August 2009, Issue 1    

Current Events
RIS will celebrate International Ozone Day on the 16th of September.

   

 Language Arts
    Teachers in Gr.5 are reviewing language skills which were taught in Gr.4. We are involving 
students with the DRA reading assessment to understand our students’ reading levels. We will 
then know how to challenge our students so they continue to develop good reading skills. For 
parents who are new, the DRA is a reading assessment that helps teachers know each student’s 
reading level. As we all know reading daily is the key to a student’s academic success so we’d like 
to encourage parents to insure that our students read daily. 
    In a couple of weeks we’ll be asking students do a piece of writing which teachers will grade 
using the rubrics of the six­ plus­ one writing traits. This assessment will provide us with 
information about where students are in terms of their ability to write and we’ll be able to 
effectively meet their needs as writers. 
    Teachers in Gr. 5 are exposing students to vocabulary, spelling and grammar exercises to insure 
that students develop in these areas of Language. During group work and when sharing 
information, students are provided with learning situations to use oral language.

   Mathematics
In Math, students in Gr.5 are currently working on place value positions in both full numbers and 
decimals. Students are working with numbers up to billions and it would be helpful if parents 
could practice with students in reading aloud these numbers. We are also providing students with 
strategies on how to solve word problems and to focus on key­words that could provide clues on 
how to work word problems through. Practicing the times tables with students would allow 
students to   gain speed and accuracy when dealing with multiplication and division problems.
 Social Studies 

   For Social Studies, students in Gr.5 are working on our first unit titled Peace Jam. In this unit 
students will take a close look at what the term Peace means to themselves and to the world at 
large. They will be exposed to different types of conflicts that take place in our world and work on 
strategies that help resolve conflicts peacefully. Students will be exposed to some major events in 
History to help them envision a world without peace.  They will also read and explore the lives of 
some Nobel Peace Laureates who work on resolving conflicts using non­violent approaches to 
establish peace in the world.  Students will be exposed to a number of organizations that work 
towards world peace. Parents could help your child gain background knowledge in these areas by 
reading about the concepts mentioned and by involving  your child is discussions.

 Thai
Welcome to the 2009­2010 school year. In the first quarter, the students will learn about conflict 
in the family, how to prevent and solve problems that happened in the family. The concept about 
diseases will also be introduced. 

  Science  
  For this school year teachers are using Foss Kits to involve students in exploring with Science. It 
is a new approach RIS has adopted this school year. We believe it would benefit our students as  it 
is inquiry based and it provides students with hands­on learning activities. We are currently 
working on a unit called Sun, Moon and Stars. Students in Gr.5 have been busy using compasses 
to gain a sense of the cardinal directions.  They have been making observations as to why we have 
night and day. Students are also measuring the lengths   of shadows at different times of day to 
investigate how our shadows change depending on the position of the sun.  Students would have 
brought home a newsletter informing you about our unit  Sun Moon and Stars and how  parents 
could help them with their investigations. 

Welcome back, Parents!  This unit, students are learning about our Solar System as they learn 
about the Sun, Moon, and Stars.  You can facilitate this learning by having your child to describe 
the sky to you, either early in the morning or late at night, and describing how that same scene 
would be similar or different 3 months from now.  Thank you!
­ Mr. Robert
  Elizabeth Library 

Welcome back to school everyone. Our new library system (Destiny) is now
completely operational at last! That means the librarians have been very hard at
work over the summer break cataloguing hundreds of new books which we purchased
last year, but weren't able to process during the conversion to Destiny. So come in
and check our first new books display this year. After everyone has had a chance to
preview the new books display, we have several hundred new levelled readers which
we will release. These books have high interest levels, but very easy text for
beginning readers. They are ideal for KG, grade 1 and grade 2 children to practice
their reading skills each day. Older students should look for the many new chapter
books we have added to our collection. Have a great new school year everyone. Mr
Rick

    P.E.
Mr. Brian’s first unit in PE has had fitness as its overriding theme. Fitness balls and exercise
stations have been used to improve fitness levels. Also, students have enjoyed the low
organization games that Mr. Brian has introduced. Next up is swimming. Expect a swim
schedule in the next week or so.

