Our Next Learning Focus

27 June 2022

We are beginning to say our goodbyes to some members of the class, it is proving again to be an interesting time among rising numbers. We are trying to focus on being here and making the most of our final week in KG1. We will enjoy a fun morning in the pool on Tuesday as part of Splish Splash Spirit Day celebrations and look forward to seeing the extravagant house color outfits on Friday. We will complete mini-projects and number games throughout the week. We will celebrate in style on Friday with our class parties.

We ask if you are traveling early please inform your teacher, it is much better to say goodbye in person.

19th June 2022

We are in the home stretch of KG1 and our final Unit of Inquiry is complete. There will be no new concepts being taught but we continue to learn each day. We are reflecting on our growth, revisiting our goals, and consolidating the necessary skills to enter into KG2 in the autumn with a solid foundation.

'Step-Up' day will take place this week. Each KG1 class will visit a KG2 class as a whole group. The students will have the opportunity to see the KG2 area, and the toys, and complete a small activity.

Please return all library books this week. There will be no more book checkouts.

The week of 19th June-24th June is the last week of swimming.

13th June 2022

Another busy week is approaching us. It will begin with our visit to the Green Planet. If you still haven't signed the form, this is a kind reminder to submit the form with the money to your respective homeroom teacher. There will be no swimming for KG1 A and C due to the trip. Booktopia is coming to GIS with a variety of age-appropriate books. You will receive an envelope with your child. If you wish for your child to choose and buy books, kindly put money and return the envelope on Monday. In terms of learning, KG 1 will be reviewing their past learning through a variety of activities in their classrooms.

Thank you to all the parents for your support, encouragement, and lovely compliments for the children's music concert.

6th June 2022

As we approach the end of the year, we have some exciting things taking place! From the 6th - 10th June we celebrate Arts Week. As such our teachers are running arts workshops and an exhibition of primary students work is happening throughout the corridors of the primary building. There is also a KG1 Spring Concert which you are invited to attend (details found in the poster above), it would be wonderful to see you there!

We also get ready for our trip to Green Planet which is taking place on the 13th June. The trip should be an enriching experience deeply connected with our Unit of Inquiry about living things and environments. Please can you sign the permission slip and return it to your class teachers.

This week you should have received a letter from your classroom teacher identifying a few positive learning partners that your child would benefit from having with them next year in KG2. If you haven't already done so, please sign the letter and return it to your teacher or arrange a meeting if you wish to discuss it further.

30 May 2022

As we head into the final month of school, we are consolidating our knowledge of language and mathematical concepts. In language, we continue to build upon our understanding of letter and sound relationships to read words. We are practicing our letter formation and stretching out sounds to write words in order to express ourselves. In math, we are counting, identifying numbers, valuing numbers, and describing objects using measurement vocabulary. There are still several weeks left in our Unit of Inquiry, and we are focusing on how our actions impact the world around us.

Next week, you will be receiving a letter from your classroom teacher. This letter identifies a few positive learning partners that your child would benefit from having with them next year in KG2. Please know that a lot of thought goes into making sure that we provide your child with a support network that assists them in the continued development of their social/emotional as well as academic goals in the coming year.

23 May 2022

As we continue to explore our Unit on 'Sharing the Planet', we will begin to look at both positive and negative human impacts on the environment. This will look different in every class, activities like creating superhero outfits to save the planet, creating bird feeders, and conducting some research. Our vocabulary is getting richer with all the keywords we are learning related to the environment. We will be comparing lengths and weights along with reviewing other math concepts.

We understand that mornings can be a rush for parents but children's safety is our priority. We kindly remind all parents to drop the children in their classroom.

16 May 2022

We continue our 'Sharing the Planet' unit of inquiry about living things, their environment, and the human impact on living things. We also turn our attention to the Student-Led Conferences which will be taking place on Thursday 19th May. The children have been exploring what they would like to share with you on the day. There are a couple of things to note about the Student-Led Conferences:

• The children only attend school at the time of the conference and then leave with their parents afterward.

• The role of the child is to share their learning in the form of the activities and skills they have already chosen.

• The role of the parent is to observe and discuss learning with the child, engage with the child, like the child is the teacher, and let them lead.

• The role of the teacher is to prepare the children for the conference and facilitate resources.

• Student-Led Conferences are not for discussing your child's progress with teachers, if you wish to discuss progress please ask your teacher for a separate meeting time, they will be happy to assist you.

• Examples of questions you could ask can be found here.

• If you are bringing siblings to the conferences, please consider bringing something to entertain the siblings as there will not be any school supervision provided.

9 May 2022

Upon our return to school on 9th of May, children will continue to learn about the elements of various environments. We will look at the interaction between humans in their environment and how we coexist. In math, we will continue our unit of study about measurement by comparing and contrasting the sizes of different objects. Children continue to count, identify, and value numbers. In language, we will express ourselves through drawing and writing. We are working on beginning sounds, sorting objects, and building and reading words.

A few reminders....

