APRIL 2015 Volume 6, Issue 6 10

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF PRIMARY

Primary Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

Dear Parents, ISD Community Members,

On the 2nd

October Grades 1 and 2 presented at Assembly. Grade 1 expressed their thoughts on friendship through posters. They also sang a song and preformed a poem about friendship. I particularly liked their recipe for friendship. Grade 2 shared their life books with us that contained many memories and their self-portraits. They also sang their own version of “In My Life” by The Beatles. The Kindergarten Unit Celebration on “How we express ourselves” was held on the 10

th October. Photographs of

the learning experiences and self-initiated inquiries were shown through a Power-Point presentation. The parents and children later went back to the Kindergarten area to view the display of children’s artwork done during the unit. It was great to see so many parents taking advantage of the opportunity to be involved in their child’s learning. The PTA General Meeting was held on the 10

th October. The PTA is an

important part of our school community. They are a dedicated group of parents interested in understanding and improving our school, so students can be successful in their learning. The focus is on

We are building a community of responsible and compassionate lifelong learners who are committed to a sustainable future.

Head of Primary’s Message

Feature Articles

Class News

Specialist Highlights

Library News

Dates and Reminders

Dear Parents and ISD Community members, Change in Procedure To make the best use of our time and enhance teaching and learning the Primary Development Team have decided to alter the morning procedure in the Elementary School. Students will still go to the hard court/field to play in the morning where a teacher will be on duty from 7:30am. At 7:45am a bell will go and students will move directly to their classrooms instead of lining up. On Sunday’s each week the bell will go at 7:45am and students will move to the Elementary Well for as short 5 minutes gathering. As always parents are invited to come to the hard court/field each morning and to the Elementary Well on Sunday’s. Events From the 9 -12 March we had a visit from Steve Swinburne. Steve is a published author with a passion for nature and exploring wild places. His books bring to life the amazing and beautiful planet we share. To find out more about Steve click here. Over the week he worked with students and conducted a workshop with staff. A gigantic thank you to Ms. Brooke Mobley for organizing loads of fun activities during Book Week.

We all enjoyed Story Time in the Elementary Well (Craig read Koala Lou by Mem Fox, Sandra read Barry, the Fish with Fingers by Sue Sandra, Leena read a Bangla book written by Sanjida). The children dressed as their favourite book character on Thursday and took part in a parade full of colour and fun. We had two awesome Unit Celebrations. Pre-K students expressed themselves through stories for us and Grade 4 students taught me all about Google Sites proving that we are all lifelong learners. Trips Due to the current situation both Grade 4 and Grade 5 students travelled to Sreepur for an overnight trip this year. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and would like to thank to Mr Abedin and Ms Nadia for opening their property to us again. Grade 3 students ventured outside ISD into the Solmaid community on the 21 April to develop a better understanding of the world around them. Assemblies At a special EY Assembly, Nursery entertained us with the Teddy Bear turn around and Shape songs, PreK shared two items linked to their storytelling unit and KG performed a pirate song and said a Bangla poem. Awesome

On the 18 March Grade 4 shared with us the importance of Internet Safety in the form of a rap and we were lucky to have a visit from the Cat in the Hat who read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss. We celebrated the Bangla New Year with a red and white NU day on the 19

th April and an Assembly on 28

th

April where students from across the Primary, sang, danced and shared a little of the history behind this important occasion.

Sandra Rosentreter Head of Primary

compassionate lifelong learners who

Grade 3 students ventured outside ISD into the Solmaid community on the 21 April to develop a better understanding

Nurseryear

turn around and Shape songs, PreK shared two items linked to their storytelling unit and KG performed a pirate song and said a Bangla poem.

