Weekly Newsletter #10

Friday, May 11th, 2007

Dear Parents,

It was very nice to meet you for Parent Teacher Interviews, and I enjoyed the helpful discussions. I hope our class will continue to improve, and that the students continue to enjoy studying. I welcome your suggestions and advice in the future.

On Tuesday, we had “Parent’s Day,” and the students made cards for their parents. We also made a very cute video during Daily English two weeks ago about why we love our mothers. You can see it on the website this weekend.

This week has been very busy. Rather than going further in the books, we spent more time reviewing the three mid-term exams so that the students could see the mistakes they made and correct them. This is a helpful way to finish things with exams.

Next week is also going to be very busy (and hopefully very fun). On Tuesday, we will have “Teacher’s Day.” Unfortunately, teachers won’t be teaching.^^ The students will participate in fun events with us.

Next Friday, we will have the “IED Cooking Competition.” Each class is awarded 150 RMB to purchase supplies for a recipe of our choice. On Monday, I will consult with the students about what we want to make (or invent). We are only allowed to use Chinese products, and are limited to simple cooking utensils such as a frying pan and a spatula. I hope we are able to create something delicious (and simple).

I’m very happy with the effort the students put in to their Science Projects. Good work guys! Keep it up.

Reading/Comprehension

We read the nonfiction story “Helping Out,” and the poem “We All Join In.” The themes of these stories are “cooperation” and “chores at home.”

Oral/Vocabulary

The pop song for this week was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. I think it is a positive message for students. Don’t worry! Be happy! It is available for viewing on the website. I also allowed the students to present their science projects to the class. This is good speaking practice.





Writing/Grammar

The week after next I will be changing the format for the English Journal. I think students will write more if they can write about something interesting, so I will be giving them writing sheets that I want them to keep in a clear-file folder. I think this will improve the system I have now. We are quickly progressing in the Megaflash book, and next week we will have a unit test on Thursday.


Science

The students did a very good job on their projects, and they look very nice in our classroom. We will have a test the week after next and will finish the unit on animals this week.

Here is the Daily English and Weekly Spelling for this week. I have included some phrases and vocabulary related to cooking. I am also going to change the test style for spelling, and instead of spelling one word, I will have the students write it in a small sentence/phrase.

Spelling List


1. prefix
2. twitch
3. directions
4. cranes
5. worrying
6. election
7. recipe
8. spatula
9. ingredients
10. horrible
11. flavor
12. gourmet
13. shaved
14. seasoning
15. dessert
16. food chain
17. caterpillar
18. voted
19. judge
20. contest


Daily Eglish

1. What ingredients do we need for this recipe?
2. Do you think this food has enough flavor?
3. This food tastes horrible. It needs more seasoning.
4. Here’s a little song I wrote, You might want to sing it note for note, Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
5. Humans are at the top of the earth’s food chain.
6. Excuse me, can you tell me the directions to (place)?
7. My goal for the rest of the year in class 3-1 is to _______________________.
8. (Tell the teacher one interesting thing you learned about an animal.)
9. I had a strange dream last night. A (animal) ate my (common noun).
10. (Teach the teacher how to say something in Korean^^)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Regards,
Mr. Garrioch