Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

I am excited about the 2014-2015 school year and the partnerships we will form. Research shows that one of the most useful characteristics of an effective school is building strong home-school connections.   (M. Gauci August 2014)

What a strong statement, and how powerful is it when you see it happen before your very eyes.  I feel quite privileged to be able to see the effect you as parents have on the students when you are at school.  This week's blog entry is dedicated to you, the parents who help out in some way at school.  This week you have shared your expertise in various classes, accompanied classes on field trips, worked tirelessly sewing book bags (hundreds of them!) and adding thousands of barcode stickers to reading books.  You have formed a Chatsworth Parents Group to support us with the big school activities to come, and you have attended our coffee morning and the year 5 assembly.  You have watched your children during after-school activities, and you have shared a story or two with me along the way. The smiles and the excitement of the children when they see you doing all of these things says it all. What great partnerships we are creating, thank you.

Mario Gauci

Head of Primary

Week 7 of Primary Weekly Correspondence

Here is the following correspondence from Primary Office this week;

• Please be reminded that the 'Lost and Found' is cleared the first Friday of the month. 

• If you were unable to attend the recent Chatsworth Parent Group (CPG) meeting but would still like to volunteer for the events outlined below, please send your contact information (name, email and/or phone number) as well as the events you might be interested in to:CPG@chatsworth.com.sg.
  
  
  Upcoming Events:
  UN Day
  Christmas Show
  Chinese New Year
  School Musical
  Spring Fair
  
  
  If you have any special skills or expertise in a particular area, please feel free to forward that information as well and we will place you in contact with the appropriate person. (CPG TEAM)

• Chatsworth Parent Group (CPG)
  Join us at the next CPG meeting! We will be discussing UN day festivities, Deepvali and other events to come later this semester. Coffee and snacks will be provided.
  
  
  RSVP: cpg@chatsworth.com.sg
  What:   CPG Coffee Morning
  When:  October 8, 2014, 9:15 a.m.
  Where:  Main Assembly Hall

• Kindly find the link HERE to read more about the Chatsworth International School Campus Relocation. 

• October School Lunch Menu

• Just a gentle reminder for parents/guardians to return the continuation form to your respective Homeroom teachers, if you have not done so. 

• Kindly find the link HERE to read more about the United Nations Day Community Parade & Food Festival. 

  
  

  Please be informed that there has been a correction to the letter given to your son/daughter today. Wednesday November 13, 2014 is supposed to be Thursday November 13, 2014. 

  
  

  If you have any enquires, please do not hesitate to email Ms Jelena Delic, jribardelic@chatsworth.com.sg

  
  

  Sorry for the inconvenience. 

From the PYP Coordinator

Here at Chatsworth International School we are an IB World School.

What does this mean?

We have gone though a validation process that lasts at least two years. It's a process that involves various levels of scrutiny by the International Baccalaureate organization, from submitting school documents online to formal staff training to on-site visits by IB representatives.

It doesn't stop once we are accredited, we will continue to have IB representatives come every four years and check we are still providing a programme of the quality expected of an IB World School.

Alex Inman

Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.”  Amelia Earhart

There has been lots of "doing" this week in the primary school! 

Art for years 3 to 6 took advantage of the historical street of Emerald Hill Road.  The focus of these field trips has been to invite students to learn, observe and record the beauty and culture of the Peranakan.  

PE lesson for years 3 to 6 enjoyed various running spots around the island during cross country runs. While the Junior years were not on campus, the Early Years students took full advantage of the astroturf for their PE lessons, which they thoroughly enjoyed! 

French, Mandarin and Music classes carried on with the usual excitement. 

Lots of parent activity this week, not only accompanying the students on the field trips but supporting the newly created Chatsworth Parent Group (CPG).  The CPG conducted a meeting inviting parents to be involved in various up and coming Chatsworth activities.  

The school photographers were here this week.  Teachers and students alike had lots of fun taking photographs and the end result should prove to be full of smiles and laughter!

Mario Gauci

Head of Primary

From the PYP Coordinator

We know the PYP is run by International Baccalaureate but what is the IB?

The origins of the IB go back to the late 60's when the IB Diploma was designed to cater for internationally mobile pre-university students. It has now grown and further developed into highly regarded secondary and primary school programmes used all around the world in both state and international schools.

Click here for a larger image

We will look later at what it means to be an IB World School, what the requirements are, how the IB validates us and what their expectations are of us as a school community.

