December+Newsletter+2012

=December Newsletter =

We wish you a Happy Holiday and the best of luck in 2013!!!

December Holiday: **Dec 17 - Jan 4**
 * Important Dates: **

**White School Cancellation:**

Please remember that due to lack of interest that the White School Ski Trip for grade 5-10 that was suppose to take place from January 9-11, 2013 has been canceled. There will now be normal lessons for middle school students during these 3 days. The 3 middle school students who did sign up will still attend White School from January 16-18, 2013 with students in grades 2-5.


 * We would like to remind MS student expectations: **


 * Expectations: **
 * Be respectful
 * Be responsible
 * Be engaged


 * Consequences: **
 * **First Infraction:** Official Warning/quiet chat
 * **Second Infraction:** Meeting with Advisor
 * **Third Infraction:** Student writes a reflection about what they did
 * and how they can fix it. Email is sent to parents to address the issue.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Forth Infraction:** Meeting with the Shool Counselor. Email is sent to the parents.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Fifth Infraction:** Meeting with parents
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Sixth Infraction:** Meeting with administrators, parents and advisory


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thank you to the parents, students and teachers for their work in organizing the WIS Winter WOW! **





=VISUAL ARTS & DESIGN TECHNOLOGY=

Despite the fact that December's school time is only a two week period, the MYP students accomplished a lot of interesting things. The most significant accomplishements were: the library Christmas Tree that was created out of books, decorations for Winter Wow, and Grade 8 students visited a ceramics studio were they created their own ceramic pieces.




 * Community And Service**

As the first school trimester comes to an end ... and so do the Community and Service projects are finished. Most of our MYP students completed their projects successfully. The students who encountered difficulties meeting their CAS expectations will receive extra help during the 2nd trimester from the CAS Coordinator to ensure that all of our students are successful in meeting the CAS requirement for the Middle Years Programme.

The actions proposed by our students to be completed during the first trimester were: Helping in the library, Helping before, during, and after the WIS 10th Anniversary events, Organizing the World Food Drive, and becoming the assistant to the CAS Coordinator. Our students were encouraged to also come up with their own ideas to complete CAS projects for the trimester. Our youngest students chose to help in their homes.

The biggest challenge that some of our students encountered in completing their CAS projects was the reflection component of the activity. It is very important for the student's personal development that they understand what they have done, what are their personal strengths, and which are the areas in need of improvement. This is the reason why students are encouraged to write reflections about their CAS Projects.

MYP students are expected to complete at least one CAS project for each trimester. Each CAS project needs to include these four steps:


 * **Step 1:** The student chooses the activity that they wish to complete for the trimester and informs the CAS Coordinator by **January 11****th****.**
 * **Step 2:** The student plans the activity. During this step, students will receive as much support from the CAS Coordinator as needed. Any time spent on this step needs to be recorded by the student in their CAS log as this time will be counted towards their CAS hours.
 * **Step 3:** The student completes the CAS activity. Any time spent on this step should be recorded by the student in their CAS log as it will be counted towards their CAS hours.
 * **Step 4:** The student reflects on his or her own actions during the project. To help students write thoughtful and insightful reflections, students can use the guiding questions provided in the MYP CAS Guide. Any time spent on this step should be recorded by the student in their CAS log as it will be counted towards their CAS hours.

If any of these steps are skipped or missed, the student **will not complete** the CAS project for the trimester!

For the second trimester, students are encouraged to participate in the following CAS projects: Helping in the Library, Becoming the assistant to the CAS Coordinator, Organize the Flea Market, Help Ms. Tagowska, and Organize actions for the Basketball Tournament. More projects will be proposed to the students during our January meeting. Second trimester reflections are due to the CAS Coordinator by **March 10th**.

