The last few days of school...

Last week....
Conferences:

Students appreciated being able to share their year's work with their parents at the Student-Led Conference. It was certainly a time for each student to shine, through games of "Simon Says...." where they could challenge parents with scientific names for the bones, to demonstrating their skills using the electricity supplies, and showing off all of their assignments from the year to show their growth. 

Class Poetry Cafe:

Last week, students and parents had a wonderful time sharing and listening to poetry from 4B.  Students should be very proud of their hard work that led up to the grand finale: Their oral reading of two of their favorite poems. We had a wonderful celebration back in the classroom where parents got to read through the poetry notebooks. It was certainly a wonderful way to spend the morning! 

Teacher Appreciation Day:

THANK YOU! You certainly surprised me! Thank you so much for the recognition, and for the beautiful framed photo of our class. I will certainly treasure the token of appreciation from you all! It has truly been a great year, and I have very  much enjoyed teaching this group of students over the school year. I wish them all the best next year, and you, the parents, as well!

This week...

Class Party: 
Our class party will be held on Wednesday, June 11th, and all are welcome to join us. It will definitely be a great way to wrap up the year, with delicious snacks and a chance to say our finals goodbyes before the summer holidays, and we all part in our separate directions. Please join us, from 12-12:45 if you are available!

For your information, here is an update of the schedule for the last two days of school:

Wednesday:
9:15- 10:00       Last assembly of the year in the theatre

10:30-11:15     Our final PE class will take place in the pool!
12-12:45           End of the year class party with snacks and games
1:00 - 3:30        Mrs. Pat Carrelli's retirement tea in the library. Our class will visit  her at  2:30. Several students have written her a poem and will share that with her tomorrow afternoon. I am certainly that she will be overjoyed by their kind words!

Thursday: Half Day
10:50 - 11:50       Closing Circle and Good Byes
11:50am               School is out:  Let the summer holiday begin!

Thank you to you all for such a great year, from beginning to end.  I have really enjoyed getting to know this group of students, and I know that they will continue to be successful, both in school and out. Also, thank you to  the parents for being so supportive. I have enjoyed getting to know each of you as well! A great big THANK YOU goes out to our Room Moms, Savitree and Susan, for all of their help throughout the year with parties and field trips, and many other events in school and out. You have both made everything run smoothly, and I do appreciate all of your efforts!

Have a great holiday. Safe travels to you all. Best of luck next year, at MKIS, or at your new school, for those of you leaving. It has truly been a wonderful year!

****For Parents of Departing Students in Grades 3-5****

Please read the below document for information and instructions on how to save your child's work created in their M'KIS Google account. 

Google Account Instructions for ES Departing Students

If you have further questions you may contact Sara Best, ES Grades 3-5 IT Facilitator, at s.best@mkis.edu.my

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1opPb71aM0NuPwSRJ0wAXjQBLmw2PXWnUQSsv-LNMj6M/edit

Upcoming Conferences....

This is a friendly reminder that there are no classes for Elementary School students on June 4th.  Please arrive on campus shortly prior to your scheduled conference time.  Your child must also attend since this format is a “Student-Led Conference”.  Your child’s Homeroom teacher will be in the classroom to address any questions or concerns you may have at that time.  We also invite you to visit all of the Specialist classes. 

Specialist Teachers will be in their own classroom, and no appointments are necessary to visit the Specialists.  Mr. Hastings and Mr. Murdoch can be found at the Climbing Wall.  Mr. Hill will be in the Spanish room and from 10:30 to 12:00 at the climbing wall.

  

There will also be a Scholastic Book Fair on campus located  in the Activity Room (World Language Hall) from 9:00am-4:00pm.  This is a great opportunity to purchase some wonderful books for your child to enjoy over the summer holiday.

Busy Days!

Time sure is flying, and last week was certainly busy! We had our final field trip, to 1MK to test the students math skills from units covered throughout the year, and we said "goodbye" to Mridu, along with staying focused on our classroom subjects as well!

 

 

Students had a great time, seeing their neighborhood in a different light! Be sure to ask them to point out the various places where you can find examples of math, all around you!


