Happy Trails
It’s been a week of preparations in Kindergarten… signs being painted, hats tried on, let’s practice our song one more time, what if we forget what to say, can we have a real microphone…
Every day, we counted down how many more ‘sleeps’ until our Big Day, and then yesterday morning, just like that, Graduation time was here!
If I was worried that the children weren’t ready enough, they sure proved me wrong. I could feel their excitement, and yet they took a deep breath and walked out calmly, their heads up with pride and of course, they remembered to do everything just right.
It’s time to let them go, and it feels good to know that they are ready for their journey through Elementary school.
So, Happy Trails to you, my Kindergarten friends, until we meet again!
Ms Nilva
Readathon Results
A big shout out to the Grade 7’s for doing the most amazing job organizing and running the school Readathon. From presenting the idea to Mrs. Green, writing the letter to the parents in English and Italian, explaining to the rest of the school about the project, to making reading logs and sponsorship forms the Grade 7’s took full responsibility for everything. I am incredibly proud to announce that we raised over €2000!!! This week we have prepared the books to send to Samos and any money we don’t use for postage will be sent to the school in Samos and Still I Rise. Thank you to all the students who participated in the Read-a-thon you have been part of something wonderful!
Ms. Rhi
Language Arts Teacher
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Caro amico ti scrivo …
Le classi quarte hanno appena concluso un interessante unità didattica dedicata alla scrittura di lettere confidenziali e formali. Insieme abbiamo scoperto come lo scambio epistolare sia stato pian piano superato dalle più pratiche e veloci mail, ma abbiamo anche riflettuto sul fatto che una lettera scritta a mano, ad una persona cara, riesce a conservare ancora il suo fascino e portare con sé tutta la magia della trepidante attesa.
Ciò che più mi ha colpito è stato il compito assegnato alla fine dell’attività, che consisteva nello scrivere una lettera al Presidente della Repubblica Italiana Sergio Mattarella: ognuno, mettendoci il massimo impegno,ha formulato delle richieste che hanno evidenziato grande maturità e sensibilità in vari aspetti. I ragazzi stanno dimostrando di essere cresciuti e pronti quindi per affrontare l’ultimo anno delle elementari.
Maestra Francesca
Insegnante di Italiano Grade 4
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Tending Silkworms in Nursery 3
Lately in Nursery 3 we have been observing and caring for various small animals. About 20 days ago we adopted ten tiny silkworms needing constant care because the amount of fresh mulberry tree leaves that they needed to eat was just unbelievable!
The children worked around the clock for two weeks, taking turns to feed them and clear their home from leftovers whilst watching them grow at an incredible pace… Then one morning we observed that some of them had stopped eating and so many children asked, ‘Are they okay?’ It was a clear sign that they were ready to change into chrysalides. New words such as ‘cocoon’ and ‘transformation’ were heard and learned through reading books and watching educational videos while children began wondering how many days we should wait until we see the first butterflies coming out!
Meanwhile, everyone wondered about the colors and physical features of butterflies and some of the children spontaneously began making simple drawings of butterflies, ladybugs, caterpillars, spiders, and so forth. While waiting for them to hatch out of their cocoons, we also took care of a giant pet snail called Olive Oil and of a mommy and daughter gerbils who stayed with us for a couple of days as visiting pets.
Ms. Adriana
Nursery 3 Teacher
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Mini-Architects in Grade 4
In their flurry of room and floor designs, the Grade 4’s discovered that perimeter and area can be very useful! After exploring these concepts by measuring various objects using square units, they embarked on a group project to design a floor map of a room, including the measurements of area and perimeter. The students’ designs displayed creativity and imagination. Engaged, curious and excited about their learning, they’re rapidly becoming area and perimeter experts. Not only! The students’ designs displayed creativity and imagination. If anyone wants to renovate a room, you know where to find the budding architects!
Grade 4K Teacher
Kiki Stergiou
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Slam Dunk
As we approach the end of the school year we have been taking a deeper dive into the intricacies of Basketball in our PE module. We have learnt about the various methods of scoring including layups, shots, slam dunks and three pointers. Being such a fast paced game, our students have loved the speed and constant action Basketball is about. The highlight for all the students was trying a slam dunk (with a lowered hoop) and this really challenged their coordination and athleticism.
Mr Robuschi
PE Teacher
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Wacky Races In Grade 2!
Grade 2K have been exploring movement in their Science lessons. We were also due a new Art topic… so we put Science and Art together and came up with WACKY Racers! We were inspired by an old cartoon, old enough to have been around when Miss Katharine was little! We have each designed and built a Wacky racer and we are going to race them next week!
Katharine Knott
Grade 2K teacher
The Best School in the World!
The Grade 1 students are amazing – they started the year barely writing sentences and now they are writing their own opinion pieces!
First, they had to understand what the word “opinion” means. An opinion is something that you think and feel. We discussed how we all have opinions about things, and we shared some of our opinions.
The students came up with a list of favourite things that they could share their opinion about. They created a writing web to add as many reasons as they could to support their opinion.
This past week they learned that there are 3 ways to write a strong introduction to grab the reader’s attention: ask a question, share a strong feeling, or tell an interesting fact. We practised by writing about our school:
- Do you want to attend the best school in the world? The Udine International School is the best school in the world because….
- My school is a fun and an amazing place to learn! The Udine International School is the best school in the world because….
- The Principal Mrs. Green believes that children, when nurtured and inspired, have the potential to do amazing things. The Udine International School is the best school in the world because….
Finally they learned how to add a strong conclusion.
Now that you know the Udine International school is the best school in the world, come and see it for yourself!
Daniela DiBiaggio
Grade 1 teacher
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ECC celebrates Outdoor Classroom Day
Last week’s Outdoor Classroom Day was a big success! Maybe because this year we haven’t had many special events due to COVID restrictions, or maybe because we were lucky to have a rare sunny day in this rainy, wet Spring.
Seeing all the ECC children outside at the same time, enjoying themselves was a treat. This week I am letting the drawings of the Kinder students tell you about this epic day…see if you can guess what their favorite moments of the day were…
Ms Nilva
ECC Coordinator
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Utopia or Dystopia?
Grade 7 have recently finished reading the novel The Giver, a dystopian novel about how a community, though created with the best of intentions, can go horribly wrong!
The question, in fact, was raised about whether Jonas, the protagonist, would stay or run away……
With this in mind, the two classes separated into groups and planned their own ‘Perfect Communities’ with varied and surprising results. Their governments ranged from the democratic to the idea of immortal leaders! Their environments varied from a butterfly island in the middle of the ocean to a Martian community within a bubble. In one of their schools there were no exams and in another the children were homeschooled. One group were careful to include a fast food cafe while others included farming as fundamental. Even the question of curfew came up…..surely a sign of the times!
A lot of effort and thought went into these projects and I would hope that by the end, they were not torn in the same way as Jonas, between wanting to stay or wanting to escape from their ‘Perfect Communities’!
Mrs Nevin
Grade 7 Literature
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