Teacher's Reflections: Nearly a month in...

It's almost a month now that I've been teaching P1s. I never knew that teaching such a young group of students could be so enjoyable. Previously, my teaching experience had been with P3s, 4s and 5s. There were times when I felt like nothing more than a facilitator, a talking computer dispensing knowledge to pupils who may or may not care. Teaching p1s has reminded me of what it means to be a teacher. You teach from the heart, when you're in p1. They are innocent and perhaps, a little part of me wants to keep them innocent. Even if it takes quite a while to explain to a child what they did was wrong, I feel that P1s do listen and try to make an effort to change. This is a level where I feel I'm making a difference to their lives as well as their grades, as idealistic as that may sound.

I do worry about the pupils who have trouble keeping up with the rest of the class, and sometimes I know the others tend to get a little restless when I am teaching one or two pupils something that everyone else has already finished. Thankfully, the children are good kids who will quieten down when I ask them to, giving me time to teach those who need that little bit more guidance. And it's quite frankly a joy to see their faces light up when I cheer them for finishing a task that I know they have trouble with.

I'm doing my best to teach pupils values in this their fundamental year in Primary School. Values such as integrity, honesty, responsibility perseverance and punctuality are emphasized in my classroom.

Those with roles are learning responsibility, and everyone is taking care of their classroom and their pets, taking turns to help clean the water and feed the fish. Pupils are also beginning to show signs of learning social skills - such as what to do when someone irritates you. They are also learning that 'Mommy never pack my homework' is not an accepted excuse in my classroom, as I tell them that their homework is their responsibility, and that Mommy doesn't know what they have to bring to school. I'm very happy to say that the children are all very honest and willing to admit their wrongdoings and the consequences that follow (usually a temporary ban from the class library/aquarium and a telling off). I do ensure that I explain my reasons for getting angry with their actions, why it was wrong and what they should do the next time they are in the same situation afterwards.

All in all, being in a P1 classroom is a re-awakening of the little idealistic side of me that wanted to become a teacher in the first place. Thank you so much to the parents who have been supportive thus far, your little notes of support and encouragement do wonders for me in this emotionally-tiring job. I'll do my best for these kids so if there's any concern or worry, please feel free to drop me a note any time.

Week 5 Spelling List

Spelling date: 1 February, 2008

seas
trees
train
crane
house
people
bridge
flowers
mountains
aeroplanes

New Friends in Class

Primary 1-3 has some new friends! Joining our class are 8 of the cutest fishes - our new class pets. Having the class pets will teach the Anthonians to respect life and learn responsibility in the caring for the animals. They also get a chance to observe the fish as they swim about their new home. Not only will this instill social-emotional skills in the children, but it will also encourage them to communicate their curiosities as they ask many questions indeed about our new pets.

Here are some snapshots of our new class aquarium and some of the rules the children thought were important.

Rules:

• Do feed the fish at recess
• Do watch the fish peacefully
• Do turn the light off before leaving
• Do not tap or knock the glass
• Do not put anything in the water
• Do not touch or frighten the fish
• Do not play with the light.

We have four small Neon Dwarf Rainbow Fish, two black female Swordtails and two red Flame Dwarf Gouramis.

Prior to adding the fish, the aquarium was populated with a list of items that the students drew up for the project.

The aquarium after set up with the fish inside.

Our new little fish corner.

Spelling List Unit 2

Spelling Test: 25th January, 2008

tub
cow
mud
liked
played
rolled
jumped
animals
paddled
screamed

Some Blog Uncertainties

Hello all,

I'm writing this entry to clear some issues regarding the use of this blog to compliment classroom operations. This is the first time I've started a blog catered to parents, and I really do appreciate your patience in some of the nagging issues that have come up that I'm going to address.

Blog vs Anthonian Diary

Some parents have expressed uncertainty over which source of information to rely upon for homework updates - the blog or the diary. The purpose of putting the homework up on the blog was to help parents keep abreast over homework that was given to the entire class. Sometimes, however, certain pupils may have homework given to them individually which has been entered into their Diaries. The blog will only reflect class-wide homework, not these individual assignments (which usually arise when pupils forget to bring books or are unable to finish the tasks in time). So as a rule of thumb, please check your child's Diary daily and initial or sign at every entry. The diary should be the primary source of homework information for both you and your child.