 ** Some students had paid for lunch on the day of the field trip. Connie has provided a refund for this. Please remind your child to give this to you today, as it will be sent home with them this afternoon. 

Also, just a reminder, please return your Student-Led Conference time slips. These were sent home Friday, and should be returned as soon as possible so that we can create an accurate schedule for that day. (June 4th)

Also, parents are invited to our 4B Poetry Cafe which will be held on June 6th at 8:45 am in the library. Students will be sharing poems they have written, as well as some of their favorite poems that we have looked at this year.  If you are free to join us, please do! (A more formal invitation will be coming out soon...)


Message from PE:

Parent Volunteers needed Friday, May 30th (Field Day)

Hi 4th Grade Guardians and Parents,

On Friday, May 30th, the M'KIS elementary school will host its annual Field Day.  This is a fun event that your 4th grader will do with their class mates.  There will be 12 different activities to participate in.  Each class will rotate to a different activity after about 6  minutes.  A few of these activities are tug of war, sponge tag, sack races and various other relays.

In order for this event to be a success again, we need your help in putting it on.  No experience is necessary.  Please sign up on the sheet that will be outside your child's room or email me at a.hill@mkis.edu.my

The 3rd, 4th and 5th graders' Field Day will take place from 10:30 to 12:00.  Please show up at 10:20 if you are able to volunteer.  Grades 1 and 2 will be in the morning from 8:30 to 10:00.

Thank you,

Andy Hill, Gavin Murdoch and Richard Hastings

Book Fair Information:

May Update

The school year is winding down, but we still have a lot on our plates between now and June 12th!

First of all, Welcome to 4B, Gaia! We are happy to have you join us in 4B. I am sure that you will make many new friends, which will help make the start of school next year much easier!

Spring Concert
May 15th is our Spring Concert! Please have your child come to school in their concert clothes on Thursday morning for the 9:00am school concert. They should also bring their school uniform to change into following their performance. Then we will see you that evening at the 7pm concert for the parents. Students should come to the classroom first, around 6:50pm, and then we will all walk together to the Activity Room to await our turn on stage, as we will perform after the third graders.

Duathalon
The PE dept. has planned a duathalon (running and swimming) for Friday, May 16th. Please see the school Link for more information.

Field Trip- "Amazing Race!"
On  Monday, May 19th we will be taking a field trip around mont Kiara. Students will be completing a scavenger hunt game as they answer real world math problems and logical thinking questions. The students will be working in small groups so we need at least five chaperones. Please email me if you might be willing to join us.  A field trip permission form with more detail will be coming home later this week.

Field Day
The annual Field Day will take place on Friday, May 30th after lunch. We will also need parent help with this event, so please let me know if you are available.

Student-Led Conferences

Each year, the ES at MKIS holds Student-Led conferences in lieu of the Parent Teacher Conferences. These will be held on Wednesday, June 4th. This is an opportunity for students to showcase their achievements from throughout the school year. Parents will be given a time to come in, as with regular PTC's except the time for these student-led conferences will be a bit longer. Students are expected to accompany their parents, in order to show their classroom portfolio, walk them through through their online Google Site, and escort their parents to the Specialist teachers to show off their work in those areas as well. More information regarding this will be sent home, closer to the date.

Poetry Café
Students would like to share their poetry with you on Friday, June 6th at our Poetry Café. This will mark the culmination of our poetry unit as students share a few poems with you in the school library at 8:45am. Following the readings, we will return to class for morning breakfast treats and juice.

Follow-up from Ipoh
Following the trip to IPOH, students put together a memory book about their adventures and experiences. Please take a moment and peruse their highlights of the trip!   Ipoh Trip ABC Book by 4B.

In Class:

Students are working on Non-Fiction writing in class. We have read through various articles and are taking note of the differences between Fiction and Non-Fiction text. Students will be writing a non-fiction piece based on their research about their chosen country in South East Asia.

