Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Elementary student council

The first Elementary Student Council meeting was held yesterday with a whopping 53 students attending! Everyone was given a chance to tell the group their best idea for what the student council could do this year and what great ideas they had.


Some excellent ones include:
- April Fool’s Day in a different month
- Turning the left-over food into compost
- Donating old books, toys etc
- No Electricity Day
- Past / Future Day - Teachers dress up as though you were young and students dress up as though you were old
- Crazy Hair Day
- Snow Day
- Whole Elementary Group Art Work
- Welcome Back Dance - fundraise for charity
And many more!

We look forward to seeing what the student council accomplishes!







Well done Ms Emily for getting this off the ground this year.











Environmental Writing

Today the class had an opportunity to go out side to do some environmental sensory writing.

Here are some examples of what a few children wrote.

They were all amazing....


Sitting on a bench and looking around I hear construction workers hammering.
I see insects buzzing around the sweet smelling flowers.
I feel peaceful,  yet chaotic.
Leaves and branches sway in a gentle breeze.
Ants scurry.
Clouds slowly dance across the sky.
The hot sun beats down.
Birds soar on the wind.

By Oona

The construction rumbling like a herd of bulls. Wind gently whistles in my ear. Trees gently wave like saying goodbye forever. 
Birds hovering the sky doing figure 8’s. The grass lies motionless. Ants crawling on the ground like panthers sweeping the jungle. the smell of dust surrounds  us. 
The heat is like a video game getting harder and hotter.
By Joshua

Sitting on an artificial tree trunk, I watch plants sway and birds fly off into the distance. Bees buzz around flowers that sway and try to push them away.Tall trees are standing fighting against the gentle breeze,  there thin leafy branches dancing. The crunching sound of people walking on pebbles is like potato chips crunching, making me hungry. The grass looks squashed  and defeated as they lie there on the soft dirt. In the afternoon it is hot but in the morning it is not. There is a spiral just standing there looking like a snail shell. A house standing at  the edge of a hill.
By Wattai











Crazed woodcutters occurred in the peaceful view, causing chaos and destruction.
As busy as bees, soaring birds fluttered with their gliding wings, finding a home.
Flies, birds, bees, all together finding themselves in the clouds, a peaceful view.
White fluffy clouds like cotton candy, emerging from each sides, forming into other shapes.
A bright glowing beam of light from the sun poured on me, like a bucket filled with infinite water splashed on my poor head.
Grass, grass, grass, a field filled with green enriched grass.
Trees covered in attractive beautiful flowers, so sleek like humongous pencils.
A breeze of wind splashed on my face, even though I was not wet.
By Lucas













Clouds slowly move across the sky. 
The sun pushes through the clouds forcing itself onto the world waking the day and forcing night away. 
Birds fly high across the cloudy sky soraring on the currents. 
Leaves gently sway on the breeze. 
 The sound of cicadas can be heard in the distance.
By Mr Simon



Butterflies fly in the natural sky and the trees dance as the wind blows along.
The flowers are blue.The wooden bridge is the passageway that people walk along and
it swings like crazy in the breeze. People having fun, they shout, laugh and giggle .
By Sak





Sunday, October 4, 2015

Angkor Wat bike first training session



On Sunday Mr Ben held his first bike training session for the upcoming Angkor Wat fun bike, run Grade 4 / 5 trip.
The children (and parents) were up nice and early on Sunday for a 30minute bike training session on Diamond Island.


It was a great turnout of parents and children.












Mr Simon took up a spot along the course to cheer everyone along and was fascinated watching two cranes working on a construciton site collide with each other as they were moving things around the constrcutions site.







On the way home we had to stop to get Kate's flat tyre repaired on her bike.
Lucky it went down after her training session.



The run training will start on Tuesday and Friday this week with the children running for 15-20 minutes from 11.30-12. They will then have their lunch after training.








As time gets closer to the event the distance will increase.

Make sure you remember to bring your running shoes and maybe a change of clothes on Tuesday and Friday.


Drumming workshop


On Friday the Grade 4 students were treated with a fun drumming workshop.




Mr Vutha and his musician entertained the children by playing a selection of traditional Khmer instruments including the drums. He also gave the children the chance to have a go and explore music that these instruments can make. After the children got to have a turn they then bombarded him with questions about the different instruments.









