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Dear Parents, Friends and Families, As you know OIS believes in the values of the IB, and so offers the 3 programmes at OIS OGC and is currently seeking authorisation for IBPYP at JVLR. As part of this process for Verification we are expected to implement specific standards and practices. One of the many elements of the the programme that I would like to bring to your attention is called the Essential Elements. You can read the definitions below:  Through these essential elements we are ensuring that students receive a balance of approaches to learning. As you can see our programme promotes 'knowledge,' but knowledge is only one component. The element that we are currently working on is to developing skills with the students and in particular, developing their thinking skills.   As you can see the notion of thinking, according to the IB, is broken down into sub-strands and the skill of thinking needs to be explicitly taught, learned, assessed and modelled in an IB school. At OIS, we promote the act of thinking by simply asking thoughtful questions to tour students, such as:
Some Grade 2 students showed evidence of their thinking skills when they were questioned by the Principal about their summative assessment.    Through careful questioning techniques you can encourage your child to think and reflect back on their day and help us focus on thinking skills at home.
I think I have share this before but here is a link to some key questions you can ask at home to investigate how your child has spent their day: www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-evans/25-ways-to-ask-your-kids-so-how-was-school-today-without-asking-them-so-how-was-school-today_b_5738338.html. Dates for your diaries We are coming to the end of our first AY @ JVLR and we have a lot to celebrate and some key events are also planned in the next few weeks. One of which will be 'Coffee mornings' will be held with Mr Steve. SKG Parents: May 2nd, 8-9am Grade 1: May 3rd, 8-9am Grade 2: May 4th, 8am-9am Grade 3 and 4: May 8th, 8-9am JKG: May 9th, 8-9am Nursery: May 10th, 8-9am We will also be celebrating the end of the year and the opening of the Auditorium on June 1st - more details to follow. Class parties for the end of year will be held on Tuesday June 5th. Your child's homeroom teacher will contact you with more details. Wednesday 6th June will be a half day for students. All students finishing school at 11:30. Parent Communication Just to be clear to parents, for any notifications or communications, currently we use the following modes of communication:
Next AY, we would like to focus on Maths in the PYP and Writing as well as continued support for IT integration. Thank you, Lisa Hughes  This week, Nursery and JKG parents came in to learn more about the importance of reading aloud to their children. They listened to research on the many benefits of reading aloud, had a discussion about the importance of reading aloud and got a chance to practice.
Parents discussed how they often use read alouds as teaching moments, rather than bonding with their children. They learned, though, that it is more important to have that special bonding time with their children. It's important to develop that passion for reading at a young age. It's also proven that children who have been read to every day, from birth to age 5, have stronger vocabularies and more school success. Now it's the primary parents turn. This coming week, on April 23rd and 25th, we will offer read aloud sessions for SKG-Grade 1 (on April 23rd at 8 a.m.) and Grades 2-4 (on April 25th, from 8-9 a.m.) It is just as important that older students continue to read aloud with their parents. As a former grade 4 and 5 teacher, I read aloud every day to my students, reading 6-8 novels every year to them, and they loved it. I read to my daughter until she was 13, and she is passionate about stories. Join us to hear about the benefits reading aloud, even after students can read. Join us to get some tips on reading aloud and how to choose the right books. Please sign up here for SKG-Grade 1 session on April 23rd. Please sign up here for the Grades 2-4 session on April 25th. We look forward to seeing you there!  At Oberoi, we want to give students the freedom to think and we want to empower them to be. As we head toward authorization for the IB PYP, we are encouraging all of the attitudes that help make an internationally-minded person. We want students to take charge of themselves and their learning so that they can be lifelong learners. We encourage independence, risk-taking, self-management skills including organization and emphasize the concept of responsibility.
Even from the early years, students can be responsible. It starts with small things, which lead to students feeling confident in their own abilities and the quest to learn more, do more and take charge of their learning. In the mornings, I usually greet the children as they are getting out of their cars and walking in to school. Over the year, I've seen the students grow more independent and confident. Most of the children, from nursery-grade 4 carry their own bags. Many of the children are now walking in without their parents or caretakers, sometimes meeting friends along the way. Most of the youngest ones now even say with confidence "Good morning Ms. Kristen!" We hope that all students will go out into the world as confident, responsible thinkers who want to make a change. In Oberoi's core values, we value the ideas that individuals have the ability to change the world and the group has the power to make this a reality. Keep encouraging your children at home to be responsible, to take charge of themselves, to ask questions. Thank you for helping our children have the freedom to think and the power to be. Kristen Blum, PYP Coordinator  Dear Parents, Friends and Families, Recently at JVLR, we held our first Student-Led Conferences (SLCs). This day was an opportunity for each of our students to share their knowledge and understanding about what they have been learning about. Having students share their own learning has proven to empower them and lead to an increase in a students confidence. It was great to see such supportive families on this day and for parents to take time to spend with their child in school. Even though you did not see the teachers, a great deal of planning went into making this event happen, and just before the SLC's with parents, students were given the opportunity to practise with different children in the school. We have some more parent workshops coming up before the end of this academic year. We have focussed on reading and in particular 'Readalouds.' Please see the blurb below from the PYP Coordinator: Did you know that reading aloud to your children increases your child's chance of school success? It's also a great way to bond with your children. Join us for an inquiry into reading aloud in the early years with tips for how you can create a lifelong love of reading. We will have sessions for both nursery and JKG on two separate days. Participation is limited to 30 people, so please sign up if you are interested and available. Nursery: April 16th, 8 a.m.-9 a.m. JVLR Please complete the form if interested: https://goo.gl/forms/v24I0jpVtMxnalvF3 JKG: April 17th, 8 a.m.-9 a.m. JVLR https://goo.gl/forms/ZWVD4eWu8Ol7Kjnq1 Watch this space for more parent workshops on Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Transitions in Early years. Thank you parents again for your ongoing support, Lisa Hughes Head of Primary JVLR        |
Lisa Hughes
Primary Head
Nicola Holloway
Deputy Primary Head
KRISTEN BLUM
PYP CO-ORDINATOR
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January 2020
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