Suhanis Gymnastics Day

On Saturday I went for my gymnastics class. I was really good at the splits. After I did the splits I went on the bars and did three casts and one forward roll and landed. Then I went on the trampoline and did a seatdrop and a half turn. I had a great time at my gymnastics class.

Suhani

Watch "Santa Wear Your Shorts" Live!

Way to go, Super First Graders! You were amazing on the stage. Everyone enjoyed listening to your song and watching you dance. What a great way to get into the Holidays Spirit!

Check out the pictures as well!

The COWs came back!

We love the COWs! They came back to our classroom. This time, since we are already becoming experts, we worked on two different activities. Mr. Kaye challenged us to create a roller coaster with two loops. That was easy! Then we had to come up with our own roller coasters. We then recorded two ways that worked and two ways that didn't work.

Here are some pictures of our activities.

Next, we had to put parts of "The Three Little Pigs" story in the right sequence. When that was done, we wrote words to go with each part.

Wow! Just in one day, we used our netbooks to integrate science and RLA. And best of all, it was tons of fun!

Check Out Our Circular Stories!

During the past two weeks, we have read a few books by Laura Numeroff. She has written many circular stories such as "If you Take a Mouse to the Movies". Circular stories follow a "round" pattern - they begin and end the same way like the cycle of seasons. We then wrote our own circular stories! Since we are in the spirit of the Holidays Season, we created our cicular stories using ornaments on a wreath. Check out the videos below!

COWs - Computers on Wheels

Yesterday we had our first introduction to netbooks. Netbooks are little laptops that can be used by individual students. We are so excited! We will be doing so many great activities in every content area using these computers. But first Mr. Kaye had to teach us how to use them properly.

Here are a few things we learned:

1. Hold your computer with two hands when walking around with them


2. Hold the keyboard and not the screen


3. Use the tips of your fingers to move the cursor around


4. Wait until the computer has shut down completely before closing the lid


5. Have fun using the computer to learn new things!

Click here to see pictures of our first day!

If You Give a Crocodile a Cookie by Nicholas

If You Give a Cat a Bite by Suhani

If You Give a Buffalo a Balloon by Declan

If You Give an Ant a Seed By Aman

If You Give a Dog a Bone by Sereena

If You Give a Tiger Meat by Oscar

If You Give an Ant a Jellybean by Levi

If You Take a Butterfly on a Trip by Jada

If You Give a Snake a Birthday Cake by Eva

If You Give a Mouse a Seed by Jonathan

If You Give a Bird a Cake by Raine

If You Give an Alligator an Egg by Matthew N.

If You Give a Cat a Hat by Carmen

If You Give an Alligator a Chicken by Edward

If You Give a Dog a Bone by Tess

If You Give a Kitten a Chocolate Chip Cookie by Sam

If You Give a Cow a Toy Car by Rita

Take a peek at our Roller Coaster

Here is the final run of the sphere (marble) on the roller coaster the class created.

Oscar's weekend in Manila

I went to Manila, Philippines this weekend to participate in Bea Lucero Gymnastic Cup. This was my first gymnastic competition. I got to wear my new uniform, which is very comfortable. I practiced my routines for this meet really really hard, so I knew exactly what I should do. Other gymnasts looked much better than me, but I told myself I can do it. I concentrated and tried to have fun.

As a result, I won 1st place on Vault, scored 9.6 out of 9.8, 3rd on Parallel Bars (9.2), 5th on Pommel Horse(8), 5th on Floor Exercise and 5th on all-around finals. My brother, Noah did well too. He came in 6th on all- around finals.

Our SACAC boys junior team won 2nd

place. I was very tired, but it worth it . Thank you to Coach Alex for coaching me and my Daddy and Mommy for supporting me. I want to get a big trophy next time!

Love, Oscar

New Word Study Game

Hello Guys,

Here is a great sight for you to practice the patterns in your word study. Play a few games and let us know what you think aboout it.

Have fun!!

Play the game!

