Space Academy

Upper Primary pupils are enjoying the new IPC-unit 'Mission to Mars'. Pupils are now taking part in the ISG Space Academy Programme for future astronauts! The Entry Point was lots of fun; both during PE lesson and the following lesson, pupils trained like astronauts. An astronaut has to be fit as well as a team player! Pupils have marvelled over the facts from the ISS and found facts about an astronaut's life both interesting and a bit scary. They have researched and compared Venus and Mars, to figure out which of the two planets would suit a manned mission the best. Since Venus is quite a hostile planet, with craters and volcanoes covered with poisonous fog, pupils find Mars a better choice. Pupils are now learning more about the geographical features of Mars. They have investigated the planet and found out that the highest mountain in the Solar System, Olympus Mons, can be found there, as well as the biggest canyon, Valles Marineris, 4,000 km long. Placed on Earth, Valles Marineris would stretch from New York to San Fransisco! Pupils are fascinated by these facts. Some Upper Primary pupils also find some of the information quite depressing, considering the fact that leaving Earth behind would mean saying goodbye to so many things that we love here! Pupils are now learning more about the rovers and orbiters that explore the planet. The lessons are not long enough!

During literacy lessons, pupils are learning more about formal and informal letters, their typical features, format and vocabulary. Pupils have read and discussed letters, as well as written letters. They have written informal letters to Miss Jenny to explain what they like/dislike about our IPC unit and they have written formal letters to a (made up) newspaper to give their point of view about why we have to take care of our planet for future generations. Upper Primary pupils would prefer to stay here on Earth and not have to set up civilization and live out their lives on another planet.

Pupils have practised and performed Kamishibai stories at an Expat Event here in Ghent. They have also performed these stories to our buddy class, Upper Pre-primary. Pupils love being together with their buddy class. The session was ended with some story reading. You can see on the photos that this was something that both Upper Primary and Upper Pre-primary pupils enjoyed!

Lots of different types of learning take place here in our classroom. Pupils push their way of thinking by using 'growth mindset questions'. Pupils have discussed how to improve their own writing by using teachers' comments as support. Pupils discuss how making mistakes can support learning. Pupils give each other advice on how to deal with setbacks and difficult tasks. Pupils learn how to improve their behaviour by reflecting over the Personal Goals in IPC. This month, Upper Primary pupils focus on Morality. Morality is all about making the right choice in tricky situations, by calming down before doing or saying something that would hurt others.

No one is perfect, that is one thing we know here in Upper Primary, but we try our best!