"Goodbye" is a sad word... Let's say, "See you later!"

As you may have already heard from your child, there are four children from 1JK leaving TAISM this summer. Pelle Molin and his family will be returning home to Sweden. Alexandra Gilreath and her family will be relocating in Jordan. Yaseen Shindy and his family will be returning home to Egypt. Connor Hemphill and his family will be returning back home to the United States. Even though it is always hard to say "goodbyes" to our friends and family, I am sure every single one of them has captured many happy moments and created mental movies in their minds. We wish the Molin's, the Gilreath's, the Shindy's and the Hemphills all the best in their new "destination", and hope that they will be settling quickly and comfortably in their new homes.

Thank you Sara (Pelle's mom), for putting together a little "memory book" for the families who are leaving. I am sure Pelle, Alex, Yaseen and Connor will have fun reading it. It is such a wonderful and meaningful gift. Thanks again, Sara.

I, myself, am also leaving TAISM in mid-June. I have spent 2 wonderful years here in Oman and I will forever treasure the memories I have here, especially at TAISM. I will be returning home in Canada first, and then off to New York City to begin my graduate studies in the fall. It has been my pleasure to be your child's teacher this year. I am lucky to have this group of children this year and I have enjoyed teaching them. You have no idea how much fun it has been for me to keep a class blog this year, documenting the many achievements, success, and celebrations we've had! With the help of technology, the world is actually getting smaller. I am sure all of us will be easily in-touch, with only be an email or Skype call away!

Sorry to stir up any emotions! We still have 2 more weeks to go! I look forward to all the upcoming celebrations next week. And I definitely look forward to seeing you at the ES Spring Concert, Portfolio Celebration, and 1st Grade Pool Party. See you around! = ) 

Spring Cleaning and Wrapping up the School Year

The count-down is on! Only 2 more weeks of school left! Even though it feels like mid-summer already in Oman, technically, it is still spring = ). In order to get ourselves and the classroom organized before the summer, we need your help.

Please look through your child's bookshelves or anywhere at home where your child keeps his/her reading materials, and look for any school's library books or classroom library books. Usually they have a barcode, or a TAISM stamp inside the cover. Have your child return any reading materials by next Wednesday, June 6th. 

Mrs. Catherine, our teacher-librarian also needs your help. She is currently re-collecting all library bags from students. If your child still has a library bag at home, send it with him/her to school some time this week. Mrs. Catherine has kindly offered to store them for the summer and will be distributing them back accordingly to your child's new classroom next year. If you are not returning TAISM in September, there is no need to return your library bag - it is yours to keep!

Due to classroom library inventory, your child will stop receiving guided reading materials and just-right level books to bring home after next week. In the meantime, please continue to support your child's reading by reading the books you have at home. Thank you!

Slideshow of the Week

More celebrations to follow! Save the dates!

First of all, I would like to express my most sincere thank you to all of you who participated in Teachers' Appreciation Week last week. It was a very special week for teachers. I felt very pampered from your thoughtful gifts and the delicious luncheon that many parents partook. THANK YOU!

Our ES music performance is also coming up on June 3rd. I am sure you will be hearing a lot of singing in the shower or bath in the upcoming weeks before the concert!

In your child's folder tonight you will find an invitation that your child has created in I.T. class to formally invite you to our end-of-year portfolio share on June 6th, from 9:30 - 10:15. The children have been working really hard this past year, and especially these past two weeks to put together this portfolio to share with you. They are really looking forward to that day.

Finally, our year-end pool party will take place on June 9th afternoon. Currently, our first grade room moms and parent volunteers are organizing and coming up with different snack options. Thank you so much for all your help!

Celebrate!!!

Our writers of nonfiction "how-to" (procedural) have finally published their books! Many of them published 2 books, some published 3! They are all very proud of their hard work. On Monday, all three first grade classes met in the ES foyer for a little celebration. We had a chance to read each others' books. Many of them gave great shout-outs to their fellow writers, complimenting their writer's craft.

"I really like your catchy beginning."
"You have great pictures and labels."
"I like how you got inspired by another how-to author and wrote your book in a different way."
"I like your closing - it's really fun!"

Please congratulate your child on their success. These books will be shared at our end-of-year portfolio celebration on June 6th.

Our writers are now moving on to our last writing unit of the year, which is another nonfiction unit on "all about" or informational books on space. As you know, we have begun our space unit and all of them have chosen a topic that they are interested in doing a little research. In the end, students will consolidate their findings and re-write it in their own words, add an introduction, fact boxes, and diagram. They have a choice of either publish their findings and make it into an all about book, a poster, or a model with a mini oral presentation. This past week, they have already gathered a lot of information in class. We will be getting ready to begin drafting next week. Ask your child what their research topic is and what they know already about it this weekend! 

How Big is the Sun?

We all know that the sun is ENORMOUS. But how big really is the sun in comparison to the earth? Our scientists did a little hands-on exploration last week to show the size of the sun and our earth respectively in relative ratio. We measured a piece of yarn that is about 50 inches long and we attached it onto a piece of sidewalk chalk. We then used this tool as a compass and drew a big circle. Finally we compared the big circle (the sun) with a small red chip (the earth) and realized that the sun is significantly larger than the earth. No wonder we, humans, and all other living things are able to survive on earth - without this great big sun, there would be no lives on earth!