1. There is no school 2nd May-6th of May. Eid Mubarak!

2. Beginning Monday, 9th May, we will return to normal school timings.

-KG1 drop-off is 7:50am-8:10am

-KG1 pick-up is 3:05 Monday-Thursday

-KG1 pick-up is 11:30 on Fridays

25 April 2022

In the coming week, children will embark on their journey to look at the animals and plants living in the different habitats, mainly focussing on the ocean, forest, polar and desert. In Math, we will work on measurements using non-standard units and compare lengths, heights and weights. We will continue to work on key reading and writing skills in terms of literacy and language.

For more information about our new Unit of Inquiry, please visit the unit page linked below this message.

A reminder that pick-up time in early years during Ramadan is : 1:20pm Monday-Thursday and 11:30 am on Fridays.

18 April 2022

We tune into our new Unit of Inquiry Sharing the Planet with the central idea Our Actions Impact Our Environment. Throughout this unit we will focus on environments and the living things within them. In math we will revisit core number skills to develop fluency and in language we will be looking at key reading and writing skills. For more information about our new Unit of Inquiry, please visit the unit page linked below this message.

A reminder that pick up time in early years during Ramadan is 1:20pm Monday-Thursday and 11:30am on Fridays.

11 April 2022

We hope you have had a wonderful spring break and are looking forward to hearing all the wonderful stories. We will discuss our holiday news and share these thoughts in a writing piece. As it is the Holy Month of Ramadan, we will have adjusted timings for our school day, the weekly schedule has remained the same. When we return, we will connect again with our Signs and Symbols unit looking into systems of communication. We will inquire into how people use signs and symbols differently to communicate. We will be focusing on number, counting, and quantifying, to see what the children remember after their short break.

21 March 2022

This week, we will be bringing to a close our exciting "How We Express Ourselves" unit. In this unit, we have been able to show our many talents through, drawing, painting, sculpting. We have created some exciting pieces. We will be looking closely and what we have learned and how we can share our learning at home. In each classroom, our summative assessment will look a little different to accommodate the diverse interests of the individuals. As we ready ourselves for spring break, we will ensure their knowledge in phonics and number concepts is sound. We will continue to build on our knowledge of story elements and solidify our understanding of Data handling.

Please note that Spring break is approaching rapidly. Take care as you make your preparations.

14 March 2022

In the coming week we will be working with the Grade 5 students as they prepare for their exhibition. The KG1's will help them with their central idea Collaboration in art can enhance inspiration. The KG1 students will work on an art project collaboratively with their friends and present it to the grade five students. Aside from this, we have our trip to Expo on the 16th. We will be visiting the mobility pavilion. If you have not returned a permission slip yet, please do so by Monday 14th.

7 March 2022

Our Unit on Imagination continues. In the coming week, we will be focusing on characters in the stories. We will be using simple adjectives such as big, small, scary, and fierce to describe the characters to develop vocabulary and understanding of characters in stories. Children will be encouraged to build their own characters and describe them. In terms of Math, we will be focusing on numeracy skills, where children will be working on sequencing, number formation, and quantifying. For literacy, we continue to focus on initial sounds and matching sounds with letters. Continue to practice dressing and undressing for swimming and encourage children to use the checklist to pack their swimming bags. It could be a fun way to incorporate math and literacy by saying the sounds or counting the number of items in the bag.

28 February 2022

GIS LITFEST and Swimming starts. This will be a big and busy week. Please ensure you have made a note of which day your child will have swimming this week. Please encourage independence by allowing them to practice dressing and undressing, paying particular attention to shoes and socks. Our primary focus for the week will be reading different Elmer books, learning about the different characters, and preparing ourselves for the dress-up day on Thursday. We will continue with patterns and look for patterns in nature. If you speak a different language at home, please can we encourage you to send in a video of you reading a story in your language. Find all the necessary information in the flyer above.

24 February 2022

Happy Half Term. Enjoy the rest and special time with your families. For those who are traveling, travel safe and have fun. When we return for the 24th and 25th of February we will be introducing a wonderful character called Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. We will be spending the following week meeting all the different characters in the series as well as Dressing up as Elmer on 3rd March. We are working on story elements and continuing with patterns in Math. We are always counting and identifying numbers in our environment. Remember over the half term to encourage your child at home to share their imagination during playtime or count with them as you are walking or driving somewhere.

14 February 2022

This week we focus in on our third line of inquiry Ways to Share Ideas and Thoughts. This will look different in each classroom as each class has its own interests which the teachers respond to. To support this further at home, you could read lots of books on a variety of topics, discuss how the character is expressing themselves, for example Giraffes Can't Dance the characters are using dance to express themselves. In math we continue to explore pattern with objects and body movements. In language we are looking at characters and elements of a story.

7 February 2022

This week we will continue with our unit of inquiry on 'Imagination'. Based on the tuning-in week, each KG class will dive deeper into the world of imagination. We will be using books, open-ended questions, and a variety of resources to ignite ideas in our children. Predominant usage of new vocabulary to further develop language skills in all the classes. In terms of social-emotional development, we will be incorporating mindfulness activities. For math, we will be learning about making patterns using two or more elements. Learning letters and sounds using the alphabets in our names is a fun game that we will continue to practice and learn new letters and sounds.

