Fantastic Photobooth Fun
Today’s photo booth snaps certainly made us smile here in Grade 5. What an awesome day!! Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun!
If you see yourself, please leave a comment!
International Day and Broadway Musicals
Grade 5B are really mastering the art of multitasking this term. As well as all of our exhibition work (which really does seem to be all consuming) we also gave our best effort to International day preparations. We inquired into Broadway Musicals in New York. We listened to soundtracks and created posters to display. We also made a photo booth with props just for fun and audience interaction. Check out our fabulous display in the sideshow below and if you are free today, please join us at SEK Qatar for a special International Day celebration.
Catchy Concerts
This week the children performed ‘Catchy Concerts’ for their parents and Grade 4s. This was a great opportunity for them to show off their hard work. Having only received their Toots and Doods six weeks ago, it is amazing how far they have come.
For their concert, the students had to choose their music carefully and practice with their groups. Additionally, they had to think about how willing they were to push themselves. All of the children took their instrument home and practiced. I am sure their parents were extremely happy when they first arrived in their houses! During the Music sessions, each of the students showed commitment and enthusiasm towards their concert. As the concert loomed closer, the panic started to set in. The students were practicing as hard as they could.
The concert was linked with the Unit of Inquiry that was Event Organisation and was a follow up to the Sports Day that they had all planned and reflected upon. They worked hard on the programme notes, advertising, art and backdrops. The concert was all they had thought about for weeks!
The concert day was upon us, one of the children said;
today is the big day!
They were right. Today was the big day.
As the parents came in, the nerves began to show. However, you would have never said that they were nervous by the way that they played. They played a great concert. Notes that they had been getting wrong in practices were played correctly. They worked cooperatively all the way up to the main event and it went off without a hitch.
A massive well done to all of Grade 5 for being risk-takers and showing their commitment throughout this process!
Grade 5 would like to say a huge thank you to all the parents who supported us on the day of the concert. We would also like to say thank you to all the parents who encouraged us to practice and be the best we can be. Lastly, we would like to thank the Grade 4s for being a fantastic audience. We hope to hear you play soon!
Successful Storytelling Session 5B
Good morning from SEK Qatar! This morning, some of our preschool 4 students were enthralled and delighted by the storytelling skills of our Grade 5s. It was such a super successful session. It’s a beautiful thing to share learning and especially to share it with students who are so much younger than us. The Grade 5s were excellent role models and they truly embodied all the traits of the IB learner profile while at the same time displaying attitudes of commitment and curiosity. It was a fantastic start to the day.
Mayhem, Madness and Musical Medleys
Allow us to give you a sneak peak of this week’s upcoming Grade 5 concerts. Below you will see some snapshots of the preparation process here in Grade 5B. This has been an amazing learning journey so far and each student has gained an invaluable personal experience.
The standard of the program notes, advertisements and backdrop art has been incredibly high. Each creative piece has been carefully put together and designed by each group in an artistic and eye catching way.
During today’s rehearsal, the respect and level of attention each group gave their peers was highly noteworthy. The audience were assigned the task of peer assessing each performance using a rubrix. This will assist the students in writing a critique after the event.
We hope to see you at our show on Wednesday!
Karibu Mr. Barasa!
Did you know that karibu means welcome in Swahili? We had to brush up on our Swahili skills this morning here in Grade 5B when we went on a virtual tour to Kenya. We had the absolute pleasure and delight of chatting with Mr. Barasa who showed us around the Mitahato Education Development Fund Teaching Farm which is located just 3 km from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.
Mr. Barasa, was full of useful knowledge which he shared enthusiastically with us. He was very obviously highly passionate about his chosen profession of farmer and educator. He inspired us through his positive attitude to his work. He was adamant that when you enjoy what you do, it doesn’t feel like work at all. He exclaimed that every day is a new learning opportunity and that he never gets bored on the farm.
Something that really resonated with us was the fact that Mr. Barasa referred to the world as a global community and the fact that we are all global citizens. This is something, we wholeheartedly buy into here in Grade 5. We shared our central idea for the exhibition with Mr. Barasa who was very impressed that we are learning about sustainability and how we interact proactively with the world around us. He loved hearing about the topics we have chosen for our exhibition and agreed that they were all very relevant issues that deserved our attention.
We touched on the key concept of responsibility and making choices to have a positive effect on the world around us. This was so relevant for our exhibition and the action plans we are currently making. Another key concept we addressed was perspective, and the class found his perspective most refreshing. They enjoyed his recount of life in Kenya and how people in his community take responsibility for their own sustainability by working on the farm and on their own small farms locally.
We touched on the concept of connection by exploring the interacting systems of the farm, such as the various animals, vegetables, fruits etc that make up the farm livestock and produce. Each different unit of the farm has a purpose and function that contributes to the overall sustainability being achieved on site. It was a remarkable thing to witness.
Mr. Barasa talked about land being a limited resource in Kenya and how they optimize the quarter acre land that they have to its full potential. In fact, every available resource is optimized, even the rain falling from the sky. It was so cool to see how the farmers collect rainwater from the roofs through pipes which connect downhill to taps that are used to water the plants and provide drinking water for the animals. Every single drop of water counts and plays an important role in the functioning of the farm.
It was also interesting to hear the various challenges faced during the drought seasons, when water supplies become more scarce. Fortunately, the land is very fertile and the soil is rich in nutrients, which makes farming a viable livelihood when a team of people pull together to ensure its success.
To everyone at the Mitahato Education Development Fund Teaching Farm, Grade 5B say:
Asante sana Thank you so much!
