What a great cook out! Students were very excited to meet their buddies and get out into the woods. Luckily, the weather cooperated and both 5R and 2M got to connect for the first time while roasting sausages, and more than a few marshmallows, in the beautiful woods on our ZIS doorstep. We’re looking forward to many more adventures and learning with our second grade buddies throughout the year. Many thanks for your support! Enjoy all the photos of the day in this album.
Hi 5R,
We would like to thank all of you that joined us at our first 5R Coffee on Wednesday. It was so nice to get to know everyone;) If you were unable to attend, envelopes for class funds were sent home today with your child. Please make sure to check backpacks. We would like to plan a “Mom’s Night Out” soon….stay tuned!!!!
Have a great weekend!!!!
Katy and Mandy
5R Parents,
Just a quick reminder about our class coffee this Wednesday, September 14th at Schnoegg (Wadenswil) 9am. We will begin collecting for our class fund (30 chf per student) at the coffee, if you are not able to attend please look for an envelope marked with your child’s name in their backpack this week;) Hope to see you Wednesday!
Katy and Mandy
The title of this post seems to go against everything we’ve been led to believe about supporting our children and students to be the most successful they can be. We want them to believe in themselves. We want them to feel capable of taking on challenges, but a growing body of research tells us that we may be doing just the opposite with this kind of praise.
The title of this post was the title of an op-ed piece written by Salman Khan, creator of Khan Academy, published in the Huffington Post some time ago. In that piece Salman goes on to give an overview of a concept in education called the “Growth Mindset”. In short, having a “growth mindset” means believing that intelligence, and ability to learn, aren’t purely genetic, or fixed. That the brain is a muscle in many ways like all the others, something elastic, that when exercised can strengthen and grow.
Khan Academy, has been experimenting with this concept and attempting to apply this research through little experiments like placing growth mindset statements next to math problems. A statement might read: “When you learn a new kind of math problem you grow your math brain!”. According to Carol Dweck, the Stanford University researcher who’s published widely on the topic, “Students who saw these growth mindset statements solved more problems correctly, took more units and mastered them, and got more problems correct in subsequent units, even when they weren’t seeing the statements.”
Khan Academy recently launched their #YOUCANLEARNANYTHING campaign in support of cultivating growth mindsets in students. This video is a nice introduction:
The big question for us at ZIS, of course, is what are we doing with our students to promote this clearly powerfully important idea? Are we telling students they’re smart? That they’re not smart? Or celebrating their efforts, their struggles, and that they can learn anything…
Dear 5R families,
You are invited by Katy and Mandy, 5R’s class parents, to our class’ first Coffee Morning. The first event will take place on Wednesday, September 14 from 9am at Schoenegg. Coffee with a view!
For some people it’s just another day, but for others Photo Day is a big deal. Regardless of which describes you, it’s good to be prepared. This year 5R will be having our photo days as follows:
Individual Photos: Wednesday, August 31
Group Photo: Friday, Sept 2
Now, what am I going to wear…?
One other note… Please remember to collect and bring, or send in your materials for your Writer’s Notebook. Want the details? Click here.
Thank you all for joining us on Monday night. For those who were there, and those who weren’t able to make it, I’ve included the presentation shared. Much of it was really visual “cue cards” for what I hoped to speak about, but some important links are contained as well. I really enjoyed sharing the vision of Grade 5 with you, and am more than happy to answer any questions I can.
Warm regards, Jamie
Dear 5R families,
Well… We’ve got our iPads! In order to use a wide range of media this year, and access video content, every student will also need to bring to school and keep a pair of personal headphones. These will be stored in the classroom through the year and will return home in June. Any headphones will do, except the “earbud” variety. Unfortunately, as we’ve all experienced, they can just get too tangled too easily to be functional for our purposes. If your headphones have a case, please send it as well. Otherwise, a re-sealable zip-lock style bag will do. Thanks for your support!
What a fantastic first day!
From the moment they entered the room today, the 5R students began to bring the classroom to life. A round of Welcome Back Bingo got everyone speaking with old and new friends, then we organized ourselves with our lockers.
After recess we ventured over to the new Makerspace Art Studio for our biweekly two-hour art session, and got to meet our two visual art teachers, Mr P and Dr A. After lunch I shared a letter I’d written to the class in June, and had been unable to send, and students all had a chance to reply. Finally, Frau George came to us for a first German session, and led a class with photo interpretation and poster-making, while she worked with students to assess their German levels.
After a quick end of the day game, students received their schedules and we went to the lockers to collect our belongings and head home. A very full, and very successful first day!
Please enjoy the below photos!
Dear 5R Parents,
Thank you for being at the celebration this morning and for all your lovely, kind words after the ceremony. Thank you also for the lovely gifts and sending along all the treats for the class to share. I so appreciate your thoughtfulness and all the support you have shown me throughout the year. I truly will miss this remarkable group of students!
Would you believe that when we got back to class, the first thing the students wanted to do was a full class dance party?
As we head off for the holidays, I’d like, in particular, so send special wishes with Oliver, Haya, Evelina, Emanuele, Amelia, Max and Krish as they prepare to start brand new chapters in their lives beyond ZIS. Keep in touch with us! To the rest of you, good luck for middle school! I can’t wait to see you around and to hear all your stories.
I wish all of you and your families a safe, relaxing, happy vacation!
With Gratitude,
Jamie