Celebration of Learning

Celebration of Learning – Grade5&6 – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

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 more celebrations of learning here!

18Jan

Experience a Tasty Tuesday in Grade 2! – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

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 🙂

12Jan

Hour of Code at CIS – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

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

5Jan

Play Based Learning in Early Childhood – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

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

16Dec

Let’s Go On a Field Trip! – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

Grade 4 – IKEA

Field trips are a great way to get out into our community to practice some of the skills that we have learned in the classroom. On Friday December 7th 2018, the fourth graders visited the local IKEA outlet in Panyu to practice Math in the real world.

Students were asked to select various items from the store that they wanted to include on a wish list. First, they demonstrated their understanding of rounding by taking the original price and converting it into an easier value by rounding to the nearest hundred or thousand. Then, they calculated an exact total and an estimated total using these figures by applying what they know about addition strategies.

The MathMania field trip continued even at lunch time! Students were given a set budget for lunch. First, they consulted with the menu to add up their choices to ensure they were under the set budget. Once they confirmed that they were on target, they proceeded to purchase the food from the store’s cafeteria.

This was a great excursion for the fourth graders because they had a chance to see how Mathematics was connected to their everyday lives. Learning outside of the classroom can be a very powerful experience for those involved!

Grade 4 – Agio’s

The grade 4 students have been learning to represent, compare and order fractions in Math. What better way is there to really consolidate their learning than to get food involved?! We brought our math brains and hungry bellies to Agio’s Italian Restaurant for a pizza making experience.

First, students created their own personal pizza and added their choice of toppings. Then they demonstrated their understanding of fractions by identifying what fraction of their pizza has a certain topping. For example, “3/8 of my pizza has pepperoni.” The students also demonstrated that they can compare and order fractions with like denominators using pizza toppings. This was an engaging and delicious experience that allowed students to understand how math is relevant to their lives…and tasty as well!

Grade 7-9 – K11 Art Gallery

With the recent partnership between CIS and K11, Grade 7, 8, and 9 students were able to visit K11 art gallery. K11 art gallery exhibits contemporary art works which are very different and challenge the normal mindset. CIS students experienced art pieces which involved technology and sound. They learned that art comes in many different forms – not just paintings and pictures. The artists’ backgrounds are as diverse as our students – each with unique background and stories to tell. We are proud and happy about our partnership with K11 to showcase CIS’s art talents. During December 20 to 27th, K11 will be hosting CIS students’ art works. Please visit K11 to experiment the wonderful world of art.

Grade 3 – Chimelong

On November 28th, G3 students got the opportunity to visit Chimelong Safari Park as part of our Science curriculum. Students got to see many different species of animals and asked all sorts of inquisitive questions. Some of their favourite parts were the Safari train car for getting to see up close animals that they haven’t had the opportunity to see before, as well as the cable car that allowed us to see the animals from a different perspective. Many thanks to the parents who came to help as well!

16Dec

CIS Genius Hour Showcase – Canadian International School of Guangzhou

What are you passionate about? If you were given the chance to direct your own learning, what topics would you explore? These are the essential questions that students are faced with when starting their own Genius Hour project. Genius hour is an initiative that gives students the power to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.

Each week, the students in fourth grade have a double-block assigned for Genius Hour. They began their projects by making lists of their interests and prioritizing their passions. Then, they selected a topic to explore and began to research, both online and in our library, to find the answers to their questions. As essential component of the project is that students must create something to share what they have learned with others. Some students chose to make their own book, some created a video that was posted to the group’s YouTube channel, and others decided to document their learning through a multimedia slideshow.

On December 13th, the students hosted a Genius Hour showcase at CIS’s Idea Lab. They welcomed parents, staff, teaching faculty, and other students to check out their unique creations and were able to explain the key features of their project to visiting guests. Because students were self-directing all aspects of their learning, the engagement level throughout the project was much higher and all the artifacts that were created represented each student’s unique learning journey.

