Upper School Letter to Parents Mich 2008
Dear Upper School Parents,
It has been so lovely to see all our children returning to school, and with a smile on their faces! We are delighted to welcome Anouk van Beurden, Cal Morrison, Naomi Cox, Eleanor Stocks, Leá Garguet Duport, Bahador Chizari to Med, joining four of our ‘old’ boys. I am the Form Teacher for this class and must say they are shaping up to be a great little group and very tidy indeed!
Mrs Osman is the Form Teacher for Tyrrhenian and we welcome Chloe Shepherd and Jack Ashurst. It may be fair to say they are not quite so tidy as ‘my’ form…….yet! Mrs Parsons is Form Teacher to our Ionian class where we welcome Seung-Yeob Song, Jackson Dolphin, Haris Zaman-Pedersen and Jonathan Stocks. Our top two classes, who are partly based out our wonderful new centre, the JSC, have Mrs Young as Form Teacher. We welcome Iman Ali to IGCSE 1 and Reza Davoudian to IGCSE 2. We hope all our new children will be extremely happy. They are already working hard and looking as if they have been here for ages.
After a very busy summer, we are delighted to announce the opening of the new Jill Sturdy Centre (the JSC) in time for the start of term. It has been named after my late mother, to honour her vision and commitment to providing a broad, engaging and exciting education to as many children as possible. We feel this is being carried on proudly at the International School. The centre offers classroom space to pupils from Sancton Wood and the International School. It has been beautifully decorated and designed and the children all seem very pleased with it. IGCSE 1 and 2 pupils are allowed out for lunch but must ensure they are back promptly for the start of afternoon lessons. We can accompany any children, if parents so wish. While most of the lessons are taught specifically to Sancton Wood or to CIS students, we have merged in cases where the classes were otherwise too small to run effectively. Drama and Spanish for IGCSE 1 are shared with the two schools this year. As well as Psychology, Media Studies and Physical Education GCSE for the IGCSE 2 class. This provides the children with a welcome opportunity to make new friends and meet more people.
While I would like to state with complete confidence that there will no hiccups at all with the new site, I think we have to recognise that there may be some adjustments that will need to be made. We need to observe for a week or two how everything works logistically with the timetabling and spread of lessons across two sites. (we cannot bear not to have the IGCSE 1 and 2’s back with us at Cherry Hinton some of the time, they are so lively and fun!). We will be glad to have any feedback from parents and children as to how everyone is getting on.
You will already have seen a copy of your child’s timetable. We recommend that students come in wearing their sports kit on the days they have sport in the morning. If it is in the afternoon it is easy enough to change at school. Remember that on Fridays school uniform does not need to be worn.
We have been very pleased to see Mrs Young, our Head of Upper School back in school. She is available to contact by email every day and will be in school for a few hours each day as she eases back to work. For new parents, you will soon meet the very popular Mrs Young, who is recovering from a gruelling bout of chemotherapy this summer. We are delighted to welcome Dr Villamil to the role of Chemistry teacher for our Upper School for this term. Dr Villamil is an extremely high ranking research chemist who is focusing on Chemistry this term to enable Mrs Young to give more attention to Biology next term.
A reminder to all parents: Children will receive merit points for excellent work or behaviour. They all have a merit sheet in their homework diaries. On accruing 40 they will be awarded a cinema voucher for £10. It is a real achievement to be awarded merit points, so you may find it takes time and effort to achieve! Conversely, children are given black marks for inappropriate behaviour, or failing to hand in homework. With Med class we will not be so strict for the first term as they do have a lot to take in as they take on Senior school expectations and requirements.
You may remember that at the end of last term I outlined two of my aims for this school year: to improve the music and sports provision in school and to aim to achieve excellence in both subjects.
We are delighted to announce the formation of a Senior Band: Band music will include rock and roll, jazz improvisation and carols from the 16th and 21st centuries, to accompany singing in the Christmas performance. The first meeting of our new band will be at 1.15pm on Wednesday September 17th. Please encourage all students who play instruments to bring them into school on that day. Message for the students from Mrs Gold: “Band will be in the hall on the Cherry Hinton site. If you play both acoustic and electric guitar, please bring the acoustic for the first session at least, so we can see how much power we’re going to need! If you only play electric guitar then bring that and don’t forget to bring your amp. Please make sure your instruments are in tune as soon as you’re in the hall; don’t wait for me to tell you. We’re going to start off with some jazz improvisation, and some rock and roll, and take it from there….”
