Friday 18 September 2015

Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway


It has been a real pleasure spending time with our youngest students this week.  After only 5 weeks at school, they are settled and happy, excited about the activities they are participating in.  No sooner have I entered the classroom, when I am in inundated with children wanting to show their learnings. All the children are making sense of their world, inquiring into their wonderings.  A K2 student was inquiring into why a magnetic "Tigger" stuck to some materials and not others! I have the best job in the world because watching the learning first hand is quite a privilege.







Mario Gauci
Head of Primary


Perpsectives from the PYP Coordinator






What do you notice your children doing when they have free time? From a developmental perspective, they are always learning. As you can see from the photos I took today at recess, free time takes on many shapes. Whether it is reading in the quiet library, running, climbing, flying airplanes with a friend, or building imaginary lunches, these times are ways children construct new meanings. Gross motor activities allow them to explore how their bodies work. Constructing and flying planes, gives them experience with cooperation, negotiation, measurement and physics. Imaginary play is where children learn life skills and practice them. Children who find quiet spaces to read, have learned the art of mindfulness. They are finding ways to regenerate and center themselves for the rest of their busy day. Something all us adults can learn from. So the next time you observe your child during their free time, take note at all the different things they are learning.


Kim Riemer
Assistant Head of Primary / PYP Coordinator

Week 6 of the Primary Weekly Correspondence



Primary
  • FUN RUN WEDNESDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER
    Year 3 and 4 students will be running in the Botanic Gardens during the morning and Year 5 and 6  students will run at Labrador Park in the afternoon. Please return the completed consent letters to your child’s homeroom teacher as soon as possible.

  • PARENTS CAFE- Inquiry in PYP
    Date: 21st September 2015
    Time: 9 - 10am
    Venue: Sports Hall
    Presenter: Mr. Michael Lucchesi

    In this hands on and interactive workshop we will explore Inquiry teaching to better understand how students learn at Chatsworth.
    RSVP your seats here.
  • SMS System Test
    Parents & Guardians should have received the SMS from school.
    If you did not receive any SMS from school, email your contact to .
    More details here.
  • Y6 Introduction to the IB Middle Years Program (IB MYP)
    Date: 22 Sep 15
    Time: 6pm
    Venue: Main Hall

    RSVP here.
    More details here.
CCA/ECA
  • This week, we are launching 32 CCAs and 15 ECAs. Please be informed of the following ECA being cancelled due to lack of registrations: Monday Fictive Fingers, Thursday/Friday French/Spanish Studio and Friday Parkour.
  • There will be no CCA/ECA on the following dates: Thursday 24th and Friday 25th September (Hari Raya and teacher training), Mid Term Break and Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th November (teacher training and Deepavali). These dates are also reflected on our school calendar. Due to the high haze level, outdoor CCAs/ECAs will be relocated indoor.
Library
  • PARENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
    Parent volunteers are needed to help return books to the shelf, check out books and put labels on books. If you can spare an hour or two - or more, it please see Ms. Fong in the library or email her at efong@chatsworth.com.sg the hours and days you would like to work.

Hazwani Hassim (Wani)
Primary Administrative 

Thursday 10 September 2015

Week 5 of the Primary Weekly Correspondence



Primary
  • FUN RUN DATE THURSDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER
    Year 3 and 4 students will be running in the Botanic Gardens during the morning and Year 5 and 6  students will run at Labrador Park in the afternoon. Please return the completed consent letters to the your child’s homeroom teacher as soon as possible. Please note if the PSI unfortunately reaches the unhealthy range the event will be postponed and hopefully re scheduled at a later date.
  • PARENTS CAFE- Inquiry in PYP
    Date: 21st September 2015
    Time: 9 - 10am
    Venue: Main Hall
    Presenter: Mr. Michael Lucchesi