24Nov

Weekly Update | Alberta Education Inspection

This week, we’ve had the Alberta Accreditation Inspection team here at CIS Guangzhou. Why there is so much importance on having Alberta Education inspect our school and accredit our school.

Parents were sometime asking us ‘Why would we choose the Alberta Curriculum? And what makes the Alberta curriculum more advantageous than other curriculum, say the common core, or IB, or A-levels. Well, maybe people in Asia aren’t very aware of the province of Alberta. In Canada, Alberta outperformed all the other provinces on PISA tests, and other international tests. And Canada is very high performing country as well on the PISA tests.

All of our students in Grade 12 write the Alberta diploma exams, they write the exact same exams as students in Calgary and Edmonton, and other international Alberta schools. So that allows universities to know that the grade we give to our students in Guangzhou is verified against the grades that will be offer across Alberta.With the Alberta high school diploma, students can go to universities all over the world. We’ve already seen that with our graduates here in Guangzhou going to the UK, Australia and Canada.

The other reason that Alberta Education or the Alberta Curriculum is so strong is because the requirement to have highly qualified teachers. All teachers have to be certifiable in the province of Alberta. During the accreditation week, teachers can be very nervous because someone is coming in and looking at their lesson plans, looking at their tests, listening to how they teach, watching how they teach and giving them feedback. But we always tell our teachers just to be normal to do the great job as they always do, and everything will be just fine.

From the school prospective, the onsite evaluation is very thorough. The members from Alberta Education going to our teachers’ classrooms to watch lessons, to go through assessment documents and grade books, the individual interviews with the leadership team as well as teachers, and of course all of our students from Grade 4 to Grade 12 are surveyed, our parents are all asked to complete the surveys as well as all of the teaching staff.

So feel it as though that because the process looked at so many different aspect of the school, they are really able to reassure our parents, our teachers, the administration staff were doing an excellent job in delivering the Alberta curriculum in Guangzhou. So one of the comments that one of the accreditation managers made was that if he would close his eyes in one of our classrooms, what he was hearing would be exactly what he would hear back home. That is very important to us, because that’s the program we want to deliver to our students.

Another valuable aspect of the evaluation process is that it’s external. So we have people coming from Alberta government in Alberta Canada to review our policies, our process, to look at our teachers, to exam our grade books to make sure it’s a safe and caring environment for our students.

It’s also very important to our families and parents to be reassure thatwe are doing everything we absolutely can deliver the academic quality they want for their children.And that truly, when they graduate in Grade 12 with an Alberta high school diploma that will mean something, and that will open up so many doors for their children’s future.

24Nov

Parent Teacher Meeting at CIS

First PT meeting of Sem 1 on this Thursday and Friday. Parents have the chance to individually meet with teachers and talk about their children’s ‘ performance in every aspect as academic results, ASAs, social communications, etc. Teachers provided personalized advice to every student during the meeting and parents are sending us very positive feedback about our amazing teachers and courses. It’s so glad to hear some students even want to come to school during weekends. PT meeting is so important, however communication happens not only at PT meetings but also in daily school life. So, feel free to talk to us anytime!

Meanwhile, we did some interview with our parents and teachers, to see their opinions on PT meetings and what they think is most different from Chinese PT meetings.

As a teacher, what do you think is most important in a PT meeting?

The purpose is to touch base with the parent and let them know how their child is doing in the class. The report card doesn’t always say everything that’s important for the parent to know. If we can meet with the parent, they we can explain to them how to help their child to be successful. And I like to meet parents face to face, if they have any questions for me about their child, it’s easier to do that in a face to face session.

I had one student yesterday whose mother said that her main concern is not grade, is socializing. Her child felt isolated and lonely, if they were trying to appear like an academic parent and not go there, then I wouldn’t know it’s a problem for her child.

What are the advantages of individual PT meetings?

The advantage is we can really talk about personal things about their child, cause each child is totally different. Even if you have two students have the same mark, they both learn differently, and they do different things in class. And there maybe things that are uncomfortable for their parents to hear, maybe their child is struggling with something. I wouldn’t want to say that in front of other parents.

