Dear Primary Families

What a Wonderful and Busy Term it Has Been!

Thank you for your engagement - from a learning perspective with mini exhibitions and Parent-Teacher Conferences, a community perspective as we have requested your input during parent forums and to understand the direction of the school, and from a fun perspective with events such as our Dot Day Assemblies and Cross Country.

The final 2 weeks have seen many learners out on trips and of course our whole school focus on Care for World Week - which is one of the many times that we show our commitment to the United Nations Global Goals. No doubt your child has already told you about the Climbathon!

Where possible, take the time over the two week break to reconnect with family and friends near and far. 

Thank you again for your positivity and support over the past term, we look forward to seeing you back on campus on Monday, 21 October.

Best wishes

Fiona Lewis

Head of Primary

As we reflect on this term in Nursery, we could not be prouder of the children. Over the past eight weeks, the children have blossomed in confidence and independence. Exploring the unit, ‘Who We Are’ and understanding relationships has given them meaningful opportunities to learn more about themselves and their role in our Nursery community. It is wonderful to observe how delighted the children are to connect with their friends and teachers. There is a strong sense of belonging and identity within the Nursery. Friendships are flourishing, and we see so much pride as they independently as they navigate their learning each day. We wish all of our families a restful break, and we look forward to welcoming new families to our growing community next term. 

This term in kindergarten has been a joyful celebration of learning and community! Our young learners have truly blossomed, developing their sense of belonging and identity as they engage in meaningful learning and play within our learning spaces. The successful launch of our Nursery and Kindergarten community lunches has fostered deeper connections among the children and we have observed many children taking risks, trying new food and talking about the foods they are eating. Participating in our first term of assemblies has given our children the time to observe the process and older learners. We are excited for the upcoming opportunity for classes to present their own assemblies later in the year! It has been a delight to welcome families to share our learning space during our daily soft start and our termly Stay and Play. This week we shared a Kindergarten Tea Party to celebrate the learning from our Unit of Inquiry. 'People use their senses to learn about themselves and the environment.' We spent the morning as a community using our senses to try different infused teas using fresh ingredients that we have grown in our garden. Thank you to all the families who took the time to connect with teachers during the parent-teacher conferences this week; your involvement is invaluable to your child's learning journey. We wish everyone a wonderful and restful holiday break, and we look forward to continuing this partnership in the term ahead!

What a wonderful first term in Year 1. Our learners have been exceptional as they’ve embraced new routines and developing  their self-management skills while adjusting to the new spaces of a new year group—or, for some, a brand-new school. Our ‘Who We Are’ unit of inquiry, centred on ‘‘how choices influence our wellbeing,’ concluded with the learners identifying ways to make positive choices based on their emotions and practising strategies to calm their busy minds. It’s been a joy to watch them grow in confidence and independence. We recently celebrated this journey by sharing our learning with parents during an assembly. The learners thoroughly enjoyed presenting their understanding, and we couldn’t have been prouder of their achievements.  

The term also saw our Year 1 learners embark on their first out of the classroom experience with a field trip to the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden—a wonderful way to conclude the unit of inquiry. The trip offered a range of mindful activities within the beautiful natural surroundings, reinforcing our focus on how ‘choices influence our wellbeing.’ Learners explored how people perceive wellbeing and practised strategies to stay balanced. The learners participated by meditating by the waterfall, practising yoga, and taking mindful walks through the calming environment, as well as playing in the treehouse.  A huge thank you to our parent community for your continued support. We wish everyone a fantastic term break and look forward to welcoming you back in Term 2 for more exciting inquiries and investigations.

As we wrap up Term 1, it's a great time to reflect on the incredible learning journey Year 2 has experienced. This term has been full of exploration, growth, and achievements worth celebrating. Our learners have shown unwavering commitment, demonstrating resilience and adaptability. Whether mastering addition and subtraction strategies, writing persuasive letters, or creatively designing balanced bento boxes with modelling clay, their dedication has truly shone. 

