News from the School

In German and English kindergarten, we have been learning more about the world around us by investigating the four elements: air, fire, water and earth.  

Air 

While air is present all around us, for kindergarten children one of the most visible forms of air is the wind. We made crafts like windsocks which helped us observe the direction and strength of the wind. Through experiments we investigated what happens when air works to power a jet and how it helps a parachute to float. Of course, no study of air would be complete without flying different types of paper airplanes, so we set them sailing in our classroom and on the playground. 

Fire 

Fire is an element that fascinates everyone both young and old. To give the children a safe and memorable experience with fire, Frau von Grünigen and her husband organised an experience for us all in the forest. The children participated in making a campfire. The anticipation grew as they completed each step: adding paper, logs and then small sticks the children found. At the end we had a warm spot to gather around and enjoy being together. To make the experience even more fun, Herr and Frau von Grünigen brought everything to make hot chocolate for all to enjoy.  

Water 

The forest was also the site of our first investigation of water. At the start of our unit, we visited a spot in the woods in Männedorf with a small stream passing through. The children explored the water with sticks and stones, and those who had on rubber boots were even able to walk through the shallow areas. In the classroom, the properties of water are continuing to be explored further but in the forest the real power and beauty of water was observed first-hand. 

Earth 

Our exploration of the earth has not only been about the worms that populate it on our playground but also about the plants that need it to grow and thrive. We have planted bulbs that we will have to wait until spring to see and in the classroom we have winter bulbs that seem to grow by the minute. In the spring we will revisit this part of the unit as we plant our planter boxes in the playground. For now, we extended our exploration of the earth to other things which can be found in the ground. Using magnifying glasses, we have been examining a variety of rocks and minerals. Their different shapes and colours are striking and keep us fascinated for hours. 

Playing with the 4 Elements 

In the English classroom we have rounded out our learning with a dramatic play area highlighting the four elements through a campsite. Mrs. Warner used all of her creativity to create a whimsical place with a campfire and candles, water to put out the fire (and do the washing up after a meal around the fire), earth to sleep on, and a wind-making fan to see what it is like to camp on a stormy night. Many campers have spent a lovely evening together, exploring the elements in the best possible way for a kindergartener: through play.  

Our unit is far from over. We are looking forward to watching how the elements change (or do they?) when the winter arrives. Snow, ice and wind will keep us busy observing and exploring for the rest of the semester. There is so much to investigate that our questions never cease.

Marisa Behrends, Teacher Kindergarten 1

Haben Sie schon einmal Kerzen gezogen? In der Umgebung wird dies in verschiedenen Gemeinden angeboten. Ich freue mich jedes Jahr auf diesen Anlass!

Diesen November durften die erste und zweite Klasse in der Gemeinde Uetikon Kerzen ziehen. Der Frauenverein organisiert das alljährlich im Riedstegsaal. Zu Fuss marschierten die Kinder zu Schulbeginn Richtung Uetikon los.

Dort angekommen bekam jedes Kind einen Docht und durfte ihn in die Wachsbehälter tauchen. Die Farbe durfte frei gewählt werden. Die Motivation war gross, und die Stimmung bei der Tätigkeit war geschäftig und gemütlich. So entstanden viele bunte Kerzen. Ob bunt mit verschiedenen Schichten oder einfarbig, die Freude an der Kerze war riesig!

Das Kerzenziehen passte gut zu unserem Thema in den Naturwissenschaften. Dort durften die Kinder chemische und physikalische Veränderungen im Zusammenhang mit Kerzen erforschen.

Christine Andermatt, Lehrerin 1. und 2. Klasse

In Year 3 we started learning about the parts of our brain and the areas of our body it controls. We listened to a book called 'Your Fantastic, Elastic Brain: stretch it, shape it' by JoAnn Deak. This helped us name and understand our feelings and emotions in a new way. It was also helpful to understand how learning takes place and the areas of the brain which are responsible for controlling our bodies. 

After this we learned about different zones of learning, such as, the comfort zone, the stretch zone and the panic zone. We noticed what feelings we had in each of these zones and we have begun to understand that true learning takes place in the slightly uncomfortable 'Stretch' zone.  This provides just the right amount of challenge for our brains to grow. 

