Newsletter 2

Welcome Back

Welcome back to Term 2. We hope all had a wonderful relaxing holiday with many fond memories gained. The children have started the term enthusiastic and focused. It has been a very busy start to Term 2 with Swim Scheme and "Wheels Day' for PE.

We also have celebrated Easter and Anzac Day this week.

ANZAC Day Assembly

Ms Pike and Ms Hitz-Morton presented at this weeks assembly with 2RY as class hosts. This assembly was a solemn occasion where the students learnt about the importance and relevance of ANZAC day for Australians and New Zealanders.

ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

Mr Elliot played the Last Post and the Reveille. The Last Post is one of a number of bugle calls in military tradition that mark the phases of the day. While Reveille signals the start of a soldier's day, the Last Post signals its end. We observed a minute silence after Mr Elliot played. Silence for one or two minutes is included in the ANZAC Day ceremony as a sign of respect and a time for reflection

Japan Fundraiser - Japan Earthquake Fund

Next Friday we will raise funds for the people of Japan affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami.

On Friday all students are asked to come to school dressed up in either red and white or Japanese dress.  Students will make a donation (at least gold coin) to the Japanese earthquake fund.

At lunch time on Friday Japanese parents will paint Japanese Characters for Love and hope on students arms.  Students will need to make a gold coin donation for this. Parents will also give students a paper crane or paper heart in return for a gold coin donation.  Students will write a message on the crane or heart (as well as their names) and we will display them in the pods.  

Unit of Inquiry

How the World Works

Tatiana, Niamh and Lottie enjoying Wheels Day

Wheels Day

The children participated in 'Wheels Day' on Wednesday 20th April. Mr Barnes and Mr Knight prepared the lesson for PE. The children were able to demonstrate their knowledge of forces through the action of using their 'wheels.'

Liam on his wheels

Class of the week - 2HS

This week the class in focus is 2HS. The focus for our class has been our Unit of Inquiry.

  



Jessie and Matilda inquiring about friction




Nicholas and Joe are having fun making discoveries about friction.



Edward is lending a helping hand to assist 2HS learn about gravity.



Francis, Solomon and Hannah investigating the scientific principles related to push.

 

House Leaders

Murray - 8 points, Derwent -6 points, Lachlan - 4 points, Fitzroy - 2 points

Meet the Staff - Mrs Renae Roberts-Thomson
 

5 Facts about me

     I have lived in Singapore for 15 months

     I am from Adelaide, we were just finishing renovating our bluestone cottage when we found out we were moving!

   I got married last December- 2 days after Christmas…who has a wedding at Christmas time?!

     I’m loving the American Idol series at the moment-Will it be Jacob, James or Casey?

   I am going to Turkey for the first time in June-any recommendations?

Y2 Learning - Caught on Camera

This week a group of 2HO students were caught on camera learning how to use the 'Jump strategy' in Addition. Ms Juliet ( who is an accomplished Maths teacher) was teaching the group how to use this strategy. We are very fortunate to have Ms Juliet on our teaching team.

Specialists in the Spotlight - Mandarin

Jamie reading to Mr Foster



Ally Chen reading her Storybook to the class



Children working diligently during Chinese



In this semester of Chinese, Year 2 students are looking at transport words as a link to their UOI  'How the World Works'. This also involves learning how to ask and respond to the question “How did you get there?’   As students returned from their term break, many eagerly responded in Chinese to their classmates when asked how they got to their destinations.  Other activities students have enjoyed included planning and writing in Chinese about a day-out in Singapore with a friend.  The current vocabulary and structure will continue to be very useful throughout the rest of the year in topics such as Places in Singapore, Countries, and Places in China.   Students in most classes are either working on or have just completed their learning journal piece, which involves making use of all vocabulary items learned throughout Semester 1 in a bilingual story book about a great race to China by the animals of the Chinese zodiac.  While all children will present their books orally to their teacher, some will be asked to read their stories to the class.  The second half of Term 2 will see the students start on the topic 'Places in Singapore'.  This topic looks not only at a variety of places here but also different foods and national symbols.  For this topic the students learn to ask and respond to the question               “Have you ever been to/eaten/seen?’.  by  Rodney Foster

Year Two  CCA News  - Team Games

This week's focus CCA is Team Games with Ms LeCornu

Team Games is a fun CCA that occurs every Tuesday at lunchtime. Teams Games is made up of 22 students of mixed teams of boys and girls. Predominately the balance is in favour of the boys but I am hoping a few more girls will join shortly. The students meet in my class room; we have lunch together then head down to the field at the end of the Junior school. Drinks and hat’s are compulsory as we are playing out in the heat of the day.

 Since the beginning of the year we have played a variety of fun games and sports.  Some of these have included some classic games from your childhood such as:

  What’s the Time Mr Wolf; Duck, Duck Goose; Scarecrow; Freeze Tag and the Hopper Relays. These games are often brief warm up activities that lead into a more organized game of either Soccer, a combination Tee- Ball Cricket game, Leader Ball or Pass Ball.

Team work and communication skill development are always encouraged. The teams are mixed up on a weekly basis so the students have an opportunity to play each other and more importantly to make new friends. I have become increasingly proud of the students in Team Games since we started. I have noticed an increased maturity and a strong development of organizational skills from all students. They all work and play well together and they are always very keen to help each other learn new skills in a positive way.  Alison LeCornu

Dates to Remember

• Labour Day Holiday - Monday 2 May
• Tabitha Mother's Day Stall - 4,5,6 May
• Japan Fundraiser - Friday 6 May
• Swimming Carnival -Wednesday 11 May -
• Pupil free day,  Staff Professional Development - Monday 16 May 
• Vesak Day Public Holiday - Tuesday 17 May

 Parent Education

Throughout my teaching career I have encountered many children showing signs of mild to severe anxiety.  Not only is excessive anxiety upsetting for the child but it can also wreak havoc on daily family life.  Fortunately nowadays there are many places you can go to for help with this problem.

Anxiety is a normal part of childhood.  Most children report having several fears at any given age with research showing that 90% of children between 2-14yrs of age have at least one specific fear.  It is common for children in the early years of school to be fearful of the dark, sleeping alone, thunder, floods, ghosts, and monsters.  As they reach 7-8yrs of age their fears start to become more realistic, eg, they may worry about physical injury, school performance, death, earthquakes, floods. 

Whilst most children will go through phases of anxiety that don’t interfere with their daily life. approximately one in eight children will develop some type of anxiety disorder, making it the most prevalent mental health problem amongst children and adolescents.

It is common to see anxiety start to become a problem in children around Year One and Year Two, and for this reason our School Counsellor runs an anxiety management program in every Year Two class at  AISS.  This program will be underway in Term 3 this year.  Meanwhile if you would like to know more about anxiety in children you can check out the resources below.

·     http://www.emotionalhealthclinic.com.au/ is the website for Macquarie University’s child psychology clinic.

·     "Girls don't start out more anxious than boys, but they usually end up that way.' is an interesting article that explores how parents raise children differently according to gender. Click on the title to read the article.

·      www.beyondblue.org.au

·     “Helping your anxious child” by Ron Rapee.  Available at any big bookstore or on-line at www.opentrolley.com.sg

Please feel free to contact our school counsellor - Lia Gould if you have any concerns about your child’s level of anxiety. lia_gould@ais.com.sg

Ms Elle Ryan and the Year 2 Teaching Team.