News from the Library

Our Primary Library has some wonderful resources available to our students and one of these are Playaways. These are small devices that have a pre-recorded story, book, song or other fun things sort of like an MP3 player. Your first grader will be allowed to begin checking out one of those when they visit the library right after the Winter Break. Mr. Palmer will talk to the students about taking care of them and returning them in good shape at that time. Please note that these are just like a book (fiction or non-fiction) and the students are responsible for each item they check out. These Playaways cost between $60-$120 Singapore Dollars. If one is lost or seriously damaged, your child would be held accountable. If you do not want your child to check these out, then as a parent, you should talk to your child and make that clear to them. Otherwise, they will have the option to check one out in January. The library will not be able to keep track of who is allowed to check and who isn't. (Note: Mr. Palmer said that in the three years the PS Library has had them, no Playaways have been lost or seriously damaged.)

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Kirk Palmer, Primary Librarian kpalmer@sas.edu.sg

Tess in Thailand

This is me in Thailand with my new friend Mina. Mina is 1 year old and was born in Phuket. She eats a lot. Every morning she could eat up to 100 tiny sweet bananas (without the skin). It was funny my Mum took this photo and forgot she had a banana in her bag for my Dad. After she took this photo Mina chased my Mum down the corridor as she could smell the banana through the bag! Mina even made some paintings which you can check out in the photo.

"Santa Wear Your Shorts"!

Tinsel Time! Come join us while we sing several songs getting into the Holiday Spirit. Our main song is "Santa Wear Your Shorts!"

When: Friday, December 11th

Time: 1:15 PM

Place: Elementary Theater

We are looking forward to seeing you all there!

Holiday Cheers!

Rita's wonderful holiday

On Thursday morning we went to the Sience centre . We learned many sientific things ,like how Elva Edison made electricity and we learned some games and tricks.After that we wachted two movies called Bears and Under the sea.It was Magnificent!I learned how to protect the environment and animals!I had a wonderful time!

Investigation 3 - Making a Roller Coaster

Today we made our class roller coaster. Yesterday, we talked about the differences between rollers and spinners. We figured out that spinners rotate around an axis and rollers rotate around themselves. We also noticed that spinners can rotate in one position, but rollers move from one place to another. Next we got some Styrofoam tracks and we rolled marbles in it. We found out that the starting point had to be higher than the ending point. Then we connected a couple of tracks together and we made hills and guess what? We made loops. Someone came up with the idea of connecting all the tracks and making a roller coaster. Wow! We created many different ways to finally find the one track that the marble would roll all the way to the ending point. Our roller coaster had two loops!

Check out the pictures!

This weekend you can also make your own roller coaster by clicking on the sight below. Have Fun!

Make a roller coaster!

Charity Bazaar at The Japanese Association

On Saturday, 21 Nov, Mom brought Ben and I to the Charity Bazaar at The Japanese Association. We got to eat sushi and played race cars with Tamiya. Ben wanted to learn Origami and I wanted to know how to play Japanese Chess. An uncle showed me the strategies to play and win, it was very fun. Japanese Chess is very easy to play. I then played with Ben and also Mom and I won 3 times!

Mom then signed us up for Batik Painting. First I got to select a picture to paint. Mom said the picture is printed on a silk fabric, so I have to be very careful handling it. The picture was stretched and stapled onto a wooden frame.

I had to use a special tool to outline the picture with hot melted wax. It was so difficult so Mom helped me.

Next I painted in colors on my picture. At one point, I made a dab of wrong color and Mom showed me how to spread that out so it is no longer a mistake but part of the painting. Also the lolli helped.

After that I had to blow dry my painting.

Then a lady brushed a layer of hot wax over it. I asked, 'Why are you putting wax again?" but she could not understand me. I think she did not speak English. Mom said that she thinks the action will 'fix' the color onto the silk to make it permanent. Mom said we could find out more from the library or the internet.

Then another lady took my painting and slipped inbetween pages of newspapers and ironed over it. She said the heat will help the papers to absorb off the wax. Oh I get it! The wax will melt from the heat of the iron. The wax will melt onto the paper so that way, my painting will be just on silk with no wax!

Finally, another lady helped me fold my painting into a rectangle photo frame. She used a lot of tape.

Ta da! Here is my painting of the Merlion!

