Today in the lower primary class we did a shared writing activity. We were learning how to use basic time connectors when writing. For example, first, then, next, after that and finally. We focused on using clear sentences and also looked in a thesaurus to find interesting words to use. Have a look at our slideshow explaining how we up-cycled old chairs to sell at our market!
The making of the chairs on PhotoPeach
On display in the classroom this afternoon there was a photo gallery of famous and significant people. Students looked closely at them to see if they recognised them. Some pupils thought they had seen faces on coins before, some recognised an artist and Alana recognised Einstein!
We discussed the meaning of being famous and being significant, which is not an easy concept to grasp! Students brainstormed famous people they knew - but are they also significant people? Sometimes yes, sometimes no!
Together we used keywords to find out on the internet who some of the significant people in our gallery are - we found Warhol, Gaudi, Kahlo and da Vinci. We still have some more faces on our wall - who are they??!!
After all our hard work and preparations it was great to see it all come together. All the students were very proud to show and sell their creations and we had many happy customers by the end of our market! 
We sold a variety of products at our market - designer up-cycled chairs, photo art, locally picked apples, greeting cards and pumpkin soup. We also provided a service - a relaxing massage!
Have a look at all our eager little sales people and happy and relaxed customers!
Looking back on all the things we worked on towards our market, it is great to see how much we have learned and how many of the subject areas have been integrated within this IPC unit.
Numeracy
Literacy
Technology
Art
Society
all this on top of the Geography and History skills which we covered at the beginning of the unit that we have mentioned in a previous post - we drew maps (adding in businesses and services) and discussed the history of money and how it is made.
The best part about all of this is that we are now able to pass on the profits of our market to a worthy organisation. After the holiday break we will write a letter to the 'Right to Housing' organisation saying that we can be one of the 100 strong shoulders they are looking for. We will be able to give them 120 Euros and even a little extra!
Enjoy your holiday break Primary class - you have all worked very hard!
Have a look also at our Halloween celebrations in the photo gallery!
Wha
t is so special about the book tower? Well, we could all agree that it is a very tall building, and that it is impressive that they have 3 000 000 books in there! It is also a very old building, we could see that when we looked at the walls from the outside. We understand that they now need to restore it, so that people can visit the tower in the future as well. We think that it is well worth a visit!
We learned about old books, that they weren't written on paper, but on hide or cloth, and that they used feathers back then to write, instead of a pen. We saw tiny, tiny books, big books, old books, new books, old newspapers, new newspapers, big rooms, small rooms -- and of course, since it is a tower, lots and lots of stairs! Luckily there was a lift, for the ones that didn't want to take a long walk up or down the stairs.
When we looked out of the windows from the top floor, we could see the whole city of Ghent! Some of us thought that the people down on the streets looked like ants...
On Monday, some pupils in the Primary Class wrote about the trip to the Book Tower:
We summarize our visit by saying: We love books and we love to learn new things! See more pictures of our trip to the Book Tower by clicking here!
We still have a lot more work to do for our big market day on Wednesday 22nd October at 10.30am! We have been talking about the expenses we have had so far, and that we will need to add this amount to the 120 Euros that we hope to raise. Once we have finished making our products we will have to calculate how much we will sell them for to be sure that we will make a profit! We have been busy busy busy! We are still working on our advertisements.
Proceeds from the market will be donated to the non-profit organisation RIGHT TO HOUSING. Read more about the project we are supporting here.
Here are some photos of us in action!
In the Primary class we discussed and explored the artwork of Andy Warhol. The following is a text written by Pablo.
Andy Warhol was born in 1928 and he died after an operation in 1987. He died at only 59 years old. In the 1960's he drew a coke bottle, tomato soup can, Marilyn Monroe and lots of other colourful drawings of daily objects. He later opened a factory where he mass produced his drawings.
By Pablo
Have a look at our colourful Andy Warhol inspired artwork!
Andy Warhol inspired portraits on PhotoPeach
The unit started off with us exploring the local businesses around our school and drawing a map of a small city, investigating the history of money and how coins are made and discussing and questioning people's needs and wants. This led us to thinking about how we could help people who do not have their basic needs for living. We watched this short clip which highlighted to us all the power of helping each other and the flow on effect it can have. Have a look for yourself!
Miss Jenny and Miss Maija then told us about a group of people here in Ghent, who need help. The 'Right to Housing' organisation is looking for '100 strong shoulders' to provide €120 to assist a group of 54 people who are currently living in a house that is not safe and warm. All the students are excited about what we can do to help. We brainstormed our ideas, and we are going to hold a market to try and raise some money! We will be making products and providing services that we think people will want! We will be looking at persuasive language too, so keep an eye out for advertisements about our upcoming market!
Welcome to Primary!
In the mornings we focus on the main curriculum areas of literacy and numeracy. Miss Jenny works with the upper-primary students and Miss Maija works with the lower-primary students. During this time we do guided reading, writing and maths. Our small class sizes allow us to read one-on-one with the students and work closely alongside them. Our current IPC-unit is called "Young entrepreneurs". So far we have discussed coins and the history of money, businesses in our local area and most importantly people's needs and wants. We will be building on the idea of needs and wants to lead into a small inquiry, encouraging the children to think creatively about how we can help people who do not have their basic needs to survive.
During the week we also have music with Mr Simon and PE and swimming lessons. At the end of every week we finish Friday afternoon with "choosing time". All students love this time!
We read every day, either online or in books, with a teacher or cuddled up in the sofa!
Our new IPC-unit is interesting, we now know a lot more about what the difference is between "needs" and "wants". We are busy drawing a city with all the necessary things for us and our families.
And then it is lovely to relax before hometime on Fridays!
All the students were able to challenge themselves on the climbing walls as there was something for all skill levels. We also played a friendly competition where students were divided into two teams and had to find as many pieces of lego as possible which were hidden in the hand and foot holds. It was great to see some students so proud of themselves as it was their first time climbing.
Today was all about showing Miss Maija our swimming skills. We ended the session playing underwater, searching for diving sticks.
Here are the girls from Primary level
Ece Idil from Turkey
Emma from Spain
Alana from USA and Spain
Diba from Iran (at the front)
Here are the boys from Primary level
Marcos from Spain
Gefei from China
Pablo from Spain
Vedant from India
Luka from Slovenia
Here we are all together before we jump into the pool!
