is difficult, and so we began by thinking through it step by step. We broke it down into simple language and added notes to clarify meaning. In this way we began to grasp the central idea.  In this picture Ms.Cynthia is reading a book about Materials. A lot of new vocabulary was explained and discussed. As you see, this inquiry also links with our English work because there is a lot of vocabulary extension work and reading of non-fiction books on the subject too. 

For our exhibition process, Inn, Bifern, and Plai have started to take fabric-bag orders from customers within our campus. They set up their booth in front of the PY building on Thursday. This was incredibly interesting to many students. Please ask them to explain why they are doing this.

Please support your children in preparing for the PYP Exhibition.  Here is a list of things you can do at home:

              1. Ask them to show you their journal. Update it several times a week

2. take your child out to see places that relate to their project.

            3. Introduce them to people who know enough to help them further. 

Important: Please keep this work going in the evenings and weekends. 

Reminders: 

1. Parent conference 2nd - 4th December 2019

2. Father's Day 5th December 2019 (holiday)

3. Christmas event 12th December 2019 (Y7 Nativity) 

Term 1 Week 14

Central Idea:

As we pursue our passions we discover opportunities to take action.

This week we have been learning about what it actually means to 'take action'. We have learned that action has five clear kinds

We considered what we hope to achieve and then connected it to one or two of the kinds of action.
Please ask your child to show you their exhibition journal and explain what kind of action they are planning to take. You will find that some of their plans will be quite challenging to carry out, and so please help to plan only what is realistic to do.

We also related out language work to our the Exhibition process this week. One of the objectives of Year 7 English is to identify main ideas, themes and perspectives, and so we read someone else's journal and analysed to decide what their main ideas and themes were. It was also an opportunity for peer editing, that is advising one another on improvements to the text.

The Exhibition journal is ongoing homework, and so it would be helpful if you would please support your child with this. There will probably be questions to ask; please do just send an email or see the teacher.

Unit 2 Parent Conference Photos

Maths

This week, we have delved further into what mathematical expressions are and how they can be simplified. The students have been simplifying expressions using the four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and considering the inverse and use of brackets. We also touched on perimeter and area and how algebraic thinking can be used to solve these problems. In addition, we have looked at how algebra can be used for scatter graphs and how we can identify whether an expression would produce a straight line on a graph.

The students have their Algebraic Notation assessment on Monday 25th November. It is important that the students revise over the weekend in preparation for this assessment. They should be focusing on single function machines, two-step function machines, simplifying expressions including brackets and the use of equations for straight line graphs. I would also suggest that if your child is unsure of their multiplication and division facts, that they also practice this.

Next week, after the assessment, we will be moving on Equality and Equivalence in Algebraic Thinking. We will focus on understanding mathematical equality, understanding and using fact families in algebra and solving one step equations using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The date of the Equality and Equivalence assessment will be Monday 9th December 2019. If there are any changes to this, you will be notified.

Please contact me if you have any questions on charlotte.r@udoninternationalschool.com.

Christmas Event 12 December 
Students go home at 2:45. The event starts at 4:30 and ends at 7:30
Y7 will retell The Nativity. Please come and enjoy our special evening of entertainment.

Term 1 Week 13

Vision

Udon Thani International School (UDIS) inspires internationally-minded, balanced learners who thrive and become active, global citizens.

Did you notice that our vision has been inserted at the top of the page? This has been done so that we can keep in mind what we are about, where are headed and why we do what we do. All of our teaching and learning is related to this.


Central Idea: As we pursue our passions we discover opportunities to take actions.

Unit of Inquiry
This week we have continued to work on the PYP Exhibition journal. Many parents are unaware of this important event. If you missed our information session please speak to other parents who attended. For your child to do well in this they will need support from you at home.

In this finding out part of the inquiry students have been going out to visit places of interest to interview knowledgable members of the community. Others have been out to observe and learn by watching people at work.

