Monday, February 20, 2017

Semester Two Learning Outcomes

Below you will find the intended learning outcomes for all subject areas from Grades 1 to 6.  Click on the links to view and download the documents.  If you have any questions about these learning outcomes, please contact your child's homeroom teacher, the PYP Coordinator (Michael Hughes), or our Elementary Principal (Sandra Mulligan).

Click here to view the Grade 1 intended learning outcomes for Semester Two

Click here to view the Grade 2 intended learning outcomes for Semester Two





Thursday, February 9, 2017

Engaging Parents with the Writing Workshop

We had a good turnout of parents for this morning's PYP Coffee Morning. Our phase level leaders (Mr. Brigham, Mrs. Mollie and Mr. O'Shea) engaged with parents to explain our new approach to teaching writing in the Elementary School.  They started by introducing what a mini lesson looks like and showed how teachers model and teach specific skills to the students, then allow them to actively engage in the process.  In the video, below, you can see an example of a mini lesson from Mr. O'Shea's Grade 6 class.


We then moved on to look at the main part of the workshop - the independent writing.  In this section of the workshop students work at their own pace to progress through the writing process (collecting ideas, planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing) on topics of their own choosing. During this time, the homeroom teachers confer with individuals or small groups to offer feedback and advice on their next steps. Each unit ends with a celebration of the writing, where students get to share their work as authors with an authentic audience.  In the video below, you can see Mr. Brigham conferring with one of his Grade 1 students.


Parents then had a chance to take a closer look at writing checklists and work samples at the grade level of their daughter.  Mr. Brigham sat with the parents of grade 1 and 2 students, Mrs. Mollie with the grade 3 and 4 students, and Mr O'Shea with the grade 5 and 6 parents.  Here, they had a chance to discuss the work samples, use the student checklists and learn how to support their daughters' writing at home.

Mr. Brigham with parents from grades 1 and 2

Mrs. Mollie with parents from grades 3 and 4

Mr. O'Shea with parents from grades 5 and 6

The session ended with parents using the online tool menti.com to reflect on the session (you can se these reflections in the slides, below). We would like to thank all parents who took the time from their busy schedules to come along and learn about the writing workshop today. We look forward to continuing to work closely with you and your daughters! We would like to say a special thank you to our Phase Level Leaders for putting together and facilitating such an informative parent workshop!

PYP Coffee Morning:  The Writing Workshop at Seisen (slides)

From the Elementary House Captains - a BIG, BIG, BIG thank you to the Seisen Community!

As Elementary House Captains we would like to thank the entire Seisen Community - students, families, faculty and staff for their participation and contributions to our fundraiser for our Seisen Sister School, St. Raphaela's, Naga City, the Philippines.

We are excited to share that a total of 341, 760 yen was raised from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

These funds will be used to support rebuilding efforts for families and to repair the damage to the school building caused by Typhoon Nina.

Thank you Seisen!  
(Elementary House Captains)

Sunday, February 5, 2017

New Units of Inquiry - A Scientific Focus

All the grade levels have now finished their 'Getting Started' phases of their units of inquiries and will continue to investigate, make connections and go further over the coming weeks. You can click on the links, below, to see the evidence of understanding we will be looking for at each stage of the units of inquiry.  All the current units have a scientific focus and will allow the students to develop their scientific inquiry skills as they discover science concepts through a variety of hands-on activities and investigations.

You can take hard copies of the learning outcomes from the bulletin board next to the Cafeteria:

Learning progressions for the units of inquiry are available for parents to take from the bulletin board next to the Cafeteria.


Click here to view the Grade 1 possible learning outcomes for their How The World Works unit of inquiry (Central Idea - Light and sound can be produced by different sources and can be changed.).

Click here to view the Grade 2 possible learning outcomes for their How The World Works unit of inquiry (Central Idea - The properties of materials and the forces acting upon them can influence the design of buildings and structures.).

Click here to view the Grade 3 possible learning outcomes for their How The World Works unit of inquiry (Central Idea - People apply their knowledge of forces and energy to create physical applications.). 

Click here to view the Grade 4 possible learning outcomes for their How The World Works unit of inquiry (Central Idea - Scientific processes can be used to investigate how the forms of energy are stored, transformed and transferred.). 

Click here to view the Grade 5 possible learning outcomes for their How The World Works unit of inquiry (Central Idea - People use their knowledge of properties of matter to suit specific needs.). 

Click here to view the Grade 6 possible learning outcomes for their Sharing The Planet unit of inquiry (Central Idea - Access to medical care around the world varies and can influence how diseases are spread.).

Friday, February 3, 2017

Fund-Raiser to Support Rebuilding Efforts for St. Raphaela's School, Naga City, Philippines

What a fantastic day!

Seisen was awash today with students & faculty dressed in blue, red, white & yellow - the colors of the Philippine flag. We'd like to convey HUGE thanks to all our Seisen families KG - Gr. 12 for their kind & generous donations to support rebuilding efforts for St. Raphaela's School, Naga City, the Philippines.

You'll see Ms. Kampa's Elementary SASA dance troop contributed to the day's festivities with their energetic performances of traditional Philippine dance during the Elementary, Middle and High School lunches. Great to see Filipino Staff from Cezars Kitchen and Seisen join in the fun. Thanks to the ladies in Seisen's Kitchen for the yummy Filipino themed lunch.

Congratulations to the Elementary House Captains for organising and advertising the event!


Watch this space for news of the total amount collected!


When the Day Makes You Smile!

Happiness...

Happiness for a principal...when what you collectively strive to create as a faculty and what you see
happening in school are in harmony...

Happy Friday!