Primary eNews – October 25, 2019

Parents are asked to view upcoming events on the BIS Events Calendar

Maths in the PYP & helping your children at home

Parents are invited to join us from 8:00 – 8:45 am on Monday 28th October in the Library for an information session  Maths in the PYP & helping your children at home which will be presented by Alison Wighton, our Grade 5 teacher and Craig Eldred, the Primary Principal.

 

Term 2 Volleyball 

We have a total of 33 boys and girls signed up for Volleyball in our 9-10 year old age bracket, which is great. Our first game will be played on Wednesday, the 30th of October. I will keep you all informed via email with the schedule when it is confirmed.  Thank you all for your support and enjoy the Volleyball season.

Sam Watson

Primary PE Teacher and BSSA Coordinator

 

Halloween Dress Up and Party 

We will be celebrating Halloween next Friday 1st November. Students are invited to come to school dressed in a Halloween costume next Friday morning. We ask that the costumes aren’t too scary as we don’t want our younger students to be frightened. Also, weapons are not permitted. All students are invited to stay for a Halloween Party being hosted by the PTA from 3:00 – 4:00 pm and then a Halloween Movie Night & BBQ from 4:00 – 6:00 pm.

 

 

What’s Been Happening in the Primary School Recently

Below is a summary of some of the fantastic learning that has been taking place across the school in recent weeks. Teachers post many of these things on their class blogs but by sharing them on the eNews it gives families a chance to see what is happening in other grade levels.

 

The Grade 3 Bloggers!

In Grade 3, we love to connect our learning across all areas of the curriculum.

Last week, we enjoyed creating a collaborative art project connected to our Solar System unit for the International Day Auction. The students enjoyed inventing their own planets in an effort to convey our uniqueness and to also express our togetherness as an internationally, globally and universally minded group of humans!

We also set up our very own blogs, using laptops and devices, to record facts uncovered as part of our imaginary journey through space. As part of the digital citizenship program, students were reminded about keeping passwords safe as well as revealing basic information online and ensuring blogs and other presentations are private. We also explored the importance of listing our information sources as a way to show integrity.

Our mathematical learning was HUGE too – reading large numbers, counting how many zeros in a million, discussing distances, temperatures, units of time and even parts of a circle. We even managed to squeeze a bit of fractions, measurement & geometry into a birthday cake session! Thanks for my cake, team!

 

Managing Technology at Home

Thank you for the parents that joined us for the Managing Technology at Home workshop on Monday evening. Please click here to access the short slideshow from the session. Below is some additional information that we shared with the workshop participants.

 

Some recent resources that may be of interest

Managing kid’s screen time at home

While it makes complete common sense that we need to steer our children to make good decisions when using technology, many of us struggle to keep up ourselves, Maggie Dent writes for ABC Life. Click to read the article

At Your Wits’ End With A Screen-Obsessed Kid? Read This

Ninety-eight percent of families with children now have smartphones. Young children Nathan’s age consume over two hours of media per day on average, tweens take in about six hours, and teens use their devices for nine hours a day, according to the nonprofit Common Sense Media. Click to read the article

Common Sense Media – Screen Time from the Parent’s section

Setting screen-time limits — and helping kids moderate their own habits — are all about finding the right balance for your family’s needs and lifestyle. Click here to access the site. The site has a wide range of reviews of books, movies, tv shows, apps plus many parents guides to 

Parent Controls

Even if you’ve talked to your kids about screen-time limits and responsible online behavior, it’s still really tough to manage what they do when you’re not there (and even when you are). Parental controls can support you in your efforts to keep your kids’ internet experiences safe, fun, and productive. They work best when used openly and honestly in partnership with your kids — not as a stealth spying method.   What Parental Controls you may choose depends a lot on what devices you have, and what you are trying to achieve with your child.  Here is an excellent resource to guide you in what tool to use based on your goals.

 

Understanding and Managing your Child’s Frustrations at Home

Suellen Fuller our Preschool teacher and Jackie Wyncol, our Student Support Teacher led a very informative session on Monday evening about Understanding and Managing your Child’s Frustrations at Home. Please click here to access the presentation.