News from Primary School

Dear parents, legal guardians,

It's hard to believe, but it's here. The end of the first half of the year, a course of which we could hardly predict in September. In general pupils do not go to school to be evaluated, but are evaluated so that they can move forward in their learning. In this regard, it should be noted that when a teacher is a direct witness, not only to the control and mastery of the curriculum, but also to mutual interactions between children, the degree of their cooperation, building friendly relationships and ties, the evaluation is more complex. We are very happy that we have first and second-graders at school and the evaluation of their work, efforts and involvement in the class does not depend only on the performance in front of the computer monitor. My colleagues and I accept the situation as it is, but we are very much looking forward to all of the children returning to school, and we haven’t lost faith that it will be happen soon. However, we are continuing to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of distance learning. 

The children did really well in the first half of the year and we believe that the students will pass the entrance exams in fine fashion. And they are preparing conscientiously! In order to further support their preparation, we have decided to adjust the schedule so that more time is devoted to mathematics and the Czech language. You will receive more information on the modifications from Standa on Sunday. All teachers will continue to take the opportunity to meet their students individually.

When I see how much time my colleagues are devoting to the evaluation of our children, and with what enthusiasm they discuss everything in detail, I am reaffirmed that the relationship between teacher and student is really exceptional at our school. I hope that our students use the evaluations as a friend on their way to discovering the world and themselves, so that even in these difficult times they do not lose the joy of being part of our school, and every day they can enjoy learning and discovering new things. If someone has failed at some things, there is no need to despair, because in the end everything will turn out well. And if it didn't turn out well, then it's not over yet. (Lennon)

We are looking forward to seeing you in the second half of the year, kicking off on the first of February.

Regards,

Petr Šlemenda

Class 1

The first-graders shortened the wait for their first report this week with the production and construction of a city. On Tuesday, everyone built their own house, and some daredevils even started to build a castle. On Wednesday, the whole group built the city together. They managed the task sensationally! D-Day finally came on Thursday. As the "boy from the poster" recommended, they also received a book for a good report card.

This week class 1 worked very hard on their speaking. They were able to meet a new additional to our class-Norton the parrot! Everyone did an excellent job introducing themselves to Norton by telling him their name and age. We finished off the week by getting our very first report cards! Congratulations everyone!

Class 2

The last week of the first half of the year was a good one for weather, and the whole OG area was covered with a duvet of snow. So the second-graders had plenty of exercise in the fresh air. Thanks to that, it even "ignited" them wonderfully and they mastered all the material in an exemplary manner. This week we mainly evaluated and self-evaluated our progress and successes. And successes there were! We also performed a stick theater on the school’s theatre stage, which the children designed and made themselves. Also, this week we remained with the people down under and looked a little more at the history of this continent. We imagined the Aborigines, the original inhabitants of Australia, talking about Captain James Cook and explaining what the gold rush was. On Thursday, the Globetrotters received a certificate for the first half of the year. I am very proud of everyone because the progress they have made in the past six months has been huge! Saša

This week Class 2 learned all about aboriginal art in Australia. We even created our own Australian aboriginal inspired art. We also introduced Word Work and took some time to work on our spelling words using magnets, beads and crosswords.  Finally, we learned some new food vocabulary words. Now we can easily describe what we do and don’t like to eat!

Class 3

Even our third-class researchers were anxiously awaiting their testimonials. They proved that the green emerald rightly belongs to the pupils of the third grade. Imagine an emerald being a stone of inspiration and endless patience. It gives life balance. It also brings friendship. The emerald crystal ensures physical, emotional and mental balance. It encourages and strengthens us in overcoming failures. It is a stone of regeneration and healing that can heal negative feelings. It increases the ability to enjoy life to the fullest. It is a stone of wisdom, bringing truth and sharp judgment. It helps to be eloquent in expressing one's own opinions. It wholly supports the achievement of mutual understanding in the group and supports the cooperation of group members. And it brought all of these qualities to our class. Looking back, I really can't help but be proud, but also hope the pride doesn’t lead to a fall! We worked very hard for the whole six months and, despite the difficult conditions, we learned a lot of new things! Dear third-graders, I am really very pleased with you and I look forward to everything we will experience in the next half of the year - perhaps even more at school together!

Marie, Andrejka and Martin.

This week we continued learning about wild animals. We learned about the cutest and tiniest animals in the world. Did you know that the world’s smallest frog is only as big as a housefly? We continued working on Incredible English and learned a lot about iguanas and chameleons. We now know enough about reptiles to rival any herpetologist!