Tipi’s, longhouses and igloos oh my! The Grade 5 students were tasked with creating a showcase which demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of the different traditional and historical homes of the Aboriginal people of Canada. Each group designed, researched and created a display in order to educate the staff, student and parents of CIS.

Part of Alberta Educations plan of inclusivity, students are tasked with exploring and understanding vast cultures, people and stories that make up the texture and fabric of the world we live. Some of these stories and people include the First Nations, Metis and Inuit perspectives. Students had free choice when it came to the shelters they would research and build.

Many constructed their shelters from household or homemade items, but others also included the use of media and technology. Each group crafted, constructed and created magnificent and visually captivating shelters that not only include the outside, but also what the shelters would look like inside. In order to captivate audiences and be prepared for the barrage of staff and students, the Grade 5’s ensured they were well prepared, through research, stories, pictures and signage.

Project based learning is a key fundamental being utilized during the Grade 5 programming. This allows student interest, sparks creativity, ingenuity and a passion for learning. From the smiling faces, joy of interaction and the passion demonstrated from all those involved, the Grade 5’s displays were a complete success.

Job, rent, loan, auction… These complicated economics concepts in adult world, are taking a different form in our Grade 6 classroom at CIS.

Since the beginning of this school year, our Grade 6 teacher Mr.Kay has been working on a project called “Classroom Economy” with students. This is a model of real world economics.

What is Classroom Economy？

How did we implement a classroom economy within a classroom? The rules are simple:

Monthly Expenses

Students do not own their desk, but they have to pay “rent” for it every month. In addition, if students behave poorly, like bullying a fellow student, they will be fined.

Monthly Income

All students apply for monthly jobs such as food delivery person, banker, reporter, and are paid every month. On top of that, good behaviour and good test results are rewarded with bonuses.

Monthly Auction

Time to shop! Every month an auction will be held where the students can buy items such as stationery, a movie afternoon, a pizza class, and much more. Students use their savings to buy things in the auction, but if they have loans, they may not be able to participate. Just like in real life!

In order to budget their income and expenses, students are expected to work hard making money and control their spending. This inevitably leads to a lot of interesting stories.

Stimulates Learning

The purpose of this program is to encourage good behaviour of the students in class. For example, students receive a bonus for reading at home. The more time they spend reading, the more they will improve their reading and writing skills which effects their performance in all subjects. At the same time, students get fined for not speak English in class, letting them get used to speaking English all the time. In this healthy cycle, the classroom economy serves as a great incentive.

The jobs of the classroom economy also teach the students about responsibility. There are bankers who take care of loans, police officers in charge of class discipline, food delivery people who get snacks for the whole class, etc. If they don’t perform well in their job, they will be fired and have to find a new job. Surely without salary, they can’t pay their rent. These consequences make students realize how important it is for everyone to have self-discipline and responsibility.

From Economics to Real-life Challenges

In the process, students also learn basic economic concepts such as expenses, income, loans and salaries.

We had one student spend $1000 for a pen that he thought he really wanted in an auction, only to find out that when the excitement of buying it faded away, he was in debt and he did not need that pen at all.

Meanwhile another student took a loan from the bank for something he really needed and had a chance to use it while paying back.

For most of them, the moment they happily receive a paycheque and are ready to shop, is when they suddenly realize that they have to pay rent in two days, and have to “painfully” control their desires.

Economics is not a core course in elementary or secondary school. The experience of this project is a way to help our students learn how to think in an economic way while growing up, so that they will be well-prepared for real-life challenges when the time comes.

Students Say……

What I learned from this classroom economy thing is not to spend too much money on stuff. And you have to behave well in class so you don’t get fined. And try to work hard to get more money to buy more stuff.

What have I learned from classroom economy is choose your own path of accomplishments. Like being at the top, it’s so hard since everybody says to do stuff that you don’t want to. So just choose what you want to do and it will be an accomplishment.

Most Recent PISA Results

In the worldwide PISA test, Canada consistently performs very high compared to other countries and outperforms almost all other western countries, which shows outstanding education quality in this country, especially some provinces like Alberta.

In the PISA 2015 study, Alberta’s students:

• Ranked the HIGHEST in Canada, and ranked SECOND in the world, in science. 

• Ranked SECOND in the world in reading.

Historically, Alberta has been one of top 2 highest achieving province in Canada. In Alberta, a developmentally appropriate curriculum developed by teachers combined with standardized exams in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 12 ensures that the curriculum is effective and accountable.