Kwaheri Goodbye
Kila la kheri! Good luck.
We hope to be in touch very soon!
Please check out the links on the side for more information.
Some of the feedback from Grade 5B
“How fascinating it is that the people on the farm recycle everything, even the rainwater. We could learn a lot from them here in Qatar about how important it is to recycle and reuse things around us.” Rutan
“I feel inspired and impressed that Mr. Barasa knew every answer to all of our questions. It was amazing to hear the perspective of a farmer in a teaching farm in Kenya.” Hana
” I like how the farmers have to work together as a community and a team in order to make a living. They are very selfless and care a lot about the plants, trees and animals on the farm.” Noura
” People in Kenya seem very positive because they don’t think about what they don’t have and they think about what they do have.” Naia
“I like how they care about the animals, trees and land that they are living on. It was so nice to see how caring Mr. Barasa is.” Ghanim
“It was a very enjoyable session talking with Mr. Barasa. It made me feel inspired by how the farmers live their lives, especially how they don’t waste anything. Now that I know the effort they are putting into supporting eachother, I would like to contribute and make a donation. ” Leonardo
“Before we went on the virtual tour, I felt so excited. Once I saw the videos and took part in the skype, I felt very lucky to not have to think about where my food and everything comes from. I respect the farmer’s efforts and hard work.” Yehia
“I like how well they used the precious space they have and how Mr. Barasa described the water tank as a treasure. This will help me a lot in my exhibition topic of recycling because they reuse everything and don’t waste anything.” Ahmed
“I loved finding out that Mr. Barasa is originally from Kitale, an agricultural town in northern Kenya. It is situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangani Hills and I went there in the summer of 2015 to volunteer in a local orphanage. I really connected with this field trip on a personal level as well as from an educational perspective. This experience was utterly fantastic.” Ms. Cassandra
“We’re going on a field trip to Kenya!”
“We’re going on a trip to Kenya!” – A phrase that initiated a lot of questions in class this week.
On Wednesday afternoon, we travelled all the way to Kenya. We were inquirers as we took part in a Virtual Field Trip to the MEDF Teaching Farm in Kenya. This is a unique experience using Skype in the Classroom. Each experience is very different as our tour guide was answering questions live on the camera. Each of the children in the class created their questions and were able to ask him.
- We saw the fresh strawberries and different herbs and salads
- We saw the preparation of seeds and nurseries
- We learned about how they recycle water and reuse water that they have washed with, the use this again on the plants
- We learned that they have dry seasons and they store the water from the wetter seasons
- We saw the baby goats and the adult goats. With this, we learned how they are fed and that they use them for their milk.
- Lastly, the class loved seeing the bunnies!! There was an outbreak of “awwwww”.
This was a great learning opportunity that wouldn’t have been possible without the use of the technology! The children in the class were fully engaged and excited about what they were seeing.
Check out the MEDF Teaching Farm SWAY here: https://sway.com/XhTv0m15k0jtpdGC
Mindfulness Matters in 5B
Mindful Musings of a Grade 5 Class
In the PYP, we strive to develop the necessary skills to become global citizens of the world. Along the way, we are faced with challenges in our studies and in our personal growth. The IB aims to develop well-rounded students who display strength of character by responding to challenges with optimism and an open mind. We try to embody the learner profile attributes and the attitudes in all that we do.
Grade 5B students take time out to check in with themselves and raise their awareness of the present moment. We appreciate the value of relaxation in an industrious and productive classroom environment. We love to colour mandalas, try out breathing exercises and listen to the sounds around us while being still. It can sometimes be a challenge and that’s okay with us. Some students enjoy it more than others do and we accept and respect that as part of the diverse group of individuals we are. We may not be fully ready yet but we are willing to take time to practice this skill.
Mindfulness supports our transdisciplinary skill development in the PYP. Being mindful promotes thinking and self-management skills. Mindfulness strengthens focus and concentration skills as well as supporting a balanced approach to life and self-regulation. Another benefit of being mindful is the ability to feel more empathy and relate with the world around us.
5B’s Mental Mathematicians
Teaching maths through inquiry is often quite dynamic. The beauty of this approach is how diverse the content of lessons can be. Students work at their own pace and within their own ability level. Challenge and extension activities are available in each lesson. Here at SEK, we use a wide variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations to instruct our individual learners and their needs.
What works for one student may not necessarily work for another and depending on the day, students may choose to work independently, in pairs, groups or with an adult. Sometimes students assume the role of mini teacher and share their knowledge and direct the class. This is a very sought after role. The one thing we all have in common however is that we love to experience success and with support, we can all do this. When we don’t know something, we make sure to include the powerful word “yet”.
We strive to work accurately and at a steady pace and whenever possible, we love an additional challenge. We incorporate technology as a learning tool and we also enjoy making use of the many wonderful online maths resources out there.
These photos are just a snapshot of a typical maths lesson in 5B.
Sharing our Culture!
Grade 5A have been sharing their cultures through literature in the classroom. All of the class were asked to bring a story/book/text that relates to their own culture in some way. They were paired up and had seven minutes each to share their own story and why it relates to them and their culture. They then had five minutes for a question and answer session.
There were so many different kinds of stories and each child had interpreted the task differently. It was great to hear all the inquiries that they were making.
Lastly, we played a game with the new ball that meant we could share facts and opinions about the different stories! The ball ensures that everyone gets the chance to speak and that they are the only person speaking at that time. Who knew that a simple foam ball could make participating so fun?!