During the Break

Dear Parents,

Inside your child's homework book is a sheet of paper with some recommended homework activities for your child to do over the break. If you are traveling and/or busy your child can do as much or little as they are able too complete. If you are traveling all they need to bring with them to do the homework is their journal and a few reading books.

I hope you all have an enjoyable break.

See the kids on Wednesday January 5th, 2011.

James Anderson

Week 16

Dear Parents,

First of all the children did a wonderful job on the play. Thank you for all your support and help with the play. I hope you enjoyed it as much as the children did.

This is the last week before the Christmas break. Here are a few reminders about events this week. We will be finishing our 4th Social Studies Portfolio Entry. The students have done research on Taiwan's History and this week will be making a Taiwan Timeline in their portfolio.

Tuesday is the spelling test (wood, brook, tool, put, wool, push, full, roof, group, prove)

Thursday afternoon is the Christmas activities and gift exchange.

Friday school ends after lunch at 1:00pm. We will also have a Math Test on Chapter 11. 

Have a good week,

James Anderson

Christmas Gift Exchange

On Thursday (12/16) at 2:00pm our class will be doing a small gift exchange and a few small Christmas activities to get in the Christmas Spirit. Each child will be responsible for bringing in a wrapped gift (200nt max) for another child.

Each child will need to bring in a gift for the student who's class number is behind their own number. For example:

Chantal 1
Jonah 2
Mackin 3
Ashley 4
Tommy 5
Michelle 6
Emily 7
Annie 8
Jacob 9
Angus 10
Kevin Y. 11
Kevin P. 12

Chantal is 1 and Jonah is 2. So Chantal will bring in a present for Jonah. Mackin is 3, so Jonah will bring in a present for Mackin. The sequence continues continues until Kevin P. who is 12 and he will bring in a gift for Chantal who is number 1.

If this unclear you can ask your child or send me an email.

Also if you're child would like to bring in a snack or drink to share with the class they are welcome to do so.

James Anderson

Week 15

Dear Parents,

This has been a busy week for the students and they are responding very well  to the work load but next week could be even busier with the coming up play. Please check the school letter that Mrs. Lines has sent out for the exact times that we will be at the Science Park rehearsing for the play.

Monday, Science Park in the morning, Spelling test (suit, pump, dull, tune, blew, trunk, sum, glue, threw) and Jonah's birthday in the afternoon.

Tuesday we will be having class and individual pictures taken for the year book. Please make your sure your child is dressed nicely on this day.

Wednesday, Science Park in the morning. Handwriting quiz in the afternoon.

Thursday, Science Park all day for final rehearsal

Friday students will be released after lunch to rest before the performance at the Science Park at 7:00pm.

Please let me know if you have any questions. If you need to get a hold of your child when we are at the Science you can call my cell phone at 0987-121-860.

Have a good weekend.

James Anderson

Extra Week 14 News

Dear Parents,

Just a few bits of information I would like to pass on to you.

First our class has finished the Math Chapter 10 earlier than expected and we will be having a quiz on Thursday (12/2) on Chapter 10. The Science quiz will still be on Friday.

Second a few students still need to bring in some or all of their black clothes for the play. Please look at your child's homework book to see if I've written anything about this in there.

Third the Google Map to the location of the play can be found here.

http://maps.google.co.za/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=24.781718,121.005896&spn=0.007237,0.009645&z=17&iwloc=lyrftr:m,18200838884626117839,24.78166,121.005918&msid=102177011504186316552.000496413bd7060da2b1b

Our class and entire school are very excited for the play and we are encouraging as many people to come watch this amazing production as possible. Please fill out the ticket request form and send it back with your child when you know how many people will be coming with you.

Finally I had food poisoning this weekend and was still feeling ill on Monday (11/29). Luckily Mrs. Willis was able to fill in for me. I'm feeling better now. Thank you to those who wrote kind "get well" emails.

Until next time,

James Anderson

Week 14 News and Notes (Nov 29-Dec 3)

Dear Parents,

The students have been very busy this week. The Beauty and the Beast play is coming together very nicely. I can't wait until the opening night December 10th to see the finished product.

