Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

“Teaching children is an accomplishment; getting children excited about learning is an achievement.”-Robert John Meehan

The major curriculum focus this year in the primary school is literacy, led by our Literacy Coordinator, Ms. Riemer.  Professional development in teaching strategies for writing and reading led by Ms Riemer took place during orientation week and ongoing professional development throughout the year during our staff meetings is planned.  This week I have been looking out for the different ways in which we are getting our students excited about writing, from as early as Year 1 right through to Year 6. The Writing Workshop, as it is called, is setup whereby the teacher is coach, guiding their students as authors. It is through this writing, when students put pencil to paper  that teachers can confer and support students in finding the special moments of their lives to write about.  Later in the editing process, teachers explore more fundamentals of writing (organizing, grammar, spelling and handwriting) on an individual basis. Students are becoming excited about their writing, sharing their stories with enthusiasm, and this translates into life-long writers! 

Mario Gauci
Head of Primary

From the PYP Coordinator

Last week I mentioned the units of inquiry had started, the units are something that sets us apart from national curriculum or state schools.

So what are units?

The school year for each Year level is divided up into 6 "blocks" - units of inquiry (except Kindergarten which has 4). The units have a Central Idea - a timeless, globally significant statement or idea that the students will inquire into throughout the duration of the unit. All the subjects in the classroom are linked into this as well as the specialists lessons when possible.

So when you look at your child's timetable and see lots of unit time but no Maths or Science etc...yes we teach it, its just embedded into the unit.

If you come to our PYP Parent Cafes, dates published next week, we can speak more about this and show you how it works.

Week 3 Parent Weekly Correspondence

Here is the following correspondence from Primary Office this week;

• Welcome to Academic Year 2014 - 2015 from our Head of Schools, Mr Tyler Sherwood.

• Primary Blog 

• House Events
  Our House Captains are excited to present our first House Day and activities on Friday September 5. All students should dress in their House Shirts. The first half of lunch will be our JYP House Event of Cops and Robbers and second half of lunch will be our EYP House Event Red Light, Green Light. We hope all students come out to participate in the events and earn the first House points of the year! 
  
  
  Merits 
  Merits will also begin starting September 8. Teachers will be looking to give  merits to students who exhibit the IB Learner Profile Attributes. Each merit counts as a point for their House as well! The students will be fully informed at the house assembly. 
  
  
  Class Representative Elections 
  The class representative elections will take place on Sept 9 and Sept 10. Full details regarding the positions of responsibility will be outlined at the House Assembly on Sept 5. Students should make their interest known to their homeroom teacher by September 8. Each student will be asked to make a short (less than 1 minute) speech to their class about why they would like to be the class representative. 
  
  
  1st Semester House Dates 
  Fri. Sept. 5 - House Colour Day & Lunch Activities, House Assembly (Caring)
  Wed Sept 9 and Thurs. Sept. 10 - Class Rep Elections (in classes Y3-6)
  Fri. Oct. 10 -  House Colour Day & Lunch Activities, House Assembly (Balance)
  Fri. Nov. 7 -  House Colour Day & Lunch Activities, House Assembly (Communicator)
  Fri. Dec. 5 -  House Colour Day & Lunch Activities, House Assembly (Communicator)

• Specialist Website - The websites for Specialist Subject teachers are now live!  To access them, please go to Class Resources (JYP) or Fun &Games (EYP) on your child's homeroom class site and select the icon for a specific subject. They will be updated regularly, similar to our class sites. 

Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” 
― A.A. Milne

What and exciting first full week at school, and what a busy week it was!  Thank you to all the parents who visited the school during the Parent Orientations in Y1 to Y6, it was great to meet you all and welcome you to the 2014-2015 school year.

Students in all classes were hard at work this week settling into their new routines and establishing classroom essential agreements. Teachers and children had lots of fun in class, on the playground and even in the canteen! The perfect ingredient for children and adults in building a learning community.

The primary school moved the CCA sign up to an online platform for the very first time and went live on Monday. In just over 12 hours, we had more than half of our Primary community login and sign up for one of our 38 CCAs offered this term. Thank you to Ms Lorette Herbert and Mr Rob Newberry for all the preparation that went into developing this platform.

Images of the week...

Mario Gauci
Head of Primary

From the PYP Coordinator

So the school year has begun, all students back and happy in class and the first units of inquiry have begun!

But how to introduce the units to the students? 

How to get students interested in what they are going to inquire into?

Year 6 is inquiring into migration and the reasons behind why people migrate. So to catch the interest of the students, Mr Snell and Mr Withington's classrooms started to develop "problems with resources".