Oscar and Noah was also there ... but they came when we were about to leave. So Mom let us play another round of Japanese traditional games in the room upstairs.

After that, we took the shuttle to Orchard Road and then I got to play with my DS Lite on the way home!

Investigation 3 - Rolling Cups by Levi and Edward

Today we explored rolling cups on the ramp. First the cups turned left and right because one side is bigger and one side is smaller. Then Ms. Analu asked us to try to make it roll straight. So we taped the cups together and it started rolling straight because it was the same size of wheels. Then we started to make it go faster. You put two sharpeners inside the cups and it was rolling faster. Sometimes the sharpeners came out without anyone pushing the cups. Then the cups rolled the same speed.

Check out the pictures!

The PTA Book Fair is next week!! Come join us!

We will be going to the Elementary Gym for the PTA Book Fair on Wednesday, November 25th from 12:30-1:30 pm. Here are a few options for how to buy the books:

1. Meet your child at the gym at 12:35 pm to buy books together.
2. Send cash in a labeled envelope with your child's name and amount of money. I'll be happy to help him/her purchase the books, but you will want to talk over what types of books you want your child to purchase. (S$20 would enable your child to buy approximately 2 books or so.)
3. Take your child to the book fair before or after school and he/she can just browse around during our class time.

Have fun!!!

Investigation 3 - Rollers

What's a wheel system?

You put 2 big red wheels on an axle. By Tess

How would you make a wheel system that will go straight?

You put big red wheels on each side of the axle. They have to be the same size.

by Yoony and Edward

How would you make a wheel system that will turn?

You put one red on one side and a small yellow one on the other side of the axle.

by Matthew T.

Check out the pictures!

Happy Birthday, Ms. Nora!

Yesterday we celebrated Ms. Nora's birthday. We made heart cards and ate yummy muffins. We love you, Ms. Nora. We hope you had a great day!

Cheers,

Ms. Analu and her Wonderful Kids

An adult and a child measured the same thing with their FEET. Why might they get different answers?

Please answer the question of the day!

Check out the pictures of our students measuring things with their feet and the standard foot measure.

Chinese Song About Body Parts by Mr. Pearson's Students

Chinese Version of Hair, Shoulder, Knees and Feet - By Mr. Pearson's Students

The Three Billy Goats Gruff - Literature Based Math Unit

The students worked in small groups to retell the Three Billy Goats using story maps and models of goats and trolls they created. To introduce this unit, we read several fairy tales. We then talked about the ones that included three characters that were the same. The children named several of them including, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We did a Venn diagram to compare the Three Billy Goats and the Three Little Pigs. We talked about setting, characters, problem and solution in stories. We then got our scripts of the Three Billy Goats' readers' theater to practice reading with expression and fluency. During our math class, we used some of the skills we learned in our Every Day Mathematics program to build bridges, make goats and trolls. The mathematical skills the children practiced during this unit include sorting, weighing and comparing, estimating and verifying, calculating, handling money and measuring. Although the purpose of the project was to create props and characters so the children could dramatize the story, each of the unit's components involved problem solving, mathematical reasoning and communication. The result of this learning is shown in the videos below. Enjoy!

Check out some of the pictures of this unit as well.

Writing a Small Moment about the Eco Garden

On Wednesday, we visited the Eco Garden at the high school. We took our clipboards and a 4 senses chart. The garden was beautiful and full of interesting things to see, feel, hear and smell. As we walked around, we filled our charts with all sorts of words. We then went back to the classroom and wrote a small moment capturing all we experienced at the garden. Wow! The books are just amazing! To make sure the recounting of our morning adventure was real, we added some really interesting describing words and we stretched those sentences. Here is a sample of a great one!

The Eco Garden by Raine Florendo

Today we went to the Eco Garden and we saw different things. I saw a yellow flower on a green stem. It was very pretty. Then I went to the bridge and saw two turtles. They were so cute. It had a medium size head. Then I heard crickets. They were not so loud, but it was a nice sound. Then I almost put my foot in the bath, it was a little bit itchy. Then we went back to the class. It was great!