Thank you to all the parents who came and brought food in for the Thanksgiving meal. Thanksgiving is the 2nd most popular holiday in America for families getting together and it was nice to have spent it with so many new people here in Taiwan.


Week 14 test dates,

Spelling test on Monday on the following words; brush, juice, fruit, tube, lunch, crumb, few, true, truth, done

Science test on Environments (Chapter 4) will be on Friday

Until next time,

James Anderson

"Education: Being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. It's knowing where to go to find out what you need to know; and it's knowing how to use the information once you get it."-William Feather

Week 13 News and Notes

Dear Parents,

The children have been working overtime this week. Not only practicing the Beauty and the Beast play but keeping up with their school work. They have been doing an excellent job with both. Here are the upcoming notable dates for grade 2.

On Monday ( 11/22) is the spelling Quiz on the following words: beet, beat, meet, meat, peek, peak, deer, dear, ring, wring.

On Tuesday is the Handwriting Assessment for letters ie and wh.

On Wednesday is the Reading Comprehension Assessment.

For Thanksgiving Celebration grades 1-3 are combining forces to have one big Thanksgiving Feast. This will be at 11:30am on Thursday the 25th of October. Mrs Woods will be e-mailing you on Monday (11/22) to conform with you what to bring. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Have a great weekend and hopefully I'll be seeing you on Thanksgiving.

James Anderson

Week 12 News and Notes

Dear Parents,

It was so nice to see so many of you this week for the parent/teacher meeting. It's wonderful to see how much you care for your child's education. If you would like to follow up on anything we discussed at the meeting please feel free to drop in or send me an email.

This Saturday (11/13) is a practice for the Beauty and the Beast play. Mrs. Fay has asked all students to bring in black socks, black tights (tight pants) and a completly back short sleeve shirt.


Some notes for week 11.

The spelling test will be on Monday over the following words (steel, steal, lead, led, wait, weight, wear, ware, creak, creek)

Science Quiz will be on Tuesday and cover Chapter 3 Animal Life Cycles.

Math Quiz on Chapter 9 Fractions will be on Wednesday.

Math Unit 3 Test will be on Friday and will cover chapters 7-9.



All the best,

James Anderson

Week 11 Notes

Dear Parents,

The students have had a good week so far. They have been working on finishing their family tree and they are looking very good. Thank you for helping your child bring in all the information and pictures of your amazing families. We also started a new science unit on Animal Life Cycles. We will be finishing our Math Chapter on Solid Shapes. And on Monday (11/8) will be starting a new Math Chapter on Fractions. And in English class we have been studying ways to talk about the past. They have also been busy practicing for the Beauty and the Beast play, which is coming along smoothly.

Upcoming tests:

Spelling test will be on Monday. Spelling words focus on the letter "o". Next week words are; crow, stock, chose, folk, coal, host, bowl, grown, shock, broke.

Math quiz will be on Monday. The quiz will focus on Chapter 8, Solid Shapes.

English Test will be on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on how the review lesson goes). The quiz will focus on verb uses that we have been studying in class.

We will be doing a painting project on Monday. It might be a good idea for your child to wear old clothes on that day so as not to ruin new clothes if they get paint on them.

I'll be handing a sheet of paper to your child on Friday (11/5) letting you know your time to meet with me for parent/teacher meetings. I'm looking forward to talking with you more when we meet next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Have a great week and thank you for all your support.

James Anderson

Week 10

Thank you to everyone who helped with the festivities for Halloween. It was a great success!

A few notes for week 10.

Spelling test has been moved to Wednesday to allow for extra practice. the words are; globe, coast, goal, spoke, odd, shown, gold, wrote, snow, block

Social Studies Project. Students have been asked to bring in information about family members and pictures (if possible) to construct a family tree. Please have you child bring in all information by Wednesday 11/3.


Congratulations to Michelle for being Octobers Homework Queen.

Congratulations to Emily for being Octobers Reading Queen.