As well as this, we are introducing a Choir for pupils from Adriatic up to Tyr. The choir will meet on Wednesdays at 3pm to work together on vocal percussion, gospel, jazz, pop, folk, traditional songs in Spanish, Latin and Aboriginal dialect and carols for Christmas.
We have also become members of the Cambridge Athletics Association and look forward to arranging a series of sporting fixtures with neighbouring schools in the coming months. I am also pleased to inform you that we are running enrichment sports on Friday lunchtimes for all keen students. Please ensure your child brings appropriate kit. Early focus will be on athletics (track, field and cross country), tennis and football. Students can only choose one of these activities for their session. We had excellent attendance for our first week and I have high hopes for the next Olympics!
We offer a wide range of languages for our pupils to study. We are very impressed with some of our multi-lingual children who have just joined the school. We are offering extension Latin for those children who will particularly enjoy learning this wonderful language. This is run by Mr Lord, who has taught Latin for many years at Sancton Wood and who is now the class teacher for one of our Year 6 classes. He will be teaching this on Friday lunchtimes. I am aware this may clash with enrichment sports but there is no other available time for him this term.
Please contact us if you wish your child to study any other language and we will do our very best to facilitate this.
Please do keep in very close touch with us. If your child is struggling with any aspect of their work or social life at school, we want to know. The staff will look forward to meeting you at our Parents Evenings held just before half term.
Please find attached information about what your child (Med, Tyr and Ion) will be studying this term. IGCSE pupils have begun to follow the curriculum for each subject which can be found on www.cie.org.uk
I hope all our pupils have a happy and purposeful term ahead. There will be plenty of opportunities for fun as well as hard work.
I look forward to seeing you whenever you wish to come in and see what your children are getting up to. You are always welcome.
Kind regards
Harriet Sturdy
Principal
Cambridge International School
Mediterranean:
English:
I hope that you will really enjoy your English course this year. Here is a little taste of the term ahead:
Reading: This term our class texts range from Louis Sacher’s amazing novel ‘Holes,’ to selected highlights from Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales,’ which will complement your work on the Middle Ages in History. You will each keep a reading diary and write and present regular book reviews. The library will be well-used!
Writing:
We will aim to write clear, fluent and stylish English for all occasions! As well as reviews, we will write letters, stories, poems and undertake formal comprehension exercises. We will learn or
revise, as required, the rules of spelling, grammar and punctuation and have regular spelling and dictation tests. We will make good use of a dictionary and a thesaurus!
Speaking and listening:
We will enjoy debating, presenting our ideas and discussing We will also develop our ability to listen courteously to each other, being sensitive in taking turns!
Mathematics:
Mrs Mieszkian will be working on Maths Investigations with the children on Tuesdays. We will be concentrating on the creative side of Maths, focusing on generalising, working systematically and visualising when problem-solving. We will be encouraging the children to explore their own ideas, ask questions and find ways of recording their findings as well as teaching them useful strategies to used when faced with a mathematical problem.
Mr Wicker will be teaching the class for the remainder of the week, introducing the class to the National Numeracy Strategy Renewed Framework KS3 syllabus through a new OUP Resource called Maths Links. This term, the children will work on number, including place value and written methods for the four operations; sequences and functions; measures including area, perimeter and angles; fractions, decimals and percentages; processing data including bar charts, pie charts line graphs and mode, median and range; expressions and formulas, introducing algebraic symbols, expressions and collecting like terms.
Science:
Med pupils will be covering the following topics: Measurements; Mixtures and separating techniques; Acids & bases; Physical and chemical changes and Investigating everyday materials
French:
We will be covering two topics: personal introductions and daily routine.This will include using the past tense and simple future tense. Children will have two weekly homeworks; one learning and one written. Resources: Metro 2 Green and workbook.
German:
We are introducing German with major emphasis on the enjoyment and speaking of the language!We aim to cover topics including talking about oneself and school. Children will have two weekly homeworks; one learning and one writing. Resources: Logo 1 and workbook.
Spanish:
Using Listos 1 we will begin work on Greetings – asking names, how they are; numbers – asking age etc; school – asking what you have in your bag etc.
Art:
Portraits. Med will be producing portraits of each other in a variety of media, making a self portrait and developing this into a mono print and finally into a collagraph print.
History:
This year we will be focusing on the Medieval period 1066-1485, starting with the Battle of Hastings and ending with The War of The Roses. We will be looking at Medieval Life, key historical figures of the period, the nature of warfare, The Crusades and The Black Death and its global impact.
We will start the term with an introduction to history, looking at timelines, discussing pupils’ previous knowledge and looking at historical sources. This will provide pupils with the necessary building blocks to develop their historical knowledge and understanding.