We have been working hard on Geometry, studying polygon attributes, classifying triangles, and naming angles. Currently we are working on reviewing terms such as symmetry, reflections, and congruency. Section P, Geometry, in IXL is our focus. Students are enjoying this unit and they are doing very well learning all of the geometric vocabulary. iThey have been working hard on creating a poster called "The Shape Shifter" to show understanding of these terms and concepts.

Students have been working on taking notes about a country of SE Asia on a note taking chart found on their drive. Next week they will begin to use their notes to write at least one paragraph about their topic.  We discussed how important it is to have plenty of notes to build upon and then use elaboration to extend their facts into well constructed sentences.

Term 3 book reports will be completed at school this time, so no need to worry about completing them at home.  We will be creating book reviews in the IT lab that will be used in the school library. Students will choose their favourite book from this term and create an oral book review that will be available to other students in the library. It should be a fun project!

Although it seems as though students have a lot of assignments at this stage of the year, they are being given class time to work on their projects in the computer lab and on the classroom Chromebooks. depending on how well they manage their time in class, they may also need to spend some time at home working on completing their projects.

Congratulations to Mridu for her efforts at Novel Knock Out, representing one of the 2 MKIS teams. They should be really proud of their accomplishments! 

Also, great effort was put forth by Mridu, Ruhi, Florencia and Marina for submitted a story for The Scholastic Writer's Competition!  Best wishes to these girls, and I look forward to hearing the results, which will be announced in October 2014. 

What a trip!

Ipoh Field Trip:

Well, we made it back from an amazing trip to Ipoh with Eco Field Trips. Students embraced the opportunities to get their hands dirty, and learn many exciting new skills, such as using a scientific key to name various invertebrates, pan for tin, paint, using hematite stone and roast marshmallows, just as a few examples! I am sure that each student has arrived home with many exciting stories from their trip. Please visit the following link to see pictures of the entire 4th Grade during the trip.  Thank you to the parents for seeing their children off early in the morning, and being there to pick them up upon their return. Hopefully you were able to keep informed regarding our trip through Aspen, or Twitter. Also, thank you to Eco Field Trips for such an amazing experience for everyone. 

Novel Knockout:

Congratulations to the Reading Rubies (Vanessa, Anna, Ananya, and Ria) and to the Reading Drakons (Reem, Keshav, Brynn, Mridu)  for finishing first place and second place in the MKIS Novel Knockout competition! They have been invited to a regional competition at ISKL where they will compete against teams from other schools. A congratulations also to all of the other teams who participated in Novel Knockout by reading, working as team, and attending Novel Knockout practices over the last 3 months. 

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Hritzuk 

Upcoming Music Concert:

Costume Information: 

• Students will need to come to school in costume the morning of May 15th, and then arrive at 6:45pm in costume that evening. 

• All students should wear black bottoms (pants, shorts to the knee, or skirts past the knee are preferable) and black shoes. 

• All students need black shoes that will grip the stage. Soft soled sports shoes (no cleats) are perfect. If you don’t have black, just pick a dark color. 

• The tops need to have short or long sleeves and be school appropriate. Tops should be mostly one color. Make sure that there are no words (brand names, sports team names, life mottos, etc.) on the shirt. 4B is asked to wear BLUE again.

Mrs. Storey has uploaded all the music for the concert onto her blog.  Students can pop on over and practice singing their songs at home!      

http://mkis-esblog-lstory.blogspot.com/

Happy Easter, for those of you that are celebrating!  Thank you to Savitree for preparing some Easter treat bags for the students. They loved the special treats, and the homemade bags were very impressive!!

**Due to the upcoming field trip, Grade 4 will be celebrating the Free Dress Day on Tuesday April 22nd. Students are reminded to bring in 5RM to donate for Earth Week if they choose to dress in something other than the school uniform on that day. Suggested colors are blue (for the ocean) green (for the turtles) or orange for the tigers)

We are all very excited about the upcoming trip. Here are a few important reminders:

**Remember to check aspen frequently. We will be keeping you informed as to what we are up to throughout the entire 2 days of the trip. Aspen is your source of information for this!

