Dear Families,
Thank you all for the ongoing support you are providing your children in order for our community of learners to remain safe and healthy at school. Students being students, we are reminding them throughout each day to maintain social distancing and keep their masks over their noses, as well as following all the other health and safety protocols in place at ABIS. Students and staff exhibiting symptoms are asked to stay home and see a doctor in order to ensure we are doing everything we can to stop Covid from spreading at school. As we remain vigilant we are happy to report no cases thus far and we hope to maintain this record.
Students have settled into their learning routines and are digging into their units of inquiry across all grades. Due to the limited social interaction children have experienced over the past 2 years, we find ourselves revisiting Essential Agreements in classrooms and during transition and play times. Children need time to practice functioning in groups again, and it is challenging to play and learn all day while still observing social distancing. It is important that we are consistent with expectations from home and school and that students are hearing the same message from teachers and parents. Please support your child’s success by discussing the importance of playing and working safely at school, as well as the important skills of being kind, caring and respectful towards others at all times.
The PYP skills outlined in the ATLs are more important than ever in post-pandemic learning. ATLs are Approaches to Learning and include Social Skills, Research Skills, Thinking Skills, Communication Skills and Self Management Skills. While each grade level teacher assesses and plans for differentiated learning across all subjects and units of study, these 5 sets of skills are developed and incorporated into all learning. It is these overarching skills that students will need to be successful in future studies and as a contributing member of society.
The following is a link for parents to a website called Reading Rockets. There are plenty of tips to explore on this site for parents and educators, in particular this page which leads parents to different strategies to support reading at home according to grade and in different languages. As always, if you are interested in supporting learning and reading at home but are not sure how, contact your child’s teacher(s). Happy reading! Reading Rockets: Reading Tips for Parents in Multiple Languages
Have a lovely weekend. Maeve