Is there life on Mars?

Upper Primary pupils have absolutely loved this last IPC unit, ’Mission to Mars’, and every day has been filled with learning. Pupils know about living conditions on Mars, they know about Mars’s geographical features, they know about robots and orbiters that are sent to other planets to investigate. Pupils have built scale model space stations, they have designed robots and showed toy robots during show-and-tell, they have written letters from the future (!!) when they are working as scientists on Mars. On our wall in the hallway, we have lovely 'space idiom art' - what does 'down to earth' look like, or 'once in a blue moon'? Pupils have also recited space poems. During a visit to the Observatory here in Ghent, pupils learnt more about solar systems, planets, stars and interesting new discoveries. Pupils and teachers have shared information from articles and TV-programs – all with a space theme, of course! Again, all of us have absolutely loved this unit!

Pupils are still learning about Morality as a personal goal, about making the right choice in difficult situations. Pupils want to learn more about being a good human being. They now learn more about the fact that being brave and asking others to stop being mean can be quite a scary thing, but that someone needs to do it. It is not easy, but if all of us started to think before we speak and if we all talked nicely to others, we would have fewer problem solving sessions in our class. We also think that the world as a whole would be a better place if we all acted this way.

During this month, we have eaten cake two times. Delicious! Yum yum! One happy occasion, Stefan’s birthday, and one sad occasion, Natalie’s goodbye party. Being a pupil at an international school means getting to know people from around the world – but it also means having to say goodbye to friends every now and then. We wish Natalie all the best in her new country and in her new school!

Now mid-term holidays are here! It is windy, grey and rainy, but holidays are still holidays and pupils are looking forward to a week off. Yet, they are already curious about the upcoming IPC unit and many other exciting events. Our International Festival is only a few weeks away, a School Quiz is on its way as well, some pupils will take part in exciting art project and some will practice to get better at football before the next big International School tournament. Today we end the school day with a Carnival Party! Enjoy our photos! See you soon again!