**We are expected to arrive back at school around 5pm on Friday night. Again, watch Aspen to have an accurate account of where we are and when we should be arriving so that neither you nor your child are waiting too long at the school for pick up.

**Students are reminded that they should not pack ANY food. Snacks will be provided on the bus, both to and from the school, and the tour company will provide plentiful meals at appropriate times. Students have been warned that if they do choose to pack food for the trip, one of two events might happen- it could be confiscated, OR even worse, they could end up with unwanted guests in their cabins, looking for crumbs!!!

Overnight Trip to The Roots Resort

On April 24th and 25th the 4th grade students will be off campus for their overnight field trip.  During this time updates and contact numbers will be posted on Aspen several times a day.  Simply log onto Aspen using your username and password to see these updates.  Please test that you can log onto Aspen before the trip so that you will receive the updates.  

On Friday April 25th parents will receive an email informing them when the buses reach the last rest stop.  This email will have the estimated time of arrival.  Again, please ensure that Aspen is updated with your correct email address.

The ES Office

Welcome back from a well-deserved break!

There is a great deal to get caught up on since before the spring break!

Before the break, we said goodbye to Anita. She and her family are back in Italy, closer to family. Their MKIS family will certainly miss them, and many friends will treasure Anita’s time here at MKIS, but we wish them all the best of luck back in Europe!

Most recently, I want to say what a great performance by several students in 4B and throughout the elementary school over the weekend. Their hard efforts were clearly displayed in the “Pirates” performance. Mikael, Victoria and Maia sang and danced to several tunes, while Florencia was busy helping with costumes behind the scenes. Several classmates and friends showed their support in the audience, and were impressed by such a wonderful show! Great work, Pirates!

In March, we ended our Ancient China Unit. Our grande finale was a museum where students displayed their hard work. Other grade 4 classes and our Grade 2 buddies were invited in to have a look at the display. We also invited in Mrs. Chisholm, Mr. French, and Mr. Lindop, to see our efforts. Earlier in March, Mr. Lindop was a special guest speaker. Mr. Lindop (Maia's father) teaches IB History at MKIS and was very excited for the opportunity to come in and share some fascinating information about Ancient China, and some of the more famous individuals from China's past, such as Emperor Q'in, Confucius, and the only Empress of China, Empress Wu. Students learned a lot from his visit, and were even more motivated to learn about the fascinating history of China. The museum was a success, and a great way to showcase the students' hard efforts and accomplishments. Students also created videos explaining their projects. You can see the 4B videos by following the link here. Mikael and Liam also worked hard on an extension project, compiling a lot of the information they learned on Ancient China. You can see the final product here. All students did a great job sharing what they learned with our guests, both orally, and in their writing and visual display.

On March 14th, (3.14), we celebrated "Pi Day." Pi (3.14) is a mathematical number that represents the relationship between the circumference and the diameter of a circle. As a celebration, students explored this mysterious number by measuring circular objects of various sizes a, regardless of their size. As a special treat, they got to measure some pizza pie and reward themselves with a slice after all of their hard calculations!

We have been studying electricity as a class. Students have been having a great time learning about circuits and magnetism, as they get to manipulate magnets, wires, batteries and lightbulbs to create various circuits and see how they all work together. WIth these materials, there have also been able to see why circuits sometimes stop working, and to explore the properties of conductors and insulators, and the importance of each.

Fame Jr. was a smash hit, performed in March by MKIS students from grade 4, all the way up to High School. Both Marina and Kiara had been rehearsing for many hours each week in preparation for this performance, and their hard work paid off. The performance was a spectacular display of hard work, energy and natural talent by all involved. All students involved should be proud of their success!

Fourth grade was also invited to the Grade 7 Medieval Fair. The MS students shared their knowledge with the Grade 4 students through games, displays, trivia stations and various other interactive stations. It was certainly a great experience for both grades!

MAPS testing will begin on Monday, April 14th. Please remind your child to go to bed early on Sunday evening, and to start their day Monday morning with a great breakfast. This test is not meant to be high pressure or stressful, but by the nature of a standardized tests, students will most likely be feeling the pressure and apprehension related to it all. Please help them come to school calm and mentally prepared. 

