October+Newsletter

October Newsletter

Important Dates

 * Fall Holiday October** 29th - November 6th


 * Public Holiday** Friday November 11th


 * Language A **
 * MYP 1 **

 The MYP 1 students are now well into our second unit – Autobiography. We have started reading Roald Dahl’s autobiography __Boy__ and are looking at how he makes his writing so engaging. The students have already written the introduction to their own ‘autobiographies’ and will be trying to incorporate the techniques learned from Dahl himself to write about three more episodes from their own lives. If their introductions are anything to go by, I’m really looking forward to reading more about the interesting lives they lead!!!!

Can you figure out who...


 * has an older sister who steals her hair bobbles?
 * has a phobia of ski lifts?
 * wants to work in the electronic device upgrading centre of Microsoft?
 * has a phobia of monsters who are dancing in her closet at night?
 * wants to parachute from a plane and/or into a cave?!
 * has a fish named fish?!
 * wants to be a famous fashion designer or actress?
 * is afraid of ghosts and afraid of the dark?
 * doesn’t like studying?!!!!!!!!!!


 * MYP 2 **

 We are now in the final week of our short story unit. After having read a number of short stories and analysed the elements of good fiction, the students have had a go at writing their own short story. They have been using the writing process to plan, draft and revise their work. Their final drafts are due on Thursday 10th December and I look forward to reading their work!

This week, the students will select a short story of their choice and write a personal response to it. They will need to summarise the story, discuss what they liked or didn’t like about it and support their opinions with explanation and examples from the story. They will post their work on the blogs that they are in the process of creating with the help of Mrs. Franco.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 32px;">MYP 3/4 **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> In MYP 3/4, we are coming to the end of our unit on Travel Writing. The students have completed their own piece of individual travel journalism, describing their experiences of travel in places such as Warsaw, Egypt and San Francisco or their adventures on the ropes course field trip. The main emphasis of this assignment was to use descriptive language, dialogue, reflection and anecdotes to transport the reader to the place described. The students certainly took on this challenge and came up with some great work.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One student describes how, when hungry she caught a whiff of something delicious...

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">“//And then I realized the scent was something I had been dying for for the last week, chips, those amazing crunchy bits of heaven, and as I couldn’t have any, I just stared at the bag looking like a hobo that hadn’t gotten any food for weeks.”//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Another student gave a particularly vibrant description of Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco:

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">“There are dozens of shops and restaurants that add life to the pier. Mouth-watering scents of crispy fish and chips, creamy crepes and fresh bread mingle together in the air. The water lapping at the pier can be heard over squawks of seagulls looking for any crumb dropped by the crowds of people...” //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Someone else describes a particular moment in the forest when she had time to stop and contemplate her surroundings:

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">“I felt like I was in a tropical forest, playing with the monkeys. The wind going past me dropping water on me, the bird sounds in the air, those sounds that made me feel like I really jumped to the stone age...” //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">One student began their piece on Warsaw in an ominous tone:

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">“But without knowing why, I had this sinister, doubtful, uncomfortable feeling before we left. Even on the train and after getting off the train too, it was the same” //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">and unfortunately he learned that //“Every feeling I have before a trip comes true.”//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The final assessment for this unit will be to create a website advertising our school and city and explaining why families and teachers should come to Wroclaw and to WIS. This is an authentic task and their website will be used to promote the school at an information fair in November and at job fairs in the new year. Although each student is working on one part of the web page, the emphasis of this task is on organisation, time management, collaboration and team work.

In MYP 5, we are coming to the end of our unit on Genres of Fiction. We have focused on writing skills, particularly essay writing and the students are now in the process of writing their final essay assignment. They have also been spending some time working on their personal projects and in order to keep the rest of the school informed about what the personal project involves, they gave a presentation at the assembly on Wednesday in which they discussed:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 32px;">MYP 5 **


 * their topic
 * the reasons for choosing this topic
 * the area of interaction that will be the focus of the project
 * their final product
 * the process so far

As well as giving the rest of the school an insight into the Personal Project, it also gave the MYP5 students a valuable chance to practise their presentation skills.



