Central idea: Collaboration helps build a community

Last week in Nursery the learners started to explore their new Unity of Inquiry. We looked at a big map of Singapore and located our school, Nexus. We had a discussion about who is in our class community and were excited to discover that all the teachers and learners live in Singapore.

The learners have been working collaboratively in the construction and small world area to build a school community and made a habitat for dinosaurs during outdoor exploration. It has been wonderful to observe the children helping each other.

Next week, we will start to explore who else helps us in the Nexus community. We are looking forward to finding out more about their roles within our school community.

Central idea: The Arts help us to express ourselves in different ways.

In Kindergarten, we have been exploring different forms of expression through the arts as part of their current Unit of Inquiry - How We Express Ourselves. Through our weekly Discover and Discuss sessions, the learners have shared favourite ways of expressing themselves, favourite songs and favourite artwork. During these sessions, the learners are asked to share an image or short video clip, which is played on the big screen in class. Then they have the opportunity to speak about their chosen piece and take questions from their friends in class.

The learners were recently shown a painting by Wassily Kandinsky called Concentric Circles. We looked at the shapes and colours before creating their own piece of art. They needed to think about the colours that worked best to show the different circles and sometimes other shapes they incorporated in their art work. We think the finished results look fantastic!

Central idea: Exploring light helps us experience the world

Year 2 has started a new Unit of Inquiry “Exploring how light helps us experience the world.” The learners discussed the skills that scientists use and were excited to discover that they already use many of these in their inquiries. The learners enjoyed hands-on experimentation with a variety of different light sources, materials and mirrors. They came up with some terrific questions from these provocations such as, ‘Why does the light bounce off the mirror?’ and ‘How can light change colour?’ We are looking forward to finding out the answers to these questions and more as we continue on our learning journey.

Central idea: Systems Connect Communities

Over the past few weeks the Year 3’s have been investigating how ‘systems connect communities’. They are developing an understanding of the different areas that make up a neighborhood and how the transportation system works to connect the regions of Singapore. Next week, Year 3 are going on a walking tour of the neighborhood around Nexus to identify the different areas (commercial, residential, recreation) and the transport systems that connect them. Armed with this knowledge, they will then step into the role of being an Urban Planners and design their own city.

Central idea: What we wear tells a story about ourselves

Year 4 began this Unit of Inquiry by considering that the clothes people choose to wear may tell a story about their culture, their identity, their interests, aspirations, their occupation and the climate in which they live. Since then learners have moved on to think about the the 'fashion footprint' and the environment impact the clothing industry has on the world. We have found out about the issue of child labour in factories turning out cheap clothing, traced the transportation journey of a T-shirt from cotton field to shop shelf and been amazed amount of water used to make one pair of jeans. Out of our desire to support more sustainable fashion we have been upcycling out old clothes into using items such as tote bags, bag tags, 'Wall Art', pencil cases, teddy bears, hairbands and lanyards.

Central idea: As we grow up our bodies, behaviours and responsibilities change.

Year 5 learners have explored our central idea through a range of learning areas. In Maths our learning has been focused on transformations. Learners have applied their understanding of translation, reflection and rotation. They have used the Koru (New Zealand Art form) to create their own designs that represent their family or who they are. The shape of the Koru is based on the curled up, young fern frond. As such it represents birth, new beginnings, unfolding of life and growth. In the attached photos you can see how learners have used a variety of koru designs to create their picture. Each one tells a story that is personal to this learner. Some stories include a family's journey to different places or it identifies the members of a family and the values that are important to them.

Central idea: Appreciation + Empathy = Action

Lines of Inquiry:

• The environment is made up of interdependent systems. Function

• Humans activity impacts on these systems. Connection

• Human actions and inactions impact the environment. Responsibility

After spending the last four weeks looking at different environmental biomes, learning about food webs , the trophic cascade and a rather smell decomposition experiment, we are now starting to make connections to the impact of humans, both positive and negative on the environment. The classroom inquiries have been varied with exploration into the Tragedy of Commons where we explored the impact of shared resources. We have also tried to persuade our friends "who were pretending to be our parents at the time", that an animal from Sungei Buloh Wetlands is absolutely a good idea to have as a pet at home. You will see an example of this after our learner led conferences. Mathematics has focused on all the ways in which we can solve multiplication and division problems. Finally our weekly action at home has been a huge success. Some highlights included some excellent scientific drawings, research into how soccer clubs are becoming more sustainable and even how to make edible spoons to reduce household waste. What a fantastic concept! Can't wait to try an edible cookie cup with milk in it one day!