Newsletter 12.05.17

The F2 children have enjoyed revamping their role play area this week. With Ms Y's help they created lovely brick walls, and added some different furniture. The children have thoroughly enjoying breaking in this new space and we are hearing a lot of great conversations, based largely on the children's own experiences of home life and holidays.

In the soft play room and big playground we have been learning about positional language. We used the parachute to explore the concept of 'on' and 'under' (it is a common mistake for the children to say 'in' when they mean 'on'). Some of the children are learning to explain more complex ideas using baskets and a ball - inside, beside, next to, in between, in front of and behind.

We have been reinforcing some core PD skills such as walking up and down stairs using alternate feet, using gross motor movements to draw large circles and lines and reminding children to sit with their legs at the front, both on the carpet and in their play.

Many children sit with their legs in the 'W' position (see photo). But we are trying to break this habit because 'W' sitting increases the risk of the child’s hip and leg muscles becoming short and tight which can then negatively affect their coordination, balance, and the development of gross motor skills down the road.

There are several other developmental reasons we discourage 'W' sitting including; developing core upper body muscles, the ability to shift weight from one side to the other and the ability to rotate the upper body.
  You can help at home by reminding your child to move their legs to the front. 

Our construction area has been a hive of activity as the children practice taking turns with the large construction vehicles; diggers, dump trucks and bulldozers. We are noticing a marked improvement in the children's turn-taking abilities both waiting for a turn and giving up a toy to let others have a turn.

The children have enjoyed the book 'Duck in the Truck' this week and have been using the using the box 'trucks' to recreate elements of the story as well as attending to a few emergencies and taking friends away on holidays. With support the children are learning to hear and recognise rhyme and alliteration. We will continue with this over the rest of the term. Our next Literacy focus is looking at traditional tales, which ties in nicely with the up and coming EYFS show.

The children have enjoyed another shapes focus this week as we use shapes for creative activities tying into some of our PSED goals. Most children are now able to identify and name different shapes in the environment as well. Using the different shapes to make faces - happy, sad, surprised and cross we talked about our own feelings. We encourage the children to talk about how they are feeling and let them know that there is no such thing as a bad emotion, it's ok to feel cross or sad.

During snack on Thursday afternoon, the children undertook a wee perseverance challenge - to peel a hard boiled egg.  Encouraging your child to persist when faced with a challenge (whether it's putting on their socks, completing a puzzle, finishing a board game or peeling an egg) is an essential skill to foster. The children were so proud of themselves, even if their eggs weren't quite perfect :-)

We finished off the week with a bit of Friday schnanagins - learning an exciting new song about a family of sharks with Ms Precious.  Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqZsoesa55w

Notices:

Late Slips - Please be reminded that we take our register at 8.15am. If you arrive after 8.15am please collect a late slip from the office so they know to update our class register. This is important for safeguarding the children in case of an unforeseen emergency or a scheduled fire / lock down drill.

Library - Please return library books on Tuesday so your child can choose a new story during our Library session.

Sleeping at school - We have noticed a number of children are not falling asleep during rest time, or are taking a long time to fall asleep.  If you'd like to discuss your child's sleeping or stop their nap time please talk to a teacher after school or drop us an email.

French Cafe

Notice from year 6 - 

There will be a French Café this Thursday after school from 2.15-3.15ish. Everyone is welcome: kids, parents, teachers, etc. So please bring your bestest French and come and support year 6 by purchasing a crepe or two, or some delicious milkshakes a la banane :-) There will also be ham and cheese sandwiches and lemonade.

Newslettter 5.5.2017

Dear parents, 

We hope you all enjoyed the long weekend!  The children came back with lots of holiday stories and we always enjoy listening to them. Although it's only been a three day week, it's been a busy one.  Here's what we've been up to:

Literacy
We have been focusing on mark making.  This has included supporting the children to hold a pencil using a tripod grip and tracing patterns such as lines, circles and zig zags to support pencil control. Some children have expressed an interest in writing their names so they have been practising some letter formation.

Library
Ms Clarissa shared a story called 'Where the Wild Thing Are' by Maurice Sendak. The children enjoyed the story- it is available for children to borrow in the Library.

Afternoon Focus Groups
We continue to develop children's awareness of sounds and rhythms. The children make different sounds with parts of their body (feet, hands, knee, etc...) Sometimes, body percussion sounds and actions are made whilst children sing along to various nursery rhymes.

We have also been giving extra support to our EAL learners through building on their vocabulary and introducing some concepts. We have been focusing on shapes, colours, numbers, body parts, feelings, animals etc. The children are mastering these at their own pace.

