Foreign English Teacher Team
Grade1
Life Cycles
English Open Day is a time for each student to expand their understanding of English within a project during class time and then show their confidence in their learning, their language skill and their work by presenting their project to their own parents and the parents of their classmates. This defining moment of their school year is a time for all involved to feel proud of the student’s ability, performance and to enjoy a moment of pure joy when each student, full of nervous excitement, steps up to present their final project!
This year, even with hybrid learning, every Grade 1 student still had the opportunity to present their knowledge, understanding and passion for English whether at school or at home! The joy of the parent’s faces watching on was truly a force of pure power and something the children can hold with them, and carry into their future studies. Live questioning from the parents showed the amazing understanding the students have of animal life cycles and their own individual pride at being able to show off this knowledge is something truly unforgettable. Well done to all involved, you have made your parents and teachers so proud of each and every one of you.
Grade2
Life Cycle of A Plant
We had a wonderful time during English Open Day! It is a special time for students to show off and feel proud of what they have learned while working on their projects. It is seen as one of the most important days of our school calendar. Students enjoy the opportunity presenting their projects to their classmates, their parents and even their classmates’ parents. Everyone should be proud of their work since they have done an exceptionally good job.
Even though we had some challenges due to class closures, every student tried their best and did a great job showing what they have learned. We could see how proud they were of their work. They displayed their in depth knowledge of life cycles of different plants. They have learned quite a lot from working on this project and each student’s project had a different outcome. I hope all parents have enjoyed these project presentations as much as we did!
Grade3
Desirable Destinations
All our grade three students presented with enthusiasm, self-belief, and creativity. Demonstrating pride and pleasure in what they had achieved: an excellent travel brochure. How did they do this? First, they asked questions. What makes a place interesting? What makes you want to go there? Starting by reading a story ‘Highest, Hottest, Coldest, Deepest’. Where they learnt that superlative adjectives are often used to describe destinations and the most interesting places. After this a process involving: planning, researching, improving, and presenting has been followed by all our students. We are all looking forward to the next time when more of you can be with us in person and observe your children sing, dance, and offer extremely persuasive reasons for travelling. Lastly, I would like to thank all our students for the hard work they have done this semester.
Grade4
Extreme Jobs
Like in any of our projects, for this project, we followed each stage of our project guide. We started with the reading stage, where the students read a story titled “Smokejumpers”. A story about firefighters who jump from planes in an attempt to fight wildfires. The students were then asked, what would motivate someone to do a dangerous job, despite the dangers.
Next, we moved on to the planning stage, where the students were asked to choose a job that they would like to research. We read more about these dangerous jobs and watched a few videos.
Then, we moved on to the research stage, where the students had to use iPads to find more information about their dangerous job. They used a real job-listings website to view listings from around the world.
After that, we moved on to the create stage, where the student had to use their research to create a three-paragraph persuasive article. The first paragraph mostly focused on introducing the job, the second paragraph focused on describing the dangers. The final paragraph focused on the benefits in an attempt to persuade the reader into signing up for that specific dangerous job.
We then moved on to the improve stage, where the students got feedback from both the teacher and their classmates and they went on to improve their writing by fixing any grammar and adding more detailed sentences. And lastly, we completed the present stage, where the kids got to present their work in a debate setup.
Grade5
Micro-nation
The grade five students were given the opportunity to design their ideal country, their own micronation. To start the whole project off, students read the fiction story “Westlandia”. Wesley learned that each civilization needs a staple food crop, so he decides to sow a garden and start his own — civilization, that is.
The students were then asked to discuss what their ideal country would look like. Within groups, students had to plan their own micronation by selecting unique national languages, symbols, and sports for their micronations. The students also had to analyse different branches of government including legislature, judicial courts, education, health care, elections and defence. Next, the students had to identify how they would do things similarly or differently in their own micronation in comparison to other countries. They evaluated their choices to see what potential problems may arise, and how they developed solutions. Students as a group presented their micronation. They then posed questions and potential scenarios of what a micronation would do in certain circumstances. The parents were also given the opportunity to ask questions to the students. At the end of the presentations, parents got to vote for their favorite micronation. The students did an excellent job. Their creativity used to design their unique countries was astonishing. Who knows, we might have the next president in our midst.
Grade6
Global Travel Agency
The grade six students explored the world from the confines of the classroom for their projects this year. They read a science fiction story about a boy named Kepler. He was visiting Earth for the first time and wondered about the different places he was going to visit. The students were then asked: What are the places in the world that you would like to visit?
The students then compared and contrasted a variety of countries. They researched the geography, cultures, cuisine, and much more. After writing a five paragraph essay on two countries, they were ready to prepare for their open day presentations.
The students got together in groups to create travel packages to three of the countries that they researched. The students chose the different places in those countries that they would visit. They even went the extra mile and planned flights and costs for the trip. They then presented these travel packages on open day.
Everyone prepared their sales pitches for the parents and did a splendid job trying to sell their ideas. The parents were then able to vote for the travel package that they wanted to go on. The students had a lot of fun dreaming about the different places they could visit. They are now more excited than ever for the pandemic to calm down and let them travel abroad.