Director of Studies
This week I want to end this series of the last three newsletters about how you can help your child at home in the way we are trying to build independent learners and thinkers here at Tesla. This final information post is about agency which is simply supporting your child to make sensible choices and act respectfully.
How to support your child’s agency:
– Invite and involve their voice: Don’t be afraid the let them express themselves. Give space for them to articulate what they like and don’t like about learning, and why that is. Listen to when they are advocating for what they need as learners. Listen for what they really care about and matters to them and try to understand and find ways to support it.
– Respect and support their choices: Be aware of what choices you are making for your child, that they could probably be making themselves. Choices may include when they learn, where they learn, what they learn, and how they learn. Coach them to make informed choices, by making the decision making process explicit (What choice are you making for yourself?), then follow up with a reflection about how effective that choice was and whether it’s a good choice to be made again in the future (How did that choice work out for you? How do you know? What will you choose differently next time?)
– Emphasize Ownership: Sometimes learning can be something that gets mixed up as something done to learners, or around learners. This creates a false sense that they are passively drifting through the process, and have no impact on their own learning. We want learners to know it’s their learning, they own it, they impact it. It is something done by them, for them, and we are the supporting actors. Use words and phrases that build that sense of ownership over their learning.
– Be purposeful with feedback: As much as possible, when you give feedback to your child, think about how to give advice that will go beyond that one moment. As teachers, we often use phrases like, “Teach the writer, not the writing” to help us give tips that will impact that learner in a bigger, more sustainable way. Instead of just telling them how to fix something. Here are some examples of ways you can phrase that type of feedback:
“Readers…. (Often go back and re-read what they don’t understand; share their opinion about what they read; break words into small chunks to help them sound it out etc.). “Writers…. (Read their writing out loud to themselves to try and find their mistakes; use capitals to show the reader a new sentence is starting; support their opinions with facts and evidence; add details to make their writing more interesting etc.). “Mathematicians…. (Double-check their solutions for accuracy; use objects and drawings to help them solve problems; use short cuts and tricks called “algorithms”; use special words etc.)
Xin cảm ơn,
Robin Klymow
Director of Studies
MYP Coordinator
Grade 4 began Semester 2 with the thematic project: “Hot Air Balloons”, which is related to the Unit of Inquiry they are currently studying. They watched some videos about hot air balloon festivals, which helped them understand how these big balloons can climb so high in the sky and then land safely. In addition, students also learned how to create compositions for their final paintings, showing the balloons in different perspectives – near or far away – and with various patterns on them. They did their work on A2-size paper.
PYP Coordinator
In Grade 4 EAL class this week we have inquired into how sound energy impacts our life. We read a book online, then discussed and came up with a lot of sound-copying words called onomatopoeia in groups. The highlight of the week was when we carried on the Music with Wine Glass Experiment. We watched the starting part of the experiment in the video clip first, then made prediction of what would happen next. We completed the actual experiment and wrote the report including the materials, the steps, the outcome, and the explanation using the time phrases for procedure writing. The last activity we had was creating our explanatory writing in detail. Throughout all the language activities we had the opportunities to work in groups, pairs and independently, to develop our ATL of communication skills, thinking skills, social skills, research skills, and self-management skills.
Science Teacher
Students did experiment on how to chase the “pepper” away! First, they covered the bottom of the bowl with water. Afterwards, they sprinkled black pepper across the surface of the water. Students had to note how the surface tension of the water caused the pepper flakes float. They also tried sticking the glass chopstick in the center of the dish to see if anything happened. Then, students dipped the tip of the glass chopstick into the liquid dish soap. Finally, stick that chopstick into the center of the dish. Dish soap is formulated to break the surface tension of water, which is why it is so effective on greasy, dirty dishes.
Grade 4 Homeroom Teacher
Every Tuesday afternoon, the students play chess together during After School Activities. Students in grade 1 memorize the names of the chess pieces as well as practice basic moves. Students in grades 2, 3, and 4 challenge themselves with new chess moves. Chess is an intellectual sport that helps students practice memory, thinking, and problem-solving. We can also see that they are very focused and calm in every chess game.
Head of EYs (Tan Binh campus)
• Parents should follow their children’s sports schedule to prepare shoes and orange uniforms for their sports activities.
• Parents should bring their children enough uniforms for both morning and afternoon.
• Parents should take their children to school before 7:45, so they can start school activities on time.
Swimming is the best way to help students develop their passions for sports activities. Besides, swimming is also an important survival skill.
When children have fun and feel comfortable in the water, learning how to swim will be much simpler and help form good habits in the future.
With Kindegarten students, teachers not only focus on teaching skills, but also helping children to absorb new knowledge actively and naturally. By attending many practical learning activities such as cooking stuffed bitter gourd and doing volcanic experiments, students will develop a variety of skills such as thinking, creating, exploring, and working in groups.
Influenza (also known as seasonal flu) is a respiratory infection caused by the Influenza virus. In Vietnam, Flu is usually caused by influenza viruses of strains A, B, C, and the most common strains in humans are strains A and B. Flu usually starts suddenly, with symptoms including fever, cough, muscle aches, headache, runny nose, sore throat and fatigue all over the body … Some people may vomit and have diarrhea. But these symptoms are more common in children than in adults.
To prevent seasonal flu:
– Wash your hands often with clean water and soap;
– Gargle mouth with salt water (NaCl 0.9%) every day;
– Cover your cough or sneeze;
– Avoid contact with people suspected of infection;
– Maintain body hygiene;
– Wear medical masks when arriving in crowded places such as hospitals, supermarkets, parks;
– Vaccination is the most effective measure to prevent the flu.
Important information for our current families and friends in regards to any younger siblings / younger children that you may like to enroll for either 2nd Semester, January 2021 or for the New School Year August 2021 – 2022. Tesla Admissions is now open, please apply to ensure that your place is secured early, as some grades may fill up fast creating a waitlist for August 2021.
Please submit the Inquiry Form at http://beta.tesla.edu.vn/en/contact-us/, and the Admissions Team will contact you.
If you would like to receive more information regarding enrollment, please contact Tesla at: admission@tesla.edu.vn