Thursday October 31, 2013

Hi everyone,

Sorry there was no blog post yesterday I was home sick. It was good to be back today and see all the student's shining faces. =)

Spelling Words:

men
change
went
light
kind
off
need
house

Thursday Math Homework: 

Math Practice page 15, 16, 17

Students did have some time to work on this during class so it is possible they have brought it home for you to look over but it is finished.

Students will have their Unit 1 Social Studies test tomorrow

***Reminder: Grade 1 students have dance class tomorrow so please either send them in their full P.E. uniform or make sure they pack it so they can change.
                                                                                            

Tuesday October 29. 2013

Hello,

• In our Reading class this morning we began a story entitled, "Where Does Food Come From?" After reading the first section of the story we completed a KWL chart (Know, Want, Learn). In the first column we wrote down things we had already learned about where food comes from. In the second column, we posed questions about things we would like to find out. As we continue the story and our discussions, we will complete the final column to show what we have learned about this topic. 
• Tuesday Phonics Homework page 47-48
• If you have not already returned the signed exams and report card please do so as soon as possible
• Influenza forms need to be returned by tomorrow to let the school know if you would or would not like your child to receive the shot. Even if you don't want them to have it, the form still needs to be returned indicating your decision. 

Thank you!

Monday October 28. 2013

Good morning everyone,

1. Each Monday morning DISK will begin the assembly five minutes earlier, at 8:25am
2. Grade 1 students will have a Unit 1 Test for Social Studies this Friday November 1, 2013
3. Spelling tests have been graded and returned. Please have students do corrections and return tomorrow with a parent's signature. 
4. Monday Language Homework page 24-25

 In preparation for our Unit 1 Social Studies test, students split into groups and reviewed a lesson. After picking out the main ideas they took turns coming to present to the rest of the class. They all earned titles as Little Teachers as they relayed important information to their classmates and asked and answered questions. Good work everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday October 25, 2013

• There is a spelling bee available for interested students from DISK. It is put on by The EDGE Office and will be held at Kaohisung American School on Saturday November 23, 3013. The registration fee is 300 NT and is open until November 13. If you would like to participate please fill out the form and send it back to school with the fee as soon as possible. For more information please contact Mr. de la Cruz. Thank you =) 

•  Influenza shots will be given for those students wanting one on Tuesday November 5, 2013. Please read and fill out the form and send it back with your decision by Tuesday October 29, 2013.

• For anyone who has not already, please sign and return the first quarter exams and report cards as soon as possible. Thank you so much!

Thursday October 24, 2013

Happy Thursday!

• Sorry everyone I forgot to write one of the spelling words in yesterday's post. Please find the complete list below

must

big

high

such

follow

act

why

ask

• Because we will have dance classes tomorrow morning please send students to school in their full P.E. uniforms or pack them so they can change before going to class. Thank you!

• Thursday Phonics Homework: Page 45 and 46                                                                                              
• Tomorrow we will have our Halloween activities in the afternoon. Parents are welcome to come at 1pm to help students change into costume and watch the fashion show. Please remember not to send students to school in costume. Looking forward to a fun afternoon!

Wednesday October 23, 2013

 We had a great and busy day today. After the students morning Chinese class we went down to the gym to practice walking down the runway for the Halloween fashion show. Students had fun getting into character! After morning break we made some ghost decorations for our classroom while watching a bit of a Halloween film. After lunch we wrote and illustrated what nouns and verbs are onto signs that we will hang up in our class for reference. We also practiced replacing nouns with pronouns in sentences. During Social Studies we had a special treat because Kaitlyn brought in some photo souvenirs from her school in America. We continued our discussion about schools around the world. Thank you Kaitlyn for sharing with your classmates, we really enjoyed it!

***I found a copy of the newsletter on the floor so if you did not receive a hard copy this week please write to me in the communication book and I will make sure it goes home to you tomorrow. There is also an electronic version that I posted on the blog this week


Spelling Words for 10/28 test:

big

high

such

follow

act

why

ask

 Wednesday Science Homework:

Page 57-58

Please tell students to reference page 49 for the Design Process sequence

Halloween Reminders:

Our Halloween celebrations will take place this Friday October 25. Students are not permitted to wear their costumes to school on this day.Parents are invited to come to school at 1:00pm and help students change into their costumes in our classroom.  At 2:00pm we will make our way to the gym for a Halloween Fashion Show. More details about this can be found in the newsletter that went home earlier this week. Following, grades 4-6 will trick or treat through the grade 1, 2, and 3 classrooms. Lastly, grades 1, 2, and 3 will go upstairs to trick or treat in grades 4, 5, and 6 classes. Please remember not to make you or your child's costume too scary as we don't want to frighten the younger students. I hope you can all make it for a fun afternoon!

