Deadline for homework this week has been extended!

Setting up Gmail, Google Classroom, and Mathletics accounts can be a tricky process at the beginning of the year. As such, this week, some students have experienced trouble in logging in to do their homework, especially as some of their Gmail addresses have had to be changed. I am therefore moving the deadline for homework this week back to Monday, September 1. I assure you that once these bugs in our email addresses are worked out, students will enjoy relatively problem free access to assignments. Thank you for your patience.

By derivative work: FischX (talk) Station_Clock.jpg: User:JuergenG, User:AlMare (Station_Clock.jpg) [CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Program of Inquiry for Grade 4/5 2014 - 2015

Language Instruction in Grade 4/5

Useful Learning Links

Call for experts on various belief systems!

Dear parents and guardians of the Grade 4/5,

As you are aware, in our first unit of the year, students are inquiring into the transdisciplinary theme "Who We Are" under a unit entitled "Belief Systems". Through this inquiry, students are learning how "Understanding our own and others' beliefs and values help us to respect each other."

Part of students' inquiries in this unit involve listening to and interviewing experts on various belief systems.

If you are interested in coming to speak with our class, or classes, about your personal beliefs and values, or your religion, please contact me by email or by commenting on this blog post. Our students would love to hear from you and ask you some questions!

You Are Invited to the Elementary Curriculum Evening and the Elementary Assembly This Week

The Elementary Curriculum Evening will begin Tuesday, August 26 at 6 PM on the basketball court. You will then be directed to Ms. Alison's classroom for a short presentation by the whole Grade 4/5 team for general information about our curriculum. After this, you are invited to come back to our classroom for a short look around and questions and answers. See you all there!

Also, please remember we have an Elementary assembly at 7:45 AM on Friday, August 29. After this assembly, you are invited back to our classroom for a brief private tour by your child!

Have a great week everyone!

Coming up! All day field trip to Phnom Chisor!

Phnom Chisor – WEDNESDAY 27TH

We will be visiting Buddhist and Hindu temples and will see many symbols from different belief systems. 

The buses will depart from Elementary at 8.00 am. 

We return to Elementary at 2.00 pm - normal pick up

Your child will need to bring:

•  Water bottle
•  Snack
•  Lunch
• Sunscreen

Your child will need to wear:

• Sports shoes as they will be climbing many steps
• Hat

Your child may wish to also bring:

• Money to purchase cold water or a cold drink 

*Please make sure you pass this message on to Nannies / cooks. 

 Lunch needs to come to school in your child's back pack - not delivered to the school at 12 noon. 

Photo courtesy of Alison Stanton

Mathematics in Grade 4/5

The mathematical process in Grade 4/5 includes developing skills of problem solving, expanding logic and reasoning powers, and communicating mathematical ideas. These sills are learned and assessed within 5 strands.

Through development of skills and knowledge in the following strands students will be able to...

Number

Encode and decode numbers to millions and beyond; identify place value to a minimum of 6 digit numbers and extend the use of our number system to the tenths place and beyond; understand the relationship between the four operations, for positive and negative integers, fractions and decimals; consolidate and recall basic facts to create and solve problems using more than one operation;

Measurement

Measure accurately using standard metric units of volume, mass, length and time; be able to measure area, perimeter and angles;

Shape and Space

Describe, classify and model 2D and 3D shapes and understand words to describe parts of the shapes; use vocabulary of angle types and special triangles and quadrilaterals;

Data Handling

Design a survey, process data and interpret results using mathematical language; use bar, circle and line graphs; understand and use median, mean and mode; express probability on a scale from 0% to 100%;

Pattern and Function

Identify and describe features of patterns as generalised rules and functions; and apply multiplication and division as inverse operations.

NGO Fair Reminder (Wednesday 7:45 - 3:45)

"Belgrade Book Fair 2" by Jovan Popović - Belgrade Book Fair Organization Team. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

This is a reminder that on Wednesday, August 20 all Grade 4/5 students will be visiting the new Secondary Campus to attend the NGO Fair.

Please note that students will return to the elementary school from secondary school by approximately 3:45pm.

During the day students will work in multi-aged groups to listen to speakers, do hands on activities, learn more about how NGOs help in Cambodia, and how the students can take action themselves to address issues they see in the world around them.

Zach Bonner, an inspirational young seventeen year old and CEO of the Red Wagon Foundation, will also be at the fair to talk about how he took action as a young boy to help provide water for disaster victims and aid for homeless children.

Our Grade 4/5 students will be viewing a biographical film about Mr. Bonner, "Little Red Wagon", on Monday afternoon after school.

On Wednesday, please ensure your child brings:

• a water bottle 
• food to last him/her for the long day (snacks and lunch) 
• hat 
• sunscreen

Thank you for your help in preparing our students for this special event!

Mr. Jon's Class Schedule for 2014 - 2015

Here is a look at our schedule for this year:

How to "Follow" this blog by email...

I hope that all of you are finding our classroom blog informative and easy to use. As we move through the school year, I and students will be making many posts on this blog that you, as parents and guardians, will want to know about as soon as possible.

Now I know that all of us lead very busy lives in Phnom Penh and we can sometimes find that a week goes by before there is a chance to sit down and catch up with online information such as can be found on our classroom blog.

NEVER FEAR!

You can sign up to get email alerts of new posts on this blog by entering your email address to the right of this post. Please use the following graphic as a guide:

About Mr. Jon

Hello! I am Mr. Jon Banules and I come from the USA by way of Thailand. 

This is my fourth year teaching at ISPP as a Grade 4/5 teacher and my sixth year of teaching as a homeroom teacher overall. Before I came to ISPP, I worked at a school in Chiang Mai, Thailand for two years. Previously, I had worked at a British international school in Bangkok for three years and a Thai private school for 6 years as an EAL (English as an Additional Language) teacher. Altogether, I have almost 14 years experience in working with children. 

I have a few hobbies, like hiking, camping, and playing music, that often extend into the classroom and my teaching. 

I'm really looking forward to working with my students and their parents this year, and I expect that we will have a fantastic time learning a variety of new things together!

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