***Overnight Trip to Roots (Ipoh): April 24th-25th
This trip is fast approaching! Updates and contact numbers will be posted on Aspen several times a day. Simply log onto Aspen using your username and password to see these updates.  Please test that you can log onto Aspen before the trip so that you will receive these updates.

**You can always go to our 4B Photos page to see more photos from events in our class and around MKIS

Important notice regarding water shortage in KL

****As I am sure you are aware, KL is facing a water shortage. We are asking students to be especially conscientious regarding water usage at this time. It is ideal for students to bring in one or two FULL water bottles each day so that they have sufficient water to drink during the day, as our fountains are currently turned off in order to conserve water. Hand sanitizer is being provided in the washrooms to help with adequate sanitization. 

Message from the PA:

It’s coming! Our school community’s annual family fun dayis happening on Sunday, March 23, from 10am-3pm at M’KIS. We’re freshening up the game selection to continue to entertain and delight our kids (more in The Link next week), vendors have been signed up to provide a winning mix of foodie delights and fun shopper temptations, and we invite parents and especially our M’KIS students who’d like to demonstrate their talents on the Fun Fair stage - think music, singing, dancing, acrobatics, martial arts, drama – to get in touch with Shefali on shaifalikapoor@rediffmail.com  / + 60125488593 ! 

We also need 18 more parent volunteers to donate just one hour of their time helping out at the selling tables for tickets/tokens or used books at Fun Fair. Please have a look for the sign-up sheets in the Breezeway. Thank you!

And don’t forget, you can still drop your used books in the clearly marked Box in the Breezeway. Parents, especially those with MS/HS kids, there’s Dodgeball to look forward to. Watch out for team registration details from GIN.

Funds raised support parent contributions to student charity groups, the new PA 'moving on celebrations’ contributions to Grades 5, 8 and 12, and our various community building initiatives.  In particular, we are also looking to raise funds for an inspirational speaker to come visit our school in 2014/2015. We loved what the PA-supported visit of Salva Dut did for our school community, and are keen to encourage another such galvanizing and impactful experience for our kids in the new year.

We look forward to seeing you at Fun Fair 2014!

Feb. Updates

Lots going on here!

On Thursday, Feb. 20th, 4B will be having a pool party as their class reward. The students earned a reward and voted on this as their choice. Please remind them to come to school on Thursday with their regular PE clothes, AND their swimming attire. We will have regular PE at 8:30 am and then we will end the day with our pool party, from 2:15-3pm.

We have TWO visiting authors this month. Debbie Hickman, a former 4th grade teacher here at MKIS will be in on Thursday to read aloud he book that she has recently published, and then next week, we will have Chris White speaking with us about his poems. Both of these visits will be great experiences for the students, and will certainly get the juices flowing for some creative writing ideas!

A friendly reminder,  term 2 book reports AND term 2 current events are due by March 11th, 2013. Students can present either project anytime between now and then.

Please note that our information night regarding the upcoming trip to Ipoh is next week (Feb. 25th). This will be a very useful session to attend, as this trip is new to our Grade 4 students. See "Important Dates" page for more details regarding this.

Come join the fun!  Yes, the MKIS Fun Fair is just around the corner.  This year each grade level will have their own table and fun events.  If you would like to volunteer please click on the link below.  Thank you for making this event fun for our students!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11El4kUS9UUiDe3-OAU6J9PdQkWrJV0QXFDfFkCkLUsI/edit?usp=sharing Also, the donation box for the used book sale at the fair is located on the breezeway. Please donate!

IXL App now available

The IXL App is now available to download from the iTunes store.  Make math tangible with IXL Math Practice! Over 2,000 standards-aligned skills provide comprehensive coverage of K-12 math content, while hundreds of colorful awards celebrate important milestones. From skip-counting with pictures to multi-step story problems, IXL's interactive practice formats bring the joy of learning right to students’ fingertips.  

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ixl-math-practice/id693689912?mt=8

The best part is that your child can use their school account so that no matter where you are they can practice their Math skills!  If you do not have an Apple product your child can still use IXL by going to http://www.ixl.com. 

