Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome back to Term 2. We have kicked the term off with our usual level of busyness with many year groups heading out on trips - take a look at our Recent Events tab for more information.

Thank you to parents and caregivers that have come into school recently, whether it has been to support a trip, watch assembly, learn more about how we teach maths, prepare for a celebration or attend a trip info session. We hugely value our home-school relationship and appreciate it when you are able to come and collaborate with us.

As many of you will know Y5 and Y6 have started to prepare for their residential trip in February 2024, trips are always planned to enrich the curriculum however the experiences go far beyond this. These experiences allow your child to create bonds that are not easily replicated in other settings, and develop skills in areas that as parents we often want to step in and fix for them. Skills that support and develop: 

• Leadership

• Confidence

• Relationship building

• Resilience

• Problem solving

• Emotional regulation

• Independence

• Positive self-esteem

• Growth Mindset

All learners are expected  to attend the residential experiences in full, unless they have a medical condition that prevents them from doing so. We look to build on the experiences year by year, starting with a one night residential in Year 3 progressing through to a full international camp in Year 6. If you have any queries about our residential or day trips please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Finally may I take the opportunity to ask you to take a look at the Important Notices on the front page of the newsletter, this is often where I put information and reminders about matters that have arisen recently in school. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Warm regards

Ms Fiona

Head of Primary

Mathematics surrounds us in every facet of life. It's not just about numbers and counting; it's about patterns, organisation, and so much more. Whether we're engrossed in a game, sketching a picture, or immersing ourselves in role-play, we're tapping into our innate maths skills. 

In Nursery, we embrace a multi-sensory and transdisciplinary approach to mathematics, aligning with the IB PYP curriculum's principles. Through hands-on, auditory, and visual activities, our young learners delve beyond mere numbers and shapes, immersing themselves in a vibrant world where maths truly springs to life. This approach ensures they grasp mathematics not as isolated skills but as an integrated part of their broader learning and play. 

This term, we've embarked on a journey of crafting simple repeating patterns using sound, actions, objects, and elements from nature. We provide learners with a variety of engaging, open-ended resources to support the development of conceptual understanding. Our daily routine is infused with maths, from counting our classmates to locating numbers on a prominent number line. As our Nursery community expands, we keep our class pictograph updated, offering valuable opportunities for problem-solving, for example, comparing object groups and discerning 'more or less.' To finish our day, our learners delight in singing the 'Goodbye Song,' clapping and tapping to create a pattern in a rhythmic beat. 

In Nursery, learning mathematics is an absolute joy!

The beginning of term has been very successful for Kindergarten, the children have settled back to the routines and have fully immersed themselves in their learning.

Through our Unit of Inquiry, How we Organise Ourselves, we are looking at the central idea; ‘Signs and symbols are used locally and globally to help us communicate and organise ourselves.’ This week, we discovered a mysterious ‘shiny’ object outdoors in our sand area. We were very curious and wondered what it was and how it got there so we started to investigate! The children not only found a mysterious object but they also found lots of strange looking shapes and symbols covered in slime that we have never seen before! Yuck! 

The children will experience many opportunities to develop their mathematical skills in number and shape and space. This term, we will be learning about two and three dimensional shapes through signs and symbols in our environment and wider community. We will also play shape games, go on a shape hunt and look at the properties of shapes using mathematical language to describe them. 

Shapes are all around us and there are many opportunities for children to transfer their mathematical knowledge and skills through play.

It is with great excitement that we welcome the Year 1 leaners back for Term 2. They have returned from the break with enthusiasm and readiness to continue their learning journey. 

Our focus in mathematics is on exploration and understanding of fundamental concepts, providing our learners with a comprehensive learning experience using a Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach. This approach offers learners  both physical and visual opportunities to build a strong foundation of mathematical understanding. It transforms the journey of learning addition and subtraction into a fun, exciting, and engaging experience. 

Getting hands-on with manipulatives like counters, cubes, and various objects to explore the concepts of addition and subtraction allows them to visualise and manipulate numbers in a tangible way. For example learners use counters to add 3 and 2 by physically grouping them together and counting the total, making numbers come to life. As the learners grow more comfortable with concrete representations, they transition to pictorial representations. We start using drawings and pictures to depict numbers and mathematical operations. This step enhances their ability to visualise and understand mathematical problems more clearly. Which finally takes them to embracing the abstract step which focuses on working with numbers and symbols more frequently. Learners become skilled in using addition and subtraction symbols to solve problems and develop their mental maths abilities. For example, they will see 3 + 2 = 5 as a symbolic representation of the quantities they have counted and combined. 

Throughout the year, our learners will continue building a strong mathematical foundation using the CPA approach. They will be introduced to various strategies for addition and subtraction, delve into comparisons, and deepen their understanding of these fundamental mathematical concepts.

Year 2 learners have been making  progress in their mathematical journey. Our young mathematicians have been participating in a diverse range of learning engagements aimed at strengthening their foundational knowledge and skills. Here's an overview of the concepts we've been exploring:

Skip Counting Mastery: Year 2 learners have been actively applying their knowledge of skip counting in 2s, 5s, and 10s to identify, continue, and create number patterns. By recognising these patterns, they've gained a deeper understanding of numerical sequences and their multiples, laying a robust foundation for more complex mathematical concepts in the future.

