Year Groups 

A warm welcome to term 4 in Nursery. Our community continues to grow as NG welcomes 3 new learners and their families. This term our unit of inquiry also investigates growth as we inquire into sharing the planet, living things have shared needs to grow and stay healthy. A very magical thing happened over the weekend, a beanstalk grew in the Nursery environment and there were beans on the floor! 

What can we do with the beans? 

“we can grow apples” 

“we could plant flowers”

How do they feel?

“they feel really hard” 

“it smells like dirt”

If we are going to plant them, where should we put them?

“in the soil”

 “in a pot” 

What can we use the beans for?

“cooking” 

“they are magic beans”

“maybe these beans grow the beanstalk.”

What do you think this is?

“that would be very difficult to climb” 

“like jack and the beanstalk”

We can’t wait to see where the learners lead this inquiry. As always our inquiries will be hands-on and transdisciplinary across the curriculum with a focus on language, maths and science. We have developed the curiosity corner into an investigation lab and fruit and vegetable shop. The learners have already been busy sorting, analysing, questioning and  sign making  for this area. Many other purposeful learning invitations will continue to spark the sense of awe and wonder in the Nursery environment. This term is shaping up to be an exciting and busy learning adventure!

The new term has started with much excitement about being back at school, reconnecting with friends, teachers and welcoming new learners to our classes. New learners have joined our Nexus community, welcome to Varia and Moyu in KG and Hanae in KP.

This terms new unit of inquiry is How the world works, Water.  The central idea is - Exploring water can help us experience the world.  There is a wonderful art project coming up and plans to visit the canal just outside of our school boundary as we dive into this new unit, we look forward to sharing more on what we learn as the term unfolds.  

The learners have been busy with their independent learning and we have been transferring their knowledge to their play. We have observed  writing for different purposes, creating detailed models and they have been using their mathematical skills in measurement. The children worked collaboratively to set up a supermarket and worked creatively to make some fruit and vegetables. They have also made money, labels for the shelves, price tags and signs to let customers know when the shop will be open. It’s a wonderful hive of interactions, transactions, gathering, collecting and play.  Albert Einstein said, ‘Play is the highest form of research.’  We have certainly been busy with our research since coming back to school.

The Year 1 learners have had a fantastic start to Term 4! There was a lot of excitement as the learners shared their holiday news, caught up with old friends and welcomed new learners into the year group.

We have started a new Unit of Inquiry “Celebrations are a form of expression” which we will explore throughout this term. The unit began with the learners visiting different learning spaces, each representing a different celebration. It was great to hear the children discussing differences and similarities in the ways they and their families celebrate, and making wider connections. We will be taking inspiration from our UOI to learn more about writing informational reports, descriptions, cards and invitations. In Mathematics this term, we will be exploring calendars and time, in addition to Fractions and Money, to enable the learners to have a greater understanding of when celebrations happen. We are looking forward to the authentic learning engagements that will arise with Hari Raya, Labour Day and Vesak Day taking place during the unit.

Welcome to Term 4 and an extended welcome to the new families joining our Nexus community. We are delighted to start our final term with our continued UOI focus ‘People use stories to express themselves’. The learners looked at the similarities and differences between traditional tales and twisted tales, using venn diagrams to show their understanding. This week they have inquired into how Ideas, culture and values are reflected in stories. Exploring stories with morals, listening to a variety of cultural stories from around the world. We shall transition into How we organise ourselves and the big idea that ‘People collaborate and organise themselves using systems’ .The learners will explore ‘how systems help order the world around us, how collaboration promotes progress and the role of responsibility in organisation. We look forward to celebrating our learning journey with families and showcasing our efforts during this final term. The Term brings a huge amount of excitement, and with that can come anxiety about what is next. Over the coming weeks the learners will be having conversations with homeroom teachers about their wonderings for Year 3. We will be discussing friendships and having transition days to familiarise the learners with the spaces in Year 3, to make them feel more comfortable about what is coming up. We look forward to the fun and joy the term brings. 

Year 3 has hit the ground running. The learners were well rested and came back into the Year 3 Pod buzzing with energy and excitement. We put our heads down and resumed our UOI 'Forces change the natural environment' in preparation for our Mini Exhibition on May 3rd and 4th. Learners are currently busy researching their inquiry questions and aim to present their new understanding to parents and guardians in the coming weeks. Those who complete the research component will have the opportunity to build creative models to showcase their findings for others to learn from.

