Another message from Ms. Tung

Dear Parents,

Due to unexpected damage in the theater and a schedule conflict with high school graduation using the gym, we will be changing the plan for the semester celebration this year. The Es students will share and celebrate their learning in a smaller setting instead of inviting parents. The last day of school is Thursday, June 2. The last day for club activities is Tuesday, May 31.  Thank you for your continuous support of AST and trusting us with your greatest treasure.

親愛的家長,

由於講台受到不預期的碰壞以及高中生在體育館做畢業典禮的準備, 小學生將會在MPR2,慶祝原本預計的 Semester Celebration.  由於地點較小, 我們這次將不會邀請家長一同參加. 下星期四, 6月2號, 將會是學期的最後一天.  我們課後輔導最後一天是星期二, 五月31號.  我們很感謝您這年來的支持與信任.

—

Kind Regards, 

Annie Tung

ES coordinator / Summer Camp Director/
Professional Development Committee Chair  

A Message from Ms. Tung

Dear parents,

Thank you for volunteering and supporting our Back to School Fun Run event. This will be a great family fun event! If you would like to participate, Please sign up by clicking on the link below:
親愛的家長, 感謝您熱心參與及幫忙我們回到學校健康路跑活動. 相信這是一個闔家歡的活動. 如果要參加, 請在以下網站報名, 謝謝您!  http://goo.gl/forms/8LXVDOQ3QcchO9cr1

—

Kind Regards, 

Annie Tung

ES coordinator / Summer Camp Director/
Professional Development Committee Chair  

If you can’t sign up in Chinese please contact myself or Ms. Tung and we’ll help you.

– Mr. Connelly

A List of Upcoming Events

Here are the events coming up between now and the end of the school year:

 

Wed. 25th – 10:45am – Gr. 5 end of year Counseling Party with Ms. Stephanie.  Nothing required.

Thurs. 26th – 3rd block – Gr. 6 presentation to Gr. 5 about what to expect in Middle School.  Start thinking of some good questions.

Sleepover.  A list of things to bring is coming.  Let me know if you have a good movie we might watch.  If you are only staying for part of the time, make sure I know the time.

Fri. 27th, a.m. – Nature Walk in the streets around AST to help us wake up.

2:45pm – Middle School drama.  Nothing required.

Tues. 31st, maybe 2:00pm – Semester Celebration.  Details to follow.  The structure may change this year due to problems with the theater.

June 2nd – Gr. 5 Promotion, 10:00 – 10:30am, gym.  This is the ceremony in which Mr. Corcoran will give you your Gr. 5 certificate and you will officially complete Elementary school.  Parents welcome.  This was the most convenient time that could be arranged due to many other AST events at this time of the year.

June 3rd – first day of Summer Break for students.  Remember to read a total of 400 pages over the break so that you can join us next year for a pizza party!

 

Homework:

1. Read for at least 30 minutes every day.
2. Use Khan Academy for a total of an hour over the week.

There are no spelling words and there is no challenge this week due to the sleepover.

 

Also, here is the video we watched about some strange exoplanets:

Decisions, Decisions

Well, Middle School is very near indeed.

Today Mr. Corcoran introduced MS club activities to students and told them how to apply.  The form is due by Monday.

At AST, we are trying hard to extend the number of MS activities available.  If we have 5 students and 1 teacher who can run a club, the club will go ahead.

I strongly encourage all students to participate in at least one or two clubs in MS.  This is an excellent opportunity to meet new people and to learn real-life leadership and practical skills.  US colleges look for extra-curricular activities in prospective students so grab the opportunity, do interesting activities and have fun!

Please also remember to return the forms about the sleepover.  Some people have asked me if it is possible to leave early or have other modifications – that’s fine, just let me know.

Homework

1. Read for at least 30 minutes every day.  Record in your log.
2. Practice the spelling words.
3. Use Khan Academy for a total of one hour over the week.
4. Complete the challenge from last week: write a one page report about something outside the Solar System in your homework notebook.  Ideas are listed in previous blog posts.

 

Spelling List 1

monocycle          monologue

bicycle                  binary

tricycle                 triangle                    triathlon

quarter                 quadrilateral          quart

decade                  decagon

cent                       century                      percent

snide          sulk          contented          bruise          repulsive

 

Spelling List 2

thermometer          diameter          centimeter          geometry          metric

automatic                 autograph        automobile

telephone                 telescope

photograph              photosynthesis          photon

dilapidated          snide          repulsive          contented          gossip

epilogue          bruise

What a Day

Whew.

This morning we learned about what’s outside the Solar System.

Our sun is in the Solar Neighborhood, a group of nearby stars.  The closest, Alpha Centauri, is four light years away.

The Solar Neighborhood is in Orion’s Arm.  This is a spiral arm of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

The Milky Way is the second-largest in a group of galaxies called the Local Group.  This group is part of a larger cluster called the Virgo Supercluster.

