Friday, 24th November 2017
Lower School Newsletter
Learning in the Lower School
We have had two major activities taking place this week.
The first was our fantastic Maths Day that took place on Tuesday. This involved the whole of the Lower School who were split into various groups and took part in many activities across the school. We had art activities that linked in with mathematical angles, we made tesselations that involved shape and played maths games with cards that helped with probability and numbers. We also hosted some maths workshops run by the Maths Association, they came in and taught the children more about shapes and nets. We had some practical maths where our students became parts of a clock, an abacus and even played human noughts and crosses! We particularly enjoyed making symmetrical insects out of twigs! . The very youngest students had a treasure hunt in which they had to match shapes, numbers and patterns together.
Learning Maths is obviously a key focus for the day, another nice outcome is that the students get to work with children from other year groups. These opportunities help to build on our strong community, increase our empathy skills and provide opportunities for us to form new friendships. Above are some fabulous Maths photos from our fabulous Maths day!
The second major activity was our swimming competition. Our students yet again displayed confidence, resilience and teamwork when they represented the school in the ISI London Region Swimming championships in Barnet. They all did very well Alex, Audrey, Alex, Sachin, Eliza, Sofia, Haruki, Elisa, Josh Alex, Filippo, Elisa, Theo, Miya and Freya..... and a special mention to Alex, Elisa and Josh who won a medal. We are very pleased to announce that we have two students going on to represent Dwight at the National Championships, Josh H and Elisa M have been selected and will swim at the Olympic Aquatic Centre Stratford in January 2018!
Treemendous!
Year 2 have continued to take more action! This week they visited WRAP (a recycling venue in Watford). They have developed a great understanding of how important recycling is and how promoting it has helped. You may recall last week that they were collecting 100 examples of things to recycle. I am pleased to announce that they have achieved their goal and they are now deciding what tree to purchase as a way to celebrate! The tree, is likely to be a fruit tree and will be planted in the corner of the playground next to the Lower School Garden. Well done Year 2, you really have made the world a better place!
Maths Updates
Our Maths Team consisting of: Miya, Yu, Yoni and Theo have progressed to round 2 which takes place next Thursday. We wish them well as they take on other schools to solve a variety of mathematical problems. If they get through this round they will go through to the finals based at Cambridge University- Good Luck!
Book Fair
Many thanks to the parents that helped run our Book Fair this week and to all those that came along and purchased books, we really appreciate it. For every book sold we get 60% of the cost back to spend on books for our library. Mrs. Mastoridis, our librarian is already looking at books that we could purchase! She informs me that we have collected over £1025! During Book Week we also held some competitions that Year 5 helped to promote as part of their Unit of Inquiry. We had a bookmark competition and a guess the amount of pages competition. Each winner got a £5 token to spend at the Book Fair and 15 tokens for their House. The winners of the best bookmarks were: Camilla Y1, Kelvin Y3 and Alfie Y5. The page guessers were: Theo Y5 and Tamar Y5, congratulations!
Football Updates
Our Girls football team and Boys teams all had matches on Friday. I hope to pass on how they did at next weeks newsletter - Good luck to the girls Eliza, Ava, Gloria, Emma, Nolen Tamar, Elina, Sofia, Kana, Karina, Alex H, Miya, Natsuki, Ellis, Lola, Gali, Reina, Audrey and Tess.
Good luck to the Boys: Takuya, Noam, Antoni, Ori, Ido P, Oliver, Josh H, Nicolas, Sam, Sachin, Filippo, Bruno, Koutaro, Amit, Stefan, Yoni and Haruki.
Parent Workshop Third Culture Kids Thursday, 30th November
Next Thursday our Director of Admissions will lead a very useful workshop of the topic of Third Culture Kids.
Third Culture Kids is the term used to describe children who grow up outside of their passport country because of a parent's work abroad. About 70% of our students at Dwight may fall into this category. All of our students are Cross Culture Kids because they come into daily contact with people from other cultures. The experience of international mobility presents advantages and disadvantages for children whose routines, friendships, schools, and linguistic and cultural environments are disrupted because of this. With a better understanding of what these benefits and challenges are, parents and educators can work collaboratively to help children negotiate the complexities of international relocation. This workshop will draw on research to offer insights into the special qualities and characteristics of Third Culture Kids and provide a forum for discussing strategies that can help our students and their families embrace the exciting positive and life-changing advantages that can be gained while growing up abroad.
Mary Langford's own international journey began at the age of two. She attended eight schools in five cities in three countries in three languages before she completed high school. Mary has worked with international schools and families as an educator, researcher, writer, speaker, independent consultant and trainer for over 35 years.
