April 2013

Inside this issue

Welcome messages .............. 1 Kindergarten......................... 2

PYP Newsletter
Principals Message
Dear Parents, We were very pleased with the success of the PYP5 exhibition which took place during the week before the Easter break. For the first time, this was held in our library and in the classrooms. The exhibition was visited by grade 5 family and friends on the Tuesday evening and by the rest of the PYP on the following day. This is a special time on the PYP calendar. We are now looking forward to our next big event which is the culture week that will take place in May. This will include the annual Art Exhibition and Spring Show. We have a new article in the PYP newsletter this month. This takes the form of an information update as a result of questions posed to our Parent Advisory Group. The items covered will be later incorporated into the parent handbook. Kind Regards, Marilyn James, Principal Primary Years Programme

Grade 1 ................................. 3 PE......................................... 4 Grade 5 Exhibition ................. 5 Information from Marilyn ...... 6 Information from Marilyn ...... 7 School clubs .......................... 8 Information page .................. 9

Important Dates

Friday, April 19th - No school, In service Wednesday, May 1st Holiday Thursday, May 9-10th Holiday Week 20, Culture Week Wednesday, 15th May Spring show Tuesday, 21st May Art Exhibition Thursday, June 6/7th Holiday Friday, June 14th Students end

Coordinators Message
Welcome to the new look newsletter! This month we will focus on what has been happening in our Kindergarten classes, our grade 1 classes, our PE classes and we will take a closer look at the Exhibition. Hope you enjoy the read!

Kindergarten
We have been having a fun time in Kindergarten lately with our new inquiry on Stories. We are learning how stories can be communicated in different ways and how they can make us think and feel differently. We are also finding out about the different elements of stories and will be recording our own stories on the ipads. We have been working in Art to create our backgrounds and characters and you will be able to see the finished stories during Culture Week in May. Our inquiry started during Reading Week and we enjoyed listening to each others favourite stories, some in different languages and dressing up as a character from a book. We also built a house for the Three Little Pigs and blew it down with a hairdryer! Just before the spring break, we joined with the Swedish section to wrap up an egg and drop it out of the window. Amazingly, many of the eggs didn't break and the children were really inventive, even using parachutes to slow the egg's fall! Later in the summer term we will be exploring the plants and animals in our local environment.

Grade 1
In PYP 1 we are currently focusing on the transdisciplinary theme of How we organise ourselves and our central idea is, Food goes through a process before it reaches our table. We have been finding out about different foods which we eat, asking questions such as; where does the food come from? What happens to the food before it reaches us? What is our responsibility when we buy food? We have visited a local dairy farm to find out about where milk and other dairy products come from and have also learnt what organic and fairtrade mean to help us understand the choices we have as consumers.

The challenge was to work together in small groups to wrap up an egg successfully so that it would not smash when dropped out of a first floor window

Cross team activities

On Wednesday 27th March, PYP K and 1 and LGR F and 1 enjoyed our annual cross-team egg drop event. The challenge was to work together in small groups to wrap up an egg successfully so that it would not smash when dropped out of a first floor window. We had a lot of fun!

Physical Education
The spring is almost here and it is finally time to start having Physical Education outdoors on our soccer field, if the weather lets us. Soccer is going to be the unit most classes will focus on for the next 3-4 weeks. All classes are practicing for our Student Council Soccer Tournament that will take place during the spring. Grade 5 is also training for Energikicken, which is a soccer tournament for all grade 5 classes in Gothenburg. This tournament will take place at Heden on the 15th of May. When we are done with the soccer unit, we will end the term with field games, track & field and orienteering. Our P.E units normally lasts 3-6 weeks depending on the activity and the students get to try everything from ball sports, gymnastics, dance to track & field and orienteering. Our next sports day is planned to be Track & Field at Slottsskogsvallen, but we have not got a date for that yet. Lastly, please remember that the students should bring P.E clothes and shoes on the days when they have P.E. By Peter S

Grade 5 Exhibition
During grade 5 the students get to do a very important unit of Inqury called The exhibition. This unit of Inquiry is meant to be the culumating project of the primary years programme. It should test the students to demonstate all the skills they have learnt throughout their time in the PYP programme and should give the students a real life problem with needs a solution. This years Exhibition theme was sharing the planet and the focus was The struggle to share finite resources and conflict resolution. The students worked in groups to create a presentation to show to the parent community and the other classes in the school. The event itself was a big success and the students did themselves and the school proud! By Mike

It should test the students to demonstate all the skills they have learnt throughout their time in the PYP programme and should give the students a real life problem with needs a soluation.

