Dear Parents We are learning how to manage feelings in Unit 3 of the SecondStep programme. We tuned into the unit topic by identifying different emotions, and recording a daily "feelings graph". After we read the story called "When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry..." by Molly Bang, the students were keen to share their thoughts and ideas through talk; folllowed by writing and drawing. You can listen to and read Sophie's story here. The SecondStep lesson "Calming Down Anger" guides the students to develop the "Belly Breathing" technique, and encourages them to use this technique in their interactions with others. Watch a video about "Belly Breathing" here. Take the time at home to talk with your child about what "Belly Breathing" is, and what they should do when they feel strong emotions. Click on each picture for different ideas to support children learning to manage their emotions: Please note that when I wrote the students' idea on the anchor chart "What can you do when you feel angry?", the finger clicking and dancing was suggested and agreed upon by the students. Here are two of our class favourite songs that will be sure to warm you up in this cold weather:
Kind regards, Ms. Heidi Dear Parents On Wednesday it was the Hawaiian dress up day in our class, and what a fantastic "Luau" it was. A Luau is a traditional Hawaiian party that may be accompanied by hula dancing. Our class performed a simple Hula dance to the "Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride" song to welcome the guests to the assembly. Have a look at the picture gallery for a glimpse of the celebrations: Pictures of our Critical Thinker Day: Thank you for your continued support, and have a good mid-term break.
Kind regards, Ms. Heidi Congratulations to these students who received ESLR certificates in the assembly:
Dear Parents Our class will lead the assembly on Wednesday, 18 January at 7:40 a.m in the cafeteria. We hope to see you there! Dear Parents Welcome back after the December break. This month we have some important events lined up. I have created the calendar below for you to check the days and times; and to make the necessary arrangements well ahead of time to be here with us. Please read the information below the calendar carefully. 1. Parent- Teacher Conferences Jan 11th Wednesday 2:30-6:00 Jan 12th Thursday 10:00-2:30 There will be no students on Thursday. 2. Class Assembly Our class will lead the assembly on the morning of January 18th in the cafeteria. We will start promptly at 7:40 a.m and should be done by 8:15 a.m. It will be wonderful to see you there. 3. International Day We are representing Hawaii. There will be 3 dressup days coming up: Jan 24th, Tuesday - Dress up in your home country's clothes. Jan 25th, Wednesday - Dress in the country's clothes we are representing (Hawaii)* Jan 26th, Thursday - Dress in your favourite sports' team uniform. *Ideas for Hawaiian dress up: The flag of Hawaii has the colours white, red and blue; and looks like this: Keep checking our Weebly for updated information, and feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
"A hui kaua", Ms. Heidi Dear Parents Today was a very special occasion at school as we celebrated Qatar Day. The students got to dress up and participate in activities such as mendhi patterns, tattoos, and face painting. At the assembly the students enjoyed watching their peers do traditional dancing with swords, and perform the short play about the history of Qatar. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Please have a look at the photos with your child to remember this wonderful day. Kind regards, Ms. Heidi Dear Parents As the students progress in their work they should attempt to read text independently, and show comprehension of what they have read. Year 2 expectations in the Cambridge standards include the following vital reading skills:
I am including some information of the Jolly Phonics sounds that students in Year 2 should know in their reading and writing. Most students are familiar with Phase 2, but it gets trickier in Phase 3 and Phase 5. The students should work at correctly identifying the sounds when segmenting a word, e.g. boat as b-oa-t. For Phase 2 phonics click here. For Phase 3 phonics click here. For Phase 5 phonics click here. For a summarized version of Phase 2, 3 and 5 click here.
For a list of sight words to practice at home, I highly recommend Fry's First 100 Words.
Following that, try Fry's Second 100 Words; and for our Reading Gurus - give Fry's Third 100 Words a go! Find ideas here, and more here to help your child learn sight words at home. Regards, Ms. Heidi Dear Parents Today was the "Independent Learner" dress up day at school. We spent some time to discuss what the words "independent" and "learner" mean, and how we can show it. Thank you for your continued support in establishing the ESLR values in our students! Regards, Ms. Heidi Dear Parents
ESLR certificates in assembly today were awarded to the following students in our class: Zeyd Garada - Global Citizen Mallak Shehata - Ethical Individual Mohammed Al-Mohanadi - Effective Communicator Ali Baniyounes - Critical Thinker Well done! From, Ms. Heidi Dear Parents The "wild things" are the characters in our October focus book "Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. The story facilitated opportunities to describe a story setting; as well as the characters by recognising that they may be from different places. During our class discussion, the students could make simple inferences like the feelings Max had, and also reflect on Max's decisions. Their appreciation of the story was evident in the big smiles when Max met the wild things, and the imaginative predictions they thought of for the ending of the story. The highlight of listening to the story was learning to dance the "Wild Rumpus" by stamping our feet, showing our claws, and roaring our fiercest roars! We extended the story with writing activities that were displayed on our outside bulletin board: Extension ideas at home: Click on the these story illustrations to find activities based on "Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak: Happy Reading!
From, Ms. Heidi |
Ms HeidiHello, my name is Ms. Heidi and I am from South Africa. I have been a full time teacher for nineteen years, and this is my first year at EMS Al Khor. I am excited to work with the students; and I also look forward to exploring Qatar. Archives
May 2017
Categories |