Good Bye Mr. Crown

Today was Mr. Crown’s last day in Grade 2.  The class really enjoyed having a second teacher for the last three weeks and he will be missed.  Thank you for your fun Math and Language lessons and helping out with the day to day activities in Grade 2.  We wish him luck with his future studies back in Ireland and hope to see him at ISW again as a fully certified teacher.

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Red Run

Grade 2 had a great time participating in the Red Run!  A big thank you to parents that came out to support the class, offer drinks and snacks, and help serve our celebratory BBQ lunch.  Grade 2 ran a total of 52 laps and raised 228 CHF for the Red Cross “Mitten Unter Uns” Program.  Not bad for only 5 students. 

 

 

Please don’t forget to pass the orange slips sent home yesterday to your various sponsors and remind them to transfer the correct amount to the Red Cross by May 25^th, 2013.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Leo Burnett Switzerland Field Trip

Today was a very exciting day for Grade 2!  To mark the end of their inquiry into workplaces and different jobs, the class had the opportunity to visit Leo Burnett Switzerland, one of the country’s leading advertising agencies.  There they had the chance to sit in the board room, watch some award winning TV commercials produced by the agency, tour the different departments and then have a Q & A session with an Account Director and Creative Director.  A highlight of the visit included being able to hold some of the awards won by Leo Burnett for their creative work, such as the prestigious Cannes Golden Lion.

 

To prepare for the visit, the class learned about different kinds of advertisements (print, TV, and web) and that every advertisement has a client, product and message behind it.  They also became familiar with the different responsibilities of an account director, creative director, desktop publisher and copywriter.      

 

 

Grade 2 would like to give a big thank you to the kind employees at Leo Burnett for hosting us!  You have definitely inspired some of the class to a future in advertising.

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

CEO, Grade 2

Red Run Reminder

Aarav kindly reminded us with his outfit choice today that the Red Run is fast approaching on Friday May 3, 2013.  Don’t forget to try and get as many sponsors as possible - all money will go towards the Red Cross Zurich “Mitten Unter Uns” program which helps to integrate immigrant children into Swiss society through language classes, play programs, and host family visits.

 

Please have your child dress appropriately for a morning outside (hopefully) in the sun and wear as much red clothing as possible.

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

This week Grade 2 discussed their dreams jobs and the class had some diverse answers to the commonly asked question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  Jobs mentioned for the future included French teacher (Matt), professional tennis player (Tristan - maybe Canada’s next Roger Federer?), video game creator (Aarav) and teacher (Annika).  To help them navigate the myriad of professions available to them, Grade 2 learned that certain jobs are best for people with different personal interests.  For example, if you enjoy doing Science projects, collecting rocks and minerals, and solving math problems you are best suited to investigative jobs such as doctor, engineer, pharmacist, psychologist and dietician.  The class then completed an adapted version of a careers test to find out the best jobs for them.  Below is a photo of the class with their favorite job based on the results of their individual test.  Looks like we have a lot of future scientists in Grade 2!

Aarav - doctor, Annika - biologist, Tristan - biologist, Haseeb - biologist and Matt - Engineer

 

Kind regards,

 Ms.  Christine Aberley

Welcome Mr. Crown

Grade 2 would like to give a warm welcome to Mr. Graham Crown.  He will be working with the class for the next three weeks, fulling requirements for his teaching degree.  Mr. Crown will be teaching individual lessons and helping out with day to day activities. 

 

Hello from Mr. Crown

 

My name is Mr. Graham Crown.  I come from Northern Ireland.  I am studying at university there, and hope to become a primary school teacher through doing so.  Currently, I am carrying out my studies in Switzerland as part of the Erasmus Programme.  For the next three weeks, I will be completing my teaching placement at International School Winterthur.  I have been placed with the 2^nd grade class and I am greatly looking forward to working with them over the coming weeks!

 

Job Hunt

With an ever expanding vocabulary, Grade 2 looked through magazines to find photographs of people doing different jobs.  From farmers to professional athletes to surgeons, each member of the class found a variety of jobs.  The photographs are now on display in our classroom and serve as a visual reminder of the endless career possibilities available to the class in the future.

 

Later in the week, Grade 2 watched a BrainPop Jr video on different community jobs - including the responsibilities of police officers, dentists, and teachers.  To solidify their understanding, they wrote POLICE and TEACHER acrostics and the class certainly rose to the challenge.  Grade 2 thought about the roles and responsibilities associated with each job, adding their own insights along the way.

 

 

Request for Parent Guest Speakers

Do you have a job that you are passionate about?  Grade 2 would love to hear about it!  One of the highlights of our current POI is having the chance to hear from different adults about their jobs.  Last year we had visits from an investment banker, CFO, sales director and French language teacher. 

Please contact me via email to if you would like to speak with the class or simply drop by the Grade 2 classroom.  

