The Primary Section Stories – 19/01/2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
This is our first newsletter of the calendar year. Welcome back.
The weather has provided us with an interesting challenge at times these last few weeks but the children have enjoyed playing in and experiencing the snow. I was glad to see they are all warmly wrapped up to make the most of the cold weather. One benefit is that the cold kills a lot of germs so getting out in the fresh air rather than being stuck in stuffy rooms is great for the children’s health.
In our first week we had Patrick Ryan, storyteller and literacy consultant in school working with our children. He really sparked their imagination and helped them to construct their own stories either orally or in writing by exploring a variety of characters, settings and genres and using a range of tools. He is very funny so the students had a wonderful time and I hope they have shared some of the stories, poems or riddles with you.
We managed to have House Pride day on the 10th January and the students gathered in their houses and chanted for their house. Is good to get the house vibes and enthusiasm going as early as possible each term.
We also have two student teachers in school learning their craft. Ms Veen is in Ms Saachi’s class and Ms Gahler is in with Ms Jenny. They have been a great help, are learning a lot and will be with us until the 2nd February.
We were able to welcome Ms Nichols back to work last week. She has stepped back into her old role without a misstep and the students have been enjoying having her back as a teacher. She kindly led our assembly today and encouraged us to sing a song as a group, but in parts. Quite tricky for some of us.
One of our other recent assemblies had a focus on being resilient. Resilience has been identified as one of the most important attributes for ultimate success in life. We explain it to children as ‘keeping trying even when there are setbacks’ and resilience is one of the personal learning goals of the IPC.
On Wednesday we were able to take a few of our Class 5 students to Thomas Moore University for an IT day. We were there with some other schools from the Primary Heads Leadership Group, of which I am the chair, and the theme this year was The Sea. The students used virtual reality headsets, robotics, drones and created a movie using green screen technology. Their focus was on cleaning up the ocean by reducing and removing pollution, in particular plastics. They created signs, creatures and backgrounds to support working with technology. Everyone said they had a great time and learned a lot.
We have just held our mid year elections for the new Primary Student Voice representatives. These students will represent their classes until the end of the academic year.
Congratulations to Keyaan and Shraavya, Varchas and Aadhya, Chaitanya and Nainika and Alex and NIa. The class 5 reps remain the same Avaan and Saatvik. I am sure they will all do their utmost to support their classmates and represent their points of view.
Some news from Sarah:
It has been so lovely being back at school (this time as a working mom!) The whole school community has been so supportive throughout my pregnancy and maternity leave. I feel overcome with gratitude. These last two weeks have been very enjoyable, seeing all the kids again and seeing how much they have grown. In music classes, we have already done a lot of singing, dancing and playing! Class 2 are learning all about the orchestra and Class 3 are learning to play the ukulele. In assembly, we are learning new, exciting songs and trying to sing in harmony. I look forward to preparing them for future performances. Keep an ear out!
Have a great weekend.
Sharon Short
Head of Primary
Safeguarding Leader.
primaryhead@isbedu.be
+32 (0)3 271 09 43
www.isbedu.be