Collaboration has been a key focus this term, with tasks like creating the balanced bento boxes allowing students to apply success criteria and refine their teamwork skills. Year 2 learners are also beginning to develop essential research skills, such as information gathering, organisation, and critical thinking, which will serve as a foundation for future learning. 

Next term, we will continue to support the learners’ academic, emotional, and social growth. Our unit of inquiry on Singapore’s culture and history will offer new opportunities for collaboration and research, deepening their understanding of our local community. We also have an exciting field trip planned for Week 2 of Term 2. 

Wishing all learners and families a restful and enjoyable holiday!

In Year 3, we have just started our new Unit of Inquiry, "Culture is Reflected Through the Arts." The unit began this week with students exploring various cultural images and making connections to them. We kicked off with a ‘gallery walk,’ where students recorded images that they had prior knowledge of.

Next term, we will delve deeper into expressing culture through storytelling. On the first day back, students will rotate around the pod, listening to a range of cultural stories read by different teachers. For example, Maui and the Big Fish, which is the tale of how New Zealand was formed.

Later in the week, we will be inviting parents to come in and share their own cultural stories as well. If you haven’t signed up yet, please email your homeroom teacher to learn more. This will be an exciting opportunity for students to make connections with stories from around the world and be inspired to create their own.

This Unit of Inquiry builds on the Week 1 experience and will lead into an investigation of various storytelling techniques used to express culture, such as songs and puppets. It’s going to be an exciting and reflective journey for our learners as they dive deep into the big idea of cultural identities.

If we were to choose a word to describe Term 1 for Year 4...it would be 'Growth'. Our Year 4 learners are very much at home, as they fill our spaces with their enthusiasm and energy for learning.  Over the past week learners have reflected on many areas of learning and life at school. This reminds us how success looks different for every learner. It might be mastering mental subtraction in mathematics, improving social skills by cooperating with others or developing the confidence to communicate their thoughts and ideas. Every achievement started with a 'first step'. Having a go, being prepared to make a mistake, asking for help or demonstrating self belief. Congratulations to every learner for your achievements. You are amazing!

It has been wonderful to connect again with parents at our conferences. It always brings joy to our staff, as we proudly share each learner's journey and celebrate their successes. We are already excited about the next term ahead and look forward to supporting your child with their next steps. 

Our team would like to express their thanks for your communication and support this term. We wish everyone a relaxing and safe holiday break.

Who can believe we have already finished Term 1!  Would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for attending the Parent-Teacher Conferences and for all your support throughout the term. Your partnership has been invaluable, and it’s wonderful to see how engaged you are in your child's learning journey.

This term has been filled with many highlights! We’ve seen the learners dive into our Unit of Inquiry on peace and conflict, explore different perspectives in fairy tales, and build their problem-solving skills in Math through mental strategies and practical applications. The Climbathon for Nepal was a fantastic event last wee, and we’re so proud of the effort and teamwork the children displayed. Finally this week, our learners had the opportunity to explore some West African Djembe by expert, Andy Gleadhill.

As we head into the break, we encourage you to revisit your Digital Essential Agreement with your children. It's a great time to reflect on healthy habits when using devices and setting shared boundaries for screen time (and perhaps put them away for awhile). You can use this resource to help guide the conversation again if necessary: www.thesmarttalk.org. 

We wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday! We look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for another exciting term.

This week we have wrapped up our How the world works unit of inquiry with viewing several demonstrations of energy transfer and turning one into a Science experiment. In groups, learners designed experiments, focusing on choosing a variable to change or test, something to measure and undersanding that everything else needs to stay the same to make it a fair test. Learners have also had an opporunity to visit the secondary science lab to view examples examples of transfers of energy. Highlights were watching a demonstration of ethanol burning, combining oil, baking soda, and vinegar to make a 'lava lamp', and build electrical circuits. 

The Year 6 Foundation class enjoyed a fantastic trip to Lau Pa Sat. Learners were challenged to put into practice their learning and order meals using English, within one of Singapore’s most iconic buildings!