Primary Newsletter
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ISH NEWS # 04 PRIMARY SCHOOL
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Primary Newsletter, The International School of The Hague, IPC
Transcript of Primary Newsletter
ISHNEWS
#04PRIMARY SCHOOL
Primary Newsletter | Issue 04 | 12 October 2012
The International School of The HagueP. O. Box 520472505 CA The HagueWijndaelerduin 12554 BX The Hague [email protected]
Primary SchoolTelephone +31 (0)70 338 4567Fax +31 (0)70 328 2049Email [email protected]
This Issue is made byVerona Schroder [email protected] contact for Newsletter items
In this issue
3 Dear ISH News Readers,
4 Mother Tongue News
5-6 Primary News
7 Dates for your Diary
8-9 Primary News
*Cover photo taken by Christel van Meeuwen
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Dear Parents,
Some of the highlights of the past two weeks have been the start of the first ever ISH ‘Rock Band’ and the African drumming workshop both of which you can read about in greater detail elsewhere in this Newsletter. As part of their IPC topic on toys, our Year 2 children have visited two toy factories. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy their experience and you will be able to find out more about in the next Newsletter.
In the past fortnight we have held two very successful information giving evenings for parents. The EAL team led by Lara Rikers and Pascale Hertay talked about the support we provide to children for whom English is an Additional Language. They also outlined our Mother Tongue programme both within the curriculum and extra curricular. This week Sarah Goodhand, supported by Sue Tee, met with parents of Pre-Reception children in preparation for the school visit next week.
Latest legislation from the Dutch Government has placed the emphasis on schools finding appropriate places for children with specific learning needs rather than the onus being on the parents. As part of the process schools are being asked to define their understanding of specific learning needs and to evaluate the support they are able to provide. To facilitate this process, on Friday, 27th September, the Hague Centre for Education Advice (HCO) led a whole day workshop for ISH Primary Teachers. All attending staff were fully engaged in the workshops and it provided us with an excellent opportunity to reflect on our practice. The presenters defined a ‘paradigm shift’ in the way we think about supporting children’s learning, the outcome was a reinforcement that our approach is at the cutting edge of current educational thinking. The presenters were incredibly impressed, not only with the knowledge and understanding displayed by our teachers, but also with their professionalism and the level of discussion that took place. We should all be justifiably proud of their achievements.
I would like to thank everybody for their support in ensuring that the children arrive on time to start their learning promptly. In a little over a week, lateness has declined from almost one hundred a day to eight. I do appreciate that traffic continues to be a problem at the beginning and end of the day with the main problem occurring on the roads surrounding the school. I have written to the Municipality once again to make them aware of our concerns and await their reply with interest.
Have a relaxing weekend and a safe and enjoyable mid Term break.
Kevin Rae - Primary Principal
Dear ISH News Readers,
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Primary Newsletter | Issue 04 | 12 October 2012
Mother Tongue News
Dear Parents,Thank you to all the parents that attended our EAL (English as an Additional Language) and MT (Mother Tongue) information evening during which we shared our philosophy on language developments and how we support our students in our school. We are aware we shared a lot of information during this meeting, if you have more questions please feel free to contact us. As promised we will put more information on EAL and MT in our newsletters. Should you wish, you will also be able to meet with us during the Parent Consultation Evenings.We will soon have our first holiday. If you are so fortunate as to visit your home country please remember to bring back different kinds of books, songs, videos, board games etc...in your MT. Our MT library endeavours to provide more books in different languages, if you are willing to buy and bring back books in languages that we may not have an ample supply of, please contact me.
Knowledge to Share-Here is the reference to a book on bilingualism: A parents’ and teachers’ guide to Bilingualism, Colin Baker, Multilingual Matters LTD.-The web link for the poem Lost of my tongue from Sujata Bhatt is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ogKoIBxQ4I-You will find more information and will see some examples of learning with the EAL team by following this link: http://isheal1.blogspot.com . You can also scan the QR code
Mother Tongue within the CurriculumWe now have over 120 students from secondary joining us during MT sessions. Thanks to our big MT buddies we are receiving support for 33 of our languages. This is the most we have ever had. It is wonderful to see some of our secondary students coming in to help their little brothers or sisters in the primary. This is a perfect example of our vision of MT not being just a language, but a key element in a family.
After School Mother Tongue ProgrammeAs well as organising Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Arabic and Portuguese MT programmes and facilitating Catalan, Bulgarian and Hungarian, we will be start up a Danish speaking group. We are currently in contact with the Romanian embassy and are exploring the possibility of a class starting in our school soon. If you are new to
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Primary Newsthe ISH and your child/ren has not had the opportunity to join the MT class yet, or if you would like more information about this programme please contact Ms. Cock [email protected]
RequestAdvanced French class: If French is not your Mother Tongue, but you have a child that has developed French as a strong language by living in a French speaking country and/or by being immersed in a French speaking nursery and/or school and you would like your child to maintain their French language level, please contact Mr. Dufour directly [email protected] . If there is enough interest, Mr Dufour is happy to open a class for students, these classes will take place at our school.