What is PISA?

PISA is the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment. The assessment focuses on young people’s abilities to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. These skills are believed to be prerequisites for efficient learning in adulthood and for full participation in society.

PISA test is increasingly used in the process of education policymaking at both national and international levels and is recognized as one of the most influential education assessment worldwide.

Who Takes the Test?

Every three years it tests 15-year-old students from all over the world in reading, mathematics and science. 

Over half a million 15-year-olds from 80 countries and economies took the PISA test in 2018. They were tested in reading, mathematics and science with a focus on reading. In addition, students in some countries took tests on financial literacy and on global competence. Results of this PISA round (PISA 2018) will be released on 3 December 2019.

Map of PISA Countries and Economies (In blue and grey)

CIS

Canadian International School of Guangzhou is the first Alberta accredited K12 International School in mainland China.

At CIS, we follow Alberta Curriculum with our excellent teachers in a beautiful campus. Our students learn the main subjects such as English Language, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Their programs are also infused with Mandarin, Music, Art, Drama and Physical Education. In addition to the academic courses, our students are learning many different competencies like communication, collaboration, problem-solving and technology skills.

Our graduates go to many different universities and colleges across Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia; this is because our curriculum is so dynamic and known world-wide.

Learning happens not just in the classroom.

Over the past few months, students from all grades of CIS have participated in a variety of learning activities, truly illustrating that learning is everywhere.

Kindergarten Science Center Trip

Over the next month, Kindergarten will be learning about space, so we decided to take a trip to the Guangdong Science Center to discover more. The day was filled with so much excitement, and the children couldn’t wait to try out all the activities. 

From becoming an astronaut, to walking on the moon, we certainly had lots to learn!

Grade 4 Excessive Packaging

As part of their Waste & Our World science unit, the grade 4 students learned about excessive packaging in an authentic and hands-on way! We took a walk to a local fruit shop and convenient store. The students’ task was to find examples of excessive packaging and explain why they thought there was too much packaging. Using an iPad, the students took turns recording each other explaining their example to the camera. Check out the video to learn more! 

Click to watch the video

Grade 4 Ancient Egypt Exhibition

On Wednesday January 16th, the fourth graders visited the Guangdong Museum to experience a wonderful exhibition on ancient Egypt. We had a chance to view statues, tools, and even real mummies from thousands of years ago! Viewing the different artifacts gave us all a chance to appreciate what life was like for ancient Egyptians and we all left the museum with rich memories of a historic civilization from Africa. Following the museum visit, we visited Zhujiang Park to enjoy lunch outside in nature and also to play some fun team-building games.  

Grade 10 Reading Challenge

The Grade 10 social class was tasked with the challenge of learning 13 words, designing a story, a book and presenting it to the elementary students. 

With the help of Ms. Guzzo we were able to have the projects the students made sent them away to be made into real books. During that time Mr. Mcfadyen connected with Mr. Rankin about a time to read to his students. 

Click to watch the video

This challenge not only challenged students to learn the vocabulary, but also challenged the student to think of away they could teach the words to younger students who would never have heard the words before. It brought out the creative side in all the students from creating their own story to the drawings and pictures in their books. The students were nervous at first reading to the grade 4’s, but with every word gained more and more confidence in themselves and the knowledge they had learned and now teaching other students.

High School Skating

Our senior Physical Education classes had the chance to experience ice skating! The grade 10, 11, 12 PE classes were joined by the 11, 12 drama class to enjoy an afternoon learning to skate. The students had the rink all to themselves at the Utopa Center and had a lot of fun! Some of our students had tried skating before, while for others this was their very first experience on skates. 

After receiving a skating lesson students were free to try out their skills. The students showed great citizenship towards each other by helping and encouraging each other. The students with the most experience helped out the ones who were just learning. They pulled each other around the ice and helped each other up when they fell. It was so wonderful to see!

This past Friday, our Grade 5 and Grade 6 students came together for a Celebration of Learning. This  showcased their learning over the past few months in different technologies. Utilizing the IDEA lab, they showed how they integrated science and math curriculums with technology. They were also able to display their student designed mural that reflects the students understanding of Canada.

Technology Integration

Students participates in several stations set up in the Idea Lab, making electrical circuits, applying what they’ve learned in science class to hands-on situations. They worked with coding programs, as a part of our ongoing effort to incorporate more and more 21st century learning into our curriculum, to help prepare our students for the ever-changing digital age. 

