G1 Ball Skills Inquiry

Grade 1 learners have been inquiring in the skills required to send and receive a ball.

We started "unpacking" what they knew about "ball skills" so far.

To guide their inquiry I started asking them questions such as:

• What do you need to do to throw the ball to a partner?
• How far should you get from each other?
• How can I make sure the ball gets to my partner?

Students are developing a range of fine and gross motor skills, interacting and playing with their peers.

During the unit, learners are practicing different ball skills, individually or in small groups, working in different activities and also playing small games.

Having a variety of materials helps learners to be more engaged, develops curiosity and all sorts of skills.

Below you can see some pictures playing and developing different skills. 

Please ask your child what ball skills they've learned so far.

G5 trip to the VKirirom Pine Resort

Last week, G5 learners spent a couple of days in the VKirirom Pine Resort, in the Kirirom National Park.

For many students, it was the first time to be out, camping and spending a couple of days with their friends in a campsite so everything was new to them.

The campsite was beautiful, surrounded by pine trees. There was a field by the campsite that we used to do most of our activities.

After having a quick lunch and sorting out the tents, learners spent a couple of hours working with their groups on their PYPX activities led by their homeroom teachers.

Their very last task was to find pine cones, branches and another sort of stuff they could find in nature to make "WHO WE ARE" so we could read it.

For dinner, we cooked veggies and sausages on the BBQ and everyone enjoyed eating outside, with their friends, sitting on the grass and breathing the pure air of the mountains.

Before it got dark, learners participated in different activities, such as a strategic tag game and storytelling in small groups.

As soon as the sun set, we turned off our flashlights and some other bigger lights that were lightening the campsite and focused on the sky. It was amazing to just lay down on the ground with our eyes wide open and quietly enjoy the number of stars we could see. It felt like looking at a huge blanket of glittering, sparkly and shiny dots that kept twinkling at us.

One of the highlights of the evening apart from stargazing was to sit around the campfire, singing songs, roasting marshmallows and enjoying smores.

Learners slept in their tents and woke up early the day after. Breakfast was served in the early morning, and students got the energy they needed it to run with their teams in the orienteering activity.

Other activities, such as hiking, playing active and calmer games were given as a choice to students during that day.

We left promptly after lunch and were able to get back to school while everyone else was getting ready to go home.

Ask your child what they really enjoyed in the G5 overnight trip.

Click here if you would like to see some pictures from the trip.

Creativity in PE

 

One of our aims of the Elementary PE programme is help the students develop their creativity. In the Grade 4 Striking and Fielding unit this has achieved by students, working in small groups to take the principles of these types of game and creating their own unique games.

We have seen students using different ways to get to the bases, lots of different methods to strike the ball including providing choices of batting implements and a variety of different running paths to the different bases, as well some interesting scoring systems.

  

As well as being creative in developing games, the students have also being busy trying to create tactics to be successful in these new games, exploiting the different rules.

G5 Overnight Trip

G5 learners, teachers, and supporting staff left ISPP early this morning for the G5 overnight trip.

After three and a half hours bus ride we arrived safe and sound to the Vkirirom Pine Resort.
Learners had mixed feelings, some were very excited and happy to be out in nature with their friends and teachers, and some felt a little worried because they had never experienced sleeping in a tent before.

We had a quick lunch and students ran around, explored the woods and played with each other, with pine trees and wooden sticks.

After sorting out tents and getting all the logistics done, learners got in their PYPX groups and worked with their teams in different activities.

Tonight we will be grilling some vegetables and sausages in a BBQ, playing different team building games and singing songs as we enjoy smores around a campfire.

The weather is perfect, we have lots of shade and there is a little breeze now as well.
Students are having a blast so far and since they are being so active, I am guessing they are going to have a good night sleep.

I would like to add some photos to this blog post but somehow the internet is not being very supportive now. I will add some as soon as we get back to school.

Sound and Light Help us Express Our Ideas

G1 learners have been inquiring about how sound and light help them express their ideas through dance.

They moved their body listening to different sounds. Sometimes, the sound was calmer, such as the sound of waves on the beach or the heavy rain
Other sounds made students express themselves in different ways, such as listening to the sound of a police siren, a baby crying, or robotic sound effects.

How do you feel when listening to all these sounds? How would you express yourself in these situations?

Music is the sound we ended using to create our dances making sure we knew our success criteria for this unit.

                                                   Dance Success Criteria

I can collaborate with my team to create a dance

I can make a movement sequences to music

I can teach my peers a movement sequence

I can use the space dance creating different shapes

I can make a dance that has a beginning, medium part, and an end

I can use levels ( low, medium, high) in my dance

Learners got together in small groups and had two days to create their dances.

Communication, team effort, and creativity were key for this unit.

We had students practicing their dances by the field and filmed them using the grass as a green screen. Dancers had fun, were happy and also, some felt a little embarrassed to perform in front of their peers, however, they were able to cope with it and did a fantastic job.

You should have seen the performances as we shared them with parents through an app called Seesaw.

Below you can see some of the performances students created. We used an app called DoInk for the backgrounds with the green screen.

    Ms. Brittney's class

Ms. Amy's class

Ms. Kelly's class

Orienteering in Grade 2 PE

Grade 2 students have been learning coordinates during maths activities in the homeroom. During PE we put the theory into practice by completing some orienteering activities. Students were given a map and some coordinates and clues to help find the treasure (orienteering cards).

Striking and Fielding Unit in G5

Learners in G5 have been playing small striking and fielding sided games, such as modified baseball and T-ball.

The central idea for this unit is: "Appropriate application of skills and tactical understanding is vital to effective performance."

Learners understand that very well.

This week we've been working on the different roles and responsibilities of players while fielding and/or batting. Students had to come up with the best strategies to be successful during the games.

These are some of the questions I asked learners to get them thinking about their games and best strategies:

"What did you have to do when batting in order to not get out?"

"How do I stop my opponent from scoring runs?"

"How I am going to use the skills of striking and fielding outside of PE?"

YAPP T-Ball on Wednesday 14 February at ISPP

YAPP T-ball tournament for Grades 3-5 will be held on Wednesday 14 February at ISPP. Students will meet after school and matches will be played on the field. Students should be collected at 4.30pm. If you child usually goes home on the school bus, they may take the late bus home, if you indicate this on the permission form.

Students participating must wear their full ISPP PE uniform and cap. They also need to bring their water bottle and a small snack.

If you give your child permission to attend, you must complete the online form.

https://goo.gl/RcgFvs

This form must be completed by Thursday 8 February in order for us to calculate numbers of teams and work out fixtures.

Any questions please to contact us at school with any questions.

All the best,

Mr. Ben and Ms. Leticia