Grade 6 (Ms Joubert and Mr. Dooley)

Ms Joubert’s grade 6 students focused on essential ELA skills. Students engaged in a few informal formative tasks to prepare for the upcoming summative assessments. Emphasis was first placed on a fun animation on food preparation, which they used to sharpen our listening skills. Students listened for nuanced information and interpreted visual cues using our unit's key vocabulary. A small reading comprehension exercise was completed, employing effective strategies for a variety of question types. In the latter part of the week, students will enhance their speaking skills, crafting a delightful PPT cookbook concept and presenting their humorously creative ideas to the class in under 3 minutes. A dynamic week of skill-building!

Meanwhile, Mr. Dooley’s language acquisition class delved into the fascinating realm of culture, exploring its purpose and functions in our diverse world. The students engaged in thought-provoking discussions to understand how culture shapes and influences various aspects of our lives. This week we focused on our summative research project, where students applied their language skills to investigate culturally relevant food videos. They honed their language acquisition skills by decoding diverse forms of communication within the videos, such as spoken language, gestures, and visual cues.

Grade 7 (Mr. Hood and Mr. Dooley)

Mr. Hood’s Grade 7s have been working on their comprehension skills through the completion of a text based comprehension and a listening comprehension. The Grade 7s then started working on their understanding of the difference between short and long answer questions. Grade 7s finished the week with a book review based on asking insightful questions and deciding whether they would read their partner's book in future.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dooley’s students engaged in a variety of activities this week. The class began with a captivating "Book Interview and Newspaper Article" project. Students delved into the world of literature, conducting interviews with their classmates, and then transforming those interviews into engaging newspaper articles. This activity not only enhanced their reading comprehension but also sharpened their writing and interviewing skills. Students read about Ji-min’s experiences as a student traveling abroad for the first time and also took part in several short grammar activities this week to help improve our grammar accuracy.

Grade 8 (Mr. Hood and Ms. Bartoszak)

Mr. Hood’s Grade 8s have been working on their summative assessments this week. The summative assessment asked the students to create 15 insightful questions. One student interviews and one student is the interviewee which in this case is Steve Jobs. The Grade 8s presented their interviews in front of the class and also recorded the interviews.

Meanwhile, Ms Bartoszak’s Grade 8 students also focused this week on their summative speaking and writing task. Students were tasked to script an interview on a school radio chat show Mark Zuckerberg. Students had to firstly research all about Mark Zuckerberg and incorporate notes taking skills they developed throughout the unit of work. Students then scripted their interviews and drafted cue cards for their audio recording of the interview. 

Grade 9 (Mr. Hood and Mr. Dooley)

Mr. Hood’s The Grade 9s have been working on their summative assessments for their second unit. The summative assessment required the Grade 9s to select a current popular fitness trend and then create 6-8 journal entries detailing the progression of their experience with this fitness trend.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dooley’s Grade 9 language acquisition class were very busy. The students spent most of the week focusing on creating their fitness journals. Students worked on creating a multiweek journal where we participated in a fitness trend that creates significant improvements in our physical health. The students included detailed descriptions of the trend and how it effected them over time finishing their journals detailing if they would recommend others to partake in a similar journey.

Grade 10 (Ms Najuma and Mr. Dooley)

In Ms. Najuma's 10th-grade English class, students explored idiomatic expressions and honed their ability to incorporate them into sentences. They listened to two engaging podcasts and analyzed the scripts, engaging in discussions about the advantages, disadvantages, as well as the similarities and differences between the two. Finally, the students collaborated to outline the second segment, the transformation, of their hero's journey podcast.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dooley’s Grade 10 Language acquisition class were very busy this week. Students looked at our progress with our outline for the separation phase of our hero’s journey podcasts. The students looked at idiomatic expressions and how they are often used in storytelling. Students also started working on the transformation phase of our podcasts and identified additional characters they may need to complete the story. The students looked into potential twists they could have in their stories to add an element of unpredictability.

Grade 11 (Ms. Bartoszak)

Ms Bartoszak’s Grade 11 Students focused this week on their Mid-term Paper 2 Reading and Listening exams. Students performed those under exam conditions during class time throughout the whole week.

Grade 12 (Mr. Kiefer and Ms. Bartoszak)

Mr. Kiefer’s and Ms Bartoszak’s DP HL students were given feedback to their Mid-term Reading exam. Students then were tasked to complete various listening activities in preparation for their Mid-term Listening exam. Students also started revising their novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ in preparation for their IA Oral assessment which will happen after the Winter break.

