GRADE R-W

CARLSWALD HOUSE PREPARATORY | OCTOBER 2018 | NEWSLETTER 6

NEWSLETTER FROM THE DESK OF MR TAGG

Dear Parents.

Welcome to our second last newsletter of the year.

It’s hard to believe that October has come and gone and we are staring the end of the year in the face. So near and yet still so much to do before the December holidays. Exams are around the corner for the Grade 5-7 children and it appears that the parents are more stressed about the impending exams than the children are. Parents, relax, they will be fine! Our 345 children will be enjoying the end of year class parties soon and they are going to be spoilt.

I came across this interesting article recently. It looked at the importance of Critical Thinking in society and why it is so important to develop and not squash these skills in our children. At 345 and CHP one of our main education focuses is the development of Critical and Creative thinking. The points below will give you, as the parent, some ideas on how you can support our efforts to develop critical thinking skills in your children.

Enjoy the read!

Regards

Stewart Tagg

GRADE R-W

Image caption with a few lines describing what is happening in each photograph.

SAS

In This Noisy World, Kids Really Need Critical Thinking – Sally White

Ways to Help Your Child Develop Critical Thinking Skills

You don’t need to hire a private instructor to help your child develop these essential soft skills. You can easily incorporate complex problem-solving lessons into your daily life.

Ask Your Child ”Why”

Remember how your kids drove you crazy when they went through the “why’ stage? They constantly bombarded you with ‘why.’ Why is the sky blue? Why is the ball round? Why? Why? Why? Now it’s time to turn the tables and ask them why. According to Marlana Martinelli at WeAreTeachers.com, asking ‘why five times helps kids build critical thinking skills to solve problems[3].

When your child presents you with a problem, such as needing a new video game, ask them why. They might say because it’s popular and everyone has it. Your second ‘why’ will have them digging into what makes it popular. They might say it’s based on WWII. Ask ‘why’ again. The third ‘why’ will make them dig deeper into the reason it’s based on WWII. They might find out because it has optimum battle opportunities- again pose ‘why’. In the end they may even come out with a deeper understanding on the battles fought in WWII and the reason behind them.

Support Arguments at Home

Have your child argue their viewpoint on a subject. Do they want to have a later bedtime? Have them present their explanation on why they should stay up late. Then instead of telling them why you think they shouldn’t, put them in your shoes and have them think of the reasons why you aren’t letting them stay up late.

Brainstorm a solution. Perhaps the reason why you didn’t want them staying up past a certain time was because they couldn’t get up early for school. Hold a scientific experiment- a week of staying up later to see if they can cope with early rising. Let them collect the data for each day. Are they still too tired in the morning? Unable to concentrate in school? Analyse the data together and let them find the perfect solution. Perhaps an hour later is too much, but 30 minutes later would work? Try 30 minutes for a week and repeat the data collection and analysis process.

Incorporate Research Skills in Daily Life

Develop your child’s critical thinking skills by challenging their minds with research. You can incorporate this in daily life. If they ask to go to a movie, have them look up the times and prices at the local theatres. Don’t stop there. For older kids, have them add in the popcorn and drinks (with tax) and create a budget needed for a trip to the movie. Also have them check out the ratings and reviews and decide if it will be worth the cost of seeing it in theatre or waiting for 6 months later to rent it for a fraction of the price. This teaches them research. It can be used in a myriad of situations: skating, bowling. mini-golf trips. Reading reviews on a place or movie (TripAdvisor or Yelp is good for place reviews) shows them different perspectives and things they may not have considered.

Cook with Your Kids to Practice Trial and Error

The kitchen provides the optimum place to engage critical thinking skills in children (and adults too). Every meal can be used to develop critical thinking. Ask your child their opinion on the food. What would they do to improve the dish? Ask why. Would they add something for a personal preference or because it really needs it- like salt. Would they remove something? Why?