To register for the workshop at 6.30pm om Thursday, 30th November, please click here, I look forward to seeing many of you there.
Christmas Show - Penguin Pete
It is that time of year when our Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 students start to practice their Christmas Show. This year the show is called Penguin Pete. The students have lots of words, songs, dances and directions to learn over the next few weeks. They will be performing on Tuesday, 5th December and Wednesday, 6th December from 9-10am in our hall. Although we are an International school and fully understand that we have a cohort of many different students from different backgrounds and cultures, it is important to respect the host country culture that will be celebrating Christmas this December. Tickets are limited to two per family. You may also be keen to know that straight after both performances we are running a Phonics workshop from 10-11am that will provide an oversight of the phonics programme and how you can support your child's progress in this very important area, To reserve tickets for the show, please click here. To reserve seats for one of the workshops, please click here.
Dwight Parent Association Events for Lower School
The DPA is organising the Winter Fair which due to popular demand is going to be a little different this year. We are going to be risk takers and run the event on Thursday, 14th December from 2-4.30 pm in the afternoon rather than on a Saturday.
We think that by having it during the school day it will mean that more children will have the opportunity to be involved and hopefully more parents will come and join us too. Some of the activities include: Meeting Santa, bric-a-brac stall, second-hand uniform, international food and many many games for the children to play. Tickets cost £2 per person including children over 3 years old and will include a programme, one entry into the raffle worth £1 and 4 tokens to spend worth £2. By asking parents to buy these in advance we can provide the children with tokens so they can take part in the many activities planned. Please click here to go to your WisePay accounts to book your tickets now.
Upper School International Evening!
This was a lovely event that took place last Tuesday. It was great to see so many Lower School siblings and their families as well as students from Year 5 and 6. The food and entertainment was memorable and photos from the evening can be found on the school Facebook page.
Dwight Radio
Our radio show has more new content. Click here to visit our Dwight Radio page and tune in.
Reminders
- It is now getting darker and colder. please ensure your children bring labelled coats, hats and scarves. We do expect children to play in the rain unless it is torrential.
- After school we have noticed that several families stay in the playground - This is fine if they are accompanied by an adult until 4pm. If not we suggest moving to Swan Lane Park for more outside activities.
- Parking is at a premium and the end of the school day can be a bit of a rush. Please check that you allowed to park where you have parked and be aware of children crossing the road in the dark.
- PE will still take place on the field and on the playground so we ask that tracksuits are brought in, in case the weather is cold.
Key dates for this term
- Year 6 have their First Aid WOW lessons on 27th and 28th November
- Flu jabs are on 28th November
- Kindergarten and Reception have a "Christmas linked " visit to Willows Farm on the 30th November ( Ho Ho Ho!)
Useful dates for the remainder of this half term
- Christmas Shows for Kindergarten to Year 2 students will be on 5th & 6th December
- Christmas dinner is on Wednesday, 13th December - this is also Christmas Jumper Day and we will ask for donations for the Winter Fair.
- Winter Fair Thursday, 14th December 2-4.30pm
- FYI: Upper School Winter Concert Monday evening 11th December
Useful dates for Next term
Super Question and Language of the Week
Our Super Question last week was: Who is the leader of the EU? Elliot in Y3 correctly informed us it was Jean-Claude Juncker.
This week I asked: Which wife and husband celebrated their 70th Wedding anniversary this week?
Our Language of the week next week is Spanish, let's see who will be able to help!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone, have a good weekend!
Matt Parkin
Lower School Principal
Dwight Parent Association News and Events
December Out and About
Dennis Severs' House and Holiday Lunch at Blixen
Join us for a holi-day out in Spitalfields! We'll start with a walk through the Dennis Severs House and follow with lunch at Blixen.
Dennis Severs' House is more than just a time capsule. It is both a breathtaking and intimate portrait of the lives of a family of Hugenot silk-weavers from 1724 to the dawn of the 20th century. As you follow their fortunes through the generations, the sights, smells and sounds of the house take you into their lives. It was Dennis Severs' intention that as you enter his house it is as if you have passed through the surface of a painting, exploring with your senses and imagination a meticulously crafted 18th Century world.
We'll follow with lunch at Blixen
Date: Monday, 11th December
Meet: 10.50am West Finchley tube station or 11.45am at Dennis Severs House – 18 Folgate Street – E1 6BX.
Cost: £10 to tour the house and then your lunch costs
Reservations: PLEASE contact michele@seanoneill.com asap if you can make it, so she can make the lunch reservations.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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