Weekly update 15-18th April 2019

Dear Parents,

This week in UOI students have been collecting their items for their habitat models. Alongside these models, students will have to do a presentation next week. Students have been researching the following questions in class.

1. What does your habitat look like? features for your model? Think of materials need and plan your model.
2. What plants and animals and non-living things are found in the habitat?
3. What adaptations do the living things in the environment have?
4. Name some positive and negative human actions on the habitat.
5. How can we sustain your habitat and the planet?

We have a number of unit books and videos that we have looked at to help them gather the necessary information.

Phase two of our school garden. We planted some tomato, carrot, and flower seeds, let's keep our fingers crossed to see if they grow.

For Literature students did a task on proofreading. They were given the criteria for proofreading marks e.g = capital letters, ^ add words / lower case, etc.
This was the passages that they had to edit:

Literature practice we focused on prior knowledge.
Title: A walk through the Rainforest.

1. From the story what do you think this story could be about? Adventure - Dino, Habitats - Jeziah,
2. What do you know about Rainforests? It rains a lot - Laith, there are lots of trees - Gui, there are lots of animals - Reuben. There are cliffs, and caves - Laith, Bamboo, and Pandas - Gui/Dino 
3. If you were in the Rainforest, what would you do? Bird watching - Helmina, Explore animals - Rueben, take care of the animals - Fatima, discover more animals - Aussie.
4. Have you ever been to a Rainforest tell me about your experience? Many students have been to Victoria Falls.
5. After reading the story, did it remind you of (a person, a place, a situation) When I got my foot stuck in a tree - Dino, A waterfall - Laith, Anna, A dream - Fatima.
6. Why would the author write a story about  Rainforests? She/He likes the Rainforest - Mimi, The Rainforests interests them - Reuben, the author likes animals - Tashia, Helmina, They have been there before - Kahilu, To share information - Jeziah,  it is calming nature - Fiji.

Our bake sale is coming on the 26th of April. The money raised will add on to what we already have to support our Units of Inquiry. We will need to pay for guests who are visiting us and for the field trips planned for the rest of the school year. please click here to support our bake sale.

Thanking you in advance.

Have a good Easter weekend!

Weekly Update 8- 12 April 2018

Dear Parents,

The Grade 2's were privileged to have a guest speaker from Naankuse Animal Sanctuary Research and Education Center Mr. Van Zyle.
Naankuse is an organization that attempts to contribute to public awareness of the importance of healthy, biologically diverse ecosystems and conservation of animals.

Students got to know more about this organization, what they do and why.
here are some reflections of students after the interview.

Grade 2's taking what they have learned and taking action to make the world a better place:

Students learned in the Carte Blanche documentary" Could the great Insect extinction impact human survival" that insects are pollinators and thrive in flower and vegetable gardens. The students decided to take action in making the world a better place by planting a garden to play a positive role in sustaining the natural habitats of insects. Students vowed to use fewer insecticides when gardening and allow grass to grow longer in their backyard.

Here as some pictures of phase one of our school garden, we are looking forward to seeing how they grow and develop as responsible and caring stewards of our environment.

ICT Integration Instagram

We opened a Class Instagram account with students to make authentic connections to their learning by providing real-life experiences to do so.
This week students identified a few conservations and organizations to follow. Students asked them questions about the role they play in sustaining living things and the planet, what challenges and success they have had and many more. Students also made connections with other schools around the world that were also exploring into the unit Sharing The Plant. Students were excited to post some questions on their Instagram pages and share some of our learning journey with the world.
You can follow us on Instagram ourcalss2d
Here are our class rules when using Social Media.

Ongoing homework:

1. Animal sounds
2. Collect supplies to make a model of habitats in class.
3. Have discussions at home on how humans play a part in sustaining living things and our planet.
(What are our responsibilities)
4. Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of keeping animals in a cage, zoo, animal sanctuary or wildlife resorts, etc.

Weekly Update 1- 5 April 2019

Dear Parents,

View our class Album here

The main focus of the inquiry this week was to explore habitats within our environment
and to realize the positive and negative impacts faced when humans share these natural
habitats with other living things. For students to make authentic connections and to provoke
their wondering and questions we try to provide authentic, real life experiences for them to
gain new understandings.

The week kicked off with a viewing of a documentary on Cart Blanch named "Could the great insect extinction impact human survival?"

Students reflected on the documentary, had class discussions and made connections to our Lines of inquiry:

• How living things and humans interact
• The positive and negative effects human actions have on the environment/habitats

Key Concepts: Causation, Function, and connection.

Causation - Why is it like this.
Questions discussed: What will happen if insects die out? Why is there a 40% decline of insects?
Some student answers: Ecosystems cannot function well. Insects habitat loss, Pollution (including insecticides) and climate change.
Function- What are the functions of insects in habitats and ecosystems?
Some student answers: insects are pollinators, they collect and spread pollen from flower to flower, they are decomposers and Bees make honey.
Connection: How is human interference affecting insect habitats? What can we do to save the insects?
Some student answers: Humans use animal habitats to build on, They use the land for farming and cultivating on. Human cause a lot of air pollution (CO2) that lead to climate change. Use fewer insecticides, plants vegetable gardens, allow grass to grow longer in your back yard, do not cause air pollution.

