Week 16
Primary
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CCA / ECA
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CCA Session 1 ends 24 November 2017
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Library
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Primary
Parent
Event
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Hazwani Hassim (Wani)
Primary Administrative Assistant
Friday, 17 November 2017
Week 16 of the Primary Weekly Correspondance
Hazwani Hassim (Wani)
Friday, 10 November 2017
Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway
Over the past few months I have been writing about the Primary Years Programme’s “Five Essential Elements” (knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action). Thus far I have addressed skills and attitudes; this week the focus will be on “action”.
Years ago, teacher friend of mine went away to interview with another PYP school. He said that one of the questions posed to him was, “What do you think is the most important of the PYP’s five essential elements?” That is a tough question; I do not think that you can look at the elements in isolation. The teacher felt so nervous that he could not remember any of the elements and he froze. As you can imagine he was unsuccessful in being offered a teaching position at the school. He went on to say that after reflecting on the question, had he been forced to choose one element, he would have said “action”. His reasoning was that, at the end of the day, we want our students to be able to help others, no matter how big or small, by giving back to the community.
The PYP has included action as one of the five essential elements as it is an “explicit expectation... that successful inquiry will lead to responsible action, initiated by the student as a result of the learning process”. It is important to point out that student action does not have to be grandiose fund raising events. My children (as do yours) take action implementing their learning from the units of inquiry in our house consistently. Whether it is saving paper, conserving water or talking about how we can protect endangered animals, our children are aware of the many problems we are all facing globally. With their action they attempt to make others aware as well. This is student driven, authentic action that all stakeholders of Chatsworth International School should be proud of.
I have been receiving feedback from parents regarding our recent PTSC’s held at the end of October. For the most part the information shared with me has been very positive. However, the sharing of parental insights into the conferences has not been formalized. I would like to offer the opportunity to all Primary parents to share their thoughts and feelings regarding the PTSC’s. Please click here to be taken to a quick, 5-question anonymous survey that is designed to gain information into the conferences we host.
I would remind parents that the PTSC’s are designed differently than the traditional Parent-Teacher conferences many of us grew up with when we were in school. As a student, I was never involved in the discussions between my parents and teachers. It makes much more sense to have all three stakeholders engaged in the conversations.
The design of the conferences at Chatsworth, and many other PYP schools is what the IB refers to as Three-Way Conferences described below.
Three-way conferences involve the student, parents and teacher. Students discuss their learning and understanding with their parents and teacher, who are responsible for supporting the student through this process. Students are responsible for reflecting upon work samples they have chosen to share, that have been previously selected with guidance and support from the teacher and could be from the student’s portfolio. The student, parents and the teacher collaborate to establish and identify the student’s strengths and areas for improvement. This may lead to the setting of new goals, with all determining how they can support the achievement of the goals. The teacher is an integral part of the process and takes notes of the discussion. These notes may then be used in the written report. All of the participants must understand the format and their roles prior to the conference (Making the PYP Happen, p. 52).
With that clarifying information, I invite you to complete the survey.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Week 15 of the Primary Weekly Correspondance
Week 15
Primary
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CCA / ECA
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Please note that there will be a delay on the ECA survey.
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Library
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Primary
Parent
Event
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Hazwani Hassim (Wani)
Primary Administrative Assistant
Friday, 3 November 2017
Week 14 of the Primary Weekly Correspondance
Week 14
Primary
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Library
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Primary
Parent
Event
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Hazwani Hassim (Wani)
Primary Administrative Assistant
Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway
This week the parents, teachers and students in the Primary School participated in the Parent, Teacher and Student Conferences (PTSC’s). The purpose of these conferences, in essence, is to share information between teachers, students and parents. The term “triangular relationship refers to the idea that our students will learn and develop better with strong communication between home and family. The PTSC’s are only one way that we provide opportunities to facilitate communication between each of the above-mentioned stakeholders.
The PTSC’s have the students as active participants; in many occasions the child leads the discussion. These conferences are designed for students and teachers to share with the parents the goals that they have created together. Often the parents will play a key role in an action plan supporting the child as they strive to meet their goals. Work samples frequently are shown during this meeting providing evidence as to why the goals were developed.
I want to thank all of those parents who attended the conferences. We value your input as it enables the teachers to learn more about the children. Over the years I have seen the massive benefits on student learning when there is clear, consistent communication between school and home. I also want to thank the teachers for the time and effort they put into the conferences ensuring they are meaningful to all of those in attendance. The parent feedback related to the early steps conference has been overwhelmingly positive.
This past weekend the Primary School teachers also participated in two days of professional development (PD). Chatsworth has many talented teachers skilled in a variety of areas. We took the time to learn from each other as there were numerous presentations conducted by the teachers. One aspect of this PD was a component entitled “What Works For Me”. In this, teachers unpack their teacher toolbox and present to their peers different strategies, resources and activities that are used in their classroom. I relayed to the teachers that I have been running these “What Works For Me” workshops for over a decade and I have never had as many volunteers who wanted to share great educational practice as I did in this PD.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Friday, 27 October 2017
Thoughts from the Chatsworth Primary Hallway
The International Baccalaureate (IB) describes the IB Learner Profile as:
“The IB mission statement translated into a set of learning outcomes for the 21st century and provides a long-term vision of education. It is a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose”.
There are ten attributes that frame the IB Learner Profile. IB schools are charged with developing these attributes in a meaningful and contextual way in the hope that our students are:
- Inquirers
- Risk Takers
- Communicators
- Thinkers
- Knowledgeable
- Principled
- Caring
- Open minded
- Balanced
- Reflective
What does this look like in the context of teaching and learning in the elementary section at Chatsworth International School? We begin to introduce the learner profile early with our K1 students. Although the Learner Profile is composed of big words and even bigger concepts, teachers still use this vocabulary with the students. This is done through discussions; usually stemming from actions and events that happen in class. This provides the students with real life situations which can be connected to a specific attribute enabling the children to understand these abstract ideas easier.
Literature is a wonderful vehicle in which to explore the attributes from the Learner Profile for all of our students. In the elementary library, Mrs. Elaine Fong is currently working to categorize hundreds of picture books according to the attributes connected to that piece of literature. The “Student Profile” category at the end of the page contains books for each of the ten attributes.
We invite you to come visit our library and Mrs. Fong or Ms. Siti can help you locate books should you wish.
I hope you have a safe and lovely weekend.
Dr Michael Berry
Head of Primary
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