The MYP CAS expectations and deadlines can be found in the CAS Guide. This guide was distributed to all students and parents at the start of the school year. If you or your student has misplaced it, you can download a copy here:

If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at: muszynska@fem.org.pl

Sincerely, // D. Muszynska // WIS CAS Coordinator


 * Language B: Polish**


 * **MYP 1:** In the unit "My Family" students are continuing to build their skills from the previous units. For this unit the most important section is the use of grammar. Students are learning and practicing the most often used structure in Polish. Students are also expected to use grammar tables correctly. Students are learning to describe members of their families and they are also communicating about what their family members likes and dislikes. At the end of this unit, our students are expected to make a presentation about their family.


 * **MYP 2 and 10 (Jakob and Unna):** Our "Body and Well-Being" unit is in progress. Our students are learning about the parts of body. They are also practicing their communication skills in the context of visiting a doctor or medical shop. They are learning to use the structure for "you should" and "you shouldn't." In addition, they are also practicing grammar cases. At the end of this unit, students are expected to participate in a discussion of a topic.


 * **MYP 2 and MYP 3 (Victoria and Oliver):** We are in the middle of our "Poetry" unit. During this unit, students will meet Poland's greatest poets: Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, and Wisława Szymborska. Our students have read //Fraszki// by Jan Kochanowski. The most favourite fraszka was "Raki". Students have also read a poem by Adam Mickiewicz. We are currently reading "//Koncert Wieczorny//". Students are expected to memorize the //Inwokacja//from the most famous of Mickiewicz's poems "Pan Tadeusz". Right now, students are reading poems from of Wislawa Szymborska. At the end of this unit, students are expected to choose a poem, write a biographical note about the auther, memorize the poem, and write interpretations of the poem.

=**Music**=

Congratulations to all of our WIS students for a very successful performance during our //Winter WOW 2012// ! concert. You did a great job! Thank you for your attention, concentration, cooperation, and engagement!

In January, we will start taling about the history of music. Student will get to know how each period influenced later epochs and contemporary music. The aims for each MYP grade is as follows:
 * MYP 1: The Middle Ages
 * MYP 2: The Renaissance
 * MYP 3: The Baroque Period
 * MYP 5: The turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

Have a wonderful and very relaxing holidays!

//Mr. Radek Tokarz// WIS Music Teacher

=Language A=

MYP 1 students have just finished their unit on Expressing Opinions. they had an assessed discussion on Monday and completed their final essays today. In January we will be starting our unit on Autobiographies and reading __Boy__ by Roald Dahl.

MYP 2 students have just finished reading the novel __The Giver__ by Lois Lowry and had a test on their response to the novel on Tuesday. After the break, we will be focusing on essay writing skills and the students will finish the unit by writing an essay on their vision of the future.

The MYP 3 have just finished reading the novel __The Outsiders__ by S. E. Hinton. After the break, students will be working on writing a personal narrative about a significant event in their lives.

The MYP 5 students are in the middle of their unit on Perspectives. They will be finishing the novel __Noughts & Crosses__ by Malorie Blackman over the winter break. When we come back in January, they will finish researching and putting together their powerpoint presentations and will then start working on their essay about whether violence is necessary to bring about social change.

=World Studies=


 * MYP 1**

The Sixes just finished presenting their dating profiles of the fathers of the American Revolution. We spent this week trading molasses for rum and rum for slaves in a reenactment of the Triangle Trade (King George made the most money by taxing us at each stage of our journey). After the break we'll learn about how the colonists discovered guerilla fighting during the French and Indian war.


 * MYP 2**

The Sevens just finished presenting their dating profiles of the inventors of the Industrial Revolution. We spent this week exploring the dramatic changes that were occurring in transportation, communication and agriculture. After the break we'll compare living and working in the cities with living and working in the country and what life was like for child laborers.


 * MYP 3**

= = The Eights just finished presenting their dating profiles of the fathers of the Russian Revolution. We spent this week talking about the 1905 revolution and how the Tsar managed to survive and crush the revolt. After the break we'll explore how Nicholas II finally lost control and how the Bolsheviks managed to overthrow the provisional government.


