Welcome Springtime!

Happy spring everybody! It feels strange to be saying it in February but I already feel the pollen starting to tickle my nose! One of the early important and exciting events we had was the ski trip! We went to the snowy slopes of the lowlands of the Nagano highlands with Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6! Students were able to join beginner, intermediate and advanced classes depending on their experience. Sadly and somewhat surprisingly, we didn’t get enough interest to hold snowboard classes. So please remind kids next time that it’s an option! Nonetheless, it was a great opportunity for students to connect with the strong tradition of winter sporting culture in Nagano as well as an opportunity for students to build their knowledge of the snowy arts and take risks in a safe environment! And of course, after that we were able to warm up with a hot, delicious curry!

Also, grade 4 students have put their final touches to their Unit 5 coursework which is now on display throughout the campus! Our transdisciplinary theme for Unit 5 was “Where we are in place and time”. We addressed the theme through the concept of exploration! students chose a destination and then learnt more about how this place was reached and what humankind gained from making it there. We had a book on the moon landings, a model of the Amazon when Francisco Orellana discovered it and a minecraft block model of Everest that shows the route that Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary took when they first summited the mountain. I was really impressed at the spirit of inquiry on display from our young learners and I think they were really impressed at the bravery and resilience of our historical explorers!

We are currently getting ready to blast eardrums with our annual music concert and to engage on our final unit of the academic year! Exciting times, but of course, we make sure to keep our learning environment clean together! Please stay tuned!!!