Dear Discovery Parents

We have successfully delivered learning online for yet another week of the lockdown. 

Thank you for working together with the Discovery team to support your children’s progress. 

You have been supported to access our online platforms, to be able to monitor and facilitate your children’s learning more confidently.  We are grateful to you for your resilience and adaptability, particularly in this unique period of the Covid19 pandemic.

We have been exploring ways to reduce the amount of time the children spend working on Zoom and this week we have shared some schedule changes for some classes. 

Discovery International School will continue to provide online, at-home learning for our students until we get updated guidelines from the Ministry of Education. 

Important Dates:

Half Term Break: Monday 15th February to Friday 19th February

Term 2 Second Half Term commences on Monday 22nd February.

We anticipate delivering online/at-home learning until we get new directives to schools from the Ministry of Education. We will communicate further as the school closure situation unfolds. 

TIPS FOR 2-4 year olds

1. Engage your child's teacher daily

In a bid to support you with the learning and ongoing progress of your young child, we have designed schedules that enable more time to consult the teacher. You can use this time to  ask questions and get tips/advice. 

Please continue to reach out to your teacher for support whenever you need to, or to a member of the leadership team whose contact details are available in your class whatsapp group or on the website.

2. Check SeeSaw and WhatsApp daily

We urge you to please check Seesaw and WhatsApp every day. 

It’s always exciting for the teachers to see the children’s learning products; videos and photographs are so helpful for the teacher to continue to track your child’s progress and to pinpoint the areas that your child is doing well in and those that s/he needs more practice to master.

3. Keep sessions short and fun for your child

Please remember to help your child to learn at-home in short sessions that are fun and stress-free. 

You can choose the time for the activities to work within your own schedule. 

For more on why and how distance learning works for little ones - please click here!

Primary tips for the week

1. Aim for the Daily 6!

 All Primary children must have a balanced learning ‘diet’ and to achieve this we have introduced ‘The Daily 6’ to all of their schedules. 

Aim for 20-30 minutes per day on 'The Daily 6' - with the exception, perhaps, of Zoom which is as per class timetable and may not be applicable every day. 

1. Zoom sessions (For class meetings and lessons)

2. Lalilo or Headsprout  (For daily literacy practice)

3. Khan Academy  (for daily math lessons and practice)

4. Kids A-Z  (daily reading)

5. Work in Seesaw  (science, global perspectives, and other work)

6. Physical Activity (Children always need it!)

By apportioning teaching and learning time effectively we aim for the children to have ample opportunities to learn with the teacher, with their peers and independently, while focusing on a range of subjects and skill areas including, but not limited to, literacy, numeracy, physical education, science, global perspectives and their social emotional development.

2. Support your child to become an independent learner 

Help your child become an independent learner:

• Your child should attempt to complete each assignment on his/her own. If your child needs help with the assignment, please remind your child of the options below that are available to them for getting help. You can also explore these options with your child. There are a number of ways to find a solution, such as:

  • • • She/he can read the question a second, third or fourth time.

      • Review the concepts and skills: Access the resources posted on the different platforms and tools we use to review the concepts and skills.

      • View an online video recommended by the teacher, related to the topic.

      • Explain what the question or task is asking, to help clarify for your child what is required.

      • Send a video or voice note to the teacher.

      • Email the teacher with any questions about the assignment or for additional information.

• Younger students ages 4 to 6 can now try to navigate tools independently. As you coach them, please explain to the child what you are doing as you navigate so that the child can follow and do it for him/herself the next time ( I do--we do--you do).

• It is okay to submit some incorrect work if the child does not grasp the concepts. It is very useful because the teacher can then use 1 to 1 sessions or small group sessions to explain concepts again.

• As much as possible children should complete activities on their own. Teachers need to determine the student’s learning process and adjust lesson planning along the way.