Several students are involved in making and doing things related to the PYP Exhibition. All of these inquiries are related to the U.N Global Goals for Sustainable Development. The student are becoming more aware that the aim of the PYP Exhibition is to do something to make a difference in their community.

Our weekly homework at this point is to continue to work on the Exhibition Journal, particularly to add evidence of interviews, observations and informative photographs.

Science
We are continuing with the focus on the planets. Students are working towards presenting a digital resource to teach others about three planets. They will need to explain how one of the planets affects the earth and then describe a regular event that takes place on that planet.


English
This week ended with the words 'embellish and exaggerate'. We have been learning how to take a plain sentence and transform it into something much more beautiful.  We inserted similies and worked hard on painting more elaborate pictures with our words.  There is still a lot of work to be done on this, and so it will be continued next week.

Maths

On Monday, the students completed the first of three assessments for this half term, which was on Sequences. All the students achieved very good scores on the assessment. A huge congratulations to Missy and Bua who achieved 100%! This is a big achievement for the girls and their hard work is certainly paying off. The date for the next assessment is Monday 25th November 2019 and will be on Algebraic Notation. 

This week, we have been looking at single-function machines and two-step function machines. We have been really focusing on the vocabulary that we use in algebra. The key terms we have looked at this week are input, output, value, variable, expression, inverse and function. Test your child at home and if they can remember the correct definition. This aspect will be on the upcoming assessment, so I have advised all the students to revise and practice at home. 

Next week, we will be looking at simplifying expressions and using expressions with function machines and graphs. 

If you have any questions, please contact me on charlotte.r@udoninternationalschool.com

Loy Krathong Assembly

Our Loy Krathong assembly this year was quite different. We thought a lot about how we can enjoy this festival but not ruin our environment. Therefore, we made our Krathongs by using bread instead. We were very excited to attend this activity and really happy to see all the parents as well.

Term 1 Week 12

Friday 8th November 2019

Central Idea: As we pursue our passions we discover opportunities to take action.

As this unit continues, we are working hard on our Exhibition journals. We've heard about researching using 'primary sources'. These include interviews, observations and surveys. Many of us have contacted people in the community who we want to speak to. These activities are certainly stretching our research and communication skills.

Parent Open Morning

On Wednesday, we were really excited to see parents coming to our class. We started with Maths lesson and followed with English lesson that morning.

Maths

This week, the students worked in pairs and chose a focus we have been studying so far this year to teach the parents. They then created an activity that they could teach for parents to complete. The students worked really hard on their activities and really enjoyed showing the parents what they knew. They were great communicators and reflectors for this task. 

The students have been coming to the end of their first sub-topic of sequences. A polite reminder that the students have an assessment on Monday 11th November. This will include written and pictorial linear sequences, geometric sequences and finding the nth term and rule. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Next week, we will be starting to look at single-function machines as part of our new subtopic of 'understanding and using the algebraic notation'.

Thank you for visiting our class and please contact me if you have any questions. 

English

In our English lesson, we have enjoyed reading poetry from some lovely poetry books and websites. The most amusing author is Michael Rosen. We tried to read his work in the style that he reads it. We giggled a lot because he goes 'over the top' with his expressions. We learned a lot from him about how to perform poetry in the most effective way. Ask your child to tell you about the poem 'Chocolate Cake'. Another one that amused us was 'The Three Little Pigs'. It was a very different version of the story!

Next week we are going to move on to writing a poem in the style of 'Chocolate cake'. We'll inset lots of smilies. 

Assembly

This week, we had a fantastic opportunity to have an assembly about 'Dealing with Problems'. In this assembly, we read the book called 'What Do You Do with A Problem?' to all teachers and students. We also performed some problem-solving examples to them as well. We were quite pleased that the presentation went very well. We taught the younger students how to deal with their anger. 

Gentle Reminder

On Monday 11th November 2019 (next week), there is Loy Krathong assembly in the court. Please make sure that the students wear Thai costumes or students uniforms.