Week 9

Dear Parents,

Students have been busy this week getting ready for Halloween, Beauty and the Beast, and their regular subjects. 

First I've decided to push back the date when the students are to do their "animal presentation" to Monday (10/25). With some extra practice the students will be more prepared for what they are going to present on.

Spelling words for the test on Monday are as follows: blind, sting, fright, wind, hint, ripe, shine, inch, sigh, built.

I hope to see you on Halloween Day (10/27) at 9:00am at the basketball court outside.

Have a great weekend and thanks for all the support you are giving your child at home.

James Anderson

Small Change

Dear Parents,

The Reading Test has been moved to Friday 10/22 to allow more time to prepare.

Halloween is a week from Wednesday and the class wanted to remind you that you are invited to see all the students in their costume and listen to their song. This will begin at 9:00 on the basketball court.

We are all having a great week and we hope that you are too!

James Anderson

Week 8 Tests

Dear Parents,

Just a quick note of upcoming tests for week 8.

Math test over units 5-6 on Monday
Spelling test on Monday - brick, skill, lift, pride, grind, still, crime, flight, live, build
Reading test on Wednesday
Handwriting "fl" "ke" on Thursday


We will also be starting a new Social Studies Unit regarding Family. The students will be asked next week to bring in information about their family and any pictures they could use for a family tree (we will be using a photocopied photo not the original).

Have a good weekend,

James Anderson

News in 2nd Grade

  

Dear Parents,

We had a fun and eventful week!
            
On Monday we all enjoyed our visit to the library for a read-a-loud from Mr. Coyl.  Students are now able to check out books from the library and have 2 weeks to return them.  The students have also enjoyed choosing an animal and doing research on what makes it interesting. Finally students have been enjoying practicing their dance for the play Beauty and the Beast.

We have also been working hard this week!

In Social Studies we completed our unit on maps, and we are looking forward to starting our independent research projects on animals - you will be hearing more about this soon! In Math we finished up Chapter 5 and have started to work on the number concepts and patterns chapter, which is a lot of fun! In Language Arts many of us are really enjoying our story time, and just can’t stop reading! In our written work, we have been working on our writing process, using prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading and publishing to make a well thought out personal narrative.   Ask your child if they can share their journal with you!

Halloween is coming up and we would like invite all the parents into school on Wednesday the 27th of October from 9:00-12:00 in the morning.  There will be  a school wide showing off of costumes from 9:00-10:00am on the basketball court and then from 10:30-12:00 our class will be running an activity for all elementary students to stop by our class and participate in.

Jacob, Kevin Y. Mackin and Ashley's parents have volunteered to assist during this day to help with the class party. The class activity will be a "gross touch and guess it" theme where children will stick their hands through a cloth and have to guess what gross thing they are touching. This is where I'll need your help, please bring in gross things to be put in a bin (which I have) that can be touched by the children (sticky things, jello like things, or anything that you think will feel weird to the non-seeing eye). Candy or other treats will also be nice to have to share with the students. If you're not sure what to bring please email me.  Thank you in advance to everyone who will help.

Finally a thank you to all our parents who have been signing your child's communication book and the completed tests. We are looking forward to the upcoming celebrations over the next few months (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). It has been a busy time for us all, and the children love to include their family.
Have a great weekend! Remember NO school on Monday for students.

Mr. Anderson



Special points of interest:
- Please remember to send  water bottles with students everyday.
- Check Assignment Books daily.
-  Some students have lost or broken their red pen; please ensure you child has one to use in class.
- Make sure to email me in  advance if your child is going to be absent!

Spelling List:
Double Vowel and Consonant Blends
Differentiated spelling lists will be sent home on Monday after the test. Week 7 test
will be on Tuesday this week. Spelling words are: peach, sweet, feast, cream, fresh, free, reach, kept, spent, field

Other upcoming tests for next week are:
- Math Chapter 6 on Thursday
- Science Chapter 2 on Friday
 

 Specials
Mon - Chinese, Library, Club
Tues - Computers, Music
Wed -  PE, CLub
Thurs - Chinese
Fri - PE, Music


Topics of the Week

Language Arts:
Next week we will be continuing to improve our writing process by focusing on sequencing and organization of paragraphs.
In reading we will be focusing on making predictions, and continuing in our quest to be a fabulous independent reader!