PRIMARY NEWSLETTER | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6 2

Child Safety – Protecting our most valuable resource

“Bangladesh ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in August 1990, marking children’s rights to life, survival and development on the national agenda. Despite this, outdated legislation, inadequate policies and poor services continue to jeopardize the rights of children.There is no comprehensive public system to protect children from violence, abuse or exploitation. A lack of adequate support services for children prevents full implementation of existent government policies. Moreover, many of these policies are not child friendly and are in conflict with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” UNICEF (Retrieved 22

nd April 2015)

Unlike many children across Bangladesh, we are fortunate that the majority of students at ISD are able to access their rights to basic survival needs, healthcare, and quality education. However, even children from the most privileged backgrounds require ongoing efforts to ensure their safety. Examples can be seen in the United States, where it is estimated that more than 28% of children have been exposed to some type of physical abuse, over 20% have been sexually abused and approximately 10% of children have been emotionally abused or neglected. A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds. In Asia and the Pacific, the statistics are less clear; however an estimated 25% of children have had exposure to severe physical abuse. A 2007 study in India indicates an even higher incidence of physical abuse, at 69%. Abused or neglected children are more likely to have later mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. They are 9 times more likely to be involved in criminal activity and 2-3 times more likely to experience alcoholism or drug addiction. The ISD community is taking responsibility to ensure that children under our care are safe from all types of abuse. Among many initiatives, our school has committed to:

A formalized Student Protection Policy (available on our website)

Annual training for all ISD staff for the prevention, identification, and response to potential student harm Confidential counselling services for students and their families Lessons for all grade levels, delivered annually, that address safe/unsafe touch, ‘Safety Steps’, being assertive, and knowing how to find help I encourage parents to speak with their children about personal safety and the lessons they are learning at school. Looking ahead, the partnership with parents and experts is the next step forward to create and sustain a safe and supportive learning community. If you have a passion for the rights and protection of children or would like to contribute in any way, you are most welcome to contact me.

Warm regards,

Jacob Humes

School Psychologist

Sources

https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse-statistics/

http://childsafetourism.org/unicef-statistical-snapshot-child-abuse-east-asia-pacific/

http://wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf

http://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/children_4878.htm

The Summer Slide and the

Rich/Poor Achievement Gap

PRIMARY NEWSLETTER | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6 3

Grade 3

Sharing the Planet: The distribution of wealth

affects communities and individual’s access to equal

opportunities. At the beginning of our unit of inquiry,

the students went on a walking field trip in the

Solmaid area. The objectives were to use observation

skills and communication skills to gather information

about access to education, food, health services,

water and living conditions in the area. The students

made notes, took photographs and interviewed the

younger students at Solmaid about their access to

various resources which are needed to survive.

Following this we went to visit some homes in the

local area to find out about access to basic needs,

shelter, sanitation, water, food and general living

conditions. Now we are inquiring into the Millennium

Development goals to find a global perspective and

learn about how other countries are working towards

achieving these.

Playgroup In playgroup currently the children are exploring and

learning about the wild life. The children have

enjoyed decorating the classroom along with their

teachers and set up a jungle for them to enjoy the

nature of jungle and to learn more about their

favorite wild animals. They are getting to understand

wild animals, what they eat, why these wild animals

are harmful, where they live and why they can’t live

with humans as a domestic pet. Children are having a

lot of fun going in our mini jungle, and acting like a

tiger, lion, etc. They are now able to differentiate

between domestic animals and wild animals; and

becoming more familiar with animals which are

dangerous and which are not.

KG Kindergarten’s Artisan Workshop

During this unit “Sharing the planet” KG

children explored plants, cared for them,

learned what products are derived from them

and how they contribute to our life on Earth.

The children participated in “Artisan

Workshop” which gave them exposure to

plants and their purposes as well as products

derived from plants, and they learned that

plants are not just decorative or to produce

food. The children planted seeds in the

garden as well as grew seeds in the classroom

and learned about taking responsibility for

these seeds’ welfare. They took responsibility

for watering the plants and maintaining the

garden without weeds so that the plants can

grow. The children also developed the

awareness of protecting our environment.

KG

During this unit “Sharing the planet” KG

children explored plants, cared for

learned what products are derived from them

and how they contribute to our life on Earth.

The children participated in “Artisan

Workshop” which gave them exposure to

plants and their purposes as well as products

derived from plants, and they learne

plants are not just decorative or to produce

food. The children planted seeds in the

garden as well as grew seeds in the classroom

nature of jungle and to learn more about their

favorite wild animals.

wild animals, what they eat, why these wild animals

are harmful, where they live and why they can’t live

with humans a

lot of fun going in our mini jungle, and acting like a

tiger, lion, etc. They are now able to differentiate

between domestic animals and wild animals; and

becoming more familiar with animals which are

dangerous and w

learn about how other countries are working towards

achieving these.