If possible please watch this episode on DSTV now/Catch Up shows. Have discussions at home on how it is related to our unit Sharing The Planet. https://now.dstv.com/

Cart Blanch: Sundays on Mnet channel  
S31, Episode 52. The episode will be available for viewing until Monday 15 April.
Title: Could the great insect extinction impact human survival?


Students sorted pictures of animals into categories of their own choice. Some of their groupings were animals living in the same habitats. Wild and Domestic animals, different Animal Species,  Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Arthropods, Birds and Fish. Students also discussed different habitats (natural and man-made) in the world.



Why do some animals live in houses?
Some student answers:
For people that cannot see (Guide Dogs) Mimi
For companionship- Hazel
To guard our houses- Gui
A friend for your pet- Vivian
Pets catch other wild animals- Mika
For competition purposes-Reuben
To rescue animals from shelters and give them a home- Tashia
Chickens are kept to have eggs, Goats can be kept for milk- Teachers


In Math students work on their number concepts by playing picture card games with the ten base blocks. In and out boxes, fact families, word problems and number bonds to reinforce and revise on number concepts. Here is a link for students to practice place value with the Base 10 blocks.



In Literature we worked on" Book Talk". Students took home White booklets to read with a question card. One of the books that were used is Weird Bird Beaks.
These were the questions asked:
Did it make you Wonder?-  Why do Toucans eat eggs?- Tashia
Did it make you laugh? It was funny to see the pouch of skin under the pelicans beak-Laith
Did it confuse you? That a Spoonbill eats from mud-Tashia
What was your favorite part? To see the Toucan bird because they are also found in Brazil- Carolina
Did it remind you of something?- The spoonbill beak reminds me of a wooden spoon-Laith

The class read aloud the Magician of the Sea was used to do an activity on Visualizing.

Visualizing questions

Can you describe in your own words what the setting might look like?
Full of corals-Dino, beautiful ocean- Helmina, Rocky- Laith, You will see deep sea divers and coral reefs-Reuben, Blue with Puffer fish, sea caves and a cloud of Ink- Hazel.

Describe the picture you saw in your mind of one of the problems identified in the story.
I see the arm that fell off flapping around- Alessandro. A shark hiding behind a rock- Ausribel. The Octopus escaping from a net-Mika. The arm of the Octopus falling off then growing back very quickly- Vivian. Arm floating around in the sea-Dino. The Octopuses arms changes colours and looks like an sea snake.

Show me the look the Octopus had on his face when his arm fell off.

Students used flash cards to describe themselves, it was interesting to see that they all have positive thoughts of themselves. Those same describing cards were used to think of opposite meanings. This lead us to some more activities on antonyms, synonyms, and collective nouns. It was interesting for students to learn that there is also a shoal of fish.

 Homework for the next week 8-12 April.

1. Find pictures of different habitats, name the living things that live in the habitat.

2. Sort pictures or (name) into natural and man-made habitats.

3. Collect supplies to make a model of habitats in class. (There are boxes in the class)
Students can play some games on Games on Habitats Brainpop jr

4. Animal sounds

5. Have discussions at home on how humans play a part in sustaining living things and our planet. What are our responsibilities?

6. Talk about the advantages and disadvantages of keeping animals in a cage, zoo, animal sanctuary, wildlife resort etc. This might help to provoke wondering for conversations. Mclaren Circus Tour to Namibia.
 7. Find out if parents know an easy way to remember the 2x,5x, and 10x tables for sharing.
Multiplying 2x numbers up to 30
Multiplying 2x whole tens

Place values

8. Resources for literature practice.

Enjoy your weekend.

Upcoming events

Important information

 Dear Parents,

Wika Street Carnival

WIS will be participating in the WIKA Street Procession on Saturday along Independence Avenue as the school did last year. All students are invited to part take in this event on Saturday. Wis would like to be seen there in large numbers.

Parents, please inform me if your family or child will be attending, as I have to inform Ms. Maggie ( Secondary principal) on attendance for the necessary arrangements to be made.

All participants "walker" should meet in front of the Pharmacy (opposite the Municipality) at 9:30. Ms Maggie will drive the "float" from where they procession leaves at the Show Grounds at 9:30. 

The procession starts at the Municipality at 11:11 (German Karnival time) and will then go down Independence and will be at the Police Station around 13:00 where it ends. 

The prize giving is at the SKW Frühschoppen after the procession. 

Earth day

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day now includes events in more than 193 countries, which are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. 

We would like for every single person at WIS to donate an old t-shirt or pants which we will hang up in-between the trees in the parking lot on Wednesday, 17 April 2019.

All students are requested to bring an old/too small/unwanted piece of clothing to class so that on the day we can do as mentioned above.

Kind Regards

Ms. Debbie