Dear ICS Elementary Families,

Introduction

For those who don’t know me yet, my name is Mrs. Katherine Vogel. While I’m not a new face to ICS - having served as the Grade 3C homeroom teacher for the past seven years - I am thrilled to join the Curriculum and Instruction team as your new Literacy Coordinator.

Originally from the U.S., I graduated from the University of Iowa’s Education program and began my international teaching career in South Korea. Three years later, I moved to Hong Kong to join ICS, where my boyfriend (now husband) was working. Over the past decade, I’ve had the privilege of teaching in classroom settings across the U.S., Norway, South Korea, and Hong Kong, as well as completing my master's degree in Educational Administration and Supervision.

It is a joy and privilege to step into this new role. I look forward to working alongside our team to keep evidence-based literacy practices, wisdom, and virtue front and center as we shape and nurture the hearts and minds of our students at ICS!

Literacy at ICS

Literacy is more than just reading and writing - it is a journey where students learn to love what is good, true, and beautiful in the world around them. As Scripture encourages us in Philippians 4:8, our goal is to guide students to fix their thoughts on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, and whatever is admirable." Through rich stories and deep ideas, our students grow in wisdom and strong Christian character.

Lower Elementary (P1–G2): Building the Foundation

When you walk into our Lower Elementary classrooms, you will see children building the foundation for reading and writing. Foundational literacy comes alive as P1 students practice essential reading and spelling skills through daily phonics and quick oral Heggerty exercises, using show-and-tell experiences to draw pictures and label their thoughts with teacher support. In Grade 1, students proudly highlight digraphs, graphemes, and word families directly within texts to decode new words with confidence. By Grade 2, children carefully sound out complex words, refine their handwriting, and proudly display their narratives on classroom walls. Throughout the day, students enjoy quiet, independent free reading to build stamina and a genuine love for books, all while acquiring rich content from social science, science, and the Bible to discover the beauty of God’s world.

Upper Primary (G3–G5): Deepening Reasoning & Expression

As students move into Upper Primary, literacy expands into deeper intellectual inquiry, critical reasoning, and clear, expressive writing. During snack times, teachers read books aloud to help older students absorb noble ideas and cultivate good character. Students actively grow their vocabulary by exploring word parts like prefixes and roots, using tools like Frayer models to master complex science and history terms with confidence. Dedicated independent reading time allows students to dive into grade-level books, building deep focus and personal reading interests. In reading groups, students engage in respectful conversations where they practice explaining why and how things happen, sharing their thoughts kindly while evaluating texts through a biblical worldview. Writing is tightly connected with content - such as in Grade 4, where students use their science textbooks to practice writing clean, well-organized paragraphs that express their learning clearly.

Through these experiences - whether exploring the adventures of Paddington Bear with Mrs. Silber in the library or identifying character traits and lessons learned using text evidence - ICS gives our students the tools to grow in heart and mind. From early phonics to building a love and developing the skills to write with cohesion and coherence, our primary students are learning to listen carefully, think deeply, speak kindly, and write clearly - all to give glory to God.

DIBELS Assessments

DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. This assessment helps the teacher gather information about student performance on critical reading skills, including: phonemic awareness (P1-G1), phonics (P1-G3), fluency (P1-G5), and comprehension (G2-G5). We administer the DIBELS assessments three times a year so we can gather data to inform literacy teaching. These results help us understand the students’ strengths and needs in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension. Even though this assessment may sound simple, DIBELS lays the groundwork for students to pursue knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.