The Virgo Supercluster is in the Universe.  The observable universe is about 14 light years wide in every direction because we can’t see further than that – the light from beyond that hasn’t reached us yet.

Our universe might be one of an infinite number of universes in the Multiverse.  Perhaps one day we will find out for sure.

Here is a video about it:

Here is a website that allows you to compare the size of things in the universe:

http://www.numbersleuth.org/universe/

 

After that we had literacy.  Can the groups reading Loser and Someone Might Hear You please remember to keep reading your books over the weekend.  We will start new reading groups soon.

 

In the afternoon we had Parents’ Day.  I hope you found the activities enjoyable.

 

Finally we had the Talent Show!  Well done to the music group, whose hard work and preparation paid off in the end.  Congratulations to the poetry group.  You got a few laughs!  And also well done to Angelina and Lily for their martial arts performance and to Lilianna for her starring role in the teacher performance.

 

Have a great weekend.

Notices and Reminders

A notice went home today about Chinese for next year.

Please choose whether your child will continue studying Chinese in Gr. 6.

If they do, they can choose one other specialist subject each semester.

If they do not take Chinese they can choose two other specialist subjects each semester.

Please sign and return the form.  This is only an expression of interest so AST can figure out numbers.  You can change your mind later.

Contact me if you have further questions.

 

Please remember our special events this Friday:

Parents’ Day: From 12:15pm, starting in the ES library on the top of B building.

ES Talent Show in the gym (not theater!) starting from 2:00pm.

Hope to see you there.

Outside the Solar System

 Challenge homework – more information

You can choose from these topics:

• Stars
• Galaxies
• The Milky Way Galaxy
• Black Holes
• Exoplanets
• Nebulas (there are some cool ones, look them up)
• Something else (check with Mr. Connelly first)

A Weighty Matter

Today in math we found our weight on other planets.

On Jupiter, Mr. Connelly would weight almost 200kg!  I think I’ll go to Mars instead.

We wrote our own aubade poems.  These poems either celebrate or lament the coming of dawn.  Here’s the example we listened to in class:

In the afternoon we rehearsed the Talent Show performances.  We still have some work to do.

In the math review we came across some new words:

check/cheque – a piece of paper promising that your bank will give a person money on your behalf.

overdraft/overdraw – to spend more money than is in your account.

Here is the newspaper story about a Malaysian student who spent 4.6 million dollars in Australia after the bank accidentally gave her an unlimited overdraft:

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/student-given-46m-in-westpac-overdraft-error-may-not-have-broken-law-magistrate-20160505-gomxti.html

 

Homework

1.  Read for at least 30 minutes every night.  Record your reading in your log.
2. Practice the spelling words (below).
3. Use Khan Academy for a total of one hour over the week.
4. Challenge: write a one page informational piece about something that exists outside the solar system.  You have two weeks for this project.  We will discuss ideas to get us started in class.

 

Spelling List 1

unreal              unready          unable          unlike          undo

reassemble     reheat             redo               reuse           replay

disabled          disappear       disgrace        disorder      disobey

bruise              gossip             vivid                 unkempt   regret

 

Spelling List 2

ecology          ecosystem          economy

hydrogen      hydroponics

hypothermia     hypochondria       hypoactive     hypodermic     hypocrisy

epilogue             gossiping          vividly          unkempt          monotonous

credible              ornamental      remorse       bruised             correlation

Ode to the Planets

In the morning we did a test about graphs and statistics.  Some people will continue it tomorrow.

We went to the library for borrowing and reading.

In the afternoon we read and wrote odes.  An ode is a poem that celebrates a person, place or thing.  It has no particular rules.  We wrote odes about the planets and other things.

Here is the one we wrote together:

 

Ode to Mr. Jonah

     Awesome athlete

     He can smash the shuttlecock

     Fantastic artist

     Can make a 3D house in a week

     Compassionate, cool,

     Lenient with kids.

 

Here is a photo from Friday’s field trip.  Can you guess which ones are the monkeys?

 

Homework

1. Read for at least 30 minutes every night.
2. Practice the spelling words (below).
3. Use Khan Academy for a total of an hour over the week.
4. Challenge: Find two interesting news articles.  They can be from newspapers or websites in any language.  Summarize them in English (one paragraph).  Say why you found them interesting.  We will share the articles and discuss them on Friday.

 

Spelling List 1

baseball          cookbook          afternoon          sunburn          wonderful

human            secret                 paper                  magic               comet

angle                settle                  rattle                 angel                novel

limp                  ration                 tussle                conflict             lurk

 

Spelling List 2

resign          resignation           admire          admiration

proclaim   proclamation        harmony      harmonious

astronaut     astronomer          asteroid       asterisk *

biology         biography              biochemistry    biodiversity

desolate       intolerable            adjacent      carnivorous