Pictures of our visit to the Eco Garden

Friday Nov. 6

Boys and Girls,
It was so exciting for me to be in your room today. I saw how hard you have all worked and I love how you used your imagination and writing skills to produce fabulous stories! Keep it up you are all amazing authors and illustrators!.......Mr. Schunk

Spinners - Twirlers by Carmen and Tess

We learned that many things spin. Some need force like tops and zoomers. But some of them spin by themselves. We got this piece of paper, and then we folded it on the dotted lines. And then we put the paper clip at the bottom. Then you go on a chair and you let go of the twirler and see if it spins or not. It spins when the air is pushing the wings. It spins when the gravity is pulling it down and the air is pushing it up.

Check out more pictures of our students making twirlers.

Writing Celebration - Small Moments by Levi and Aman

Today we shared our books with everybody. We invited Mrs. Donaghey and Mr. Schunk. We sat down with a group and we read our books to each other. After listening to stories, we made comments about their stories. The illustrations were nice. Some stories were funny. We got a gold medal like the Caldecott Medal because the pictures went with the writing. Then at the end, we drank punch and we ate cookies. We cheered, "Wonderful Writing!".

Check out the pictures of our Celebration.

Oscar's PIano Concert

On Tuesday night, I played the piano at a Charity Dinner Concert organized by Pistorio Foundation at Shangri-La Hotel. I played Hungarian Dance No.5 composed by Johannes Brahms. There were so many people at the Ballroom and I was nervous. When Ms. Vernetta Lopez introduced me, I was ready to go and bowed to everyone. I took a deep breath and started to play. Although I made a mistake in the middle, I managed to keep going and finished nicely. I received big claps. I didn’t get any prize this time, but my Mom told

me the money goes to build schools in Cambodia, (Tibet) China, Thailand and Africa. I hear they raised $100,000 just for one night – that is a lots of money, don’t you think? I am glad I helped some kids.

Sincerely, Oscar

Spinners - Zoomers by Matthew N. and Declan

Family Math Night

Hello Everyone! We would like to thank all families that were able to come to our Family Math Night. What a fun evening! The purpose of the night was to give you a snapshot of our Everyday Math lessons. As you experienced yesterday, at the beginning of each math class, we get the students to start thinking mathematically by quickly answering some Mental Math problems. They use their slates and math tools to solve different types of problems. Then they share the "how" they got their answers with a partner. After that, we share the"hows" out loud so everyone learns a different way to solve a problem. Following the Mental Math, we have our mini lesson for the day. We then play games to practice the skills learned. At the end of the class, we gather on the carpet to talk about what we learned that day. While answering math problems at home, remember to always ask, "How did you solve this problem?"

You can also play the same games in your computer at home. Use your ID card to login.

https://www.everydaymathonline.com/

Here are some pictures of the night.

Trick or treat!

This Saturday I went trick or treating at Woodlands. I got a bunch of candies there. Even though it was raining there where still a bunch of kids. I dressed up as a fasion model with fake jewelry. I had so much fun with all of my friends. I will definitely go back to Woodlands next year for Halloween. Thanks to Nicholas and his mom for letting me and my family come over.

Suhani

Happy Halloween!

What an amazing Halloween party we had today! The kids played fun games, decorated treat boxes and listened to a really cool spooky story. While they were listening to the story, they touched eyeballs, bones, brains, and skulls. Yikes!! We then had delicious treats! The classroom was beautifully decorated and we even had spooky music. We would like to thank all the parents for the wonderful party and for joining us in the fun! A big thanks to Mrs. Noel for getting it all organized! Lisa, you are great! Thank you! Ms. Nora and I hope you have a fabulous Halloween!

I would like to thank you for the wonderful gift! You and the kids sure made my birthday very special! Obrigada!!

Check out more pictures of our Halloween Party at the site below.

http://www.sas.edu.sg/gallery/09-10/Q2/PS/Grade%201/Assis/Halloween/index.html

Guidance Lesson 2- The "I" Message

Helping children to develop healthy problem solving approaches and supporting language is an ongoing process. Guidance lesson two focused on the reinforcement of the T.I.M strategy: Tell your feelings, Ignore and Move Away. In particular, we practiced using “I” messages. Please feel free to encourage the same language at home when conflict arises.