HEE HAW HOOTENANNY, we made it!

Today all ES students (from EC to Grade 5) and teachers participated in the Hootenanny assembly. We had so much fun singing along, clapping and stomping to the rhythm and beat. Thank you Mr. Steve Ringo, our HS art teacher and a very talented banjo player for accompanying us today. Hee Haw!!! Job well done kids!

Slideshow of the Week

Revise, edit and publish!

Our "how-to" authors have been working so hard on revising and editing their books last week with their writing partners. We know how important revision and editing is, and we appreciate that our writing partners are there to help! Our writers came up with a checklist. These are the things they found important:
1. Have a "catchy" and interesting introduction
2. Add appropriate punctuation
3. Make sure each step make sense
4. Add more details if need be
5. Have finger space between words
6. Check spelling
7. Check and fix letters that are written backwards by mistake
8. Use capital letters and lower case in the right place
9. Check the ending - does it have a nice closure? 

After two days of thorough revising and editing with our writing partners, our authors have finally begun publishing today. These books will be shared with parents and families on June 6, 2012, our End-of-Year Portfolio Celebration. So stay tuned!

A new unit in science - SPACE

Last week, we launched our new science unit on Space. The students have been extremely excited about the unit. We did a KWL chart (K for what you know, W for what you want to know, and L for what you learned) and jotted down facts and questions they have about space. I was very much impressed by how much our first graders already know and the smart questions they have about space. Luckily, we got our fourth grade reading buddies to help us with the tricky words and understanding the challenging parts when reading nonfiction space books. This week, we have been focusing on our solar system. Ask your child about all 8 planets (plus Pluto- the dwarf planet) and see if he/she can tell you the order.

Tick tock tick tock... measurement unit is over, and onto the last unit!

We are now finished with the last topic of our measurement unit in math. Last week, our mathematicians   learned about time. They learned that time can be drawn in analogue format, or written in words or digitally. Today in your child's homework folder, you will find a math packet along with the unit 4 (Measuring and Comparing) assessment summary, and a unit 5 (Bigger Number) introduction letter. You will also find some extra math practice that you and your child can work on together at home. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's assessment summary or about unit 5, please do not hesitate to ask!

It's getting HOT!

It is definitely getting out out there! Please remind your child that it is important to come to school with a WATER BOTTLE and a HAT EVERYDAY for outdoor recess and other activities. Thank you!

Save the Date!

Parents please mark your calendars - Grade One Portfolio Share - June 6th at 9:30am. All parents are invited and we hope that everyone will be able to attend. This is a special opportunity for your child to share his/her learning and growth over the year. The children have worked very hard, reflecting and choosing pieces for their portfolio. They are very proud of their work! Hope to see you all there!

Slideshow of the Week

More measurement...

This week we continued our measurement unit in math by exploring weight, temperature and time. Our students have learned that in every type of measurement, whether it is length, capacity, weight, temperature, or time, there needs to be a standard unit of measurement, otherwise it would be hard to record and compare data. We learned that in temperature, there are two main types of units - Fahrenheit and Celsius. To explore the use of a thermometer in measuring temperature, we put three glasses of water in three different places: fridge, out in the sun, and in our classroom for 1 hour. We then measured the temperatures of the glasses of water, observing how the mercury (another special kind of liquid) rose and dropped for each respective glass. Our mathematicians then carefully read the thermometer and recorded the temperature in Celsius.

We also began to tell time by exploring with gear clocks and understanding how the minute hand and hour hand work. Next week, we will continue our study on telling time and measuring time. Try having your child tell time this week by the hour!

Alright... got some baking soda. Now what?

Our first grade scientists have made their second attempt in creating carbon dioxide. This time, we got the right ingredient - baking soda (not powder)! Again, we followed the procedure and observed intently of the chemical reaction as the baking soda was mixed with the vinegar. Instantly, the liquid (vinegar) changed its color, from transparent and flat to cloudy and bubbly, creating carbon dioxide. As the gas began to form more and more inside the bottle, the balloon got blown bigger and bigger by the second. Our scientists then recorded the steps that was followed and reflected on what they observed and learned from the experiment.

Then we explored the viscosity (thickness) of different liquids by playing Racing Drops. Students, working with their partners, were given four different liquids to compare and race... most found out that water had the lowest viscosity...making it the speediest racing drop, and hand soap had the highest viscosity, which took forever for the drop to reach to the end of the race. Our scientists really had fun in this experiment. This weekend, ask your child which two liquids came in the middle in the race and what properties different kinds of liquids have. Please continue exploring solids, liquids and gasses with your child at home. We wish we could continue our experiments in class but it is time to investigate the solar system starting next week. Enjoy the photos on our weekly slideshow!

Salem - Our Star of the Week

Last but not least, Salem, our final Star of the Week, has had his turn to present his beautiful poster! We very much enjoyed his presentation. From day one, we all know that Salem loves soccer, but didn't know that he loves race cars just as much until this week. He looked extremely cool in his race car on the racing track in Ferrari World. Thank you, Salem, for all the hard work you put in the poster.

Thank you to all the parents for supporting your child in this wonderful Star of the Week activity. Without your help, we wouldn't have had the chance to learn more about your child through the beautiful pictures you have captured. A big THANK YOU to all of you! Well done, First Graders!