News from the School

As we reach the end of another year in kindergarten it’s nice to look back at the year and reflect upon all the experiences and achievements that the children have made.

The first thing I notice is how different the children are. They have grown, they look more mature and are developing in confidence. Their skills have improved, and their languages are more developed. They have learnt so much. 

As the days go by it is easy to forget all the activities, topics, events and trips that have taken place in kindergarten. When I asked the children to reflect on the year I was met by blank looks, however, as soon as I presented a slide show of the kindergarten year, the memories came flooding back to them. They retold stories of the friendships made, the games they have played, the activities they have participated in and all the special events. I was relieved to hear that they had learnt a lot and that their kindergarten experience was productive and happy.

As their last task of the year, I asked the children to make a poster which showed their best friend, the activity that they enjoyed the most and their best day in kindergarten. Here are some of their quotes. 
 

From the K1 Orangutan Class

Sara (Trip on the Zürich Lake)
“We went on the boat and we ate ice cream. We also went to the park and I did like it.”

Leonie (Fasnacht)
“I was a unicorn. I like going up to the other class and going WEEE WEEE.”

Idris (Halloween)
“I like scary dressing up and the scary things outside.”

Markus (Trip to the Zoo)
At the zoo we saw monkeys swing on the tree. It was good.”
 

From K1 Koala Class

Mona (Celebrations unit)
“When we celebrated Chinese New Year and Daddy came to school.”

Max (Forest Day)
“When we built a nest on forest day then roasted marshmallows”.

Allegra (Trip to the Zoo)
“When we went to the zoo and saw penguins”.

Elias (Simple Machines Unit)
“When we made pasta because then we ate it and it was sooo yummy.”
 

From the K2 Tiger Class

Jon
“My highlight was that when I started school, I made completely new friends and met new people and I feel good here”.

Leonie
“I thought everything was great. I particularly liked painting.”

Lynn (Fairy Tales topic)
“I like it when we looked at Little Red Riding Hood in the forest and we got sweets.”

Maria
“Everything, because I love school.”

Sarah Warner, Teacher Kindergarten

“Magic Maths is when we speak about something that we do in maths, for example, measurement. We do it every week. We all talk about the subject and where we have seen this. We start in one language, depending on if we are in the English classroom or the German classroom and then the next day we do it again in the other class. 
What I like about it is that everyone can share their thoughts, I find it personally really cool that we can share our ideas about the subject. It helps me to hear the words. For example, on the first one we talked about 50 and we did some translating, and we did addition and subtraction, which are the same in German and English, and we write down ideas from each child. You can say anything you want, there are no wrong answers. My parents enjoy seeing the Magic Maths photo with my name and my ideas written down.”

A great introduction by Marlon; thank you Marlon! 

For Magic Maths a big sheet of white paper with a small maths related image in the middle is presented to the class. For example, this could be a number, a calendar, a line of division, or a picture of a shape. Children are asked questions to get the conversation going. For example, with the number 80, children were asked:”Have they seen this before? What comes before and after 80? Could they count in 10s up to this number? How many 10s would that be? How many jumps in 5 could that be? Where have they seen this before?” Children proceed to talk about and explore their own ideas and experiences with this mathematical element. Teachers scaffold and write down the discussion encourage children to build on their classmates’ ideas. 

The discussion takes about 10 minutes and is led by the children and supported by the teacher who can help them find technical and mathematical vocabulary in English or German. An advantage of bilingual education is that children will operate in all subjects in 2 languages. Learning maths in two languages helps students understand concepts better and become more flexible thinkers.
 

Simone Van Dop, Teacher Primary in collaboration with Marlon, student year 2

Mit der 5. Klasse durften wir einen tollen Tagesausflug auf dem Schloss Habsburg erleben. Es war sehr spannend zu sehen, wie Burgen wirklich gebaut wurden, nachdem wir so viel im Unterricht darüber erfahren hatten. Das Leben im Mittelalter war hart und auch ziemlich eklig! Wir erkundeten den Vindonissa Park und besuchten danach auf der Habsburg einen Workshop. Nach einer heissen Wanderung von Brugg zur Burg und wieder zurück nach Schinznach Bad genossen wir ein leckeres Eis! 

Selina O'Donnell, Lehrperson Primarschule

Das Klassenlager der 6. Klasse durften wir dieses Jahr im Nationalen Jugendsport Zentrum Tenero CST durchführen. Die Woche war gefüllt mit spannenden Aktivitäten, atemberaubenden Landschaften und vielen neuen Erfahrungen. Unser Lageraufenthalt in Tenero bot eine Vielzahl an sportlichen Aktivitäten, wie Trampolinspringen, Paddleboarden und Klettern. Besonders der Tagesausflug nach Bellinzona, wo wir ein historisches Schloss erkundeten und köstliches Gelato genossen, war ein Höhepunkt. Das weitläufige Areal bot zahlreiche Möglichkeiten, sich sportlich zu betätigen und die Natur zu genießen. Dieses Klassenlager wird uns allen noch lange in Erinnerung bleiben. Die Schülerinnen und Schüler konnten neue sportliche Fähigkeiten entdecken und ihre Klassengemeinschaft stärken. Die vielen gemeinsamen Erlebnisse und die wunderbare Zeit in der Natur haben das Lager zu einem der besten Ereignisse des Jahres gemacht.

Selina O'Donnell, Lehrperson Primarschule

Herzlichen Glückwunsch an die Siegergruppen des Sporttags Kindergarten bis 2. Klasse.

Hier ein paar Impressionen von unserem alljährlichen Sommerfest.