Alex Inman

Week 6 of Primary Weekly Correspondence

Here is the following correspondence from Primary Office this week;

• Chatsworth Orchard Parents Cafe 2014 - 2015

• 'Deepavali' - the festival of lights, will be celebrated in school on the 31st of October during our primary assembly. We will have a fashion show and would need parent volunteers. If you are willing to walk the ramp with/without your child in gorgeous Indian clothing, please email Mrs Gupta -sgupta@chatsworth.com.sg latest by the 15th of October. We will send out more details closer to the date.

• Kindly return the Continuation form to Homeroom Teachers by 30th September. 

• Singapore haze and air quality letter update.

Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

“The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story” - Ursula K. Le Guin This week has seen the launch of the Readers Workshop led by the Literacy Coordinator Ms Kim Riemer. Teachers have been reading allowed to their classes from the first day of school, and now adding to that all classes are in full swing with the reading lessons. During the week I have visited classes and seen the students engaged in mini-lessons on some aspect of reading strategies, students engaged in independent reading time where they respond to their reading in a journal and students sharing what they are reading with other students. During this independent reading time, teachers are engaged in working with small reading groups or conferencing individual students. Parents too helped set up the reading programme by sewing together book bags for the classroom chairs, thank you! Ask your child about what he/she has been reading this week!

Mario Gauci
Head of Primary

From the PYP Coordinator

Many of you will be getting letters home around now asking permission for your child to go on a field trip somewhere in Singapore.

An important part of our programme is to use a variety of resources for the units of inquiry, not just the traditional text book.

When a lot of us were at school we just used a single curriculum text. With the Primary Years Programme we use a range of different resources - texts, internet, artefacts, people within our community and of course the local environment itself to resource our units, provoke the students interest and help drive the lines of inquiry.

If any parents feel they have something to offer, please don't hesitate to get in touch and spend some time with our students.

Alex Inman

Week 5 Primary Weekly Correspondence

Here is the following correspondence from Primary Office this week;

• Chatsworth Family BBQ In order to ensure the day is a success and that we have prepared properly, we ask that you please complete the RSVP form linked below. This will help us greatly with food preparation, as well as games and activities. We ask that you complete the RSVP by Monday, 15th September.

• One event in particular is a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.  From 10:00 am - 11:30 am, we'd love to host a tournament for our younger students (ages 8-12) to battle it out with the help of their family or teachers (all teams must consist of a mix of students and adults as well as male and female players).  From 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, we'll turn the court over to our secondary aged students (the same team structure rules apply) to test their skills.   Each game is 10 minutes in length and the winning team moves on to the next round of play.  If you would like to participate, please email your team name and age category to Angela Collins at our Orchard Campus (acollins@chatsworth.com.sg) by Thursday, September 25th.  If you don't have a team and would like to participate, send your name, age, and whether you are male or female to the same address and you will be slotted onto a team.  Drop-in teams will be accepted but time may run out.  

• Please note that we will be closing the registrations for CCAs at 4.00pm today. After today, all CCA lists will be considered closed until the end of November.We want to thank you once again for your support and patience with our new online signup and we look forward to an improved system based on your feedback in the future.

  
  

  There will be two more opportunities to register for CCAs later in the year, once in January 2015 and once in March 2015.

• Parents please return Fun Run permission slips to your Homeroom Teachers by Monday, 15th September.

• Please note that, starting next week, the Thursday Dodge Ball CCA location has moved from the Astro Turf to the Sports Hall. Pick-up time is at 4.30pm

• Parents Cafe 2014/2015

• Parents Cafe 22 September 2014 Invitation

Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” 
― Aristotle

The Primary School has been a hive of activity this week both in classrooms and on the playground.  Students experienced making popcorn, pizza and pancakes in the Kindergarten while in Year Four students traded and bartered for goods and services at their Bazar. Yoga sessions were held in year three as they investigated healthy living, and  field trip to the Images of Singapore on Sentosa for the Year Six students as they investigate migration.  The week ended on Friday with a celebration of the first Primary House Day event.  The Early Years enjoyed a game of red light and green light during lunch play, while the Junior Years got into playing cops and robbers.  A final House Day assembly facilitated by the team captains ended a wonderful week of learning.  What a fantastic week!

Images of the week:

Mario Gauci
Head of Primary