Please can you stop chasing me (child must stop the activity, have eye contact and be specific)
I feel annoyed (child must state a feeling) when you chase me and we’re not playing that game (child must re-state the problem)
I want you to play the game by the rules (child must be specific with the solution/desired behavior)

Aman's Bali holiday

I went to Bali with my friends Simran and Diya and my brother Gautam. I went swimming with my friends and went to the beach. I tried body boarding in the waves and had a great time as you can see from the photo! I ate some nice fish and yummy pizzas. I would love to go to Bali again! Aman

Jada's Wonderful Day

On Sunday, I finished all my work really fast. After that, I read a chapter book. Then, I watched T.V. for 20 minutes. After that, I had lunch and went to church. I got two candies, one was a twister, the other one was a chocolate. I went home after that. I ate dinner, read three books, took a shower, brushed my teeth and went to bed.

Investigation 2 - Spinners - Making Tops by Eva and Jada

Today we made tops. We learned that we need to use power (force) to make the top spin for a long time. First we put the disks on the shaft. We put big disks and small disks close to the bottom so it could spin properly. We also tried spreading the disks away from each other and the top spun faster. We rubbed our hands on the top of the top, pushing and pulling to make it spin. Check out some more pictures at the site below.

http://www.sas.edu.sg/gallery/09-10/Q2/PS/Grade%201/Assis/Making%20Tops/index.html

Fun Deepavali

This Diwali I went to my grandparents house in India to celebrate Diwali. One day before Diwali I put lights up with my grandma's maid. We also put candles around our house. We bought lots of crackers and candles to light up the house. Some of the crackers were Fullchadi, lightwheel, and rockets . We also got henna on our hands. We had neighbors who helped us with crackers. I wore an indian outfit called a lehnga. We also put fresh flowers and leaves on the gate. Diwali in India is very fun. I would like to go to India for every Diwali . How I wish Diwali was twice a year. I had a fabulous time!

Sereena Gill

my grandparents' weekend

Carmen, Tatum, Neen & Pops at Pulau Ubin

Neen, Pops, and Dad

When Pops and Neen (who are my grandparents) visited, we took them to the zoo. And we saw this cute cute cute cute little goat. We loved it. My sister and I wanted to buy it but it was at the zoo and my parents said no. Then we went to the water park. We had so much fun! This summer, my grandparents took me hiking and that was really fun. And before the hiking, we went camping for real. We crossed a river, and then we started a fire. It was so much fun. When it got dark, we had SPOOOOKY STORIES. After, we went to sleep in a tent in our sleeping bags. They live in Utah.

It was so much fun with Pops and Neen here!

Here is the cutest goat.

Balance and Motion - Investigation 1 - Balance

In science we started our Balance and Motion Unit. The students are first investigating Balance. During the Investigation 1, the students discovered many ways to balance two-dimensional shapes. Next they found ways to balance a pencil on its point, in stable positions. During these lessons, the students explored the concepts of balance, counterbalance, counterweight, and stability by balancing tagboard shapes, making mobiles and engaging in other balancing projects.

Check out some more pictures of our Balance Explorations on the site below.
http://www.sas.edu.sg/gallery/09-10/Q2/PS/Grade%201/Assis/Balancing%20a%20Pencil/index.html

Edward's fireworks

I joined Deepavali party at my condo with my friends. I wore the Indian traditional costume which my friend brought from India for me. We enjoyed games and daces. I got a prize at doing Hulahoop. The most exciting part was the fireworks. It was a really fun!

Pumpkin Patch by Rita and Sam

We went to the Pumpkin Patch this morning. The first thing we did was we listened to a story called Piggie Pie. The witch tried to get piggies to make a piggie pie. Our favorite part of the story was when the Piggies made a plan and began to trick the witch. Then we picked a pumpkin after we took our picture. We could choose a squash or a corn or a gourd. And then we went into the black tunnel. Some people gave us some bags to put our pumpkins in. They also gave us a Halloween toy and a Halloween ring. It was very fun!

Check out the other pictures of our Pumpkin Patch visit at the site below.

http://www.sas.edu.sg/gallery/09-10/Q2/PS/Grade%201/Assis/index.html