Access to The Link

Dear Parents,

Please note that you will need to set a new user name and password to access the Link. Once you have set this up you can access the Link from the MKIS Website or it can also be reached directly through the URL below.
Here are the directions for accessing the Link:

For New User:
Step 1: Click on this URL link http://thelinkmkis.wix.com/thelink
Step 2: SIGN UP using you current email/password
Step 3:The site administrator will notify you via email once your request has been approved.

Already have a user (After Sign Up)
Step 1: Click on this URL link http://thelinkmkis.wix.com/thelink
Step 2: Click LOG IN
Step 3: Type you email address and password to LOG IN

Updates

There are several new events on the horizon, and updates to previously mentioned events. Please read through carefully to know what will be coming up in the next few weeks here at MKIS and in 4B...

Photos:

4B will have their class photo taken on Feb 12 at 11:50am. Retakes and make-up pictures for new students will also be taken that day, or on the 13th. Students are reminded to wear their cleanest MKIS white polo on that day so that we are all looking sharp for the year book!

Info. Session on Overnight Trip:

The date for this meeting has been moved to Tuesday, February 25th and will be at 7:00 p.m. in the New Multi Purpose Room. Hopefully you can all make it to find out more about this great opportunity!

Internet Update for Upper Elementary:

Dear Parents,

       Upon return from the Winter Holidays, the grade 3-5 students returned to 8 new Chromebook laptops for student learning in each of their classrooms. The Chromebooks integrate with the Google accounts that students started using mid October. Google Apps for Education and the Chromebooks are enhancing our students anytime/anywhere access to online learning tools.

       To fully access the learning potentials with Google accounts and Chromebooks, Grade 3-5 students will be given school e-mail accounts through Gmail starting mid February. They will have a lesson on e-mail etiquette and a review of M’KIS Digital Citizenship practices with the 3-5 IT Facilitator, Sara Best, prior to receiving e-mail access. Student e-mail accounts will be limited to messages to/from M’KIS students and teachers within their respective grade levels and receiving  account verification e-mails from online educational tools that are part of the school Google Apps for Education.

Upcoming Alternate Dress Day for Conservation week (April 21st-25th)

As the Alternate Dress Day for WWF (Conservation Week) falls on Friday, April 25th while we are on our overnight trip, the Grade 4's & 5's will have their alternate dress day on Tuesday, April 22nd ...the day before the grade 5s leave for their trip. The rest of the school would remain on Friday, April 25th. Students will be reminded of his closer to the date!

Science project completed (Erosion & Weathering):

Students were working hard on creating a final project for Erosion and Weathering, before the long Christmas break. We final managed to get the last pieces of it together, and it is now published online. Each student has posted the final piece on their Google Site, but you can also access it by clicking on the following link. Students should be very proud of their final product, and their efforts along the way. They made use of the Ipads, their Google Docs, Google Presentations and the computers in the lab here at school, and applied their understanding of erosion and weathering to put together a very informative and interesting newsletter!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Parents are asked to take a look at the Malaysian Studies blog. Ms. Tan has just put out some information on Chinese New Year.

Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year)

Ms. Tan

In class, students have been very busy.
Language Arts: 
Students are now reading James and the Giant Peach as a class. We are studying the characters, and students will soon begin to focus on one character in particular, and write a 4 paragraph character sketch on that character. They have been enjoying the novel so far, especially meeting all of the interesting characters that Roald Dahl comes up with.
Students are also working on finishing their stories from before the break. Hopefully they will have their first draft complete, and typed on their Google Drive. We will start doing peer revision next week, so if they have not yet finished typing, they may want to spend a bit of time over the weekend getting their story onto their Drive.

Math:
We are still working with Fractions. Students seem to be grasping the new concepts fairly quickly, which is rather impressive, as Fractions tend to be quite difficult.  They are encouraged to be using IXL as a tool to reinforce the concepts we are discussing in class.

Social Studies:
Students are enjoying the unit of Ancient China. They have done a great job applying their knowledge from our earlier unit of mapping and landforms towards this new unit, to help them better understand China.