No air con....lack of paper....stationary shortage....

So migrated to Ms Riemers class, where followed a very interesting discussion and brainstorming session.

Students were very engaged in this experience and very interested in what will come next in the unit!

Alex Inman

Week 2 Parent Weekly Correspondence

Here is the following correspondence from Primary Office this week;

• We are pleased to announce the new classroom websites are now live! Your child's homeroom teacher will email you with a link to their class site. Please be sure to view it every Friday for updates from the homeroom teacher and to see media of the students in action. There is also a link to our Primary Updates and calendar on the Important Information page to help keep you informed. Classroom Resources (JYP) or Fun & Games (EYP) will provide you and your child the opportunity to continue the learning at home with valuable resources. Under this tab, you will also find links to the specialist websites. Please note that specialist websites will be accessible as of Friday August 29. We hope you take some time with your child and get to know the new websites. 

• The swimming module for Year 4, 5 and 6 will start in the week beginning 1st September and will run until 1st November 2014. Click here for the Y4-Y6 Swim Schedule Letter.

• CCAs - Note that you have until Wednesday 3rd September 2014 to sign-up your child/ren for CCAs with the online system linked on our website. Click here for Parents Guidelines for ECA/CCAs, here for CCA sign-ups.

• ESL Orientation  - It will take place next week on Friday, the 29th, at 9.00 am in the ESL room.

• Bus/Pick-up arrangements reminder - To avoid confusion please notify the bus company and Homeroom Teachers before 2pm of any changes to your child's going home arrangements. Brenda (BT & Tan: 67370330)

Direct Link to CCA Page

Here is the link to the CCA page, please note that you will not be able to register before 7pm tonight.

Thank you

Malissa Abdul Rahman
Primary Admin Assistant

Welcome to a Chatsworth International Baccalaureate education!

As parents we always want the best for our children. As educators we always make sure we give the best we can to your children.

This is a constant, whether you are in a Japanese inner city school, a rural 20 student primary school in Yorkshire or an Indian national curriculum school operating in New York.

So what makes us different from a school, "back home"or a national curriculum school overseas?

As we go through the school year, we will post on the blog information about the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) showing you how it works and what it is all about.

Welcome to the IB video here!

Watch out also for our monthly Parent Cafes - dates to be published shortly - monthly get togethers when a Chatsworth educator will give you a hands on experience or talk about how we do things in the classroom; from what is the IB, how does the PYP work... to inquiry based maths teaching... to having fun in our science lab dissecting flowers.

Welcome to Chatsworth, welcome to an IB education!

Alex Inman
Assistant Head of Primary and PYP Coordinator

New Classroom Websites

Homeroom teachers will be launching their new classroom websites on Friday August 22. These websites will provide parents and guardians with a window into their child's class with important information, media, homework, classroom resources and other important information.Your child's homeroom teacher will email you the link next Friday and we ask that you bookmark it for future  and regular use. You will also be able to access specialist information under classroom resources. Websites will be updated at least once a week on Fridays. 

ECA Schedule 2014-2015

This is the the External-Curricular Activities (ECAS) Schedule for session 1 from Monday September 8th, 2014 until Friday November 28th, 2014.

Please remember to join our ECA assembly in the Main Hall on Friday August 22nd, 2014 from 1.00pm to 1.45pm for EY and from 1.45pm to 2.30pm for JY. Providers will be available for a meet and greet session, registration and sign-ups in the Sports Hall from 3.00pm to 4.30pm on the same day. 

       External-curricular Activities 2014-2015 Year Groups

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Fictive Fingers (Arts and Crafts) Y3 - Y6	Hyun Taekwondo Academy Y1 - Y6	Little League Soccer Y1- Y6	Music (Drum)  Y1-Y3	Fun Science Y1- Y6
Morph Theatre Y3 - Y6	Zumba Dance Y3-Y6			Music (Ukulele) Y1-Y3
	Torpedo Swimming Y1-Y2
	Zumba Junior Y1 -Y2

Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."
- Sydney J. Harris

The quiet hallways at the beginning of the week were transformed on Wednesday into hallways that burst into life with sounds of teachers and children.  It was an exciting start with happy children meeting their old friends and making new friends. The smiles on their faces was priceless as they made their way to their classrooms and through the hallways.  Some even made their way to the Primary Office! Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year!

Mario Gauci
Head of Primary

Primary Handbook 2014 - 2015

Dear Parents,

Please find the link here for  Chatsworth Primary Handbook 2014 - 2015.  Thank you