I'm trying to streamline this blog to complement the classroom, but the task is time consuming. I will soon be adding a list of circulars given to the pupils on an ad hoc basis to keep you abreast. The issue on circulars has been addressed below.

Blog Update Frequency

As far as possible, I will strive to update the blog on the evening of the day that certain announcements or homework is given to the class. It will be done by 7.30pm. However, if you check the blog after 7.30 and see that there is no update, then no news is good news. :)

Spelling Days

By and large, spelling days for English will be on Fridays. Different mother tongue teachers have their spellings on different days, but for English, it's on Fridays.

I will also be posting a list of that week's spelling words on the blog each Monday morning.

School/Level Circulars

The school does issue circulars or memos to parents, in which case it would be best if each child has a little folder or file in which to store his or her papers. Understandably, being kids, sometimes these important letters are lost or crumpled in the bag or used as scrap paper to be drawn on, so having a file would avoid this problem. As mentioned earlier, in order to help you keep track of these circulars, I will be putting up announcements on the blog page if any are given to the class on the same day.

I hope this has helped to clear up some cloudy uncertainties. If you need any more information or clarification, please feel free to email me at the address given at the start of term. Thank you for your patience and understanding as I try to streamline the workings of this new class.

~Miss Kristen Danker

New Time Table

Hello All!

The new time table has been released to pupils. As of the 14th January, there will be PE on Monday due to the commencement of Badminton Training.

The new time table is as such:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
1.00-1.30	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Contact Time	Assembly	CME
1.30-2.00	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	English	Cat. / S.R.
2.00-2.30	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	Mother Tongue	English	CME
2.30-3.00	Social Studies	Music	Mother Tongue	English	Mother Tongue
3.00-3.30	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess
3.30-4.00	Music	Art and Craft	PE	Mother Tongue	English
4.00-4.30	PE	Art and Craft	English	Mother Tongue	English
4.30-5.00	English	English	English	Mother Tongue	English
5.00-5.30	English	English	English	Health Ed.	English
5.30-6.00	Math	Math	English	Math	Math
6.00-6.30	Math	Math	English	Math	PE

Library Corner

Hello all!

Our class library has been set up at last, and the kids are very excited about it, so much so that I need to buy more foam tiles to accommodate their comfort during reading periods. Here are a few snapshots of the library corner.


As you can see, the collection of books has grown. Thank you to all the parents who have donated. If you have any unwanted story books throughout the year, please feel free to donate them to the library, the children are eager to read and show great enthusiasm for the books.

~Miss Kristen Danker

Book Donation Drive

Dear Parents,

The class will be holding a Book Donation Drive for the Class Library. As of now, our class has no library, and pupils tend to get rather restless after their work. With the library, they can proceed there to sit down and read while waiting for their classmates to finish their tasks. This will not only occupy the children, but build literacy and aesthetic reading, which is reading for enjoyment.

If you have any old story books at home suitable for children of your child's age, please feel free to donate them to the class for their library. At the end of the year, the books will be saved for the next year's class. Collection will be from Monday, 7th January, to Friday, 11th January. Donate a few books at a time, as I am concerned that your child's bag may be too heavy.

Please note that this drive is completely voluntary.I appreciate your help! Thank you in advance!

~Miss Kristen

Welcome to Primary 1-3

Hello and welcome to the class blog of Primary 1-3, St. Anthony's Primary School. My name is Kristen Danker, the form teacher for 1-3 this year. This site is maintained by me in an effort to keep parents updated on class activities, announcements and homework, as well as to showcase outstanding work that the pupils produce. Homework lists for the day will be updated daily at 6.30 to 7pm, and Announcements will be added on an ad hoc basis.

As I have stated in the Form Teacher's Letter given to your pupils, I have attached a brief questionnaire that will help me to get to know your child better as well as make any accommodations for him/her should your child have any special needs or medical conditions. I have also attached a list of items that your child should bring each day to facilitate his/her study.

If you need to contact me, you may do so at the email address and handphone number indicated on the Form Teacher's Letter or by penning your message down in your child's Anthonian Diary and asking him/her to show it to me in class.

I look forward to cooperating with you for your child's development in the upcoming year!

~Miss Kristen Danker