Positional Language and Movement: Children have been describing position, direction, and movement, using the vocabulary of left, right and forwards, backwards. Understanding whole, half, quarter, and three-quarter turns both clockwise and anticlockwise will be a focal point soon, helping learners visualise and articulate various movements and directions accurately. This concept is connected to our Where we are in place and time unit, as we refer to maps and locate places within Singapore.

Comparing and Ordering Numerals: Comparing and ordering numerals up to 999 has been a fundamental skill that our Year 2 learners have been developing. Using the symbols for less than (<), greater than (>), and equal to (=), the leaners are mastering the art of number comparison.

Addition and Subtraction Strategies: In mental strategy development for addition, learners have been using the jump strategy to mentally add a 1-digit number to a 2-digit number or pairs of 2-digit numbers. They're utilising both standard and open number lines to reinforce their understanding and proficiency in mental addition. For mental strategy development in subtraction, our learners have been using standard and open number lines. Additionally, with visual scaffolding, they've learned to mentally subtract a 1-digit number from a 2-digit number using the 'tidy tens' method. This technique helps simplify subtraction problems, making the process more accessible and comprehensible.

We're immensely proud of the dedication and progress our Year 2 learners have shown in their mathematical learning. The foundational skills they're acquiring will serve as a springboard for their continued mathematical exploration and success in the years ahead.

Term 2 is off to an amazing start in Year 3! We have been keeping ourselves incredibly busy. Our days are filled with exciting activities and preparations for various events. One of the highlights is our upcoming parents' Cultural Celebration in the auditorium, which will take place on Thursday, Week 4. We are eagerly getting ready to showcase what our learners have been exploring in Physical and Health Education (PHE), Music, and Art. It's an opportunity for our learners to step on stage and perform for the first time. We always remind them that the most important thing is to try their best and forget about the rest!

In our Maths lessons, we have been covering two important areas concurrently: Addition/subtraction and time. Our goal is to develop a solid understanding of these concepts. You might have noticed your child pointing at the clock and eagerly telling you the time every five minutes! Some learners have even become so enthusiastic that they may have asked you for a watch. While each class may have its unique approach to teaching Maths on any given day, we make sure to work collaboratively across the Year group. This means that learners are sometimes grouped based on their individual needs for that particular week. We believe in providing tailored support to help each student thrive.

As we reflect on the past week, I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween celebration! Now, we are excitedly preparing to celebrate Deepavali next week. There will be many engaging activities and discussions centered around this joyous festival. We look forward to immersing ourselves in the festivities and embracing the diverse cultures within our classroom.

It has been a pleasure to see our Year 4 learners return to school with renewed energy after the holiday. They quickly settled back into the school routines and approached their learning with enthusiasm and determination. 

We are continuing with our inquiry into how migration impacts both the people who migrate, the places in which they settle and the region they leave behind. During the last two weeks, we have focused on how the early migrant settlers to Singapore have shaped our island. 

Our Maths learning has linked to this unit of Inquiry. Last week we extended our Maths unit on ‘Time’ to take a look at ‘timelines’. Learners explored how to use timelines to find information, and how to create timelines by dividing a line into equal intervals and working to scale so the line represented their required dates. This week, to support our migration Unit of Inquiry learners are reviewing ways to describe location and position using compass directions and coordinates to find points on grids and maps.

Year 5 learners have quickly settled back into life and learning at school. It was lovely to hear about holiday highlights and stories. This week we hosted our Loola Residential presentation. Thank you to those who were able to attend. A reminder that the video and slides can be accessed on Seesaw. 

In mathematics, Number has been a focus for learning. Learners have developed their understanding of factors and multiples, and how these help to strengthen our times table knowledge. We have also focused on multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000, and also multiples of these numbers. Many learners knew 'tricks' such as adding on or taking away a zero. However, they also now know that the digits move to the left on the place value chart when multiplying and to the right, when they are being divided. This understanding and place value connection ensures learners understand why the number becomes bigger when multiplied and smaller when divided. This learning has also been consolidated through problem solving, fun games and application to mental multiplication and division problems. 

It is always exciting to observe learners build confidence in their mathematical thinking as they reflect on their mistakes and persevere to master a process or strategy. Well done Year 5 on a great start to the term. 

Dear Parents, Carers, and Learners,

We're thankful for your active participation in our recent information session. We value your presence and look forward to more interactions throughout the term. Our new unit, 'How We Express Ourselves,' began with a fascinating excursion to Changi Jewel Experience. Learners charted their unique routes to the airport, followed by a workshop on Changi Airport's development and engaging interactive experiences. 

Our 'Speed Learning' session this week, which followed the information session on Wednesday, was a big hit. Learners enthusiastically explored various creative mediums for self-expression. In math, we've delved into space, shape, and measurement. Learners are mastering two and three-dimensional geometry, angles, and measurements to understand our physical world better. In language arts, the blackout poetry activity continues to inspire creativity and resilience, reinforcing the importance of learning from attempts (FAIL) and the iterative process of growth (TAIL).

We were very lucky to host our resident poet, Rose Vu, who shared her passion for poetry. Her visit sparked creativity and an appreciation for poetic language. Ms. Rose also introduced her illustrator, inspiring us to create a communication committee to explore the challenges and successes of illustration. Both these inspirations will support our poetry literacy circle journey next week, where small groups will analyze and discuss various poems to broaden their interpretation.

As we look forward to the coming week, we anticipate more excitement, creativity, and new forms of expression as we continue our 'How We Express Ourselves' unit.

Warm regards,

The Year 6 Team