Hello Everyone!

Welcome to another exciting week in the Milky Way Class!

This week was certainly a busy one; however, the Milky Way Class was always on the go! From exploring communication and conflict in our Unit of Inquiry to working collaboratively on our Sports Festival craft, celebrating a birthday, developing our phonics and writing skills, practicing for the relay, and experiencing an exciting soccer lesson with Yamaga, our learners were actively engaged in meaningful experiences throughout the week. Each activity gave our students opportunities to make connections, communicate their ideas, reflect on their learning, and grow as confident and caring members of our learning community.

In our Unit of Inquiry, we continued exploring our line of inquiry: How communication and conflict affect teamwork.

We revisited our KWL chart to activate our prior knowledge and find out what our learners already understood about communication and conflict. Our students shared thoughtful ideas based on their own experiences.

When asked what communication means, our young inquirers shared:

• “Communication means someone is talking and others are listening.”
• “We communicate with our voice.”
• “We share ideas with each other.”
• “Speaking clearly.”
• “Using kind words.”

They also shared their prior understanding of conflict:

• “Conflict means fighting.”
• “We don’t like each other.”
• “When we are taking toys from others.”
• “When a friend is angry.”

These responses gave us a wonderful starting point for our inquiry. We then went deeper by investigating pictures showing different situations that could lead to conflict. Students looked carefully at each picture, discussed what might be happening, and thought about what could have caused the disagreement.

To develop a deeper understanding, students worked in pairs and selected a scenario to act out through role play. Through this experience, they had opportunities to step into different perspectives, communicate with their partners, listen to one another, and think about how conflicts can happen and how they might be resolved. Role play also encouraged our students to consider how different people may feel in the same situation.

Throughout these experiences, our students were developing important Learner Profile attributes. As Communicators, they practiced expressing their ideas clearly, listening to their partners, and using words to share their feelings and thoughts. As Open-minded learners, they listened to different opinions and considered perspectives that may be different from their own. As Reflective learners, they thought about their actions, how their communication affects others, and what they could do differently when faced with a conflict.

Our students are also practicing their Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills every day. We focus particularly on communication, thinking, and social skills. Each morning, students choose a skill they would like to practice during the day. During our closing circle, they reflect on how they practiced their chosen skill and share their experiences with the class. Their effort and growth are celebrated with a special medal, reminding them that learning is not only about the result but also about trying their best and developing themselves as learners.

As part of our ongoing exploration of teamwork, the Milky Way Class also began creating a collaborative space craft for our upcoming Sports Festival. Our first challenge was to transform a large piece of white paper into a dark space background by working together to paint it black.

Before beginning, the teacher reminded everyone to work carefully and responsibly with the paint. The students listened carefully, shared the space, and showed great self-control as they worked. And sure enough, they successfully completed the painting without getting paint on themselves! This was a wonderful example of how communication, cooperation, and responsibility can help a team achieve a common goal.

Our collaborative space project is not finished yet! Next week, we will continue working together by drawing and adding different things we might find in space. We are excited to see how everyone’s ideas will come together to create one big collaborative artwork.

This week, we also had a special birthday celebration! The Milky Way teachers had the opportunity to be the hosts, and one of our Milky Way learners celebrated his birthday this month. The teachers prepared a birthday card filled with heartfelt messages to make his special day even more memorable. After singing and celebrating together, the students enjoyed a fun quiz game all about summer. The students listened carefully to each question, thought about their answers, and then lined up at the answer they believed was correct. It was a short celebration, but there were plenty of smiles, excitement, and laughter! It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying the celebration together and showing support for their friend.

For writing and phonics, we focused on ee and ea vowel team words. Students listened carefully to the sounds they heard and wrote the words on their worksheets during our spelling test. After completing the test, students had an opportunity to check their own work by comparing their answers with the correct words written on the board. This was an excellent opportunity to practice being Principled learners. Rather than simply focusing on getting a high score, students were encouraged to check their work honestly, recognize what they already knew, and identify areas where they could improve. Students were especially proud when they discovered that they had spelled a word correctly. When they found a mistake, they carefully wrote the correct word next to it. This helped them understand that mistakes are a natural and valuable part of learning. We celebrated not only correct answers but also the courage to recognize mistakes and learn from them.

We also continued preparing for our Sports Festival by practicing our relay in the gym. Fortunately, the weather was not too hot, which allowed us to enjoy our practice comfortably. During relay practice, students worked on running safely, staying in their lanes, waiting for their teammates, and passing the ring carefully to the next runner. They practiced paying attention to the signal, running with determination, and making a smooth handover to their teammate. Most importantly, they learned that a relay is not only about running fast, it is about working together as a team.

Our team goal is simple: Do our best, have fun, and make our parents proud!

Alongside our team goal, each student also worked toward their own individual goal. By working on both individual and team goals, our learners are discovering how each person’s effort contributes to the success of the whole team.

The highlight of our week was definitely our Yamaga soccer lesson at the Shimauchi Gym together with the Rainforest Class! Before the lesson began, our students warmly greeted the Yamaga players. The players introduced themselves and talked with the children about the importance of teamwork. Our students listened attentively and were excited to learn from them. After the introduction, the students were given pink and yellow soccer uniforms. They looked ready for action! The students began with a variety of fun soccer activities. They practiced dribbling the ball with their feet and moving it toward the goal, learning to control the ball while keeping it close to them. They also practiced throwing the ball up into the air, clapping their hands, and catching it.

The challenges became even more exciting! Students threw the ball up, touched their heads, crossed their hands over their stomachs, and then caught the ball. Finally, they threw the ball up and practiced stopping the ball with their foot, proudly saying, “Yamaga!”

Then came the exciting moment everyone had been waiting for, the game between the pink team and the yellow team! The students were eager to chase the ball, work with their teammates, and try to score a goal. Both teams successfully scored, and the excitement could be seen on everyone’s faces. Our learners experienced firsthand that teamwork means encouraging one another, trying your best, and celebrating together. It was truly a memorable experience for the Milky Way Class, and we are very thankful to the Yamaga players for giving our students such a meaningful opportunity to learn through movement, play, and teamwork.

We have another meaningful week ahead in the Milky Way Class! We will:

-Have our swimming and music lesson
-Practice again in the gym for our Sports Festival
-Enjoy a splash painting activity for the T-shirts we will wear during the Sports Festival
-Continue creating our collaborative space craft

We would also love for our families to be part of our Sports Festival preparation! Please check the Milky Way Class video about our Sports Festival team goal.

We have also attached the songs we are singing this month, so please listen and sing along with your children at home. Your encouragement and participation help make their learning experiences even more meaningful.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of the Milky Way Class. We hope you enjoy hearing your children share their stories, ideas, and discoveries from this busy and exciting week.

Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend, everyone! May it be filled with plenty of smiles, laughter, and special moments with your children. We look forward to seeing our little inquirers back at school, ready for another week of learning, discovering, and growing together!