Where we come from... and where we have been

Welcome back to Upper Primary!

Upper Primary pupils have started off this school year in a great way - they have had team building activities with the other Primary classes, made 'I like-portraits' and pupils are now busy learning both Numeracy, Language arts and IPC! Romeo's birthday party during the first school week was a great kick off for our class. Mohammed from Qatar and UAE has joined our class - welcome!

In class, pupils are now getting used to our weekly routines. We discussed behaviour when deciding on Upper Primary Class Rules. Pupils agreed on a number of rules and now they try to follow them, both in class and out on the play ground. What do you think about class rules like for example "We celebrate each other's successes" and "Respect each other" and "Think before you speak"?

When working with the first Personal Goal in IPC, we discussed what Respect is, how they can show it - and why it is important. We show respect to others because we know that we deserve respect ourselves. Upper Primary pupils are now trying to treat others the way they want to be treated. No one is perfect, and sometimes pupils need reminders, but Upper Primary pupils are trying to improve. The Personal Goal castle on the classroom wall represents the strong values we all want to have, and now pupils will be looking for evidence of the different personal goals. We like when we see good behaviour in action here at ISG!

Before starting up our first IPC unit, pupils made a mind-map where they gathered ideas on how to keep the brain healthy; for example by drinking water and eating healthy food, by resting and sleeping, by exercising, breathing fresh air and by trying new and challenging things. This led the discussion to what Growth Mindset really means. Pupils now try to remember to think of learning as an ongoing process, where making mistakes can be a good thing to learn something new, where practising new skills are important, where challenges help us grow and where the word 'yet' is a key to learning - "I don't know this... yet", "I can't do this... yet" and "I don't understand this... yet".

Upper Primary pupils eat fruit and veggies during morning break, they drink lots of water, they try to be active and they try to keep an open mind to learning - that's a great start to this school year's learning!

Our IPC unit 'Travelling, moving, migrating' will take us on an exciting journey around planet Earth! Pupils have already investigated their own family's migration movements, they have discussed how packing is different when packing for a holiday trip, moving to another country or migrating to a different part of the world - and now they are busy exploring natural disasters around the world. This is just the start of an exciting unit!

Welcome back to a new year of learning!