Dear Parents,
Welcome to the term. Adriatic class are proving a charming, enthusiastic and very able group of pupils. Friendships are being made and the class bond is strong, which is lovely to see. I thought you may find it interesting to see what your child will be covering this term. Also attached is another copy of the class timetable with Homework schedule. Please do encourage your child to complete their homework, but equally, please note that they should not be spending more than 45 minutes as a maximum, any night. We do not want them coming in to school exhausted!
In summary, your child will receive Homework as follows:

Monday:English (due Tuesday)
Tuesday: Maths (for Thurs), Spanish (for Wed)
Wednesday: History (for Monday), French (for Tuesday), English (for Monday)
Thursday: Maths (for Tuesday), Topic (for Monday)
Friday: Science (for Tuesday)

English
Adriatic will be studying grammar explicitly, with attention to different parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs). So far we have covered comparative and superlative adjectives, plural nouns, double consonants and spelling, and have begun to investigate over-used words in an attempt to make story-telling more interesting. Considerable time will be spent on creative writing to encourage expression and imagination, and reading of books and poetry in class. Pupils will work through the new Collins Literacy, grammar and spelling books appropriate to their skill level. There will be a spelling test every Monday.
Maths
In Maths, we will be covering: Place value, ordering and rounding, using a calculator; Understanding multiplication and division; Money and real life; Fractions, decimals and percentages; Ratio and proportion; Handling data; Shape and Space; Measures; Properties of numbers. We follow the Heinemann Maths scheme and are working in this class at a high Year 5 level.
Spanish
During the first half of the term we will cover birthdays, months of the year, today’s date, telling time on the hour. In the second half of the term will be focused on the world - names and pronunciation of countries, points of the compass, asking and saying where people live, where something is situated and where someone is going.

Topic
The Junior section of our School has chosen to follow certain Topics chosen by the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). By integrating individual subject categories, such as science, geography and history, the IPC plays an effective part in making much of the primary curriculum more interesting and engaging for children, while supporting teachers through a structured system of planning, teaching and assessment. It is specifically designed to provide rich learning opportunities within a brain-friendly and international curriculum.

Our Topic for the first half term is Space, followed by Environment. (See separate letter)
History
We will be looking at what life was like for a poor child in 19th century Britain and Europe, what experiences children had of work and school and what leisure activities were available for children. We will also research the main philanthropists and look at how they helped to improve the life of the child in the 19th century.

French
We are learning to talk about ourselves, where we live and what hobbies we have. We are also learning vocabulary relating to school.
Art
As well as supporting the topic work of Space, we are looking closely at the diverse and stunning range of Indian and Cherokee designs and turning our hands at creating our own Cherokee Art.

Science
Adriatic pupils are learning how to use apparatus, how to use a thermometer, mixtures and solutions. We will be looking at Life, Dead or Alive, Human Body organs; How the human body works; the Skeleton, Movement and Circulation

ICT
This term pupils are learning to identify the hardware parts and software terminology for computers of today. They will be exploring the numerous possibilities of standard software applications such as Microsoft Office (word, excel, powerpoint) before creating an end of term diary project summarising the events of our Michaelmas Term and the progress of our new school so far….

Filmmaking
Junior pupils are familiarising themselves with lots of wonderful new hardware (cameras, editing equipment) whilst defining and applying the first two stages of filmmaking - storylines and pre-production (storyboarding, script writing, casting and location hunting) towards our Junior School film project - provisionally titled - “The Super Heroes Children School” (Working
title).

Drama
Junior pupils are beginning to learn some of the many physical, vocal and expressive exercises needing mastery to both perform and release our basic emotions within a storytelling framework.

Music
All Junior classes will be learning the recorder, encouraged to bring their own instruments to school and to participate in the School Orchestra (Tuesdays) and will also be focusing on singing as a group. Commencing just before half term, junior pupils will be working on songs from Alice, the Musical
Junior pupils have Outdoor sport on Wednesdays and Indoor Sport on Fridays. Please ensure your child has the correct kit in school. Children must change into white sports socks, this seems to be the major item forgotten each week and for hygiene reasons, as well as our wish for children to dress correctly, this is not ideal. Both sports teachers are working on building up the fitness levels of our pupils, as well as extending their skills base.
Restaurant meals for Adriatic will take place every Monday.
I do hope your child has a happy, exciting and stimulating term. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of staff if you have any questions at all.

With kind regards

Rebecca Atkins (Form Teacher)

Dear Parents,

What a great form I have! We have a group of intelligent, dynamic and very kind pupils who are already working very well as a team. It is fair to say that this class has plenty to say for themselves, but with this comes a great deal of energy and talent. I think we stand a very real chance of being quite easily the BEST class in the school.