Math:
We will be finishing Unit 6 and beginning Unit 7 next week. We will be continuing to work on Number Concepts and Patterns and starting to look at Geometry and Fractions.


Social Studies/Science
We have finished our Social Studies unit on maps and have started a science unit on classifying and studying animals . We have also started to do research about an animal of our choice.  I look forward to seeing their published project being displayed around the school once we are finished.

 

Week 6 tests

Dear Parents,

Up coming tests for week 6 (October 4-8) are as follows.

Spelling test on Monday. We are moving away from sight words and starting to have words we learned in class which can be harder words to spell. Your child might need to study longer for this test (why, wish, work, would, write, your, punctuation, exclamation, compass rose, conclusion).

Handwriting test on Thursday.

English test on Friday. Unit 3 test from English book

Thank you for all your support.

James Anderson

Week 5 news

Dear Parents,

The music teacher (Mrs. Fay) has asked me to ask you to take a look at her blog and help your child play the music ticket game. The students have already played this game in music class, but Mrs. Fay says that this will help students comprehend note values.
(blog address is: http://his-musicclass.blogspot.com/)


The presentation this week has been moved to Friday so the students can be more prepared. The assignment is to read out loud their latest journal entry. They have been learning the steps of writing this week which includes prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing. I've asked Mrs. Lines to join us during this presentation.
The grading is based on the following criteria:

Followed directions for the assignment

Spoke for required time

Answered questions

Spoke audibly

Correct use of language

Volume

Made eye contact with the audience

Listens without making distractions

Asks question(s) to other student about their presentation

Prepared required material

Looking forward to the presentation. Have a good day!

James Anderson

Week 4 News

Extra Extra!!!

Roles for this years big production play are out.  Please let me know as soon as possible if your child is not going to be here on the 9th and 10th of December because the school will be buying costumes very soon.

name role

Chantal Poh Bat, Spoon,Kid

Jonah Stacey Wolf, Fork, Kid

Mackin Rim Wolf, Knife,Kid

Ashley Han Bat,Spoon,Kid

Tommy Kim Wolf, Fork, Kid

Michelle Lin Bat, Fork,Kid

Emily Su Bat, Spoon,Kid

Annie Chen Bat, Fork,Kid

Jacob Juras Wolf, Knife,Kid

Angus Nobbs Wolf, Fork, Kid

Kevin Park Wolf, Fork, Kid

Kevin Yang Wolf, Knife,Kid

Week 4 Tests

Spelling test on Monday

(tell, their, these, those, upon, us, use, very, wash, which)

Math test on Friday Chapter 4

I've been very happy with the students level of responsibility in the class thus far. Looking forward to seeing them on Monday. Have a nice weekend.

James Anderson

Social Studies Publishing Book

Hello Parents,

This year as part of our social studies class the students will be putting together a book of their published projects. Some examples of work will include neighborhood map, family history, Hsinchu facts, Taiwan history, Taiwan facts, students home country facts, etc...
The school has ordered the books already at a cost of 80ntd. Please have you child bring in 80ntd to pay for the their book. Many interesting things will go into this book and I envision the students saving these books and looking back on them long after they have left the 2nd grade.

Thank you for your support,

James Anderson

Mapping Homework

Dear Parents,

We are starting a new social studies unit (Depending on Others) this week and as part of the homework students are to make a rough draft map of their neighborhood, approximately mapping a 2-3 block radius around your house. Students are to note on a paper any government buildings, stores (what kind), apartments, parks and any other landmarks that they could put on a map. It would be best if your child could walk around their neighborhood to note these things. For safety reasons it would be best if they could be accompanied by you or an adult guardian. Also if you were to help students find the direction of north so they can use it when we make the final draft in class. Students are only to make a rough draft as homework as we will be making the final draft in class.

