Winter Sports Day

   We weren't quite sure if the weather was going to cooperate with us, but in the end we did get to have Winter Sports Day and we had a blast! It's always so fun to get to see another side of my students that I don't always see in the classroom. Some definite leaders emerged, some great team players, and some kind and supportive encouragers--a really nice mix! We do have a great class and it was really fun to spend the day with them on the field. I tried to get photos of everyone, but they were moving so fast it was no easy task! Anyway, they say a picture is worth 1000 words, so I'll let
the photos do the talking..

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PTO Used Book Fair

The PTO Used Book Fair will be this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  I have signed the students up for one of the earliest available slots so we will be going during our reading time on Thursday, February 4th at 9 am.  For those of you who are new to the Used Book Fair, it works like this:  Students are welcome to bring in books that they've "outgrown" BEFORE the fair.  They will turn them in to the Djupedal Library.  For each book that they bring in, students will receive a coupon to exchange for a book of their choice at the used book fair.  Additionally, students can also pay cash for their used book selections.  The prices are quite reasonable--usally around 100 -300 rubles per book.  It's a great chance for your children to stock up on some books for our upcoming holiday!

Ice Skating

We've enjoyed three sessions of ice skating, but sadly our ice skating season seems to have been cut short by the above-freezing temperatures.  I just happened to go out and film the kids skating this past Thursday, and  I was planning to show you how much they had improved by the end in a second film.  But unless we get a miraculous cold snap of below-freezing temps, I don't think we'll be ice skating again this season.  I have to say while I was out there that I was so impressed with Mr. Wohlberg and his attention to the students' safety.  He is an excellent PE teacher!   I invited a guest author to tell you a little bit about the ice skating that they did get to enjoy.

Ice Skating - by Erika

4LB went ice skating with our PE teacher, Mr. Wohlberg.  We played capture the ball.  Capture the ball is like capture the flag, except instead of capturing the flag we have to capture the ball.  We were split into two teams.  The first team wore white and red helmets, and the second team wore black and blue helmets.  In the end, we learned quite a bit about skating.

Holiday Concert Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, (Friday, December 11th) is the AAS Elementary Holiday Concert.  The show starts at 10:00, with 4th grade performing at around 10:40.  Students have been working hard to prepare for the concert and we would love for you to come and see them!

Students should wear their formal school uniforms with ties.

Special thanks to Massimo's mom, Snittra Musto for coming to speak to the class about the Buddhist faith for our Beliefs and Values unit!

Book Fair Tomorrow!

Just a note that we will be going to the PTO Book Fair on Wednesday, November 11th.  Please send some money with your child so he/she can enjoy a new book and support the PTO.  Books generally run anywhere from 200-400 rubles.

Reflection and Goal Setting

A big focus in the elementary school this year is metacognition--getting students to think about their thinking and to reflect on their learning.  Research indicates that having students reflect on their learning allows students to make connections with previous knowledge and build on it, leading to a deeper level of understanding and synthesis of knowledge.  One way we do this is to set aside one class period per week to reflect on our learning.  We have a variety of things we do to reflect on our learning in 4LB--we may:

• go through some of our math "exit tickets" and record in our math journals
• reflect on a piece of writing we've done
• set goals for what we want to accomplish during writing time
• share our writing and notice what we did well
• update our E-portfolio blogs (another way of reflecting on our learning)
• evaluate ourselves based on rubrics

Reflecting on math

Sharing our writing and reflecting on what we did well

Looking over our work

Our Interviews - Meet 4LB!

Sylvia

If Sylvia had three wishes she would give everyone food, have a house of gold and have a private jet. She also wants to go to Hawaii and have a big house near the sea with coconuts.  Once she dreamed that she was on a train to Hogwarts and dementors came and sucked her soul out. Sylvia’s favorite holiday is Christmas and she celebrates it by having dinner,having presents and eating treats. When she grows up, Sylvia will be a dentist. She will achieve it by practising it.                           written by Sasha

Erika

Erika, if you had 3 wishes what will you wish ?(ps-no wishes for more wishes!)

1.one cat ,2. 5000 daller ,3. Golist to any sickthis

Describe your dream vacation?

In the tropical  forest.

What is a dream you ve had that sticks in your mind?

Nothing.

                                  written by Taejun       

RYO   

The person I’m interviewing is Ryo. Ryo said if she had 2 wishes she would want to fly,so she could feel the air.Then her other wish would be to have super powers.A dream she remembers is a happy dream with unicorns.

Her favorite holiday is Christmas because she gets presents. If she wanted to have a dream vacation she would go to the beach so she can swim in the cool water. When she grows up she wants to be an artist because she loves to draw.Her whole family is Japanese. Her favorite  place she has been is the beach because she likes to swim. She has been to summer camp and she said it was fun. Her hobby is reading because she has been reading for  long time.    written BY: THOMAS

David

.what is a dream you've had that sticks in your mind?

In his dream he was in london. And he was living in london,  he was by himself. And he was  happy when he was in  london.

.what do you want  to be when you grow up and how will you achieve that?

He wanted to be a Doctor when he grows up.And  he will achieve  that he will help a children. If a  child is sick he will help them.

.Tell me  a little about your family ……

His mom is 35 years old  She cares and helps the pets david has 3 pets.  His dad work in the oil industry and has a business in Moscow.

.Have you ever been to summer camp?What is that like?

yes.sometimes its hard because you are by yourself  without your family.  Sometimes its fun when get special activities.

.What is your favorite hobby and how did you get interested in it?