Learning Plan Sharing

Students also involved in these and other interesting scientific applications that allow them to solve problems, to think critically – to work as a team to find creative solutions for real-world problems. 

Our Grade 5 classes have already learned about Electricity and Magnetism, and Mechanisms Using Electricity – the activities they took part in today were directly tied in with these curricular objectives. Moving forward, they still have Chemistry, Wetlands, and Weather to look forward to: lots of exciting things to learn there! 

Our Grade 6s have learned a great deal about Air and Aerodynamics, and Flight, and we’re currently working through our unit on Sky Science – exploring the universe around us and learning about our solar system – and we still have Trees and Forests, as well as Evidence and Investigation, to learn about.

Artwork: The Symbols of Canada

Last but not least, in the corridor of IDEA Lab, today we also had a special mural painted by our own Ms. Leung. We took student-drawn artwork that represents what our students think of when they think of “Canada”, and Ms. Leung has put it together into a mural that joins each of our classes’ thought and creative expression.

Thank you for making our IDEA Lab artistic, engaging and inspiring. We look forward to have more celebrations of learning here!

Ice cream, Oreos, Marshmallows…

Is it time for afternoon snack?

No, you are in our Grade 2 “Tasty Tuesday” at CIS.

If there’s one thing that brings excitement to our students, it would be delicious food!

And for our Grade 2, every “Tasty Tuesday” starts by reading the recipe as a class. During the Christmas season, the children made festive “Christmas Snowman Dessert Recipes”.

Reading recipes allows them to learn new words through the ingredients list. It familiarizes them with the instructions for “cooking”, and lets them learn the art of organizing the different steps in a recipe.

After reading the recipe, everyone got the required ingredients and began to make their own desserts. Some students put chocolate marbles as eyes and noses, while others put oreos on the snowman’s head as a hat. The creativity in decorating brought holiday spirit and the classroom was filled with delicious sweetness.

After displaying the creation for a photograph, the long awaited moment arrived…it was time to eat!!

The students wait with anticipation for the last Tuesday of each month! “Tasty Tuesday” has captured their hearts and bellies. It has become a highlight for most Grade 2 students. They have been able to accumulated dozens of recipes that they will be able to share with family and friends.

Ms. Johnson and Mrs. Mallak, started this food odyssey two years ago. In their view:

“We wanted to do a fun monthly activity to celebrate holidays, but also that tasted yummy! The students read the recipe, gather the ingredients, build their treat, taste their treat, and write a review. At the end of the school year the families will get a Tasty Tuesday Cook Book with their child’s hand written recommendations in it 🙂 They can build the treats together for years to come! “

“Tasty Tuesday” offers students a chance to learn about health, culture, and of course the joy of food! It allows them to create food traditions and share these gems with their families and friends. Let’s make every Tuesday Tasty 🙂

Last December, our students in grades Pre-K to 7 participated in the world event Hour of Code. The Hour of Code is a global movement by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org. Reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming.

We discussed how coding is like learning a new language and they will now have the skills to start the Apps and games they enjoy to play on a daily basis. Our students engaged in different activities, which helped them learn how to write a line of code. 

The goal was to write 10 lines of code, many students surpassed that! As our Idea Lab is almost complete our students will engage in computational thinking within their classrooms on a regular basis.

At CIS our goal is to give our students opportunities so that they become confident learners learning skills that will help them become successful in our ever-changing world. Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow. #WEARECIS

In July, 2012, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) released a statement on play-based learning. In their research of current and up-to-date educational philosophies, they have found that “purposeful play-based early learning sets the stage for future learning, health and well-being” (CMEC, 2012).

Current educational research proves that students develop socially, emotionally and physically when they are playing. “Based on such evidence, ministers of education endorse a sustainable pedagogy for the future that does not separate play from learning but brings them together to promote creativity in future generations.” (CMEC, 2012)

With this in mind, our Early Childhood team continues to develop their programs based on the philosophy of play-based learning. Students’ interests guide daily learning activities. Teachers use the Alberta Kindergarten Program of Studies to plan developmentally appropriate activities that will help prepare students for their future journey.

These programs focus on fostering a fun and enriching learning environment, where studentslearn through play while developing their social, fine motor, gross motor and language skills.

If you would like to read the entire CMEC play-based learning statement, please visit:

https://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/282/play-based-learning_statement_EN.pdf