Wednesday Photo Diary

Tuesday October 22, 2013

In Reading and Phonics class we made a chart on the board to classify statements and questions. The class was split into small groups and shown a picture of a packed car full of passengers. As a group, they had to come up with a statement and a question about this specific photo. Later, each group had the chance to present their sentences to the class and we put them into the appropriate group on the chart. Everyone did a good job!

In Language and Spelling I introduced students to pronouns. We learned that pronouns are words that we use instead of a noun in a sentence. Nouns are people, places, and things. The pronouns we practiced replacing nouns with were:

I

You

He

She

It

We

They

Math Homework
Page 57 #4-7
Page 58 #8-25
This will act as a review for students as I would like to give a unit Math test next week. The exact day is yet to be determined. I want to see how they do on this homework so please let them do it by themselves. Thank you

Second Quarter Newsletter (digital version)

Dear Parents,

            The first quarter of the year is over! It’s been eventful and busy, full of great experiences, learning, and growth.

Halloween Fashion Show

            This upcoming Friday, October 25^th, will be our annual Halloween Event! Students are encouraged to bring costumes to school and will be allowed to change into them after 1:00 PM on Friday afternoon. The show itself will begin at 2:30. Parents are welcome to come to help their students prepare and to participate in the festivities.

            Our classes will be grouped together into three groups: Pre-K – K2, Grades 1 – 3, and finally, Grades 4 – 6, and one student in each grade will be recognized for their costume!

Dominican School Car Passes

            Car Passes are here! Each family will receive one car pass, which will be placed in the passenger side (right side) window for security and identification purposes. When you come to pick up your pass, please give the office the license plate number on the vehicle that will hold the pass. We need this information for our records.

Families may purchase additional passes for 150 NT each. Passes can be picked up at the office from Ms. Lee. If you cannot pick up the pass yourself, you may send a signed note to school with your student. Students will not be allowed to take passes home without a signed note, but please understand that passes that are lost on the way home will be the student’s responsibility.

            Each pass will have a space for the school year and the license plate number. Please write your license plate number on the slip below and return it to the office so we can fill that information in for you.

            Parents can begin picking up their passes on Thursday, October 24^th and we will start using them on November 1^st.

New Tardy Policy

            We are instituting a new Tardy Policy here at Dominican. Students who arrive at school after morning prayers have begun (8:30 AM) will come directly to the office to get a note. Students will take this note to their Homeroom teacher. Three Tardy Slips will result in one absence.

Community Development

            Our Community Development activity this year will take place on November 8^th. Our school will be splitting up into three groups.

            Grades 1-3 will be visiting a home for the elderly. After our visit, we will meet up with Kindergarten at the Our Lady of China church to have lunch. At this time, Father Anthony Mai will teach our students a little bit about our parish.

            After lunch, the kindergarten will return to school and Grades 1-3 will use the rest of their school day helping to clean the church.

            Grades 4-6 will be visiting the St. Teresa Opportunity Center in Tainan. We will tour the grounds and will be given the opportunity to interact with some of the children in the home. Our students will also present the donations we gather to the school and the children.

            Students will be required to wear their PE uniforms to school. We need students to be wearing the normal PE shirt, not a Sports Day shirt.

Donations

            The St. Teresa Opportunity Center helps children in need, as does a local orphanage, Girl’s Town, in Sandimen, and it is our duty as a member of this community to help where we can.

            We would like to ask our students and our parents to help these organizations by either donating money or donating toys. If your student has toys that they no longer play with, we know some children who would love to have them.

            If you decide to donate money to the organizations, please contact Ms. Lee in the office.

Monday October 21, 2013

• Monday Reading Homework page 26-27

• Spelling tests were marked and returned today. Almost everyone got perfect this time and those who didn't still saw a big improvement. Way to go! Please sign and return the tests tomorrow. Any mistakes need to be written out neatly three times.

• At this morning's assembly several of our students were awarded certificates of recognition for achieving 1st honor in her their first quarter academic studies. Congratulations Grace, Shannon, Wilsoni, Kaitlyn, Marianne, Jake, and Yan-Xi.

• In our second Science unit we have begun to learn about the design process. In order to explore this in a meaningful way I presented the students with a problem and asked for their help in finding a solution. The problem was not being able to reach a spot on my back to scratch. They brainstormed ways of solving this problem and then together we built a back scratcher using a tube, straws, and some tape. We tested it out and gave our opinions on its strengths and weaknesses. During tomorrow's class we will improve our original design and record our observations. Stay tuned! =)

Friday October 18, 2013

Hi everyone,

Just a couple of things to mention as we finish week 10:

1. For those parents who were unable to come for a meeting today, I sent students home with their exams and report cards if you wrote giving your permission to do so. Otherwise I kept them at school and will wait for your signed consent to send them next week. Please sign each of the exams as well as the report card and return them no later than next Friday October 25, 2013.