Geography:
The United Kingdom, Pupils will be learning the basic geography of our country. We will be studying village and city settlements, looking at Coast lines as well as environmental issues.
Music
1) Defining music, its role in society. What do the children understand as “music.”
2) Different musical cultures: Western, African, Indian, possibly Javanese, Klezmer. (How these stem from point 1)
3) Common themes in these cultures - eg, stringed instruments, percussion instruments, scales etc.
4) Practical music-making: Composing on a pentatonic scale (will have been covered in material above)
5) Aleatoric music. Children make their own instruments and compose “sound” pieces on them.
Senior Band: Band music will include rock and roll, jazz improvisation and carols from the 16th and 21st centuries, to accompany singing in the Christmas performance.
Choir: the whole school choir will do vocal percussion, gospel, jazz, pop, folk, traditional songs in Spanish, Latin and Aboriginal dialect, carols for Christmas
Film-making: Factual Programming / Documentary / Drama / Animation / Music Videos
This term we will be looking at a wide variety of media forms which use filmmaking as the means to address and communicate storytelling viewpoints. Pupils will discuss and research different filmmaking
approaches and choose how to best produce a film around a chosen class theme by the end of term.
Sports:
Upper School pupils will be focusing this term on athletics (track, field and cross country), tennis, and football. We are currently making arrangements to book swimming for the next school term.
Tyrhennian
English: I am really looking forward to seeing you again, and welcoming some new faces. We are starting the term with two master short story tellers: Roald Dahl with his deliciously twisted endings and Arthur Conan Doyle with some of his best Sherlock Holmes stories, so if you like surprises and mysteries you’ll be very happy indeed! Later in the term we’ll look at one of Charles Dickens’ best-loved and beautifully written works, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ to get us in a festive mood and remember the true meaning of the season.
Some modern short stories will bring us up-to-date. As ever, we will be making good use of the library, and will keep reading diaries. Our poetry lessons will focus on a range of ballads.
In our writing, we will aim for security in use of paragraphs, commas and speech marks, and develop strategies for learning and correcting spellings. We will work on a range of written forms: newspaper reports, letters, reviews and summaries.
Speaking and listening
We will take part in interviews and discussions, do some role-play and enjoy acting and writing scenes based on our literary texts. We have a lot to get through but will have fun!
Mathematics: Mathematical diagrams including mileage charts, networks, & flow charts; Factors; Pythagoras’ Theorem; rounding and estimation; data analysis - averages and ranges for discrete data; nets and surface area; ratio and proportion; expanding brackets.
Art:
‘The Many Moods of a Sunflower’ Tyr will be looking at colour codes and finding out about the meaning of different colours. They will then use this knowledge to produce images of sunflowers in
different ‘moods’.
History- The Tudors 1485-1603
The Tudors ruled for 118years from 1485-1603. This is a fascinating age of Royal scandal, religious uprising, life changing discoveries and fierce wars. This term we will be looking at who the Tudors were and what life was like in Tudor England, from daily life to culture and pastimes. We will then focus on the Court of Henry VIII, his six wives and the break with Rome leading to the Reformation.
Science
Flowering Plants: all aspects of the lifecycle including methods of reproduction and seed dispersal, nutrients, transpiration, trans location(water movement)
Human reproduction: lifecycle, sexual reproduction, gestation, birth, anatomy, menstrual cycle
Light and sound: light and sound as waves, their characteristics and how we see and hear.
French:
We aim to cover two topics: Salut! And Ma Vie.
Unit 1: Talk about yourself and someone else; talking about the past; saying where you have been and what you have done.
Unit 2: Routine in the morning; weekend routine; talking about clubs and arranging to go out.
Pupils will have two homeworks; one learning and one written. Resources: Metro 2 Rouge and workbook.
Spanish:
Using Listos 1 we will revise Chapters 1, 2 and 3, discussing the home, where you live, household items etc.
At home – saying where you live. Talking about the house.
Geography:
Europe, Pupils will be learning the basic geography of Europe. We will also be learning about rivers, types of Energy and Water.
Religious Studies:
Pupils will spend the term looking at the different religious ideas of God. How God is perceived and worshiped. Pupils will also reflect upon their own beliefs as well as different religious biases.
Music
1) Defining music, its role in society. What do the children understand as “music.”
2) Different musical cultures: Western, African, Indian, possibly Javanese, Klezmer. (How these stem from point 1)
3) Common themes in these cultures - eg, stringed instruments, percussion instruments, scales etc.