Track & Field Day

Students had a great day running, jumping and throwing during the Track and Field Day. They pushed themselves hard, even through the heat of the afternoon. Students should be proud of their efforts, achievements, and great sportsmanship, as I heard several 4B students congratulating, or consoling their competitors.  Also, a big thank you goes out to the many parents that came out to cheer our students on, and to volunteer wherever they were needed.  Here are some pictures of the day, or you can go to our 4B Photos page.

Bring on 2014!

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

Hopefully we are all returning, refreshed and ready to tackle the second half of the year. 

A lot of exciting things have been going on in 4B and around MKIS, but first and foremost, I would like to welcome Florencia and her family to our school, and to our class. She started today, and she is another great addition to 4B.

Regarding lessons, we have started several new subjects since returning from the break. 

Language Arts:
As a way to recognize Martin Luther King Day which was celebrated on Monday, we have been reading about Martin Luther King Jr and the influence he had on America, and the world. Next week, we will be starting our new novel study of James and the Giant Peach. As we read this novel, we will be focusing on character development, and studying Dahl's methods of getting the reader to know about a character. Students will then be doing a character sketch on one character from the novel. We have also been revisiting our stories that we started before the long holiday. Students will be finishing up their first draft soon, and then we will move on to the next stages of the editing process. 

Math:
We have started learning about fractions. This can be rather challenging, especially as we get further into the more complex aspects of fractions, so it is crucial that students are doing their homework each night. We will continue working on IXL as well, as another way of reinforcing the concepts. 

Social Studies:
We are now studying Ancient China. This is a very fascinating unit, and I am certain that the students will be surprised to learn just how much influence the ancient Chinese had on our modern way of life. 

Message regarding new Chromebooks:

The ES now has new Chromebooks in the classrooms.  In order to maximize their usefulness we would like each student to bring headphones to school starting as soon as possible.  These headphones will stay at school and be used by your child for listening activities tied to the curriculum. For your convenience the school store will have earbuds and over the ear headphones available.  Of course, if you already own a set of headphones feel free to send those in.

Track and Field Day UPDATE:
IMPORTANT date change:

Please note that the Grade 2-5 Track and Field Carnival has been moved to a new date. It will now take place on Wednesday, January 29th, 2014. Sign up sheets are available outside the classroom door.
The events for Grades 4 and 5 start at 1pm and will run until 3pm. This is planned as a fun event to build on our wonderful school spirit and to help identify athletes for our elementary track and field team. The 4B team colors are BLUE. and the children are encouraged to come to school on Wednesday indicating their team color by way of tee shirts, hats or hair ribbons. etc.
We need parent helpers for this event. A sheet has been placed on each classroom door for parents to volunteer. YOU WILL ONLY BE REQUIRED TO HELP OUT AT YOUR CHILDS GRADE LEVEL CARNIVAL. On Thursday your child will need to bring to school their hat, water bottle, the correct colored shirt, sunscreen and bug spray or patch.If you have any further queries please contact Mike Mitchell, Richard Hastings, Gavin Murdoch or Andy Hill via email: m.mitchell@mkis.edu.my, r.hastings@mkis.edu.my; g.murdoch@mkis.edu.my or a.hill@mkis.edu.my.

Looking forward to seeing you at the carnival,
Yours Sincerely,
M.Mitchell, R Hastings, A. Hill. G. Murdoch 

Chinese New Year Holiday:
In case you missed the notification prior to the holiday, February 3rd will also be a school holiday in order to allow families and staff to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Love and Logic Parenting class:

Parents are reminded that the Love and Logic Parenting class starts next Tuesday January 28th from 8:45-10:45 am in the new multipurpose room.  Parents can either pre-pay (50 rm) to Ms. Guna, or just show up and pay the first day.  The money is for the workbook that they will receive.  

Ellen and Kalei

Health Screen:

In March, the health office will be performing student's eye testing examinations. 4B is scheduled for March 5th at 9:00am. Please send your child to school with their glasses, if they already wear some. 
Thanks,