2. For the second quarter students will have dance class on Friday mornings so they need to wear or bring their complete P.E. uniforms including shoes.

3. There is no homework today as I did not have any classes with students this morning. They had Chinese, Christian Living and Dance class before being dismissed at noon.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy weekend. See you all on Monday =)

Halloween Celebrations at DISK

Hello,

I wanted to let everyone know what will be happening at DISK for Halloween this year. Next Friday October 25 students will be participating in a Fashion Show so everyone can see their costumes. Parents are invited to come to school at 1pm and help students change into their costumes. (They are asked not to wear their costumes to school in the morning) The fashion show will begin just after 2pm and of course parents are welcome to come watch and take photos and join in the fun.

**We welcome creativity in your costumes but please remember that there are small children at the school who are frightened easily so try not to wear a costume that is too scary. Thank you for your cooperation.


                         

Kindness Star

Yesterday afternoon we spent some time reading the notes on our Kindness Wall. Whenever the students or I see someone doing something nice for others, we write it down and stick it on the wall. Weekly, we will read all of these out so kind actions are recognized and everyone claps and thanks each other. The student with the most kind acts for the week will be named the Kindness Star and receive a certificate of recognition as well as a small prize.

Our first star was Jessie. Jessie has been very helpful to her teachers and other students and tries to be a peacemaker in the classroom. Thank you for your responsible actions Jessie, keep up the good work!

Thursday October 17, 2013

We had a great day today.

Please remember to have students wear their P.E. uniforms tomorrow so they are ready for dance class OR bring them along in their bags so they can change.

Thursday Math Homework page 13-14

Wednesday October 16, 2013

This morning during Reading and Phonics we made a Venn Diagram to compare how Pig and Goat (characters in the story) thought about travel and trips.

During Language and Spelling we did some more work classifying nouns into a table by grouping them under people, places, or things.

**Students did not have music class today as music and library have been replaced with dance classes for the second quarter.

During Math class we wrote addition sentences for word problems. The students caught on really quickly and did a great job.

During Social Studies we started to compare and contrast schools around the world. Some students who have lived abroad shared their experiences going to school there. We looked at pictures of students worldwide and talked about ways their school days may be similar or different from our own here at Dominican. It was a great discussion and we will certainly continue on Friday.

In Science we started to work on a Unit 1 Review from the textbook. Originally I was going to send part of it home to be completed as homework but because the language was quite difficult I opted to read the questions out loud and have the students answer independently. So, there will be no homework tonight.

Enjoy the night off everyone,
see you tomorrow!

Dance Class Notice

Important Notice:
Grade 1 students will begin taking dance classes in preparation for a special Chinese New Year performance. Beginning this Friday October 18, these classes will take place every Friday from 10:30am-12:00pm. If students do not wear their P.E. uniform to school on that day, please make sure that they bring it along with their shoes so they can change for dance class. Thank you!

Tuesday October 15, 2013

Hi everyone,

Thank you to all the parents who were able to come out and cheer for our first Sports Day of the year. We had a great time. I'm sorry I wasn't able to take photos of all the students but I was helping coach the blue team and wasn't able to walk around and photograph. I'm sure they would be happy to tell you all about it though.

Tuesday Reading Homework: Page 20
Students need to continue writing sentences about a trip and draw a corresponding photo. To the best of their ability the sentences should answer WHO, ACTION, WHERE.
For example, My family and I built a snowman in Canada.

Monday October 14, 2013

• We had an exciting morning at the assembly when Grade 1 students were awarded Angels of the Week. They were chosen because they deserved to be recognized for successfully completing their first quarter exams. All the students made a great effort to come prepared, take the exams seriously, and respect their classmates by quietly raising their hands for questions and being quiet in the halls. Great job Grade 1's! I am so proud of all of you!

• Spelling Homework Page 44-45

• Spelling Words (test Monday October 21)

upon

today

large

spell

add

even

land

here

Exam Week Wrap Up

Sports Day

Monday October 14 will be our first quarter Sports Day. I sent students home with their Sports Day t-shirts yesterday. Please have them wear that with that their P.E. bottoms on Monday. They can also wear their P.E. shoes to school for the day.

The kickball festivities will begin at 2pm and wrap up around 3:30pm. Parents are more than welcome to come and cheer the children on.

Catechism Classes

I sent home a notice about the Catechism classes that will be starting next week. I found one of the notices on the floor of the classroom so I wanted to make a post here for whoever ended up going home without it.

Dominican School will be offering a special class where children can deepen their knowledge and understanding of human and gospel values utilizing Biblical stories and explanation of the teachings of the Catholic Church. Through interactive activities and use of media presentations students will acquire a solid Christian Values formation.