In addition to this, we have also engaged in a range of activities to ease the learners back into school life. Some classes explored the book 'Have You Filled a Bucket Today?' which was a great opportunity for learners to share what 'fills their bucket' and be reminded about how to be a kind and helpful classmate. Other classes set goals for the term to help refocus learners and prepare them for all the learning we will do this term!

It was a great pleasure to welcome the Year 4's back to school last week and hear all about their holiday experiences.  We were delighted to see everyone settle quickly into their learning and their class routines. This term,  Year 4 is continuing with our 'How the World Works' Unit of Inquiry and learners are exploring the central idea, 'People use simple machines to assist in everyday life'.  Learners have participated in workshops to learn about pulleys, levers, wheels and axles, and inclined planes.  This unit provides lots of opportunities for hands-on discovery such as how to make similar machines more efficient and how to combine several simple machines to perform more complex tasks. 

Learners are working in small groups to build their own simple (or complex machine)  to assist with a task.  Alongside developing their scientific understanding and construction skills, learners will work on strategies to develop resilience, gain experience in making group decisions, and edit their model to improve their constructions. Learners will follow the design cycle of: Defining the problem - Developing ideas -  Creating solutions - Evaluating and Analysing - Improving.  Our Year 4 Parents are invited in to our Mini Exhibition of our Machine in three weeks' time.  The dates and times are in our weekly Seesaw Message.  

A warm welcome back to everyone for Term 4. A special welcome to our new learners and families who have joined Year 5 and our Nexus community. 

Our current unit of inquiry focuses on the theme of How We Express Ourselves and our central idea is 'People can promote awareness through Creative Action'. The International Fair was an authentic example of creative action and it was heart warming to see everyone learning about some of the different countries and cultures that we have at Nexus. Year 5 shared how they enjoyed performing, trying foods from different countries, the dunk tank, playing football and hanging out with their friends. 

Year 5 learners are currently inquiring into one of the following Global Goals-Life on Land, Life below Water, No Poverty, Clean water and Sanitation or Gender Equality.  Learners are being curious inquirers and thinkers, as they learn more about their chosen global goal and choose a problem that they would like to draw attention to. They will be creating a written and visual presentation that provokes critical thinking about their global goal and encourages you to consider how you could take action. Every action, no matter how big or small contributes to the achievement of our Sustainable Development Goals.

This term our final unit of inquiry is Place and Time. Learners will have the opportunity to connect their learning to the Performing Arts through Dance, Drama and Music. Our final week of the year is MADD week at Nexus and Year 5 will share a presentation with families. More details about this will be revealed in the coming weeks.  We can assure you that it will be an exciting end to a wonderful year. 

The final term has begun with the conclusion of our "Sharing the Planet" unit and the commencement of the most exciting time in Year 6, Exhibition!

We would like to express our gratitude to all the parents and learners who accompanied us on our recent trip to Sungei Buloh to conclude our last unit of inquiry. The learners thoroughly enjoyed exploring the wetlands and discovering the various flora and fauna inhabiting them. This outdoor learning experience enabled them to deepen their understanding of the significance of conserving natural habitats and the impact of human activities on the environment.

Today, we launched our Exhibition, an exciting six-week program that is the culmination of our learners' Primary Years Programme experience. During Exhibition, the learners will embark on a personal inquiry into a topic of their choice, demonstrating their comprehension of the unit's central idea, "Who We Are," with the overarching theme of "Engaging in the learning journey allows us to reflect and grow." Through the exhibition, the learners will showcase their learning journey, including research, action, and reflection.

We would like to invite parents and learners to join us and learn more about the exhibition on Friday afternoons from 1:20 pm to 2:00 pm beginning week 4, where you can support our team in assisting your learners on their inquiry. We also invite anyone who is interested to become part of our parent 'Expert Wall,' where our learners can utilize your knowledge and skills to support  them along their journey. To sign up, click here and follow the prompts.

Please remember to assist your children in finding and reaching out to those who can assist them, including external experts, as well as friends or family members who might be a good choice to guide them on this exciting journey.

Thank you for your continuous support.

The Year 6