KISU Primary Newsletter

Once we reach term 3 it seems as though the end of the year is just around the corner. 7 more teaching weeks but so much to put into them. IGCSE and IB examinations are up and running, we are preparing for internal examinations and assessments, end of year reports have to be written and lessons still have to be taught. That sounds a lot to cram into a short space of time but that is only the tip of the iceberg! We have Earth Week next week, ISSAK events for primary basketball and secondary football will take place, House swimming galas, KS2 classes will be going on more Outdoor Education trips, Art Jam will return after 2 years, as will live musical performances and recitals, Prom for DP2 will take place and of course Graduation that will be returning to the school campus so that far more people can attend. We really are getting back to normal.

The approaching end to this academic year is of special meaning to our year 6 students as it brings to a close their time in primary. To help them on their way we organize a number of transition events. They are given more responsibility in year 6 and they are also invited to taste what life is like in secondary. The first of these transition events will take place on the 11th May when year 6 will spend the day in secondary learning about what life is like in secondary and attending a number of secondary lessons - they always have a great time!

We are all lifelong learners

It is not just students that are learning at KISU; our staff are all lifelong learners. This learning takes place in both formal and informal settings. At the moment we have a large number of our staff undergoing professional development. 13 of our administrative staff are undergoing training and coaching to unlock their leadership potential, Our Head of Primary, Mrs. Wise is studying for her National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH), Mr. Buga (Head of ICT) is studying for a MEd in Innovative Teaching and Learning with the University of South Wales and Mrs. Toth Nagy is studying for a Diploma developing numeracy skills in learners with dyslexia and dyscalculia.

Eid al-fitr

We expect Eid to be announced over the weekend. Please look at local media for more information. I will email parents once it has been announced as the school will be closed for the public holiday.

Medical forms

In the coming days some parents will be receiving an email from the school nurses. This is for one of three reasons:

1. We do not have a medical record form for your child.

2. The form that we have is very old and may need updating.

3. There are parts of the form with information missing.

Please complete the form and return it to us as soon as possible so that your child's records are up to date and accurate.

The Parent/Teacher Association at KISU has, over the years, been a very strong force in bringing the KISU family together. As we continue to move back to more normal times we would like to bring together parents and teachers who are interested in being involved in the PTA. If you are interested in being part of the PTA please contact me at schooldirector@kisu.com and I will arrange a meeting in the relatively near future. The formal restructuring of the PTA will take place at an AGM at the start of the next academic year.

It is very noticeable around the school that many children are using the disposable masks rather than the trendy fabric masks that were 'all the rage' for a good period of time previously. I personally prefer the disposable masks and find them 'less uncomfortable', however, the durability of these means that their lifespan is short! With this in mind, please can all children bring a spare mask in their bags. This will be a very easy fix to children avoiding missed learning time and unnecessary trips to the office to get a replacement mask when they break. Whilst school is always happy to give a mask to a child who finds themselves without one for some unforeseen circumstance, it is an expectation that children bring and provide their own mask(s) and we are giving out far too many at school! Thank you very much for your support and understanding.

With SOPs in mind, parents are still not allowed in classrooms; however, we will continue to welcome the parents of the particular year group who are leading the weekly Friday assembly in the Auditorium. This week it was year 6 and next week it is Year 5 in the spotlight. Year 5 parents, please join us (upstairs viewing gallery, Auditorium).

After assemblies the end of day routine remains the same and parents/drivers still need to meet children at the front of school (not classrooms) and sign them out, (older siblings should not be signing out younger siblings as we need the adult who is collecting to sign.)

Our KISU family is growing weekly and it fantastic that our school is many family's first choice for their children's education. We are blessed with hard working, conscientious teachers who care unconditionally about every child and consistently strive to be the very best versions of themselves for the benefit of all the students around them. We are a great team! Alongside quality teaching input by knowledgeable and experienced staff, it is well proven that children's academic performance is influenced more than anything else by their personal, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. The two go hand in hand such that a child will perform well academically if they are happy and contented and feel safe and valued. Where a child feels vulnerable, this will inevitably have some impact on their academic performance.