I wish you all a lovely autumn break.
Pascale Hertay - Deputy Head, [email protected]
MR NewsThe MR is pleased to announce that Mr. Dirk Dobbelaere will be continuing as Parent Representative. This will be Dirk’s third consecutive three year term. With the movement of his youngest child to Secondary, Mr. Maarten Buijs has stepped down as MR Parent Representative. We appreciate all of the effort, energy and expertise that Mr. Buijs brought to the MR during his tenure.In cases such as this where a seat on the MR has been vacated prior to the end of a term, the MR appoints a new member for the remainder of that term. We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Malcolm Nicolson to the MR for the coming two years. September marked the end of Ms. Dianna Bradley’s term as Teacher Representative on the MR. The staff has really benefitted from her insight, openness and dedication in this role and we are grateful for all of the energy she put into this position. The MR welcomes Ms. Nikki Welsh who was elected as a Teacher Representative during the recent staff elections.Information about all of our MR members can be found on the MR page of our website and approved minutes can be obtained from the Primary Office.
Regards,Kevin CuristonPrimary MR Chairman
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Primary Newsletter | Issue 04 | 12 October 2012
Primary NewsMusic UpdateMusic is Blossoming at the ISH PrimaryDespite heading towards the Autumn break, music at the ISH Primary is blossoming! This term we have seen the birth of ISH ROCK BAND and ISH STRING ENSEMBLE; we have organised a Djembè workshop and the ISH PRIMARY CHOIR will start rehearsals soon! The purpose of the band, ensemble and choir is to provide our students with a real musical experience: a social and academic challenge for allThese initiatives support community efforts by joining our students together as a group. Performing arts can also provide students with many of the SQUISH attributes: a successful young musician will learn to be resilient, cooperative, creative, adaptable, respectful and an inquirer. I hope all students enjoy their musical experience Here are some pictures of our recently formed ISH Rock Band, ISH String Ensemble and the Djembè Workshop.After the Autumn break two dance workshops will take place (Year 4 and Year 5 on 14 and 15th November respectively) and the ISH PRIMARY CHOIR will perform a concert with Viotta Orchestra (November 24th).Looking forward to it all!Ms Titan [email protected]
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Dates for your Diary
October Holiday - Students back to
school on Monday, 29 October
Green Day - All children to be dressed
in Green - More info to follow soon
Halloween Party - 18:00
Maths Evening Year 1-2
18:00-19:30
Parent Consultations - 17:30
Parent Consultations - 15:30
Primary Concert
October November
20
31
Please check our website for a complete calendar.CT Days are Compensation Days that Teaching Staff are allowed to make use of during the school year, this in accordance with Dutch Labour Laws as stipulated by the CAO
Mr Silvester
Mr Gray
Ms van MierloMs WelshMs Wernars
Ms WelshMs Wernars
Ms Wernars
CT Days
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08 15 - 19
18 - 19
15
24
29
30
31
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Primary Newsletter | Issue 04 | 12 October 2012
Primary NewsDutch Department News
ISH Reading Out Loud ContestDear Parents, The ISH will participate in the Dutch National Reading Out Loud Contest for the fourth time. ISH readers from both Primary year 6 and Secondary year 7 will be able to take part in this contest. This year the contest is very special, the National Reading Out Loud Foundation will host its twentieth contest. To mark this occasion the national winner will receive something very special. The winning student will be the new director of the “Kinderboekenmuseum” in The Hague. Perhaps this will be an ISH student, we think this would be fantastic.
If your child is interested, please have them sign up during Dutch class, the closing date is Friday, 18 October, we are delighted that many students have signed up already. The classroom rounds in year 6 and year 7 will start after the Autumn break. The class winners from year 6 and year 7 (4 students from each yeargroup) will then compete in the ISH reading out loud contest on 22 November in the Primary Library starting at 3.15 -6.00 pmThe Dutch team is very excited and we are looking forward to hearing you read from your favourite books. If you have questions, please email me [email protected]
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Primary NewsDear ISH parents
Last Friday we held our primary’s music market, attending children took an active part in this event.Teachers from the Malcolm Davies Music Centre, gave a wonderful musical demonstration and explanation on various composers, instruments, ensembles and duo’s.Our children enjoyed a wide range of music from Beethoven to the Pink Panther, it was a great success for teachers and children alike.I would like to invite your child to become part of our Centre’s musical family, where he/she can enjoy music making, learn to play an instrument, performing in and outside of school, play in a band, sing in a choir and much much more.For further information please visit our website, you are more than welcome to email me for any questions. With musical regards
Idan GoldwasserMalcolm Davies Music Centre’s [email protected] 9