I have outlined below the basic themes that your child will be covering this term. In Year 6, the majority of lessons are taught by subject specialists, so although I am the Form Teacher, I do not deliver much of the academic work for my class. I am here to provide continuity and pastoral care for all my pupils and if parents have any questions at all, do please ask me and I can then pass you on to a subject teacher where appropriate.

Please find attached another copy of your child’s timetable with a homework schedule. Please do encourage your child to complete their homework on time. Homework is given to reinforce and consolidate what has been done in class. We do not expect Year 6 pupils to spend more than 45 minutes per night on homework as a maximum. There will occasionally be Topic work that requires a great amount of input over a weekend perhaps, but in general, please note how long your child is taking and come and see me if you are concerned the work is taking too long.

In summary, your child will receive Homework as follows:
Monday:English (due Friday) and occasionally a list of Latin vocab for the following Monday
Tuesday: Maths (for Thurs), Spanish (for Thurs), French (for Wed),
Wednesday: History (for Monday),
Thursday: Maths (for Tuesday), Geography (for Monday)
Friday: English (for Monday) and Science (for Tuesday)

English
In Comprehension Arabian pupils will work on both prose extracts and poems; different aspects of poetry will be looked at, such as imagery, rhythm,structures etc. Recitation will be taught separately.An introduction to images, stanzas andrhymes will be covered in the early part of the term. Spelling: Prefixes and Suffixes (started with suffixes); Grammar: reinforcing basic rules involving parts of Speech and Capital Letters
In Writing we will look at Story planning, Summaries, Stories into Playscripts, Themes in Stories and Plays. We are following the newly resourced Collins books on Writing, Grammar & Punctuation, Comprehension, Spelling and Word Work. This term’spoems arefrom the collectionof Allan Ahlberg, Wes Magee and Brian Patten.

Art
We are looking at African art and jewellery this term, we will be making masks and exploring different ways of making and decorating jewellery. We also plan to be involved in Dr Sturdy’s ambitious creation of a historical timeline around the School.
Science
Arabian pupils will be focusing on mixing materials, looking at Energy: Energy on the move, stored energy, fuel for life, sound energy, energy trails, researching the best fuel.

Maths
While following the Heinemann Maths Scheme for year 6 pupils, we will be looking at Place value, ordering and rounding, using a calculator; Understanding multiplication and division; Money and real life; Fractions, decimals and percentages; Ratio and proportion; Handling data; Shape and Space; Measures and Properties of numbers. We expect pupils to be confident with all their times tables by the end of this term.
Spanish
During the first half of the term will be covering the parts of the body, sports, and stating likes and dislikes and giving opinions. In the second half of term will be focused on our clothing - vocabulary for clothes, saying what someone is wearing, review of colours and numbers, and shopping
role play.
French
We are learning to talk about ourselves, where we live and what hobbies we have. We are also learning vocabulary relating to school.
History
We will explore the purpose of History and discuss what is our motivation for studying the subject. Children will choose a famous person to explore in some detail and a small topic project will be required. Our visiting lecturer, Ms Stevenson, a specialist in Middle East Studies and International Relations. Ms Stevenson will be giving a series entitled The History of Today’s Hotspots: Ancient Persia and Mesopotamia. This will include study of the civilization, geography, society, customs and arts of the two regions, the laws and organisation of empire, and discoveries that archaeologists have made that enable us to better understand these critical areas. A term project will encourage a larger report on one aspect of the material studied in a comparative way across both civilizations
Towards the end of term we will start work on a major project which is to produce and understand a chronological timeline of major historical events. It is essential that pupils are aware not just of specific events, but where they fall in the broad sweep of History and how this affects future generations. This can take a lifetime to understand, but we will take our first steps in trying to do so.
The weighting of the timetable this term allows a good focus on History. Next term, there will be a greater focus on Geography and Science. In this way, we can teach a good solid curriculum without interruption and enable the children to learn and understand in greater depth than a short 40 minute lesson allows.
Geography
This term Arabian class will focus on, “The Mountain Environment”
It will answer the following questions.

1. What is the mountain environment? Where are mountains environments found?
2. What are these places like?
3. How does the weather compare in each of these places?
4. What effect does the weather have on tourism?
5. What effect will tourism have on the chosen areas?
6. What would I need to do to plan a camping holiday in this area?

Latin

We are discovering the basics of the Latin language embarking on a study of Roman daily life in Pompeii. We will begin to look at The Cambridge Latin Course. This will be a curious blend of language based games in the playground and more formal study in the classroom. Vocab lists will be sent home regularly.

ICT
This term pupils are learning to identify the hardware parts and software terminology for computers of today. They will be exploring the numerous possibilities of standard software applications such as Microsoft Office (word, excel, powerpoint) before creating an end of term diary project summarising the events of our Michaelmas Term and the progress of our new school so far….

