Term 2 Week 1

UDIS inspires internationally-minded, balanced learners who thrive and become active, global citizens.

Our unit of inquiry - How the world works

The line of inquiry this week -How societies take advantage of the property of materials.

This week the concepts of  Sustainability, Transformation, Industrialization have been the focus of the inquiry. We have been inquiring into what exactly minerals are, how they are mined and what properties of some very common ones are. As we come to understand more about mining we realise that the question of sustainability arises.

Next week this work will develop into looking more closely at elements and compounds. We'll then inquire into the uses of specific minerals in our modern society. If you have any electronic devices you don't mind us taking apart, please send them into the classroom, It is going to be interesting to see what we find on circuit boards.

Our reading work has been linked closely to the inquiry. We've looked at building vocabulary through reading scientific texts. We've talked a lot about how to read with understanding; it is no use reading ahead when meaning has been lost. 

Writing has involved note-taking skills. This is an area that we need to work more closely on. It is very important that we write original work. Copying and pasting from an online source is not allowed. It is much better to ask for help in understanding the text, than just copying from it. Next week we will look again at simple ways to take notes.

As always, the main and ongoing homework is to read for thirty minutes. Please listen to your child read and talk about the book with them. Also, encourage them to read in their home language too. 

The PYP Exhibition is an important part of the Year 7 curriculum. Please ensure that your child is working on something towards this. The journal should be updated regularly too. Ideally, a good collection of photographs should show the process of what they have been doing.  

Maths

                         

It is the start of a new term and it has been all systems go! As some of you may know, our new topic this term is Applications of Number, which has three sub-topics:

• Solving problems with addition and subtraction
• Solving problems with multiplication and division
• Fractions and percentages of amounts

At the start of any of our topics, the students always complete a pre-assessment. This is not graded but allows me to see the skills that they already acquire and need to learn and develop. I am happy to say that the students have a good understanding of number and the four operations. That being said, it is essential that the students don't just answer the questions, but show their working out on how they achieved their answers. This is something we will be focusing on a lot this term. In addition, this is something that will definitely be required in the end of year assessments. 

This week, we have focused on properties and mental strategies for addition and subtraction. We have also begun to look at using formal methods of addition with integers and decimals. The students have been working with number lines, column addition, bar modelling, part-whole models and using tables to retrieve information to solve problems. 

Next week, we will focus on formal methods of subtraction with integers and decimals. In addition, we will look at choosing appropriate methods like mental strategies, formal written or calculator.

New building
On Friday afternoon we went into the new building. We looked carefully at the plans and tried to understand what it will look like in August with all of the new contents.

A Gentle Reminder

Next week on Thursday 16th January 2020, we will have an overnight camp at Tanita Tara beach. This camp is planned to foster team-building amongst students and develop their social, emotional and life skills. Students will take part in activities which will promote confidence, resilience and a sense of appreciation toward each other. We hope to see you all there.