How you can help at home

Please talk to your children about how they feel and why in English and/or your home language.

If your child enjoys mark making at home, please try to provide regular opportunities for them to

draw and write.  We would love to see their writing and drawing at school and will be desgnating an area to share their work from home.

Notices

-F2 will be holding an exhibition of our children's mark-making works in June and we are also hoping to go on a trip.  Details to follow soon.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Ms Precious

Newsletter 28.04.17

Welcome to F2 Andy Lam, JaeHwan and Minh Nhat!  It's always exciting to have new friends join our learning adventure, we hope you feel at home in F2!

This week the children have continued to enjoy Yoga in the soft play room and are developing their awareness of people and objects around them, trying to manage obstacles.  Please support us with the 'mindfulness' aspect of this at home; helping the children to be aware of others around them and how to share spaces, moving around each other.

Outside the children have been busy with construction related play in the sandpit and have been learning about shapes.  We have been spotting shapes all over the school and some children are learning to draw simple (and some more complex shapes) with good accuracy. During our sessions in the Big Playground we are continuing to develop throwing, catching, climbing and balancing skills as well as following simple instructions, for large group games.

We have been tuning our ears in to the sounds we hear, we started with sounds bingo at the listening station.  Then outside we noticed horns beeping, water running, children laughing, and fans humming. This is the beginning of Phase 1 phonics in which the children will develop their sound discrimination skills; listening, remembering what they hear, and talking about sounds to develop and extend vocabulary and language comprehension. Mr Jon also supported us with this in music, the children had to listen to the instrument being played then identify it (within a group of instruments).  The children enjoyed having the opportunity to play several different percussion instruments too.

Both in and out of the classroom the children have been busy mark-making, using a wide range of tools. This week we have introduced mark-making focus groups, based on our observations and assessments.  These groups will support the children to develop key literacy skills based on individual needs. This week we have been paying particular attention to pencil grip.

The children are making great progress with number and shapes.  We are beginning to look at positional language 'after' 'before' and 'inbetween' and are enjoying creating (and solving) number problems.

Notices:

Long weekend - Please note school will resume on Wednesday 3rd May.  Have a great long weekend!

Library - Each week we have a large number of children who are unable to choose a new book.  PLEASE return Library books by Wednesday.

Newsletter 21.04.2017

It has been a wonderful first week of Term 3!  The children have come back refreshed and full of chatter about their holidays! 

As you know, Term 3 is an important term in which we prepare the children for the next academic year. We aim to support our children so they feel as secure and happy as possible as they transition into F3. Our focus this term is to prepare the children for the use of the big pool, lunch in the canteen and phonics sessions. In the coming weeks, more detailed information will be given to you through a letter about Transition to F3. 

Physical Development

This week, every child had the opportunity to use a bike or trike, the Supernova or the climbing frame in the big playground.  In the splash pool, the children are becoming more and more confident in the water. They enjoy doing races and finding toys underwater. 

Afternoon focus groups

This term, we kick started with our letters and sounds sessions. For this week, we focused on Phase 1- Aspect 1  of letters and sounds which aims to raise children's awareness of the sounds around them and develop their listening skills. Some of the activities we did this week include a listening walk and comparing sounds. The children were brilliant at using their listening ears.

Other actvities

We have been doing 15-minute yoga sessions in the soft play room. The aim of our yoga sessions is  provide the children with a calm atmosphere where they can relax, enhance their coordination and be more aware of their body movements. We are very pleased with our F2s as they have been so good at following instructions and copying the different poses. Please see below the attached poster of Yoga poses 'ABC's of Yoga'. Here is also the link to the music we have been playing for our yoga sessions.

Only Time by Enya:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOQR1B35VgM

How you can help at home

We have been practising to hold a pencil properly and use it with good control.
Tracing simple patterns would be a good activity at home. 
Please see the samples below:

Notices:
Hats
-As you will have noticed, it is very hot and sunny.  All children must wear a hat in order to play outside.  Please check with your nannies/relatives that one is placed in your child's bag everyday.

Swimming
-Mondays and Thursdays are swimming days. Please bring in your child's swimming kit. 

Library books
Please bring your child's Library book every Wednesday. Children get very sad when they don't get to choose a book to bring home. 

Funky Fingers Coffee Morning, please see the poster below.

Change to our email addresses:
Please do not hesitate to email any of us if you have questions.
Ms Precious- precious.cendana@bisvietnam.com
Ms Sara- sara.heath@bisvietnam.com
Ms Claudine- claudine.molino@bisvietnam.com

Have a lovely weekend, 
Ms Precious