Filmmaking
Junior pupils are familiarising themselves with lots of wonderful new hardware (cameras, editing equipment) whilst defining and applying the first two stages of filmmaking - storylines and pre-production (storyboarding, script writing, casting and location hunting) towards our Junior School film project - provisionally titled - “The Super Heroes Children School” (Working
title).

Drama
Junior pupils are beginning to learn some of the many physical, vocal and expressive exercises needing mastery to both perform and release our basic emotions within a storytelling framework.

Music
All Junior classes will be learning the recorder, and are to be encouraged to bring their own instruments to school and to participate in the School Orchestra (Tuesdays) and will also be focusing on singing as a group. Commencing just before half term, junior pupils will be working on songs from Alice, the Musical .

Junior pupils have Outdoor sport on Wednesdays and Indoor Sport on Fridays. Please ensure your child has the correct kit in school. Children must change into white sports socks, this seems to be the major item forgotten each week and for hygiene reasons, as well as our wish for children to dress correctly, this is not ideal. Both sports teachers are working on building up the fitness levels of our pupils, as well as extending their skills base.

Restaurant meals for Arabian pupils will take place every Thursday.

May I congratulate Nicholas Anderson on his election to class prefect. Classmates can go to Nick with any suggestions to make their class happy, successful and fun!

I am sure we will have a great term. I expect a lot from my class and I am sure they will rise to the challenge. I look forward to seeing many of them excel in our school production at the end of term.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at all.

Kind regards

Jacob Sturdy

Download a pdf version of this letter.

Our Danish Guests

Our stay in Cambridge

We did really enjoy our stay in Cambridge and we think everybody at your school is very nice (sweet).

We have got many friends from your school, and we still write with them on msn!

We miss all of them very much!

It was very funny and exciting to have classes at school.

It was very nice to have a warm meal at lunch time, because in Denmark we must take our own lunch packet to school.

It was very exciting to live with an English family, and to be in England. It was also exciting to learn more English in the natural way.

We like England, especially Cambridge. It’s a fine town with all its beautiful colleges.

It would be fantastic if you could come to Denmark one day, but we should also like to come to England again.

WE MISS YOU ALL!!!

Love from 6th Grade,

Langholt School, Denmark

Written by Katrine, Emilie and Stine.

Download a pdf version of this letter.

April 2007

Welcome back for what I hope will be a happy, hardworking and fun term for all! It is lovely to see all our old pupils bounce through the door looking glad to be back. We are delighted to welcome ten new pupils as well as two new members of staff. Mrs Carine Bennett is our new class teacher for a new class we are opening this term called Coral. The age range for this class is broadly older five to six year olds. Mrs Bennett is bilingual English and French and will be teaching Caspian and Coral children French during the school day. Spanish lessons will continue for these younger age groups as before and we will monitor closely the effectiveness of introducing a new language and also the different methods of teaching. We welcome Mr Dominic Waller as classroom assistant for Caspian, taking over from Miss Bordoli who is concluding her gap year by travelling to Australia.

Across the school we have lots of new faces. In our IGCSE group, Frederick, Nick and Tristan have joined us, in Mediterranean: Simon, in Aegean: Arcadio and Ibrahim, in Coral, Adara and Kamie and in Caspian Gahyun Lee and Ella. We hope they will all enjoy their time with us. We are looking forward to getting to know them all well.

We have a good range of after school clubs available this term. Please see attached letter.

We plan to run an Italian language course for our older pupils commencing next Wednesday lunchtime. This is to tie in with a potential trip to Italy next term. Our History teacher, Mrs Shaw Miller will shortly be sending out a letter outlining a very exciting proposal regarding taking some of our pupils to Pompeii this October. Parents will be warmly welcomed on this trip which will probably take place over four days. Any child wishing to attend (and indeed any parent) will be strongly encouraged to attend the Italian club in order to be able to communicate effectively when we go.

Children will have noticed a few changes in their classrooms. We have moved Aegean class up to the former Mediterranean class where they look very happy and settled already. Med pupils now have a base in the main Hall next to our office. I have been keen to have them nearer me for a while (where we in the Office can keep a very close eye!) and will enjoy this closer contact with them. Several of their lessons have always been held in this room which provides for excellent internet access and a lovely spacious aspect. Other lessons will continue to be held in the Lab, Art Room and in this lovely weather, outside!

Our new class of younger children are now in the former Aegean classroom and look fully at home already! While the weather is good we encourage lessons to be held outside where appropriate. There is nothing worse than being in a stuffy classroom on a clear sunny day. Children belong in the fresh air as much as possible, perhaps not during exams though!