Counselor Corner
It is great being back at school and visiting the students during my classroom guidance lessons. It
is evident that all students are enthusiastic about their learning here at RIS. This year I will
continue to implement my classroom guidance lessons using Second Step as my primary
curriculum. My yearly plan is derived from the American School Counselor Association’s
National Model. Each month will address a different topic.
August – Who Am I?
September – Successful Study Skills
October – Empathy and Communication Skills
November – Bully Prevention Month
December – Problem Solving skills in a social context
January – Emotions Management (coping skills)
February – Diversity
March – Career Awareness (with Career Week – we will need parent volunteers)
April – Global Citizens (Earth Day)
May – Transitions
As your school counselor I am available regarding any concerns you may have about your child’s
academic, social and/or emotional wellbeing. Please feel free to contact me at any time at:
pascalet@rism.ac.th or by calling the school and asking for extension 259.

Looking forward to a very successful year!

Sincerely, Mrs. Pascale
 

    ESL

Welcome to the 09/10 school year! For those grade 5 classes

that are visited by an ESL specialist this year, Ms. Gail and Ms.
Kathleen will be helping the children focus on language, no
matter which subject we provide support in. This month, we work
specifically on reading skills, pronunciation and grammar.
Continue to check this area for hints to help your child learn
English through content, and content through English!!

  Music

Music class with fifth grade meets 2 times in every 8­day cycle.  Mr. Sebert is the Music 
teacher.  The school year kicks off with – Exploring Beat and Rhythm as our first unit. 
Your child will experience performing dance steps and proper hand conducting along 
with the recorded music and exploring and learning the importance of beat and rhythm in 
music. Reading notations and performing rhythm patterns are part of this unit.

      Art
Welcome to Art:
This year we still continue posting your children’s projects in
Artsonia.com. We have sent slip informing about Artsonia.com
with your child for the new parents and for parents who have not
registered with Artsonia yet. Please register as a parent so that
you con go in and check your child’s art work and give positive
comments.
       Theater Arts
Welcome to Grade 5 Theater Arts, school year 2009-2010!
This year our students will not only continue to explore, learn, grow, and put into practice
what they have learned last year but also start new lessons on each grade level’s unit of
studies.

Grade 5 will demonstrate Dance Elements and skills in choreographing a simple dance. They
will improvise movements through different types of music and self-made percussion
instruments. One of the themes for our improvisation activities is “Assignment Earth, O-Zone”.
We are incorporating our lessons to the school wide project “Ozone Day”. In this way children
are given the opportunity to get to understand and get involve in the present global issues we
are now facing. Students are expected to perform their improvisation work showing the basic
choreographic elements. And to widen their perspective of various cultures around the world,
students will continue to explore, learn more folk dances and celebrate diversity of cultures
during the Cultural Week Celebration. With all these activities, students are expected to
understand the connections between dancing, social and cultural expressions, global issues
and each other’s way of life.

We are looking forward to a fun-filled learning experience for everyone! Have Fun!

     Religion
We are off to start the year with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd approach.  It’s the religious 
formation of children which is rooted in the Bible, the liturgy of the Church, and the educational 
principles of Maria Montessori. In the Atrium the children work on materials that had prepared 
for them to draw closer to God.  We have been practicing centering prayer for six minutes as we 
begin our classes.   Please encourage them to spend personal prayer time each day at home.  New 
presentation on the Bible and the Salvation History will be given this month.  

    Values

Gr. 5 classes start with the Unit on Self­Esteem. Through class discussions, role playing, 
creative writing and art projects, they will learn different ways on how to improve their self­
esteem to get better in dealing with others and much more. We will focus on virtues of 
“Responsibility” and “Pursuit of Excellence”. We will encourage our students to practice 
them at home, in school and in the community.

Computers
Last but not least! It’s an exciting year in Computers this year as Grade 5’s start the year off with 
their very own webpages. These pages are hosted by a free online (Web 2.0) application called 
POSTEROUS. By using their school e­mail – students can create dynamic and interesting 
webpages filled with their homeroom work, assignments, reflections, videos, photographs and just 
about anything else they want. Each student in Grade 5 has a POSTEROUS website – and they are 
responsible for maintaining each site also – this falls under a category of assessment called 
“Digital Citizenship” – meaning ‘How students conduct themselves online.’ The online skills are 
very important as we move into the new technological world. Be sure to ask your student to show 
you their page – and as always – be diligent about knowing what your child does online. For more 
information about Posterous, or anything we are doing in the Grade 5 curriculum for Technology 
– please drop in to E202 and say hello to Mr. Rob. Stay tuned!