In what way do you think PT meeting will impact communication between parent and teacher?

It definately has positive impact because when parents know what’s going on in the classroom, then they can help their child more at home, they can ask questions and know where they are at grades and how they’re performing in the class. PT meeting also shouldn’t be the first time that we talk. I sent wechat to my parents, communicate with them in other ways, especially when there’s a issue. I think communication is extremely important between parents and teacher. PT meeting is just a very nice middle point of the year.

What have you done to overcome the culture and language barrier for the PT meeting at our school?

Last year I taught elementary and parents were very confused that I wasn’t sending home homework. From public schools they seem to have a lot of homework and a lot of things to memorize. What I did is talk to the parents about why I don’t send homework home and why I don’t have them memorize spelling words and we didn’t do spelling tests. I just explained the reasons because in my learning, I’m studying on how students learn, what works for them and what doesn’t. Homework and memorization are very old ways of thinking about school and it’s not proven to be effective. Maybe some students can learn very good in that way, but not all. I would explain to them that instead of having them memorize this is how you do math, I want them to understand why do it that way, so that it applies to other places, it makes their knowledge more board and able to use in the real world.

Language barriers yes, but culturally not really. Their concerns are understandable, they want their child to do better.

What do you think we should do differently to improve PT meeting next time?

Translators, we didn’t have them last time, and this year we have, it’s a lot better.

We should ask students to translate for their parents, it’s good to have students to speak up for themselves.

16Nov

To Raise Future Leaders | Parents Workshop Highlights

The CIEO/CIS International Education Conference 2018 was an inspiring event and with over 500 attendees, it was a fitting way to mark the 18th anniversary of CIEO. Speakers from across the international school community explored emerging issues around education today. The conference included parent workshops aimed at providing information to support their children’s learning. Drawing from the wealth of experience from educational professionals, the sessions drew on a wide range of topics.

Sonia Iong, Language Pathologist at The International School of Macao (TIS) opened the workshop by discussing “Second Language Acquisition And Bilingualism”. The session shed light on the effects of Second Language Acquisition And Bilingualism have on children’s cognitive, educational and language development and introduced useful strategies and approaches in raising bilingual children.

The positive effects of bilingualism in children include better selective attention, increased cognitive flexibility, improved planning skills as well as enhanced problem solving abilities. These continue into adulthood and can have decreased effects of aging on the brain and delayed onset of dementia.

The session also highlighted the differences in acquiring more than one language and how a child learns another language. Simultaneous acquisition (at the same time) and Sequential acquisition (one after another).

One of the common misconceptions of bilingualism on children’s development is that bilingualism can delay language, when in actual fact, there is no difference between bilingual and monolingual children. Useful tips and strategies on how to raise bilingual children are, to speak in a language you are most comfortable with, play dumb, model as much as you can and don’t test them and keep it light and fun. Some possible red flags to look out for, based on a child’s first language ability are if by the age of three/four, the child is not using sentences or asking questions and if by the age of five/six, the child is not able to retell a sequence of events or not following 3-step oral instructions. Parents with concerns can seek help from a speech and language pathologist to support the development of communication and literacy and to treat different types of communication and swallowing disorders.

Howard Stribbell, Director of International Education for CIEO provided insights on “What is a World Class Education?” and revealed interesting tips and ideas on how we can give our children an advantage by giving them the best educational opportunities. He explained how education ignites talent, develops character and gives our children the necessary skills for the future. Education prepares our children for university and work and can help them achieve happiness and success.

How do we go about choosing the right school for our children? It depends on a number of factors including, the destination for university (less necessary now), internationally; based on the strength of the curriculum, based on the strength of the individual school or a school that aligns with your values. Curriculum is measured in various ways and one of them is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD). It measures 15 year old student performance on Language Arts, Mathematics and Science, administered in the language of the school and repeated every 3 years. Top countries that perform well in the PISA tests include Finland and Canada, along with territories such as Hong Kong, Alberta and Shanghai performing exceptionally well.