Pre K

Ms. Polly Coronel and Ms. Kirsten Hernandez

This week was super exciting because we had our Winter Concert! It was amazing to watch our talented students shine on the stage and make everyone feel the happy Christmas vibes with their awesome performance. Also, the students put in efforts to wear their cool Christmas costumes every day as we celebrated the Christmas dress-up week. It was so much fun to see everyone dressed up and getting into the Christmas spirit. The whole week was like a big celebration, and it made the students feel really happy and festive.

K1

Ms. Erin Wang and Ms. Sati Tadevosyan

This week, our winter concert was the highlight. The K1s were very excited to dance in front of their families. In Inquiry, we continued exploring Vincent Van Gogh, and the students created their own version of his famous painting "Three Sunflowers." Another highlight was our K1 Collaborative Circle Art project for our current unit of inquiry. The students painted individual circles, which we used to create new circles together.

In Language Arts, we reviewed the letter sounds "I" and "N." We also read Christmas-themed stories and learned carols. In Math, we played various number games and practiced counting stripes. Additionally, we made Christmas trees as part of our math activities.

K2

Katie Reddington, Sue MacDonald and Mika Allicer

The highlight of our week was the wonderful Winter Concert held in the PYP auditorium on Thursday. Our K2 students did an amazing job performing their songs and dances in front of a large audience! This event connected perfectly with our Unit of Inquiry and gave students an even deeper understanding of the different kinds of celebrations that exist in our world and how people express themselves through these celebrations.

K3

Ms. Emily Coffey and Mr. Dean Fletes

This week in Inquiry, we looked at the main groups of materials that we encounter every day: paper, plastic, wood, glass, fabric, and metal! We had some good group discussions, and we were able to identify lots of different objects in our classroom made from such materials. To start thinking about why some materials are best suited for particular objects, we imagined that we'd have to make ships or boats, and talked about what materials would be best for them. Then, every student made a personal plan for a boat or ship - the most chosen materials were wood and metal, but it was great to see some additions like metal anchors, glass windows, and paper flags! We also got to see some real boats in action, by observing an experiment carried out by Grade 7 students. It was fun watching these hand-made boats, and the K3s had lots of questions about the materials that went into them!

Grade 1

Ms. Victoria Quercia and Ms. Katherine Turner

This week in Inquiry, we have been treated to a wide range of foods, provided by our visiting ‘Mystery Guests’. The children had to try to figure out what the food was, who they thought brought it, where it came from, and which celebration/tradition/holiday it was linked to. Our ‘Mystery Guests’ then spoke with the children about their culture and a celebration that they observe, and then the children participated in a range of activities, from learning dances to playing new games.

Also this week, the Grade 1 children performed their Christmas songs for the audience at the Crown Plaza Hotel. They were absolutely adorable and awesome!

Grade 2

Ms. Camila Kemeny Larrondo and Mr. Steven Davies

In grade 2, students had an exciting week of learning about culture and art! They explored the fascinating process of creating art and gained insights into the rich cultural backgrounds that inspire different art forms. Throughout the week, the students actively engaged in hands-on activities to deepen their understanding. To showcase their knowledge, the students collaborated on creating a vibrant and informative poster that depicted the various steps involved in making art. They learned about different techniques such as painting, drawing, and sculpting, and how artists use their imagination and creativity to bring their ideas to life.

Grade 3

Mr. Jeremy Boudreau and Ms.Kelly House

This week we delved deeper into the different climate zones of the world. The students learned about the summer and winter temperatures of different cities around the world and used that data to create a climate map with different colors representing different climates. They then completed a task that practiced their research and note taking skills. They collaborated as a team to create a poster on one of the climate zones. Each poster included information on the animals, vegetation and environment in their zone. We then used the information they collected to compare and contrast different locations around the world.

Grade 4

Adam Fell and Carla Du Toit

 In grade 4, students are fully immersed in a research project that dives deep into the concept of exploration as their curren tunit comes to an end. What sets this project apart is that each student has picked their own topic, becoming the designated explorer of their chosen subject. Whether it's outer space, historical adventures, ocean mysteries, or unexplored territories in literature, every student is on a unique exploration journey. They're using their research and communication skills, sharing their findings with classmates, and weaving together their own idea of showcasing their findings. To cap off their exploration experience, students are brainstorming and will craft artifacts that represent their topics, adding a creative touch to their learning adventure.

Grade 5

Ms. Patricia Larrondo and Mr. Matthew Facey

In math, the data handling unit is in full progress. We collected physical parameter data such as height, pulses, and breaths per minute, linking the data to our Unit of Inquiry, Human Body Systems. The information was recorded, organized, and studied by calculating the range, mean, median, and mode.