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Workplaces

This week Grade 2 began a new POI, titled “Workplaces”.  To begin, we brainstormed different workplaces we were familiar with on chart paper and then added the different jobs that can be done in each one on sticky notes.  For example, at a hospital you can find doctors, nurses and surgeons.  This activity was especially helpful because it gave the class a basic set of vocabulary to work with for the rest of the POI.  Little did they know, Grade 2 was also practicing their spelling too!

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Are You Smarter Than a 2nd Grader?

This Monday was a big day for Grade 2.  After careful preparation and a lot of rehearsing, the class presented their POI work at the Spring PYP assembly.  Highlights of the assembly included a rap song about the 7 continents, postcards from Europe and a short mock quiz show.  We would like to give a big thank you to the teachers that volunteered to compete and attempt to answer some very challenging questions about Europe!

 

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Grade 2 has spent the last two weeks finishing POI work and getting ready for our rescheduled assembly.  This was quite a big project!  First we read an abridged version of Heidi by Swiss author Johanna Spyri and learned to identify the characters, setting and plot of a story.  Next, we looked more closely at the opposing settings in Heidi and wrote detailed descriptions of the Swiss Alps and nineteenth century Frankfurt.  To help us, we focused on the four senses (sight, smell, sound, and feelings) and the details that everyone came up with were outstanding!  From bright blue alpine flowers to noisy carriage filled streets, we were certainly transported into the story.  Accompanying the written work are two large paintings done in pairs.  The project will soon be on display in our classroom, so please feel free to come in and have a look.

 

 

 

 

School Supplies - Quick Reminder

 

Please ensure your child brings a well stocked pencil case/kit to school every day.  Alternatively, it can be left in the classroom for the remainder of the school year. 

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Europe is the Best Continent

Europe is the best continent in the world.  Well, that’s a matter of opinion.  This week Grade 2 learned to differentiate between opinions and facts, in their quest to learn more about Europe.  The class then looked through various non-fiction books to find fun facts about the continent.  Those facts were then transformed into questions for a quiz show component of our upcoming assembly, called “Are You Smarter than a Second Grader?”  The class is very excited.

 

 

 

 

We will also be sharing a rap song about Europe and the other world continents.  Below is a link to the video.  Please feel free to practice at home.

The Continents Rap Song

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley 

Postcards from Europe

This week Grade 2 reflected on their own travels through the continent of Europe and wrote postcards from some of the cities they had visited.  From London to Amsterdam to Rome, the class has certainly seen a lot for their young age!  This activity also provided the perfect opportunity to do some Language work, specifically practicing writing statements and questions with proper punctuation.  The finished results will be read and shown at our upcoming assembly.

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Maps Away!

Grade 2 has recently begun a new POI titled, “A Sense of Europe”.  We started by asking ourselves, where is Europe?  What is Europe?  Each member of the class was then given a blank sheet of paper and attempted to make a map of Europe.  The finished maps were very insightful.  Afterwards, we examined a real map of Europe and discussed the definition of a continent.  The class then proceeded to examine the individual countries in Europe.  Did you know there are 42 countries in the continent of Europe?  Plus, an additional five countries that are in both Europe and Asia.  That’s a lot for a small continent!  We then began to learn about the different parts of a map, including title, compass rose, symbol, scale and legend.  By the end of our POI, there is no doubt Grade 2 will have a true sense of Europe.

 

 

Dads Breakfast

Just a quick reminder that this year’s Dads Breakfast is on Tuesday January 29 at 845 in the cafeteria.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Kind regards,

Ms. Christine Aberley

Fireworks

Grade 2 is back to work!  This week we welcomed in the New Year with a series of fun activities.  To begin, we did a quick pair and share speaking exercise.  Next, we read a non-fiction book and learned about how the New Year is celebrated in different cultures around the world.  Then each member of the class wrote a short text about what they did to celebrate, focusing on the 5 Ws (Who, what, when, where, why).  Whether in India or Argentina or at home here in Switzerland, everyone had the opportunity to watch colorful fireworks launch in the night sky.  To accompany their text, we drew fireworks using oil pastels onto black paper.  The results were explosive!  Grade 2 also thought about the remaining school year and wrote “resolutions” to help them be best students in 2013.

 

Happy New Year,

 

Ms. Christine Aberley

Parent please see below…

 

Schoolwide Opinion Survey

You will by now have received an e-mail asking you to spare a few minutes to complete a survey. Please, please, please do it! Your feedback, together with that of the staff, the board members and the students will help us to evaluate our performance as a school and from that we will be able to identify where change/improvement is needed. Here are the basic instructions, the link to the survey and the code you need.

Please complete the survey for each child individually, to enable us to get detailed feedback. Indicate the Number of Children in the School as 1 and disregard the other choices.


Go to the website http://www.endicottresearchcenter.net/


Enter the following survey code: CNP329310 and click GO


Ignore the last three questions (57-59).


When you reach the last screen, click SUBMIT.

THANK YOU!