**Physical Education**

The MYP 1 and 2 students are in the middle of their Soccer unit. During this unit they have been learning, practising and improving on skills such as dribbling, passing, trapping and shooting. They have also participated in modified matches in which they need to focus on a specific skill. For example, when they were working on passing, cones were set up in the middle of the gym during the match and if a student made a pass to a teammate between the cones they would get a point for their team. This stressed the importance of passing and the students have been doing a much better job of looking for their teammates while playing instead of just trying to dribble alone and score. If you would like to know more about this unit as well as see what they will be assessed on please visit the following WIS PE wiki page under the date of October 14:

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

In MYP 3-5 students have been participating in their Floor Hockey unit. The skills that they have been practicing and improving include stick-handling, passing and shooting. There is a special emphasis in this unit on safety and how to handle the equipment in a safe manner. It is a very fast game but students have been doing a great job of working together and communicating during match play. They have also been learning about penalties and the consequences of them (penalty box). If you would like to know more about this unit as well as see what they will be assessed on please visit the following WIS PE wiki page under the date of October 14:

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



**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 190%;">Language B Polish **

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;">**MYP 1** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: justify;">In Polish class we started a new unit „My place”. During this unit students will learn vocabulary from their closest area such as school equipment, items in their room, colors and distance expressions as on the left/right as well. Students will learn how to create and use plural forms of nouns and adjectives and also they will be introduced to the accusative case of nouns so they will be able to use the structure “I have got+ noun”. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: justify;">During the unit students will be asked to make a short video “room tour” or Polish lesson for beginners “my room” as a formative assessment. At the end of November we will have the summative assessment which will be a spoken presentation about each student’s own room.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;">**MYP 1-2 advanced** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: justify;">We started a new unit called “Friendship”. Students will get to know new vocabulary to describe people’s character. We will learn also how to compare people. At the end of this unit students will be expected to perform a speech about friendship. To do this, during the unit students will be introduced to different forms of writing that describes friends and friendship. The forms are: poetry, song, quotes, and person’s description.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: justify;">**MYP 3** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: justify;">In Polish class we started a new unit called „My place”. During this unit students will learn vocabulary from their closest area such as school equipment, items in their room, colors and distance expressions such as on the left/right as well. Students will learn how to create and use plural forms of nouns and adjectives and also they will be introduced to the accusative case of nouns and adjectives so they will be able to use the structure “I have got+ adjective+noun”. More advanced students will learn how to create and use the genitive case of nouns in the structure “I haven’t got+ adjective+noun” <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: justify;">During the unit students will be asked to make a short video “room tour” or Polish lesson for beginners “my room” as a formative assessment. At the end of November we will have a summative assessment which will be a spoken presentation about each student’s own room.

=Language B French=

MYP 1/2
We finished the reviewing and the classroom presentation units. Students have already done a self evaluation and reflections on their knowledge with a big question: how can I improve in my learning?

We will now separate the class in 2 groups and have a different program for each. The beginners will start a unit on presentation (Je suis fan!). For the “false beginners”, we will start a quick unit on the family (Moi et ma famille).

MYP 3/4/5
For the beginners, the classroom presentation unit is finished with a self reflection on the student knowledge and they are now building a poster to demonstrate it.

For the intermediate group, the unit on my city/my district (“ma ville”) is reaching his end with the creation of a blog for each student. This is an all year long project that will be updated with the work of the future units we will do.

The advanced group is preparing a presentation on the school and the different professions and functions that can be found in it to end the unit “mon collège”.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 190%;">**Mathematics**

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**MYP 1** students have just finished a unit about whole numbers. Now we are learning about directed numbers. We are talking about real-life situations which can be described with directed numbers. Later we will be learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide these numbers.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**MYP 2** students have just finished the //2D and 3D Shapes// unit. Now they are learning about fractions. We have started with a short review of what they already know about these numbers and now we are going to practice operations on fractions like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. After doing this the students will use fractions to represent real-life situations.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**MYP 3** students are learning about linear equations and inequalities. They also will be practicing changing the subject of a formula and considering any restrictions on its variables.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**MYP 4** students are working in two groups. The first one is learning about Trigonometry. They have practiced the use of the unit circle to find equivalent ratios for obtuse angles. Now they are solving problems using the sine and cosine rules. The second group is working on Numbers and Indices unit. They are using index laws to simplify expressions, including expressions with fractional and negative indices. Later they will be learning about scientific notation.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**MYP 5** students are in the midst of the Equations unit. We already learned how to simplify algebraic expressions, including those involving fractions and how to expand and factorize expressions using a variety of methods. We also looked at application of Algebra in solving real-life problems. Now we are going to practice solving linear, quadratic and simultaneous equations.