Cooking with your child also helps to build problem solving skills. Use failures- like a fallen cake or flat cookies as an opportunity to do research- why did that happen? Come up with a solution to use the next time. Perhaps a different oven temperature was needed, the wrong type of flour used, or maybe the butter needed to be at room temperature.

By cooking with your kids, you are not only teaching them necessary critical thinking skills, but also providing them with essential life skill of

cooking. A double-duty bonus!

By helping your kids to develop their critical thinking through problem solving, research, and experiments in daily life, you are providing them with vital skills that will help them become better, more capable adults

https://www.lifehack.org/586239/this-noisy-world-kids-really-need-critical-thinking

GRADE R-W

GRADE 1 - H

GRADE R D

My time with these precious little people is rapidly coming to an end… I cannot believe we have

approximately one month left of this year! This is the time for us to reflect and appreciate every moment, as

much as possible.

Our fun and learning move from outdoor physical activities, to art, block play and of course our favourite

time of the week…Grade 7 buddy visits.

The Grade 7 ladies and gentlemen have really opened to the Grade R’s. Their patience and helpfulness have

made the Grade R group really look up to the Grade 7’s and appreciate them.

As proud as I am as a teacher, I cannot even imagine

how proud you are as parents!

Here are a few pictures from October

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GRADE 1 H

We love Math! We are learning about Symmetry, Mass and 3D shapes. We loved building 3D shapes and using the scale for non-standard measurement.

In Life Skills we are learning about the phases and facts of the moon. We especially enjoyed our Alien artwork where we got to use glitter. We made the Sun, Earth and Moon and learnt how the Earth rotates around the Sun, and the Moon rotates around Earth.

Grade 1s are enthusiastic about the “family projects.” They have been very creative and showing a clear understanding of using their Think Maps and Thinking Hats. Well done to all involved.

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GRADE 1-J

The year is almost over, and our Grade 1 children have grown so much. This month we had loads of fun at the Slip and Slide day. We especially enjoyed eating our ice cream. This month we were very creative on the iPads. We sequenced a story and then we recorded our story on an app called Toontastic. We also learned about Mass. We had great fun weighing different things in our classroom. We have done lots of assessments, but we have also had lots of fun doing our rotations. We can’t wait to continue our learning next month as we head towards to end of the year.

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GRADE 2 A

v

The third term is well under way and the children have been working very hard and must be commended on their perseverance and effort. Half-term was a much-needed break and the children have come back refreshed and ready for the final push of Grade 2. In English, the children have been introduced to some new language concepts such as suffixes and prefixes. They have also learnt how to read and write a recipe of their own. The children were asked to bring ingredients to school to make their own sandwiches and they loved the independence and creativity involved in choosing their ingredients and putting their sandwiches

together.

In Mathematics, we have been working hard on counting, bonds and tables. The children are getting better each day and love playing Math’s games in class. In Life Skills, we have been learning about people in our communities who can help us. The kids were also asked to write about what they would like to be when they are older and how their chosen profession can help others in the community. Lots of doctors and dentists are in our future, as well as some sportsmen, scientists and even an astronaut!

Slip and Slide Day was a big success! The children had lots of fun slipping and sliding all over the place. It was a great way to start the half term break!

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GRADE 2 P

The month of October was one of the busiest and most memorable. The school concert being the definite highlight of the year, allowed us to see our kids bring to fruition all their hard work, sweat and perserverance. I’m so proud of all them! After the concert, it was back to the business of learning and assessments

English: We revised all concepts covered throughout the year and continued with our new Big Cat readers. The kids are learning how to analsye information, apply their thinking skills and engage in creative activities to extend their understanding of the books each week. We also had a lesson on sequencing/ordering and this was illustrated by making a sandwich. Thank you for helping your child come prepared for this lesson. The kids enjoyed this and had loads of fun.