    In this hands on and interactive workshop we will explore Inquiry teaching to better understand how students learn at Chatsworth.
    RSVP your seats here so that we have ample chairs set up, as well as ample food and refreshments.
  • CPG INVITE - 18 September 2015 School is back in session and so is the CPG! We would absolutely love it if you could join us for the first coffee morning of the year. You'll be able to chat with the new members of the CPG Team, catch up with old friends and possibly meet some new ones. Hope to see you there! Please RSVP via cpg@chatsworth.com.sg What: CPG Coffee Morning When: September 18, 2015, 9:15 a.m. Where: Main Hall
CCA/ECA
  • CCA CONFIRMATION
    CCA confirmation emails have been sent out on Thursday and we are getting ready to kick off CCA Session 1 on Monday 14th September 2015.
  • SWIM TEAM
    Year 5 and 6 swim team tryouts is Monday September 14th at 3:45.
Library
  • PARENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
    Parent volunteers are needed to help return books to the shelf, check out books and put labels on books. If you can spare an hour or two - or more, it please see Ms. Fong in the library or email her at efong@chatsworth.com.sg the hours and days you would like to work.

Friday 4 September 2015

Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway


House Spirit Days are a lot of fun and today was the first House Spirit Friday.  The activity today was Cup Stacking, which involves students quickly stacking cups.  All the participants had lots of fun trying to stack their cups as fast as possible. Cheering for their colours; Sentosa, Raffles and Changi could be heard from blocks away I am sure!  Thanks to the Spirit Group of teachers and students for a wonderful event.









Parent Cafés begin this month and we have a great line-up of Parent sessions for you. Please see here for attached schedule.

I welcome the Chatsworth Parents Group for 2015-2016.  The CPG is made up of a group of parents who help support the classroom and the school with different events. The CPG’s mission is to bring together students, teachers, parents and guardians to create a harmonious school community by offering support for academic and social events. For more details please contact Tiffany Ma, Melissa Cunningham, Amanda Miller and Anne Porritt.


Mario Gauci
Head of Primary


Perspectives from the PYP Coordinator

Reading assessments are one way we look at the reading strategies your child is using. We have been working together to look at the different ways we assess students. Our faculty all come from different countries and different educational backgrounds. While I feel that is one of the strengths of our programme, it is important for us to find similar assessments and ways to support our students. To best do this, we engage in a practice called moderation. Moderation allows all teachers to share the way they assess with other teams members to make sure we see things similarly. For example, I have been assessing students with their teachers as they read. Then we discuss the results of  what we see and how we will use this information to guide our teaching practice. I enjoy listening to your children reading and then planning with teachers the next steps. You children have lots of smiles as they show us the ways they love to read.  


Kim Riemer
Assistant Head of Primary
PYP Coordinator

Week 4 of the Primary Weekly Correspondence



Primary
  • School Photographers 2015-2016
    Next week (7th-10th September) our school photographers are back in town to take professional shots of individual students and staff as well as group photos and sibling or family photos. Please click here for more information. The schedule for the week.
  • FUN RUN DATE THURSDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER
    Year 3 and 4 students will be running in the Botanic Gardens during the morning and Year 5 and 6  students will run at Labrador Park in the afternoon. Please return the consent letters to the your child’s homeroom teacher as soon as possible.
  • “Art Walk of Emerald Hill”, for Year 3,4,6 Sept 7-10
    Thank you Parents who have kindly offered to join your child’s class. Please meet your class at the Water fountain in the Canteen
CCA/ECA
  • CCA confirmation emails will be out next week and we are getting ready to kick off CCA Session 1 on Monday 14th September 2015. Please note that There will be no CCA/ECA on the following dates: Thursday 24th and Friday 25th September (teacher training and Hari Raya), Mid Term Break and Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th November (teacher training and Deepavali). These dates are also reflected on our school calendar. ECA providers should get in contact with you next week, if not, please inform Mrs. Hebert at lhebert@chatsworth.com.sg