31 January 2022

This week we will begin the week by holding Parent-Teacher Conferences via Zoom. We look forward to meeting with everyone to discuss their child. When the children return to school on Wednesday, February 2nd we will begin our inquiry into our new unit "How We Express Ourselves, Imagination." We will look at different materials and how they can be used and combined to create new and interesting things. We will continue learning about positional language and build our vocabulary when describing the location of different objects.

24 January 2022

This week we will begin to look at how signs and symbols help us to communicate. We will look at systems we use like the alphabet and number line. We will be writing about our family and sharing our favorite thing to do with them. We will continue looking at positional language in Math. We will be welcoming the start of a new class and a few new students. We are looking forward to another productive week.

17 January 2022

This week we will continue to tune deeper into our new Unit Of Inquiry: Signs and symbols are human-made systems that people use to communicate. We will go on a sign and symbol hunt around the school to see what we can find. In Math, we will be looking at positional language. In Language, we will continue developing our writing skills and communication skills by drawing our thoughts and responding to stories with questions.

10 January 2022

This week we will begin to tune deeper into our new Unit Of Inquiry: Signs and symbols are human-made systems that people use to communicate. More information about the unit can be found in the tab below. We will discuss signs that we know and look for some that we do not know. In Math, we will refresh our brains by looking at number concepts. In Language, we will continue developing our writing skills and communication skills.

3 January 2022

Firstly, as a KG1 team, we would like to say: "Happy holidays, safe travels, and all the best wishes to you and your family. We look forward to seeing how tall our students will have grown in January."

We will begin our new and exciting unit in the new year. It is our 'How We Organize Ourselves' - Signs and symbols are human-made systems that people use to communicate. More information about the unit can be found in the tab below. Once we have settled back into our school routine and discussed our holidays, we will begin tuning in to what signs and symbols are?

30 November 2021

Next week we will be reflecting on our learning, we will think back to our first day at school and discuss our feelings. We will look at the progress we have made and look to the future and the rest of our KG1 year. We have had so many wonderful experiences and have ad a pretty successful first term at school.

Enjoy the National Day celebrations, recognizing our great host country and all its achievements.

21 November 2021

This week we will begin our summative assessments for this unit. That means we will be finding out exactly what information the children are able to tell us after eight weeks of learning in this senses unit. We have loved exploring our senses and why they are important. We have had many fantastic experiences learning about how we use our senses to understand the world.

14 November 2021

This week will surely be an exciting one, with Sports Day on Tuesday. We look forward to cheering for our friends and having some fun. We will draw a short reflection on our favorite event. We will continue exploring different paths in our UOI. Some will begin inquiring into taste and moving deeper into what our senses tell us. We will be asking questions like: 'what do our senses tell us?' and 'how do our senses help us?' As always we continue to build and develop our skills in fine and gross motor skills, literacy and numeracy.

7 November 2021

This week we continue to respond to the individual needs and wants of our classes. We continue exploring different paths in our UOI. Some will begin inquiring into smell and taste. We will be asking questions like: 'what do our senses tell us?' and 'how do our senses help us?'. We are dedicating time to friendships within our classroom, developing our social skills by creating playful opportunities together. As always throughout our days we are learning through play. Building a tall tower? We ask, how many blocks have you used? Can you count them? What letter is at the beginning of the word tower? What sound does it make? We use questions in every situation with our students.

31 October 2021

This week we begin to respond to the individual needs and wants of our classes. That means that we start following different paths in our UOI. Some will continue exploring touch, others will begin inquiring into taste or smell. It is a great way to follow the interests of the children. We are dedicating more time to focus on fostering independence. There will be time to celebrate our host country's flag for UAE FLAG day and celebrate with those that celebrate Diwali.

17 October 2021

This week we will be a very short week with half-term starting on Tuesday. For the two days that we are at school, we will focus on sorting out our ideas of how we use our senses every day. We will be reading, among others, "Polar Bear, Polar Bear. What do you hear?"

10 October 2021

This week we will be introducing our sense of hearing. We will be reading the story "Going on a Bear Hunt". We will engage in role-play activities and conduct a listening walk around the school. Our specialist subjects, Art, PE, and Library will be integrating with us and focusing their lessons on the same story.

3 October 2021

This week we will be introducing the sense: Sight. We will be reading the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear. What do you see?". We will recall what we learn in the story by writing about what the brown bear saw. We will use our observational skills as we draw a picture of our eyes. As we continue through the semester we are always working on our writing and number skills too.

23 September 2021

This we will begin tuning into our new unit: Who We Are. We begin this process with a pre-assessment to see what knowledge the students possess already. The tuning in process is about engaging the students and peeking their interests, listening to their conversations and the vocabulary they use in connection to the topic. All information about the topic can be found below. Please begin having conversations about the Senses at the end of the week.

16 September 2021

On Sunday and Monday next week, we will have our goal-setting conferences. These will be held on campus, however, should you wish to attend virtually or are unvaccinated and unable to attend on campus please email your teacher to request the zoom link. Our learning will continue to focus on our relationships within the classroom, listening to and following instructions and exploring numbers.