Maths: Our daily counting activities includes movement and this has helped the kids remember patterns and apply it to their mental Maths activities. We focused on Capacity, Time and Fractions with problem solving activities. The kids look forward to the rotations as we included our new ipad station and more games to

enhance learning new concepts.

Life Skills: The theme was Road Safety and Community Helpers. The kids enjoyed dressing up as a community helper and discussed why they chose this profession. It was an interesting and informative lesson for all to learn.

Art: Experimenting with painting using different techniques which included finger, sponge and paint brushes.

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GRADE 3-P

GRADE 3 P

Wow! Time is really flying. I can’t believe it’s the end of October already.

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In Maths this month we did a lot of work on multiplication and division. We know how to share things equally so that nothing is left over, which means we had changed the remainder into a fraction! At the end of last month, we also helped our friends in Grade 1 with their cake and candy day.

We are still enjoying our Big Cat readers and reading is always a big part of our week at school. We have also been busy writing letters, stories and newspaper articles.

In Life Skills we have been learning about Natural Disasters and how to survive them. We enjoyed talking about volcanoes, earthquakes and tornadoes.

Slip and slide day was so much fun we didn’t want it to end. The water was refreshing, and the ice-creams were delicious.

Our biggest event this term was our concert. How exciting to perform on that huge stage for all our parents. The support from the parents was amazing and helped us

to do our best!

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Image caption with a few lines describing what is happening in each photograph.

GRADE 3 Y

Thank you to all for your Spring Walk contributions. Makobane and Kgalalelo won the individual prizes and Grade 3Y won the class prize! We will be celebrating with a class

party!

In Maths we had loads of fun testing our measuring skills in Mass, Capacity, Centimetres and Metres. We have been focusing on division and fractions. We then challenged the class with division sums that require a fraction as an answer. Definitely a tricky task!

In English Grade 3s are learning how to use apostrophes to show possession. The class has also utilised their creative flair in writing stories, newspaper articles and letters about the concert and our latest Life Skills themes on Pollution and Natural Disasters.

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MUSIC ART

Gr 7

Gr 4

Gr 6

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Gr 3

The Grade Threes became architects and designed secret underground houses. They loved working on the large A2 pieces of paper and finding a suitable working space was exciting. The Grade Fours drew glass bottle terrariums for their insects. Their final products were just delightful. Grade Fives integrated Art and Maths to create beautiful one- perspective drawings. The Grade Sixes used their iPads for sourcing inspiration and their Maths skills to create interesting symmetrical buildings with the focal point being a Rose window. We look forward to seeing the final products.The Grade Sevens added the final touches to their shirts with Jackson Pollock splatter art. They enjoyed the challenge of sewing patches and are excited to see their masterpieces on display.

Gr 5

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MUSIC

Morethetho is a Sesotho/Setswana/Sepedi word meaning beat and rhythm. Music and singing play a significant role in our culture. It is present in many facets of our lives, for example, radio, television, theatre, worship, and so forth. From birth, parents use music to calm and soothe children, to express their love and joy, and to engage and interact. Music is, therefore, a natural part of our everyday experiences. Research has found that learning music facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas. Making music involves more than the voice or instrument. A child learning about music taps into multiple skill sets, often simultaneously. “Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the left side of the brain known to be processing language and can actually wire the brain circuits in specific ways”. Therefore, growing up in a musically rich environment is advantageous for children’s language development. It also increases the child’s IQ and improves test scores. The primary reason to provide your child with a musical education should be to help them become more musical, to appreciate all aspects of music, and to respect the process of learning an instrument or learning to sing. As such, the child’s understanding of art, the world, how they think and express themselves, is enhanced. It was mentioned previously that the Senior Wind Ensemble received a Diamond Award (95%+) at RACA Eisteddfod. During half-term (October) break, they received a further award as Category Winners in Mixed Instrumental Chamber Orchestra. This can only be achieved through constant practice and bettering one’s skill. Congratulations to the Senior Wind Ensemble!