4) Practical music-making: Composing on a pentatonic scale (will have been covered in material above)
5) Aleatoric music. Children make their own instruments and compose “sound” pieces on them.
Senior Band: Band music will include rock and roll, jazz improvisation and carols from the 16th and 21st centuries, to accompany singing in the Christmas performance.
Choir: the whole school choir will do vocal percussion, gospel, jazz, pop, folk, traditional songs in Spanish, Latin and Aboriginal dialect, carols for Christmas
Film-making: Factual Programming / Documentary / Drama / Animation / Music Videos
This term we will be looking at a wide variety of media forms which use filmmaking as the means to address and communicate storytelling viewpoints. Pupils will discuss and research different filmmaking
approaches and choose how to best produce a film around a chosen class theme by the end of term.
Sports: Upper School pupils will be focusing this term on athletics (track, field and cross country), tennis, and football. We are trying to confirm a booking for swimming for the next school term.
Ionian
English Literature
Welcome back to familiar faces, and welcome for the first time to our new pupils.
Our reading this term will complement your studies in History, with a focus on the Victorians, who forged our modern world. We will take a trip to the theatre to see ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ through to the stage. Later in the term, as Remembrance Day approaches, the First World War Poets will move and inspire us. To bring us bang up- to-date, and in answer to your requests, we will take a look at a contemporary prize-winning novel, ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time’ and its fascinating portrayal of a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome setting out to make sense of a mystery.
English Language
We will spend plenty of time preparing for Cambridge Checkpoint Examinations, and will have a practice test for these at the end of term. These will evaluate your ability to summarise, to argue and to persuade, to comprehend and to interpret what is read as well as to express yourself with accuracy and clarity. We will need to develop a sense of writing for an audience, to engage the reader’s attention. It will be a challenging but an enjoyable year, building on what you have achieved so far. We will work hard but will have fun!
Mathematics:
Base arithmetic; the 4 operations; indices and standard form; fractions and percentages; linear graphs and equations; probability.
Art
Movement. Ionian will be looking at figures in motion and how to capture the feeling in a picture. They will be combining this with imagery from the 1970’s!
French:
We aim to cover two topics: Salut! And Ma Vie.
Unit 1: Talk about yourself and someone else; talking about the past; saying where you have been and what you have done.
Unit 2: Routine in the morning; weekend routine; talking about clubs and arranging to go out.
Pupils will have two homeworks; one learning and one written. Resources: Metro 2 Rouge and workbook.
Spanish:
Using Listos 1 we will revise Chapters 1, 2 and 3, discussing the home, where we live, household items etc.
At home – saying where you live. Talking about the house.
History- Britain and International Relations 1850-1918.
We will start this term looking at why and how the Industrial Revolution began in Britain and what inventions and developments facilitated this change in society. We will look at how this had an economic, social and environmental impact not only in Britain but throughout the World.
Geography-Key Geographical Skills
This terms focus will be on developing pupils Geographical skills. This will include map reading, map interpretation, sketching, longitude and latitude and time. Pupils will also learn how to analyse a variety of ways to depict geographical information, this will include tables of data, graphs, diagrams and photographic sources.
Science:
Digestion: including food and nutrition, biochemical processes and anatomy
Energy: all physical energy transfers, knowing types eg potential,kinetic(movement) etc and investigating how energy is used. We may progress to Metals vs Non Metals.
Religious Studies:
Pupils will spend the term looking at the different religious ideas of God. How God is perceived and worshipped. Pupils will also reflect upon their own beliefs as well as different religious biases.
Business Studies
Ionian students have been invited to commence their IGCSE studies for Business Studies one year early. Being a particularly inquiring, astute group, we think this will suit them very much. They will work alongside IGCSE 1 students in this course, the details of which are to be found on www.cie.org.uk under qualifications 14-16.
Film-making: DOCUMENTARY- different forms/ techniques / messages / reconstructions / uses
Pupils will investigate how to communicate and express their points of view using the documentary form. Experimenting with interview techniques whilst addressing social issues and relevant peer group
challenges, they will be asked to work in groups which will aim to produce short films underscoring valuable insights into their everyday lives.
ICT: The Internet - Website Construction /Basic Code / Design / Content Creation
This term we will focus on researching and creating a website by the pupils for the School. We will be looking at basic code, Website construction, design and functionality so that it is a useful website
for all the pupils and parents of the school.
Sports: Upper School pupils will be focusing this term on athletics (track, field and cross country), tennis, and football. We are trying to confirm a booking for swimming for the next school term.
Ionian students will have one outdoor and one indoor sports lesson this term.