At KISU teachers are very aware that their role is to educate children both academically and socially, but how lovely is it to see some of our youngest children checking in on their friends, looking out for them, helping, reassuring and generally caring about others as a priority to them. We all know the behaviours that we want to see in others and what 'making the right choice' means, and it was great to see six year old's going out of their way to ensure that a peer is happy, understands, showing them their work to ensure they comprehend, reexplaining a task in small steps, using mannerisms and actions, checking that they 'get it'.

Language barriers are obviously not a barrier between our children but an opportunity for our children to help and support others! We are a united family and community regardless of which first language we speak and our kindness and care bonds us! This was such a lovely moment witnessed, thank you Year 2.

'Make your mark' is our theme at the moment and the children in KG3 are exploring various methods of doing just that!

What is mark making?

Mark making gives children the opportunity to express themselves and explore new materials other than pen and paper. We encourage them to create marks using their fingers to draw in the sand, paint on an easel or prod them into soft dough.

Why is mark making so important?

Mark making is crucial for your child's development and learning. It not only teaches them to hold a pencil correctly, but it also prepares them for writing and develops their handwriting skills.

When your child is making these early marks, they are attempting to control their marks with their muscles. This enhances their physical development by improving their fine motor skills and helps to develop their hand-eye coordination.

So please tempt your little one with as many different creative tools other than crayons and markers and encourage their 'mark making'...

In KG2, children made their own special listening ears and went on a listening walk around the school. They were reminded about the things that make us good listeners such as keeping quiet and always having ears and eyes ready. During the walk, the objective was to support the children to listen to different sounds and discriminate between them, hence the children were encouraged to listen attentively to the different sounds they could hear from near and far. Some children were able to identify both loud and soft sounds and longer and shorter sounds.

Some of these sounds included:

Someone sweeping, water flowing from a tap, children talking from the classroom, traffic sounds and birds. Great listening skills KG2!

The Year 5 Mission to Mars topic has taken flight in Term 3. We kicked things off by learning about the planets in our Solar system and what they are like. Students made a scale model to show the distance the planets are from the Sun, and discovered how vast space is and how small our Earth is in comparison to other celestial bodies. We’re eager to continue our mission and reach Mars by the end of the term!

• The average distance between Earth and Mars is 140 million miles (225 million km).
• Light travels at approximately 186,282 miles per second (299,792 km per second). Therefore, a light shining from the surface of Mars would take on average 751 seconds, or just over 12.5 minutes.
• In the nine months it takes to get to Mars, Mars moves a considerable distance around in its orbit, You have to plan to make sure that by the time you reach the distance of Mar's orbit, Mars is where you need it to be! Practically, this means that you can only begin a trip to Mars when Earth and Mars are properly lined up. This only happens every 26 months meaning that there there is only one launch window every 26 months.
• Space isn't just where trained astronauts can go anymore, civilians like you and me can go there too! Click on the Space X trailer link below.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this Netflix series myself, in fact, I watched the episodes back to back with my 3 sons in one weekend!

This week the students were introduced to their final Year 3 topic; there have been impressive, lively prior knowledge discussions around the world's rainforests. It is evident already from the mature conversations surrounding the vanishing rainforests, that Year 3 children are fully immersed in their topic and are already passionate about making a positive global difference to the negative impact of deforestation. I look forward to following their journey to help and empower others to make lifestyle changes and better choices that can help to reduce habitat loss and extinction of some of the most beautiful creatures and animals in the world.

The students of Year 4 began their last Topic study about the Amazing African continent. We reflected on what we already know and came up with some thought provoking questions. Here are just a few…

• Why isn’t Africa like America if the first human comes from this continent?
• How did Africa get its name?
• How many tribes are there in Africa?
• Why are hippos so aggressive?
• What is the total population of Africa?
• How many time zones are there?
• Why did the French colonize Congo?
• Why is it so hot?

We look forward to a term filled with fact finding, hands on projects and sharing our knowledge at our assembly in a couple of weeks (13th May)!

In Term 3, our Year 6 students will be learning about the continent of Africa in great depth - its history, geography, and flora and fauna.