 * Science News **


 * MYP1: **

We just finished our unit on the scientific method. Students completed a poster describing their favourite experiment performed in class. Some of the experiments performed in class this month were: fireworks (what colour different chemicals burn), parachute (students created a parachute for a clay person and modified their designs to increase the amount of time their clay man was airborne) and gyrocopter (students created a paper helicopter and tested different variables such as size of copter, amount of weight added etc.) As this unit concludes the students have an excellent understanding of all the vocabulary associated with scientific investigations.

We are continuing our unit on the systems of the body. So far we have focused on the muscular and skeletal systems; where the students have studied the names of muscles and bones. For the skeletal system we have studied x-rays (we actually looked at two students’ x-rays). Since x-rays were mentioned, we briefly studied cancer and radiation treatment. We have started focusing on the digestive system, where we have looked at the function and location of all the organs involved. At the end of this unit, students will create a model that demonstrates their knowledge of how all the systems work interdependently.
 * MYP2: **

We are working on advanced chemistry concepts. The students did so well with understanding basic knowledge of the periodic table that we have moved on to more challenging topics such as: ionic vs. covalent bonding, Lewis dot structure, the types of chemical reactions, and how compounds are named. Based on formative assessments and classroom practice, students are doing a great job of understanding these difficult topics. Now that students have a basic understanding of chemistry, we can move on to complete more challenging scientific investigations where students can apply this new knowledge to actual chemical reactions.
 * MYP3/4: **

We are still working on our genetics unit; however, our focus is now on Mendelian Genetics, where students predict the probability of different traits based on the traits of the parents. We just finished our study of DNA replication, and protein synthesis with the students preparing a PowerPoint on the similarities and differences of these two complicated processes. Students have shown understanding through many different classroom activities and laboratory investigations. One of the most interesting investigations the students performed was comparing the DNA of strawberries, bananas, and kiwi fruit. Through a process involving ethyl alcohol and detergent, the DNA was isolated for each of these fruits and compared.
 * MYP5: **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The **Grade Sixes** continue to explore the themes of geography by selecting a country they think is worth visiting and writing a report on its human and physical characteristics. They have also kept up their cultural exchange with the grade sixes at Burlington Township Middle School, in New Jersey, USA. This week we’ve been exchanging ideas about how we celebrate Halloween in Poland and in our home countries.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">World Studies **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The **Grade Sevens** have just wrapped up their unit projects on the social, economic and environmental impact of an airport being built on a small tropical island. They’ve also been keeping us informed about developments in world affairs by presenting current events. Recent notables include a robot greeter at an airport in South Korea and the devastating earthquake in Turkey.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The **Grade Eight/Nines** have been considering social injustice through the eyes of Gandhi and the British Raj. They’ve also been keeping tabs on developments in the world with their presentations of current events.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The **Grade Tens** are nearing the end of their investigation into the financial crisis that began with the collapse of the housing market in the US. They will demonstrate their understanding with a presentation on how a home loan gets securitized and with a paper about the systemic risk posed by banks that can no longer lend money and by insurance companies that can no longer insure losses.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In preparation for United Nations Week, all grades have been considering a range of global issues, including refugees, child soldiers and child labor.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">From the Library Nook

Dear Parents,

The Scholastic Book Club books have arrived! I have just finished processing them and they will be distributed to the students by Friday, October 28th. There are a few books that are on back order, but I am happy to report that 98% of the order was fulfilled by //Scholastic//.

You will receive the next flyer with ordering instructions for the December order when we return from our fall break.

I want to thank you all for your suppport in creating a culture of reading in our school.

Fall into a good book!

//N. Franco//, MLS WIS Library Media Specialist