Information updates on routines and procedures following Parent Advisory Group meeting March 2013
the front of the school where the present car park is Updates on the school calendar: The school calendar situated. is on the website. Important dates like the start and end dates for terms and half terms will be added in Number of students in a class: PYP has seen a 50% January before the beginning of the next school year. increase in students since the beginning of 2012. This has meant, that although we have been able to create Routines regarding cleaning of the school: ISGR has extra classes in grades 1 and 2, we have not had the a service team which consists of our own staff who space to expand any more. We have instead employed care for and maintain the premises. There is a regular extra teaching staff for the bigger classes in grades K, cleaning schedule and also the students are encour3, 4 and 5. aged to care for their environment by looking after school property and their own property. Communication between teachers and parents: The older students (from grade 3) have lockers to put away their extra clothes and possessions. Younger students have hooks and shelves and boxes in the corridors. The younger students have the extra challenge to sort all their possessions neatly and tidily. They are reminded and helped to do this on a regular basis. Parents are also requested to talk to their children about looking after their things. Any graffiti is removed by a specialist company as soon as it is noticed. There may sometimes be delays however due to very low temperatures outside. Organisation of classes within the school: The school premises are used for both daytime school activities and also by PAL. There are more children in different parts of the school at different times of the day. This is particularly noticeable in Dwing where there are more students downstairs until 13.30.After this time, the situation changes and then there is a greater concentration of students upstairs when the PAL organisation starts their groups. We are looking at a rearrangement of classes for next year when we make the annual review of the premises. There will also be more space since we are having portocabins at Routines regarding communication between parents and staff have been updated and sent out to all parents in October 2012 and March 2013. These routines will be added to the staff handbook in the next update. Books in the library at Guldheden: The books in the library are chosen for students from the ages of 5 to 11 years old. The students are helped to choose books so that they are appropriate according to age-level, reading and interest level. If you find that your child brings home a book which you feel inappropriate, please contact the classroom teacher.

Availability of food in the Guldheden bamba: Guldhedens school has been given an award for being one of the top ten school canteens in the whole of Sweden. The range of food is extremely good. However, despite this, they may not always serve your childs favourite food. Occasionally children will report that there is nothing to eat. However, all staff eating with their students give regular feedback about the availability of food at the big bamba. There have been no shortages reported this term. Behaviour of students in class and on outings: Social education is considered highly important at ISGR. Within the PYP, the students are taught to reflect on the PYP profiles and attitudes. We do have children from many different backgrounds and with different levels of language ability and we take this into account and have regular communication with parents and with children who are experiencing behavioural challenges. Having said this, we do not tolerate behavior which is disturbing to other children and work carefully on promoting a good learning environment for everyone. We do this in many different ways; through making clear rules and consequences and through differentiation of instruction. It may be that work that we do with a particular child is not immediately apparent to other children or parents. However, due to confidentiality rules, we are not allowed to describe the development of any individual child to anyone outside of their immediate family. According to Swedish law, children are not expelled from school due to their behavior. The school is obliged to provide an education suitable for all children even if the learning environment is modified. There are clear expectations of behavior for school outings. For some students, school outings may pre

sent an extra challenge which they find extra difficult to cope with. Special arrangements are made for these students when planning school outings. Teachers on leave: Teachers at ISGR are employed according to Swedish employment regulations. This means that they are eligible for full or part -time leave for parenting or studying. The school aims to provide consistency with regards to long-term substitute teachers. We even aim for consistency in the substitutes used for short-term leaves. However this is not always possible because the substitutes have other work and commitments. The substitutes are always given lesson plans for the day. The procedure for handover of students to the care of PAL teachers at 14.30: For the Kindergarten classes the procedure is that the students are escorted to the PAL room by the Kindergarten assistant. The grade 1 students go to the PAL room in D wing on their own. Procedures for students leaving the classroom to go to the bathroom: Each class has a system for monitoring toilet visits. Procedures for handing over information about students arriving at ISGR: When a new student is accepted into ISGR, a short account is sent to the teachers involved. The teachers are given access to school records. It is a requirement of ISGR that previous school records are sent to the school before the student is admitted. Teachers are also notified about any special dietary requirements.

School Activities starting just now! School Choir The ISGR choirs are a chance for students from both sections of the school to come together and celebrate our enjoyment of singing. We sing songs from different genres including traditional songs, muscial theatre, pop, jazz and other modern styles. We also practice some basic singing techniques and perform regularly at school events such as the Spring Show, Culture Week and on the last day of the school year. We currently have 2 choirs: PYP 1 and PYP 2 rehearse on Wednesdays from 9:50 - 10:10 PYP3-5 and LGR 2-5 rehearse on Thursdays from 12:40 - 1:10 This term we are busy preparing for the Spring Show. New students are always welcome to join although students need to attend regularly to participate in performances. ISGR Sports Club After School sports club! See notice board in the main entrance hall! If you have questions, thoughts or ideas, dont hesitate to contact me by email peter.sjoberg@isgr.se

Guldheden Library 2013 Library opening hours Monday 8.30 -3.30 pm Tuesday 8.30 -3.30pm Wednesday 8.30 -3.30pm Thursday 8.30 3.30pm Friday 8.30 2.30pm Rouhia Lotfkhah

PYP coordinator website If you would like to learn more about the PYP programme, please visit my website to watch some interesting videos and maybe read the PYP book. http://teacherweb.com/SE/ISGR/ MikeHowlett/apt1.aspx