Our younger pupils look lovely and smart in their summer uniform. Older pupils, advance warning, we do intend to firm up our clothing policy. After a period of close observation and discussion with staff, we believe that the relaxed uniform code has become just a little too relaxed! We will have discussions with our pupils as to a good compromise but will be asking children to be a little smarter. This will be helped by having a range of approved clothing for them to wear. We will keep Friday as a casual day where jeans may be worn but will tighten up a little the rest of the week. We will keep you closely informed of any decisions and recommendations as they are reached.

I do hope you have had the opportunity to visit our website. It is a work in progress but we feel it gives a lovely glimpse into life at our school. Important notices will be posted on this site as well as always being emailed to parents, and you will also find useful information such as school uniform and term dates on the site. If any parent does not wish their child’s photo to be on our website, do please email me. Those not sure of the address, please visit www.abelards.com.

I am sure parents will join in me in congratulating Miss Karen Sage on her remarkable achievement in being accepted on to a doctorate course to become an Educational Psychologist, commencing in September. She is the youngest person in the country to be offered a place and we are all very proud of her indeed. I very much hope she will come back and visit us all and share some of her expertise in the years to come.

Hot lunches, freshly prepared at Funky Fun House are to be offered from Tuesdays through to Fridays. I need to check with parents which among you are still happy to volunteer help in serving, without which it will be hard to continue. The trails were hugely successful with children all coming back for more. The menu is now on our website. A vegetarian option is always available. Unfortunately I will need to make an adjustment to invoices as we have only charged for two days a week (and three for the older children). We will be very keen to have feedback from children and parents regarding these meals.

Finally, please remember, parents, you are an essential part of the School. We are ALWAYS happy to see you and to listen to any new ideas, or to discuss any concerns you may have. You are welcome at our morning Assembly (indeed, very welcome to contribute) and at school to join in lessons on Wednesday afternoons. Your thoughts and presence are very important to us. Please continue to email, ring and pop in, and new parents, please know that our door is always open.

With warmest regards to you all

Harriet Sturdy

March 2007

You may have noticed that the School has a new website. We hope that it provides clear and easy access to lots of information about the school and that it is easy on the eye

Further upgrades are in the pipeline, including a parents interactive area

This is all part of a grand master plan to make sure that The Cambridge International School is at the forefront of modern technology usage.

The current website is compatible with all modern browsers, and with older variations, such as Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). We will support this compatibility for Personal Computers (rather than Applemac or other box systems) until the end of the Calendar year, after which we hope you will all have modern browsers, such as Firefox or Opera.

Download a pdf version of this letter.

21st February 2007

Dear Parents,

We were sorry you were unable to come to our Discussion Meeting last night. We took the opportunity to present parents with our plans for the future of the School.

The Landlord of Brookside has been granted planning permission to turn the building into luxury flats and is keen to bring forward his building project to this summer. This has, in fact, tied in very well with our objective to move to a more spacious site with better parking and better on-site facilities. We have become increasingly cramped in this building and really do need more outdoor space as well as a kitchen and science facilities. I know our boys in particular yearn to run and explore further than they can here. I am, therefore, delighted to announce that we have secured the lease on the wonderful and spacious Cherry Hinton Hall, one mile out of central Cambridge. The building is set in beautiful grounds, as you can see from the enclosed brochure and we are being given access to large park areas as well as to a marked off sports pitch.

The building is located near Addenbrookes Hospital close to the Ring Road. Parents planning to drive will enjoy the novelty of driving away from the rush hour traffic all queueing to come into the City and will delight in the massive parking area we will have. Any parents who wish their child to be dropped off at Brookside can continue to do so and a free minibus service with one of our members of staff present will collect them at 8.35 am and return them to Brookside at the end of the day. Depending on demand we will also arrange a pick up at Trumpington Park and Ride.

The classrooms are spacious and airy and the potential of the building is almost unlimited! We are very excited about what we will be able to offer our children and look forward very much to making the move. We have had fierce competition for the building with Sancton Wood and Holme Court Schools both putting in very strong claims to the site! However, we have been victorious and intend to be very magnanimous in sharing the site with these schools where appropriate.

We intend to still use Kelsey Kerridge and Fenners for our older pupils as well as continue our weekly visits to local restaurants as they are so popular with the children. We also plan to make continued use of the wonderful resources offered by the City of Cambridge and anticipate that trips to City Museums will continue to take place regularly.

We feel very excited about this move and are convinced that it is the best possible path for the school to follow as the children will benefit so greatly from studying and playing in beautiful park land, away from the horrible traffic problems and congestion of Cambridge.

Please do not hesitate to come and ask us for any further information. I very much hope you are all as excited and positive as we are and we look forward to lots of volunteers over the Summer helping us to create the best school in Cambridge!

With warm regards

Harriet Sturdy