 * MYP 5**



The Tens just finished presenting their dating profiles of the key figures of the French Revolution. We spent this past week talking about our current events for this unit and how to interpret the often differing perpectives found in news stories about conflict and revolution. After the break we'll get into the causes of Louis' downfall and the rise of Robespierre.

= = =Mathematics=

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**MYP 1:** During the first trimester our students have learned about Numbers. At the moment they are finishing up their unit on exploring numbers. They know various groups of numbers (such as square, cube, triangular and Fibonacci numbers, palindromes, prime and composite numbers etc.) and they can find multiples, factors, squares, cubes and roots of a number. Their task for now is to create word puzzles using terminology they have learned during this unit. In January we will start the Algebra unit.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**MYP 2:** Students have just finished the Fractions unit. They have been learning how to perform calculations with fractions and how to use them to represent real-life situations. They also investigated how to recognize whether or not fractions written in decimal form will be recurring or terminated, and what other properties of decimals we can find out by looking at the denominator of a fraction. In January, we will start the Algebra unit.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**MYP 3:** During the first trimester our students have learned about Algebra, Equations, Inequalities, Ratios and Rates. At the moment they are learning how to use ratios in scale drawings and how to convert from real length to diagram length and vice versa. In January, they will start a new unit: The Pythagoras Theorem.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**MYP 5:** Almost the whole first trimester for the MYP 5 students was dedicated to reviewing what they had learned about Numbers and Measurements in the previous years. Now they are in the middle of the Algebra unit. They are learning how to expand and factorize expressions using a variety of methods and how to simplify algebraic fractions. Their new unit will be about Equations and Inequalities.

= MYP Science =

**MYP 1:** This year we completed our unit on the scientific method. The students participated in several labs and learned how to properly measure and carry out a scientific investigation. Our second unit on the solar system will continue into the new year. We are studying the planets, stars, and galaxies. There is a planned trip to the planetarium in January. Over the Winter Break the students can work on their planet or constellation presentations.



**MYP 2:** This year we completed two units: the scientific method and the body systems. The students participated in two labs: what is the effect of heart rate on how fast you run and what is the effect of amount of salt on the temperature at which water boils. The focus of this unit was to correctly write a scientific lab report. The second unit on body systems ended with a presentation on a body system of their choice that we did not study in class and a field trip to the Humanitarium. In January, we will continue our third unit title: energy in ecosystems. = =

**MYP 3:** The year we completed two units: scientific method and natural disasters. The students performed two cooking experiments where the studied the correct format to write a science reports. In our second unit we studied earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and hurricanes. The students performed several laboratory investigations exploring each of these disasters. The students ended this unit with a test. A majority of the students performed well on their end of unit assessment. Next January we will continue with our third unit titled: Waves. = =

= =

**MYP 5:** This year we finished two units: scientific discoveries and genetics. We have started our third unit which will focus on organic chemistry. In the first unit the students looked at published journals and developed a rubric to write lab reports. In the second unit the students studied genetics and read the novel "Unwind." The students created great presentations to verify whether or not the information in the book could happen today. They found out that a lot of the science in the book could be performed today but they also discussed the ethics surrounding this topic. In January, we will continue studying organic chemistry.



** Physical Education **

All MYP students just completed their basketball unit this week. In MYP 1 and MYP 2 students worked hard to improve their dribbling, passing, shooting and man-to-man defensive skills. They were assessed in 3 areas and had the opportunity to participate in modified matches

The MYP 3-5 students improved their skills but got deeper into differnet kinds of defensive and offensive tactics. They had the chance to participate in several matches but for their summative assessment task one team dressed in white, the second in black and they warmed-up and played a 4 quarter match. Many of them felt the authenticiy of this match and wrote on their unit reflections that this was a highlight for them.

If would like to know more about these units as well as see some videos from the MYP 3 and 5 white vs. black match please go to the following WIS PE wiki page links:

http://wis-pe.wikispaces.com/6th+and+7th+Grade

http//wis-pe.wikispaces.com/8th%2C+9th+and+10th+Grade