Thursday, October 1, 2015

New Unit of Inquiry getting started

This week saw the introduction of our next Unit of Inquiry - Art mirrors life

As part of our unit we will be visting art galleries around town and have artist and presenters come into us to talk about what they do.




We have a trip planned to go to the Asia Foundation to look at the work by Phe Sophon.

He will speak to the class about what influences him in his creations. His work is about everyday life in Phnom Penh and uses a style that is simple yet very intricately patterned.

Today we had Marty Sharples talk to the grade 4 children about film making. He shared parts of his documentry he produced called "Cyclo Diaries" - 30 days in a cyclo from Hanoi to Saigon.

It is a humorous and irreverent documentary about a month long journey by cyclo (Vietnamese Rickshaw) from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) by two Australians. The film documents a unique and extremely physically demanding cycling odyssey along Vietnam’s infamous Highway 1, often regarded as the most dangerous highway in the world. 







The film documents the slow physical deterioration of both cyclo drivers and equipment due to extreme weather, terrain, traffic, and general Vietnamese chaos over the course of the month. 





The cyclo has traditionally been used to transport people and goods in flat, urban environments. It’s inappropriateness for a 1800km cross-country trip on Vietnam’s mountainous roads soon becomes evident in the film. 
The gritty, action-packed film contains a number of cyclo crashes (and subsequent rehabilitation), plenty of interaction with both urban and remote Vietnamese communities and stunning vistas of Vietnamese landscapes. 

The trip raised more than $20,000 for KOTO (Know One Teach One) a Hanoi-based organisation providing vocational and personal support to disadvantaged children in Vietnam. 





Monday, September 28, 2015

Angkor Wat Trip Information for G4 & G5 4th-6th DEC


Angkor Wat Trip


Angkor Wat Ben (22).JPG

Angkor Wat Trip 2015
Dates to Remember



Friday 2 October        - Parent's Meeting 7.35am, Elem Music Rm
Sunday 4 October      - Bike Ride Training 1 at Diamond Island
(South End near Bassac Garden -AEON
6th October    - Lunchtime training starts    
(Tuesday and Fridays 12.10-12.35pm)
Friday 9th October     - $50 Deposit due
Friday 23rd October     - Final Payment and paperwork due
Sunday 25th October   - Bike Ride 2 at Diamond Island
Sunday 8th November - Bike Ride 3  at Diamond Island
Friday 4th - Sunday 6th - Angkor Wat Trip


Parents Meeting Presentation



 Initial Letter Home


Dear Parents,


I am writing to you to inform you about the Grade 4 and Grade 5 Angkor Wat Run and Bike Race Trip. The  outline program is indicated below:

Friday 4th December - depart ISPP on hired bus, swimming at hotel
Saturday 5th December - morning - 17/30km bike race; afternoon - trip to temples and swimming at hotel
Sunday 6th December - 3km fun run; hired bus back to ISPP, returning late afternoon.

The trip will be lead by myself and Andy Munn, assisted by several other staff members, whom we are in the process of confirming.

At this stage, please carefully consider whether your child can commit to the training program and shows the maturity and behaviour standards required for residential trips. We will be setting up a training schedule throughout October and November. This will involve lunchtime running activities at school twice a week.

Students who are participating in the bike race would also need to commit to several Sunday morning rides. These students will need to have access to a roadworthy bike and a cycle helmet. The dates for these sessions are;
Sunday 4 October   
Sunday 25th October  
Sunday 8th November

We will meet up at the South End of Diamond Island (near Bassac Garden / AEON) for a 7.30am start. We will be finished at 8.30am. Parents are welcome to come and cycle with the students during these sessions.

The hotel where we will be staying, Empress Angkor, is located about 2km out of the town centre and has a  swimming pool and outdoor space.  Students will be staying in shared rooms (in a group of two or three), which have ensuite bathrooms. We will be travelling on buses with seat belts that we will hire for the duration of the trip.

The trip should cost approximately $180 and will include accommodation, food and water, transport and entry fee for the 3km run. There will be an additional cost for the students who wish to participate in the bike race (approximately $60), which covers the entry fees to the bike race and transportation of bikes to Siem Reap.The exact amount will be confirmed once we have a clear idea of number of students participating. Spending money for the trip is not necessary, but $20 is the maximum allowed and your child will be in charge of that money.