So what determines World Class? World Class means being ready to face the future as a true global citizen. Yong Zhao a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of education at the University of Kansas whose works focuses on the implications of technology and globalization on education defines a successful global citizen as one who competently negotiates cultural differences, manages multiple identities, comfortably interacts with people from different cultures and confidently moves across cultures as well as the physical and virtual worlds.

Giving our children the advantage of a world class education is one way to secure our children’s futures, fulfill their potential and equip them with the tools and skills needed to be successful 21st Century global citizens.

In the closing session “The Role of International Education”, Dale Cox, Vice President, Asia Pacific, International School Services explained how globalization has brought new technology, products and services, jobs and ways of working.

How does this affect our children in the future? In China, globalization has facilitated many changes including the implementation of reform and opening up and the adoption of a new kind of economy. It also paved the way for the “one belt one road” initiative. Globalization has fuelled tremendous growth of international education in the world and in China. International education gives students access to Western Universities, opportunities to learn English, gains from comprehensive learning, exposure to different cultures and languages and exposure to broader international experiences.

What schools will prepare students for the future? Key components that identify high quality schools are good governance, good quality teachers, strong curricular and activity programmes and quality facilities and resources. The characteristics of a student that succeeds in the future is determined by their ability to communicate, collaborate, think critically and create (innovate). These are key skills that universities are looking for today.

International education can prepare students to enter the new world as a global citizen with an “international mindfulness”. International mindfulness may be expressed as the ability to to be prepared for the 21st century global challenges, an awareness that the world is a much larger than the community in which we live and a respect for other perspectives, cultures and languages. The world will need global citizens; leaders who can communicate effectively across cultures, understand other’s views, collaborate on solving problems, think critically and deeply and care about a better world for all.

16Nov

Reading Benchmark at CIS

Before each report card goes home, and sometimes in between, we test all students at CIS on their reading skills using a program called Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. This program is known world-wide and is used in schools across Canada as a tool to determine students’ reading levels. This program is one of the tools that teachers use to determine if students are reading below, at or above grade level.

Reading is about more than being able to read words. It is also about being able to understand what you are reading. This Benchmarking system gives teachers valuable information about the student such as their word accuracy and their comprehension of the text. Once the student is done reading the benchmark book, the teacher can determine the Independent, Instructional or Hard reading level for each student.

The Independent Reading Level

The Independent reading level is the level that students should be reading when they are reading alone, to a friend or to a parent. It is the reading level that they are comfortable with because they will know 98% to 100% of the words that are in these books. Students who read books at the Independent level are reading for pleasure and to enjoy themselves!

The Instructional Reading Level

The Instructional reading level is the level that students should be reading when they are working in small groups or one-on-one with a teacher. This level is just a little bit beyond what they are comfortable reading because students will know 90% to 97% of the words that are in these books. The goal of reading beyond their independent reading level is to push the student’s skills a little bit further than where they are currently. However, because the teacher is right there supporting them, they will not feel uncomfortable reading books that are a little bit too hard. Students who read books at the Instructional level are reading to learn, to push their comprehension and to push their reading skills.

The Hard Reading Level

The Hard reading level is a level that students should not be reading because they will know less than 90% of the words in the books. Because they are unfamiliar with too many of the words, they often cannot understand what the book is about. Students who read books at their Hard level are often frustrated and dislike reading. We want to encourage students to read at their Independent or Instructional level, not the Hard level.

As you can see, it is very important for teachers to determine students’ reading level. This can help them confirm that the student is reading the correct level of book; this ensures the students love reading! Also, many teachers use the results to create reading groups in their classrooms.

Sometimes, a teacher may communicate to parents about reading level using a letter. Below is a reference to know what the letters refer to.

If you want to know more about your child’s reading level, please don’t hesitate to ask their homeroom teacher.