The Human Body!
Our Year 3’s kick started Term 2 with an introduction from Pinky, the skeleton, to our next Science unit – The Human Body! After much giggles and squeals, students were told that by the end of the unit they would need to be able to ‘dress’ Pinky with his organs all in the right places.
But first…. do the students know where each organ in our body is? Well….no…. not quite…. not at first. In groups, students had to choose one classmate and using yellow stickies, placed them on to the student in the right spot. Needless to say, we had some very strange locations for our small and large intestines!
Throughout the unit, the class enjoyed very student-centred lessons, which included making their own stethoscope out of plastic bottles, tape and toilet paper holders. They then used their stethoscopes to listen to one another’s heart beats.
Another lesson involved students making a working lung model using cardboard, straws and balloons. In pairs, students designed and cut out their lungs. Next, they attached the straws and balloons. Then, they drew in their faces and for the grand finale…they blew out into their straws to simulate their working lungs.
The students had a fabulous time designing their models and thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on activities. Well done, Year 3! I think we are ready to ‘dress’ Pinky!
Mandy Goch
Year 3 Teacher
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Investigative Thinking In Key Stage 2
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” – Margaret Mead
Being both a student and teacher of the Cambridge Secondary Education system, I have had the privilege of watching it develop into the beautifully elaborate system we see before us today. If anything, the one thing I appreciate the most about growing up following one of the world’s leading education programmes, is the expansive opportunity I had for inquiry based, independent learning.
One of my favourite tools in the Cambridge Primary Science syllabus, today, would undoubtedly have to be the scientific inquiry thread, incorporated into our teaching and learning objectives. Not only do we work towards content specific outcomes under each topic, but Cambridge guides us through skill based, investigative thought processes as well.
Each term, our students are given the chance to explore the workings of our world themselves by following these probing steps:
- Asking a question
- Making a prediction
- Planning a fair test
- Carrying out the investigation
- Recording the results
- Drawing a conclusion
This process promotes a beautifully curious approach to learning, where our students are granted the responsibility of their own learning journey.
Lastly, I have to acknowledge the multitude of fun this approach leads to, both in and out of our science classrooms! When having fun and building relationships run parallel to your learning, you know incredible things are bound to happen.
Robyn Pieters
Year 6 and 7 Teacher
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A Recipe For A Good Friendship
Recently we have been discussing what it means to be a good friend or the ‘recipe’ for a good friendship. As a class, we shared many comforting stories about when others showed care for us. In further discussion, we highlighted the importance of our ‘Blue Badge’ system at school, which focuses on three simple foundations.
As a BIS student we aim to be KIND, CARING & ENCOURAGING.
Year 4NM came up with their own Recipe for a good friend, modelling the 3 simple foundations of kind, caring and encouraging.
How can you be kind…
- Say nice things to others.
- Smile, because it is the best and easiest exercise for the body.
- Be happy for others because when it is our turn we would want others to be happy for us.
- Offer to help whenever we can because giving is always more rewarding.
- Use good manners like saying:
- Good morning!
- Please.
- Thank you.
How can you be caring…
- Let your friends know that you are always there to listen.
- Ask, “How are you?” and remind them that you are a good friend even when they are not feeling good.
- Be patient and respectful to others.
What does it mean to be encouraging?
- It means we must support each other to do good or to be the best we can.
“Everyone needs encouragement like a plant needs water”
- Not everyone is having a good day all day, remember to show some support. It might brighten up their day.
- Be the reason someone feels good today!
Nadia Mahomed
Year 4 Teacher
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Year 5 Haikus
In English, the Year 5s have spent some time looking at poetry. We explored Haikus in particular, looking at their famous line and syllable structure, as well as delving a bit deeper into their usual subject matter. We also experimented with the balance between descriptive and figurative language often found in these Japanese poems.
Our favourite part of the lesson, of course, was writing our own!
Robins
Robins in a tree
Sitting high above the lake
Kings and queens they are.
- By Okuhle Williams
Saturn
Saturn spinning dream
Milky vision blurs your way
Falling into space
- By Christina Donald
Encanto
Magical People
Rhythm of its own design
Perfect Family
- By Dicla Tona
Buzz
Busy buzzing bee
Collecting honey for me
Oh so delightful
- By Emily Röhlandt
Rabbits
Rabbits, white or black
They’re adorable and cute
Hopping there and back.
- By Nivad Manouchehri
Hannah Kirkaldy
Year 5 Teacher
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Leadership
Now that the Year 6’s are the heads of the Primary School, they have had to learn about leadership and what it is to be a leader. They took part in different activities during the Skills Programme we held. The end goal was for the students to apply to become Year 6 Prefects. They went through the process of discussing what a leader was, what a leader looks and sounds like and why they would want to be leaders for BIS.
Here are a few things the Year 6’s decided make a good leader:
“A leader is someone that has responsibility and is helpful and is respectful towards others. They always try their best and they think about others first.” – Emily Fouché
“A leader is someone who can help you with things you are struggling with and will guide you to do the right thing” – Maalik Daniels
“A leader is a person who is helpful, respectful, kind and caring. They help people when they need help.” – Nicolas East
The process the Year 6’s had to follow to apply to be prefects was as follows:
- Fill in an application form.
- Get 3 references from teachers of their choosing.
- Present in front of the other Year 6’s as to why they would make a good prefect.
- Vote for who they thought would make good prefects.
We know that the elected leaders will do a wonderful job this year!
“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” – Bill Gates
Brittney Hakime
Year 6 Teacher
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