PRIMARY NEWSLETTER | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6 4

ICT

Recently, KG students have learned about and developed skills of copying and pasting on the computer. They have experimented with this skill while they explored tools and features of ‘MS Paint’ and ‘Kidspiration’. They have created patterns applying this skill and more over to investigate inserting and formatting texts.

PERFORMING ARTS

"Grade 2 is learning the Science of Sound in Performing Arts class. A highlight of this month’s inquiry was creating and experimenting with water xylophones. We learned about pitch and tempo, identifying how different levels of water in glass jars changed the pitch and created water xylophones with a full range from low to high pitch. Students conducted an investigation using different types of mallets and ways of striking the jars to generate a variety of sounds. The project culminated with creative water xylophone compositions, which the students performed in front of their peers."

Bangla

Pohela Boishakh is the most colorful

festival that is celebrated widely

among the Bangladeshi community

around the world. On April 29th,

Grade 3 students performed in the

special assembly to welcome the

New-Year with a new hope of peace,

prosperity and goodwill. They

represented their enthusiasm and

confidence through a fashion show.

This is how the students learn to

communicate with each other

demonstrating International

Mindedness, by joining in the vivid

world of diversity.

ART

Grade 4 has been extremely busy in the past couple of months planning and working on 2 amazing mosaic murals. Grade 4 Inquirers learned about “Street Art” and mural-making from around the world including South Asia, and then planned the themes for their artwork based on their own interpretation of society and values. They worked together in teams to determine what was most important to portray and then as a whole class to execute 2 separate but equally stunning portrayals of Bangladesh and the International community in Dhaka. Great job, Grade 4's!

ICT

culminated with creative water xylophone compositions, which the students performed in front of their peers."

P.E.

In PE, students have been engaged in the Games unit. They are learning how to catch, throw, pass to a teammate, and communicate with each other to attack and defend effectively in games. Some of the games include modified football, basketball, burn ball, and volleyball.

Recently, KG students have learned about and developed skills of coppasting on the computer. They have experimented with this skill while they explored tools and features of and ‘patterns applying this skill and more over to investigate inserting and formatting texts.

ICT

PRIMARY NEWSLETTER | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 6 5

ADDRESS Plot 80, Block E, Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka – 1229, Bangladesh Tel: (88 02) 8401101-7, Email: info@isdbd.org, Website:

www.isdbd.org

Primary Assembly

Primary Assembly (Grade 3& Visual Art) will

be held on Wednesday the 13th May, 2015 at

1:35pm in the Auditorium.

Primary Assembly (Grade 2 & ICT) will be

held on Wednesday the 27thMay, 2015 at

1:35pm in the Auditorium.

Primary Cricket

Gr-5 students are organizing a primary

cricket match on 18th May, 2015 at

2:30-4:30pm at ISD filed. Gr-3 to 5

students are participating this match.

Please come and cheer for them!!

Nursery Unit Celebration

Nursery is planning to have their Unit

Celebration” How we express ourselves” on

2nd June, 2015 at 1:15pm-2:20pm in the

Early Years Well. All Nursery parents are

invited to attend the program.

Late Start: PreK-G5

ISD will be having a Late Start on

Wednesday 3rd June, 2015.

Students need to be at school by 10:30am.

G1-G5 students are to assemble on the

Hard Court and Pre-K and KG students are

to go directly to their classroom. PG and

Nursery class as usual.

Step-Up Days

All Primary students will participate in

Step-Up days to help prepare them for

next year.

Playgroup – Grade 4 on 31st May, 2015

Grade 5 on the 31st May and 1st June

2015.

LIBRARY

Last week for student check out May

31- June 4

All Library books due June 11th.

Last day of CCP

4th June will be the last day of CCP for

this academic year.

Celebrating 15th Anniversary

STS Educational group has organized a gala

dinner on 24th May,2015 at 6pm to 10pm.

At: International Convention City Bashundhara

“Let’s celebrate together”