We will require that each child has an up-to-date medical insurance for this trip. If you do not have insurance, the school can arrange for this to be purchased for the weekend (approx $20).


Parents Meeting
There will be a parents information meeting on Friday 2nd October at 7.35am, in the Elementary Music Studio (Building C, level 1) where we will distribute detailed information and answer your questions. Information will also be posted on the Elementary PE Blog (www.isppelementarype.blogspot.com).
If you would like you child to participate in this trip, please complete the permission form  If you are having trouble accessing the form the address is http://goo.gl/forms/swzd4arfY2 or email me for a copy. The permission form covers both the training sessions and the actual trip, and as such please can you complete it before the first Sunday Bike session on the 4th of October. A payment of $50 which acts as a deposit should be payed to the Finance Office.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at school.
Yours sincerely,


Ben Wiggins (benwiggins@ispp.edu.kh)

Friday, September 25, 2015

Elementary Student Council infomation students and parents




Elementary Student Council-Below is the information Ms Emily talked about at today's team time. Please read it and if you think it is you, get your letter in by Wednesday to Ms Emily.


Letter of Intention information for students
If you are in Grade 3, 4 or 5 you can become a student representative for the Elementary Student Council. This opportunity is open to everyone in Grades 3 to 5.  The council has no set number of positions and representatives with a good letter of intent will be welcome on the council.  You will have the honour and the responsibility of representing your grade level for the whole year. You will voice the opinions of your classmates to help plan activities to benefit the whole elementary school community.
Members of the Student Council will model and display all of the IB learner profile attributes at all times. You need to be a person who enjoys working with others and would like to take on a leadership opportunity. The Student Council is trying to promote school spirit through a variety of activities and events throughout the year, for example: dress up days, games etc.

In order to be a representative you will have to do the following:
v  All candidates will need to give up one of their lunch recess times every Monday from 12:00-12:30pm.
v  You will need to give up some of your time to help with events.
v  You will need to pass on important points to your grade level.
v  You will need to share at meetings anything that your classmates would like discussed at the meetings.


Letter of Intention
If you wish to be a member, you will need to write a letter to Ms. Emily explaining why you would be an excellent candidate for this important position. You can post the letter to Ms. Emily via the mail box outside her classroom, C206. You could do this on your way to your foreign language, mother tongue or EAL class.

Your letter could include the following things:
  • Why you think you’re a good representative for your grade level.
  • Possible ideas you have for events this school year.
  • Any special talents you have that might benefit the council. eg. maths skills, typing skills

Please submit your letter of intent to Ms Emily by Wednesday 30th September.


Elementary Student Council
Information for parents
After feedback from our students and teachers we have decided to run the Elementary Student Council for a third year.
This group of students and teachers will help to organize fun inclusive activities for students to help promote school spirit and celebrate diversity across the elementary school.  This is an opportunity open to all students in Grades 3 through 5. Students who wish to be on the council will need to write a short letter of intention to be on the council, please see the instruction for students below.


Once the council is set up and we have had our first meeting, the teacher supervisors will introduce the roles of the council. If your child wishes to take on an additional leadership position within the student council we will hold elections for president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. If a child wishes to apply for a position, s/he will write a short speech about why they should be nominated. They will have the honour and the responsibility of representing their grade level for the whole year.
Grade level representatives will meet each week on Monday lunch recess time (after they have eaten). They will need to voice the opinions of their classmates to help plan activities to benefit the whole elementary community. We are looking for students who enjoy working with others and would like to take on a leadership opportunity. Throughout the year, these representatives will have the opportunity to promote school spirit through a variety of activities and events. For example - dress up days, games.
Teachers are looking for students who are confident, open-minded and excellent communicators to help ensure each class has a voice to contribute to the ISPP elementary community spirit events.
Classrooms will hold regular meetings or team times to discuss ideas for the group.  The representatives will need to bring these ideas to the meetings to discuss.  Achievable ideas will be put forward to carry out.  
The council will be formed in the next two weeks. You will hear about planned events from your child’s homeroom teacher, class blogs and ISPP Pulse magazine.
We all look forward to seeing what ideas the elementary students propose.
Elementary Student Council Supervisors: Ms. Emily, Mr. Simon & Ms. Leigh