SES Blog

Dear Parents, 

The Fun Day was a wonderful experience for everyone. It was such a lovely day, and the weather was very accommodating for the event. The children had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed all the games, from the potato race, noodle pool race, parachute activities, and bubble making, to name just a few. The day concluded with fun snacks such as popcorn and apple juice. To celebrate their participation and reinforce that everyone is a winner, the children brought home artistic medals they had created themselves.

With the upcoming End of Year performance, all the children have been diligently practising their songs and dance routines. Please remember to attend the special performance on Thursday, 4th of June, at 11:30. There will be no PE that day. The children need to come to school wearing their checkered uniform. For girls, please avoid high ponytails and large hair ornaments. We would like them to wear low ponytails or simple braids, as some of the children will be wearing headpieces on their heads during the performance.

The children watched the Flutterpillar Junior Production on Tuesday. They were able to relate that all great performances require lots of practice. They all enjoyed the singing and wonderful acting.

Alongside this busy schedule, the children are continuing to work on their learning. They are all working on their own individual goals in the classroom.

Please note that the photos from the Fun Day and End of Year performance as well as the Y1 learning covered will be posted in the final Google Classroom post during the last week of school.

Units

Our new mini unit is all about ‘Holidays’, where we discussed why people need holidays. The children also learned about two general types of holiday destinations: natural and man made destinations.

For natural destinations, we explored activities that can be done at the beach and learned vocabulary related to mountains. A fun experiment was carried out to replicate a volcano. To extend this learning, the children also made binoculars for pretend exploration activities.

We also explored man made holiday destinations by looking at a range of pictures of theme parks and discussing the different attractions and activities people can enjoy there, such as roller coasters, water attractions, 3D cinemas and a few others. The children also discussed the importance of respecting public places such as theme parks, malls, and zoos by helping to maintain cleanliness and taking care of the environment around them.

Today, the children baked flatbread and patiently followed the many steps involved in the process, from adding the ingredients, waiting for the dough to rise, kneading it, and finally baking it in the oven. Of course, at the end, everyone enjoyed tasting what they had baked themselves.

Important dates for Semester 2

Further information will be shared closer to each date. Please note that unless otherwise stated or indicated as ‘parents are invited,’ these events are for children only

1 Jun – Public holiday

2 Jun – First dress rehearsal for the End of Year Performance

3 Jun – Second dress rehearsal for the End of Year Performance

4 Jun – End of Year Performance (parents are invited)

12 Jun- Last day of school 12:00 dismissal for all children

Kind regards,

Montessori Team

Dear Parents,

What a wonderful opportunity it was for the children to participate in the National Education Day Flag Ceremony. The children showed that they are an important part of the school community, and we were very proud of them. As this was our first time joining the ceremony, the children did an amazing job.

Before the event, the children practised standing properly, saluting, and standing at ease. Their hard work truly paid off, and we even received compliments on how beautifully they sang the national anthem.

Thank you to all the parents who celebrated Children’s Day with us. The children thoroughly enjoyed the games, snacks, and balloons.

Fun Day
Please be informed that the Montessori Fun Day will take place on the morning of Friday the 22nd May during school time. Parents need not attend. Dismissal time is normal for all children.

Your child should come to school wearing their PE uniform. Please put the blue checkered uniform into their school bag. After the fun day the children will change back into their uniform. Please apply sunscreen beforehand (at home).

Units
As we approached the end of our unit on Africa, we explored the fascinating world of African animals. The children identified and named some of the most common African animals while learning about their habitats, unique features and patterns, and what they eat.

For our arts and crafts activity, the children selected an animal and traced a template onto patterned paper that represented their chosen animal.

We also explored where different African animals live across the continent. The children cut out pictures of the animals and placed them onto their African maps, locating the regions where these animals are found.

Year 1 additional learning covered – Week 34 and 35

Phonics  
To identify sounds represented by more than one letter, for example /ch/, /th/, /qu/, /ng/, /ay/
Some children are learning about alternative sounds such as /ee/ can also be written with ‘ea’, ‘e-e’, ‘y’.
To use phonic knowledge to read decodable words. Reading and writing CVC words,words with adjacent vowel / consonants using sounds covered, words with double consonants such as bell, mess, mitt, back.

Language / Literacy – Reading. 
Guided Reading groups – Practising fluency of reading and gaining the confidence to recognise sounds and blend them to read words and sentences.  Reading comprehension, to be able to answer direct questions about the book and work on understanding inferential questions as well.

Language – Research, WritingA non-chronological report / poster of an African animal.
Over the past two weeks, the children learned how to research information using the search engine “Kiddle”. They gathered facts about their chosen African animal, recorded their findings on a fact file sheet, and then transferred the information onto an “All About…(chosen animal)” poster.

Important dates for Semester 2
Further information will be shared closer to each date. Please note that unless otherwise stated or indicated as ‘parents are invited,’ these events are for children only

22 May – Fun day
2 Jun – First dress rehearsal for the End of Year Performance
3 Jun – Second dress rehearsal for the End of Year Performance
4 Jun – End of Year Performance (parents are invited)

Kind regards,
Montessori Team