He loves to do artistic things.                interviewed by by: Hee Young  park

Taejun

If Taejun Had three wishes he would spend them on Friends, Russian language and Every book in the world. Taejun would spend his dream vacation in the forest camping. Taejun doesn't remember any dream he had before. Taejun's most Important holiday is Halloween.Taejun doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up. Taejun has one brother and one little sister.

He doesn't have a favorite place he’s visited before.      Interviewed by:  Erika

Maria

If Maria had three wishes she would want to have a dog and that everybody had money and that she had a mansion. Her dream vacation is to be at an underwater hotel. A dream that still sticks in her mind is that she was in school and everybody was tiny and a polar bear with a face of a human ate her. A holiday that is most important to her is Christmas because she stays at her grandma’s house and saw Santa . When Maria grows up she wants to be an astronaut. In her family she has a stepmother and a stepbrother and a stepsister. A favorite place she’s been to is dubai.  The hotel was one of the best hotels in the world. Her favorite hobby is climbing. She started climbing an apple tree  and got bored then she climbed a pine tree and now she has a tree house in a pine tree.    by:Sylvia

Maya

Maya’s three wishes would be : 1. To live in a huge peach. 2. To be tiny. 3. To own a library in the peach. Maya’s dream that is still stuck in her head is when Puss In Boots attacked her. Maya’s most important holiday is Christmas. And she celebrates it by going to her Grandparents house in Australia. When she grows up she will want to be a librarian. And she will accomplish this by working very hard in university. Maya told me that in her family she has one sister, one mother, and one father.       By Massimo

Asya

She would like a mansion,9 labradors and a ice cream maker.  For vacation she wants to go to Spain with her dog.  She didn't remember any dreams.She likes newyear. she stays up all night and do the countdown from 12, eat a type of salad,gets together with her family  and give presents.Her family is her,mom,dad.Her hobby is art.

                                                              By Joseph

Lucas

I am interviewing Lucas

• If lucas had three wishes the 1 one would be

to Fly

His second would be to become a billionaire

• and his last would be to go to 6th grade
• lucas's dream vacation is to go to America and to

to go jet skiing and meet Bruno Mars

• A Dream that still sticks in lucas's mind
• is that his was still alive
• lucas’s most important holiday is Christmas

lucas celebrates christmas by giving presents

to charity.

• when lucas grows up he wants to be a NBA to

achieve that he takes basketball lessons and

by Anastasia Z

Massimo

If massimo had 3 wishes he would  wish that he would be rich, that everything he touched would turn into gold, and that he had a pet labrador. Massimo’s dream vacation would be going to his own private island surrounded by water and he would live in a mansion on that tropical island with his pet labrador. When he saw his sister do something funny. The most important holiday for massimo is Christmas and he celebrates it by unwrapping presents that santa gave to him.

Massimo doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up. In Massimo’s family he has a little sister, a mom and a dad.

By Maya

Joseph

  The person I am going to be introducing is Joseph. In his family there is his mother, his father, his sister and his brother. His favorite place that he visited was Germany because of the delicious food and enormous pools. His dream vacation would be going to Colorado for Christmas because he usually spends Christmas in Florida and wants to try something new. If he had three wishes he would wish for $10 million, a pug and a mansion. His hobby is swimming. He has never been to summer camp and doesn’t want to because he says that it is just spending your summer in a strange place instead of spending time with your family.        by Anastasia B.

Interviews

We began our narrative writing by talking about what would be some interesting things to ask our classmates.  We talked about what makes a good interview question (hint:  something that would give much more information than a one-word answer!)  Here is what the class came up with:

Next, we interviewed a classmate...

And finally we wrote our interviews in paragraph form.  It was a good way to meet a classmate,

Essential Agreements and first week fun...

It has been a smooth start for the kids of 4LB, thanks to my Teaching Assistant, the amazing Eddie Lee, who had things so well under control that we did not lose any time at all while I was sick. I have never, ever in all my years of teaching missed the first day of school, let alone the first two!  I think I am finally over the double whammy virus and bacterial infections and have thoroughly enjoyed my first two days with the kids.  I hope taking the sick days will keep your kids from catching what I had.  As you know, international school classrooms are a great place for spreading germs from all over the world so we try to combat spreading illness by using our own equipment (each student was given a pencil bag full of supplies),hand sanitizing as needed, staying hydrated, and respecting our bodies' needs for recovery time!

This week we began getting our classroom "system" up and running.  The kids did a beautiful job coming up with their Classroom Essential Agreements and deciding what sort of classroom they would like to have.

4 LB Essential Agreements:

Be respectful, caring and helpful to others –

Treat others the way you want to be treated

Think before you speak

Take responsibility for your actions

Be honest with yourself and others

Everyone is equal and you need to be respectful and open-minded of any differences

Speak with kindness, politeness and respect

Be respectful to school property

Follow the leaner profile and mission statement

Set a good example for others to follow

Everything has a place and there is a place for everything

Use materials wisely

Keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself

Follow directions – ask for help from classmates and teachers

We also spent some time getting to know one another and are beginning our unit on narrative writing by interviewing one another.  We have begun our first unit of Eureka math and you've probably seen some of the pages coming home.  The language is very new for all of us and is going to take a little getting used to!  Right now we are working on place value and the concept of each place being ten times greater than the one coming after it.  Our first Unit of Inquiry is How We Organize Ourselves with a focus on Systems.  It is a great unit for getting the classroom system up and running.

4LB looks to be a class full of very nice and respectful students and I'm looking forward to a great year!