News from Primary school
Dear parents and friends of the school,
On behalf of the Primary School team, I would like to share with you what has been happening here in Open Gate during the first November week.
Despite all hopes, there has been no return to Babice and we will continue to meet in the form of distance learning. However, that cannot stop us from teaching and learning with enthusiasm. All classes continue to learn in the mode that has been set up in October. Teacher focus on core areas – Maths, Czech and English, and they also strive to include activities for Art, Music and P.E. We do not forget about current issues, both domestic and foreign and we commemorate significant days and festivals as well.
I believe that on behalf of me and other colleagues, I can express how much I admire our students for how well they are coping with the new system. They have learned many skills that will surely be useful for them in life. They are self-reliant, they are able to plan and organize time for learning. Even the youngest ones have made huge progress and every day, their long-distance cooperation with teachers and classmates is improving.
Many children have thrown themselves into activities for which there would not be time and space during regular school mode. They have become keen photographers, they started programming, they write their own blogs and start websites. They also develop their offline skills – they learn to play musical instruments, sew, make art, bake and cook. And last but not least, they help their parents with anything they need. They help take care of younger siblings, help with work in the garden or read to their grandparents.
I would also like to thank you, parents and grandparents. First of all, for completing the questionnaire regarding remote learning at OG Primary School. We are grateful for your comments, suggestions and words of appreciation and honesty. Is it not easy to accommodate all your requests and appeals but we are doing our best to ensure organized, entertaining and interactive teaching online and to make sure children enjoy school even when it is via a computer screen.
Now let’s have a look in each of our classes and read the reports from teachers:
What will Terezka tell us about Class 1?
Class 1 handled another online week extremely well again. On Monday, they learned to recognize coniferous trees and they counted to eight. They also talked about the letter Š and the found out about the FOD charity and its “Kangaroo” project for children in danger. Then some of them were designing the charity’s new logo. On Tuesday, they tackled the step-counting method and they learned to write the number 3. On Wednesday they performed tricks with the letters C and Č and on Thursday, they built with blocks and had fun with the fairy tale about a doughnut – however, they’ll have to taste it themselves.
What about Class 2?
The globetrotters actively develop their vocabulary. They look for hypernyms, hyponyms and co-hypernyms. They learned what antonyms are and they continue to practice the alphabet this week as well. They calculate both on paper and without it and the range of numbers they use keeps increasing dangerously! On Thursday, we met with the researchers from Class 3 and together we have started a project called READING CHANGES US. During the first meeting, we had a small book fair, where everybody introduced the books they read right now. Joined class activities will take place till Christmas and we will regularly inform you.
Maruška, what’s new in Class 3?
In Class 3 we’ve all met again after the holidays with no one missing. Through screens and keyboards, we travel around the world and research remotely. We have visited India and learn Indian multiplication, we have successfully been fishing for parts of speech, we have planted a book tree and look forward to its fruit, since we started the project READING CHANGES US. Even our Badík started to read. Do you know what his first book is? The one about the dog and the cat. Now we just hope he and Eda in Class 2 will get along and he won’t offer us cake.
How about Class 4?
The fourth-graders are enriched with news from around the world and from home every day. In pairs, they present interesting news and do not think that we discuss Coronavirus only. Children try to find funny news as well. We learnt a lot about US presidential election, or that Baby Shark is the most streamed song in the world. We are looking forward to more news !!!
Standa, how are Class 5 doing?
This week in Maths, Class 5 worked with fractions, mixed numbers and decimals. In Czech, they deepened their knowledge of nouns and verbs. Besides that they also managed to take short tests revising what they learned in October and it must be said they did a great job. Maybe it’s because they have a lot of support with teaching from their pets at home. I had no idea how many dogs, cats, bunnies and other furry and feathered friends regularly take part in our online learning. For a better idea, you can look at the photo.
And what is online learning like in English? Reporters Jana, Jerry and Luke will tell us more.
This week, Class 1 practised blending letters into short words and they read their first book with words. They did a great job! They also learned new vocabulary – verbs – and they practised them through games. In their art lesson, the children made beautiful pictures of fireworks for Bonfire night.
Class 2: Class two continued from where we left off before autumn break on the topic of toys. We read a book on how toys can teach us about science. We put our thinking caps on and focused on phonics words with -AIR and -EAR and reviewed spelling common fist names and our names as well. In Incredible English we discovered how a Venn diagram works and used them with toys and colors. We finished the week with a spelling test and speaking about toys and reviewing how they can teach us about science.
Class 3 have been learning about portraits. We discussed the difference between realistic and abstract portraits and we used adjectives to describe different people in portraits. Their homework for next week is conducting an interview, so some of you might get approached by the students in order to be interviewed – I’m excited to find out what they wrote!
In class 3 this week, we did our usual work with phonics. We also had a very interesting speaking lesson where the students were able to create their own person and be interviewed about their imaginary jobs. We had some very creative ideas including a Tik-Toker, doctors, an architect and a YouTuber!
Class 3 have been learning about portraits. We discussed the difference between realistic and abstract portraits and we used adjectives to describe different people in portraits. Their homework for next week is conducting an interview, so some of you might get approached by the students in order to be interviewed – I’m excited to find out what they wrote!
In Class 4, we talked about Guy Fawkes and Bonfire night. We learned about the traditions and history behind the holiday, we read the famous poem together and the students also took a short quiz to show how much of the story they remember.
Class 4: Fourth class started the week with a wonderful picture presentation and a Q and A session with Eric. We stayed on the topic of Halloween and read about bats and the common myths and misconceptions humans associate with them. At the end of the book we took online quiz and almost aced it. It is safe to say we are now bat experts. We started Unit 3 in Incredible English and we are learning words and phrases related to health problems. After all the dizzying work, we practiced speaking on Friday role playing doctor vs patient dialogues.
This week in class 5, we did some good work practising using Epic Books, which we will use for reading from next week. The students were very happy about being able to choose their own reading books and I think it is important for them to enjoy their reading in English, especially while we are in quarantine. We may not be able to live our normal lives but reading is a great way for everyone to have some interesting adventures!
That’s all from the first week of November in Open Gate.
Take care!