Catechism classes will be every Monday from 3:30 to 4:00 at the Chaplains Office in the fourth floor of the academic building. If you want your child to join us please inform us through the communication notebook or through the homeroom adviser.

First Quarter Exams

We made it! First quarter exams are done and overall the students did very well. I think it is important that we all remember they are still young children and this is their first time experiencing exams and all the stress and study and rules that go along with that. I was impressed with the seriousness that they approached the tests and how hard they tried to follow the rules (No talking, quiet in the halls etc). I hope that we can all limit our commentary to constructive criticism and encouragement. Let's help them to develop confidence in test taking rather than insecurities or fear. =)

I will be returning the tests next Friday October 18 at the Parent Teacher Meetings so that we can have a moment to go over them. For those parents who will not be attending meetings this time around I will send the tests home with the report cards.

That's all for now. I hope everyone has a chance to rest and rejuvenate over the weekend. I will see all your shining faces on Monday morning. =)

Congratulation Grade 1 students, you have successfully completed your first set of exams! I am very proud of all of you.

I hope everyone gets some rest tonight and tomorrow and I will see you back here on Friday to finish up the last three exams. Some students were unprepared today without pencils, erasers, or snacks so please send them with extra on Friday.

Have a great holiday tomorrow and i'll look forward to seeing all of you Friday morning.

Also, I didn't send the communication or assignment books home tonight so don't worry if you don't see them! =)

There is no assigned homework tonight. Student's are expected to study for tomorrow's exams. Tomorrow's exams are Language and Spelling, Reading, and Phonics. 

Everyone should try and get to bed early tonight to rest for a big day tomorrow. Don't forget to eat a good breakfast and smile. You will all do well, I am sure!

Just a reminder that students will not be served lunch tomorrow and will be dismissed for the day at 12:00pm.

See you tomorrow =)

Tuesday October 8, 2013

 Important Notice:                                                               

Dear Parents/Guardians: 

The first quarter of the school year is almost up and I am looking forward to meeting with you at our Parent/Teacher Conferences on Friday October 18, 2013 to discuss your child’s progress.

I have made a suggested schedule below. Please note that we only have between five and ten minutes available per meeting due to our large class size so it is important for everyone to try and be on time. If the schedule does not work for you, kindly write to me in your child’s communication book and suggest a better time between 11:15am-4:00pm on that day. If we cannot find a time that works on that afternoon we can always schedule a meeting for another day.

Please note that you will also receive your child’s first quarter report card at the meeting. If you do not wish to have a meeting, you must sign the form below to show that you agree to have the report sent home with your child on Friday October 18, 2013.  Without your signed consent the report card will not be released.

A hard copy of this notice will be sent home with the students today. You may check the appropriate box on that form and return it. If you want the report card sent home with your child because you will not be attending a meeting kindly write a short note and sign and return as I will need documentation for the school. Thank you so much.

Nathan Chen	2:30-2:40
Andrew Chien	2:45-2:55
Benson Hsiao	3:00-3:10
Peter Hsu	3:15-3:25
Aryton Huan	3:30-3:40
Jeffrey Kuo	3:45-3:55
Alan Lin	4:00-4:10
Huan Lin	11:15-11:25
Yan-Xi Yeh	11:30-11:40
Jake Yen	11:45-11:55
Alpha Chen	12:00-12:10
Beryl Chen	12:15-12:25
Miya Huang	12:30-12:40
Grace Lai	12:45-12:55
Shannon Lee	1:00-1:10
Wilsoni Leung	1:15-1:25
Kaitlyn Lu	1:30-1:40
Jessieula Mi	1:45-1:55
Eden Tseng	2:00-2:10
Marianne Wang	2:15-2:25

Monday October 7, 2013

Important Reminder: Christian Living exam tomorrow. I have sent their CL notebooks and textbooks home. Father Prudencio will be testing the students on chapters 1-5.
 
Reading Homework
Journeys Practice Book pages 18-19
On page 18 students are asked to use the spelling words in the box and classify them in the chart by putting them into the proper groups.
On page 19 students are asked to draw a line under the correct sentence. They need to read both sentences and decide if it is a question or a telling sentence. At the bottom of the page they need to put the correct end mark to finish the sentence..

We have been busy doing exam review. Just a reminder, if you want your child to bring home textbooks to study please send a note indicating which books you would like them to bring and send a bag to put them in. I can help them to pack them and bring them downstairs.

During Science review we spent some time using tools to see how they can help us answer questions. Here the students are exploring how a magnifying glass helps us to better observe small print by making it appear larger. Below, they are putting together a puzzle to show a sequence of events. Sequence is another of our important science concepts.