Recently, we extended our learning about brain power to include growth mindsets and how this can help us improve our learning experiences. When we believe in our own ability, we can achieve more and learning can take place. When we believe we cannot achieve something or hold a fixed mindset, we are unable to learn as well. 

Next, we will continue to explore Growth and Fixed mindsets and develop strategies to increase learning opportunities. We are excited to be challenged and to think more about what learning is and what it looks like. 

Liam Lacey, Teacher Primary 3

La 5ième classe a commencé à apprendre le français en août et entre-temps, nous sommes en plein dedans.

Nous avons appris quelque chose sur les différentes familles de langues qui existent dans le monde et nous savons que nous apprenons l'une des quatre langues nationales de la Suisse.

Nous gambadons allègrement dans la langue française : dans le vocabulaire lié à l'école et à la famille, dans la formation du pluriel et dans les articles. La prononciation correcte doit être apprise, tout particulièrement les nasales, ainsi que l'utilisation des adjectifs possessifs comme „mon“, „ma“, „mes“. Nous pouvons déjà parler de notre famille et de notre propre arbre généalogique et nous avons même écrit de petits poèmes.

Claudia Angehrn, professeur de français 5ième et 6ième classe

We’ve been doing a lot of fascinating things in Year 6. Our teachers have taught us wonderful things, and I am incredibly grateful that I can share this with you all. 

Romans 

In our NMG lessons in German, we have been learning about Rome and the Romans, and because of that we went to the Römer Museum in Brugg. There we had a spectacular time. We learned about all the different steps of archaeology, for example, what they do in laboratories when they find an ancient Roman coin. Also, we learned about the Roman town that used to be set there, Vindonissa. Vindonissa was a Roman city with an abundance of interesting facts. An example is that in the city they had a large military camp, which was located on a hill. There they needed to throw out trash, so behind the military camp there was a massive pile of leftover trash, and a large number of these items are now displayed in the museum. We had a fantastic time!

Biography Presentations 

In English reading, we were studying biographies, and Ms. Kalinec told us to choose a biography and present it in any way: PowerPoint, poster, video, etc. We presented our biographies in small groups of four or five. I saw a tremendous presentation made by Irene about Roald Dahl. I learned a great number of things about people I knew about, but I got greater detail and so I learned even more. My presentation was about Marie Curie, and I was and am very proud of it.

Jumping Rope 

In English PE, we learned lots of new tricks in jumping rope and had to perform an individual trick and a partner trick. We practiced endurance, patience and learning from our mistakes, because we needed patience to learn the tricks. We made loads of mistakes at first and we needed to keep going, which is endurance.

Thank you all so much for reading this article about Year 6. I am unbelievably grateful to be able to write it, thank you all!

Irina, Student Primary 6 
 

Im November feierten wir den Räbeliechtliumzug. Mit den Mamas und Papas schnitzten alle Kinder ihr eigenes Räbeliechtli. Dabei war viel Schnitzfertigkeit gefragt. 

Und am Abend ging es los. Die Kinder zündeten die Kerzen im Räbeliechlti an und versammelten sich in einem Kreis auf dem Pausenplatz. Mit einigen Liedern begrüssten sie die Eltern und begannen dann den Umzug.
Dieser führte im Dunkeln durch Männedorf. Nur die Lichter zeigten uns den Weg. 

Zurück in der Schule gab es für alle Kinder warmen Punsch und ein Brötchen mit Würstchen. 

Mit vollem Bauch und feierlichen Erinnerungen gingen dann alle nach Hause. 
 

Lisa Cummins, Schulleiterin

Our annual Halloween celebrations began this year with children adorning the school premises in an assortment of spider webs and spooky decorations.

On the morning of Wednesday 26^th October, students arrived in a mixture of spooky and inventive costumes; from ghosts and ghouls to princesses and knights, even some very creative homemade costumes.

The day’s programme of activities included the eagerly anticipated costume parade in the morning with the monster mash dance, a candy hunt in the playground and an assortment of Halloween art and craft activities back in the classroom.

We would like to congratulate everyone on their outstanding costume ideas, whether they were bought or homemade. The excitement and enthusiasm of every child that was involved made judging the costume awards an extremely difficult task for the grade 4 judging panel.

Miranda Stead, Head of Kindergarten and Primary School

On Tuesday 6^th December Samichlaus and Schmutzli visited the children. Oh, the excitement!

Thank you Samichlaus for taking the time to visit us all.