Science & Art Fair - Note from Ms. Natasha
Dear parents,
Thank you all very much for attending our science and art fairs on Friday. We hope you enjoyed the science presentations and had plenty of time to admire a wonderful display of children’s artwork.
Many thanks to Ms. D for organizing the Science Fair and selecting some very fun and engaging experiments for the students. I think everyone would agree that Mr. Guy impressed us once again with the quality and variety of work he did with our students this year, elevating the Art Fair to another level. I also would like to express our gratitude to the PTA officers for organizing snacks and drinks for the fair.
And now, the results of the Art Fair. While we are still waiting for some of the individual pieces to be purchased, the total for the individual pieces is estimated at 200,000 yen, while your generous bids for the action pieces brought in 85,000 yen for the silent action! 285,000 yen is a fantastic result and we could not be happier to donate this money to Doctors of the World. It is really heartwarming to know that the money earned by our students’ artwork will help doctors put beautiful smiles children’s faces.
Another great achievement, UST! Thank you all very much.
Best regards,
Natasha Dytham
UST Principal
www.united-school.jp
Reading
Reading Across Genres to Learn About a Topic
We started our last Reading unit this week. Students looked for books about topics that fascinate them. Each student created a list of topics they would like to learn more about: space, animals, sports, plants, etc. Afterwards, they chose one topic and started collecting fiction and nonfiction books that could help them learn more about their topic. As readers, they are practicing how to learn even more about a topic by reading a variety of different genres of books. While reading fiction books, students had to think about which information is real and fake/made-up. If students found a fact in a fiction book, they had to prove it by finding the same fact in a nonfiction book.
Writing
Report Writing
Thank you for taking time to help your child research a new animal topic at home this week! Once their first report is published, students will start their second report using their research.
Math
Numbers to 120
This week we started learning about numbers between 40 - 120. These are the skills students practiced:
- Count on from 41 to 120
- Read and write 41 to 120 in numbers and words
- Use place value to show numbers up to 120 (hundreds, tens, ones)
- Compare numbers to 120 (greater than, less than) using symbols > < =
- Order numbers to 120
- Find the missing numbers in number patterns
Social Studies
Focus: How are families special?
We have completed our Science unit all about plants and animals. This week we started Social Studies and learned more about families. We reviewed what groups we belong to: family, school, community. Our question this week was, "How are families special?" I asked the students what the word family means to them. We focused on family members, family homes, and family activities. Students created their own book all about their family.
Family Members: mom, dad, brother, sister, son, daughter, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin
Who earns money to buy things for the family?
Who shops for food?
Who takes care of things around the house?
Who takes care of the youngest children?
Family Homes: apartments, houses, mobile homes, etc.
Family Activities: biking, gardening, movies, picnics, hiking, playing games, etc.
Have a wonderful weekend!
- Ms. Allison