From the Head of Primary 23.11.2019
On Monday the Christmas fair tickets went on sale and will be available every morning and afternoon. Please look out for an email from Ms Ann which details how you can support the KIS Christmas fair. We have lots of events to look forward to during the coming weeks. Please find key dates below.
Friday 6th December PTA Christmas lunch (letters have been sent, please check your email)
Saturday 7th December Christmas Fair
Monday 9th December Start of Enterprise week (more details to follow)
Tuesday 10th December Early Years Singalong (08.00 – 09.00)
Tuesday 10th December Primary Singalong (6.00 7.00)
Thursday 12th December Primary Christmas parties (more details to follow)
Friday 13th December Last day of Term 1 (school finishes at 12pm)
Our busy sewing mums have now finished making a number of spelling bags for the children to use in every class. Thank you so much! Each bag contains a number of spelling goodies including pens, pencils, wooden letters, string, pipe cleaners and letter templates. There are also a number of task cards for the older children to independently complete that focus on a range of spelling strategies. Did you know that there are 26 letters in the English alphabet with 44 speech sounds and over 150 spelling patterns that represent those sounds? In comparison, the Spanish alphabet has 26 letters with just 24 speech sounds and only 24 spelling patterns.
On Tuesday Year 1 were very lucky to receive a visit from Elisa Panjang, a Pangolin conservationist who works at the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC). Elisa taught the Year 1’s lots of interesting facts about Pangolins such as;
- There are 8 species of Pangolin and they can be found only on the continents of Africa and Asia.
- A Pangolins tongue can be longer than its entire body.
- Pangolins are the only mammal in the world to have scales.
More importantly, Elisa told us all about the work that she does at DGFC and the problems that pangolins are facing. Pangolins only have 3 predators, clouded leopards, pythons, and much more commonly, humans. Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world. They are killed and sold for their meat and scales and are now an endangered species. The year 1 children were shocked about this and felt inspired to make a difference. For the rest of the week, they have been choosing their independent class time to write letters and make posters about what we can do to help – Pangolin protectors in the making!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Joanne Smith
Head of Primary