To better understand the flora and fauna found throughout Africa we began by learning about classification, particularly the Linnean system. As a culminating activity students ‘discovered’ a new species of animal and were required to classify it from Kingdom all the way to Species. This required some imagination, research, and application of newly learned skills and knowledge. To end the week the Year 6’s presented their animals to the Primary School during assembly. This was a great start to Term 3 and we are looking forward to continuing to link our studies to Uganda and beyond!

KG2: Kanika for being so knowledgeable and Krishika for risk taking.

KG3: Kizza for excellent communication skills and Riva for being so caring.

Reception: Jolina for being principled and Jordan for good communication skills.

Year 1: Kendra for being open minded and Roxanne for critically thinking.

Year 2: Yuuki for being so reflective and Kai for bravely risk taking.

Year 3: Josh for communicating clearly and Abba for explaining his scientific knowledge.

Year 4: Sasha for being a great communicator and Trina for sharing her excellent knowledge

Year 5: Israel for being a critical thinker and Elliot for being an inquirer.

Year 6: Chaahat for bringing so much to the table - knowledge certificate.

Primary French Speaker of the week is Daniella (Year 5) for outstanding commitment to complete all of her assignments (Ms Proscovia)

Primary Artist of the week is Elliot (Year 5) for utilizing the broken colour technique to mimic the impressionism process (Mr Nsimbi).

Primary Information Technologist of the week is Riya (Year 2) for generating a branching database template on her own by inserting shapes and texts. Great independence Riya! (Mr Nsimbi).

Musician of the week is Arina (Year 1) for staying focused in all the activities this week. Her behavior and attitude towards music lessons is excellent. Well done Arina (Ms Janice)

Well done to all. Your teachers have noted your excellent effort this week and your demonstration of 'good learner qualities'. You should be super proud of yourselves as I am of you too.

Our actions to prevent climate change include things we do every day, such as bicycling more instead of using cars to reduce carbon emissions. Making sure we save energy and follow the 4 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle) are also some ways we help stop climate change through our day to day actions. But we can’t do this alone; there must be a worldwide effort taken by everybody in order to make a significant impact on being able to stop climate change. But before we address this issue together, we need to help acknowledge and show people around the world who still believe climate change doesn’t exist its devastating effects. For those who continue to believe that climate change doesn’t exist, they must learn that it surely does. Just because those people may not be facing disastrous floods, hurricanes, droughts or famine where they live, doesn’t mean that climate change doesn’t exist. We may be fine today, but what about tomorrow? What about a month from now? A year? A decade? Sitting idle is not going to stop the island of Kiribati from sinking because of rising sea levels. It’s not going to stop the cyclones in South Africa. It’s not going to stop the wildfires in Australia. And it’s not going to stop the floods in South Asia. All these disastrous events are taking place around the world because of climate change. This is why it’s important to take action as soon as possible.

Life in the future may very well be different than how it’s now, maybe with flying cars and other cool technologies. But in order to experience the future, we need to save our home, our planet first.

The theme for this year is: TAKE INDIVIDUAL ACTION TO SAVE THE EARTH

Planned events for next week:

DAY 1 - Reduce food waste.

DAY 2 - Avoid single use plastic.

DAY 3 - No use of electric gadgets.

DAY 4 - Save water day.

DAY 5 - Recycle/ Reuse/ Repair Recycle Day - make another use of something that would usually just be waste.

I popped into EYFS this week to share with the children some ways that they can help to look after our planet and the children were very keen to offer me some suggestions too! Don't be surprised if your Reception/KG son/daughter overly reminds you next week to switch the lights off at home to save energy or reuse that single plastic bottle! They already have some ideas about what they are going to do for the following task...

Whole school homework: Make something out of a single use plastic bottle. Take a photograph of your creation and send it to primaryhead@kisu.com or bring your new product into school to share it and display it.

Should Earth Week be just for a week? Making changes for a week is great, however, we all need to make lifestyle changes forever...

From next week Tuesday, 3rd May, we offer an Information Communication Technology (ICT) club for Key Stage 2 on a Tuesday 3:15-4:15pm and for Key Stage 1 on a Wednesday 3:15-4:15pm. There are no fees payable for this club. The aim and key objective of the club is to motivate students to use computers safely and effectively, and enhance and develop pupil's computer skills across a range of software, programs and new technologies embedding National Curriculum objectives.

To register your child contact: j.masereka@kisu.com