Thank you for your support.

James Anderson

Tests for week 3

Science test on Monday. Students can study from their science workbook.
Spelling test on Monday.
Math test on Thursday, Chapter 4

Holidays

Dear Parents,

Thank you for sending back the paper of the holidays that you are interested in helping out with. I have written the name of your child next to 2 of the holidays that your help will be appreciated. I will post more information on this blog closer to the date of the holiday to let you know how you could help out and what the class will be doing to celebrate.

Best regards,

James Anderson

Our Holiday Parties are:

____Halloween/Fancy Dress Day (Wednesday, 27 October) Jacob, Kevin Y, Mackin, Ashley

____Thanksgiving (Thursday, 25 November) Your entire family is welcome to join us for lunch. We will all share a dish and have a wonderful Fall Harvest Festival/ American Thanksgiving together.  (The team that gets this holiday will help to organize the food items and help set it up on the day.) :-) Michelle, Ashley

____Christmas (Thursday, 16 December) Gift sharing time Tommy, Michelle, Annie

____Chinese New Year (Thursday, 27 January) Annie, Angus, Jonah

____Valentine's Day (Monday, 14 February) Kevin P, Jacob, Emily

____St. Patrick's Day (Thursday, 17 March) All things GREEN- Kevin P, Jonah

____Easter (Friday, April 22) Easter Egg Hunt- Emily, Kevin Y,

Mother's Day Celebration Tea (Friday, May 6th) We're celebrating YOU, our mothers! We've got this covered so just come and relax! :-)  Please just mark the date!

____End of the Year Party (Wednesday, June 22nd) Celebration party! We are moving on to 3nd grade! Tommy, Mackin, Angus

Small Change

The class presentation will be Thursday September 16th and NOT Wednesday September 15th - (Thank you Joy for pointing that out)
For the presentation, students are to pick a book that they enjoy reading. For 30 seconds they are to summarize the book, (characters, setting, conflict (if there is one) beginning, middle and end) and talk about why it's their favorite book. We have been learning how to summarize a book in class so students are familiar with this process.

The Grading scale for class presentations will be based on the following aspects:
Prepared required materail
Followed directions for the assignment
Spoke for required time
Answered questions
Spoke audibly
Correct use of language
Volume
Made eye contact with the audience
Listens without making distractions
Asks question(s) to other student about their presentation


Just a reminder that the homework book should be signed everyday. Also please sign the finished tests that I've marked and have your child bring them back to school the next day. Thanks.

James Anderson

Week 3 News

Dear Parents,

It was very nice to meet some of you last night at the PTA. For those parents who weren't able to come your child will bring home an outline of the curriculum for the 2010-2011 school year. Please have a look at it and if you have any questions please ask. jamesanderson.his@gmail.com

Here are some quick notes for week 3.

Wednesday September 15th - Reading Quiz, Theme 1
Wednesday September 15th - Presentation, student is to bring in their favorite book. For 30 seconds they are to tell the class what the books is about and why it's their favorite book.
Thursday September 16th - Math Quiz, Chapter 2

Have a great weekend,

James Anderson

Week 2 Information

Hello Parents,


Just a few quick reminders for the school year.

First, during the day on Wednesdays we have P.E. and some students also have a club at 3:00 so the children should wear their HIS sports clothes (shirt and shorts) and shoes that cover their toes Wednesdays.

Second, every Monday students will have a spelling test so you can count on that as a regular part of weekend studying. Students will be given their words for the following Monday on the same day they take the test.

All tests will be written in the students homework books at least 2 days in advance and I'll post them on my blog as soon as I know the day of the test.

Also, part of every day's homework is that the student should read 30 minutes from a story book. They can check out books from my classroom, read books from home and very soon will be able to check out books from the library. After they finish reading they need to remember to log the name of the book, page numbers and time it took to read in the back of their homework book.

This Thursday is a time where you can come into the school and get to know me, the class structure, and the books we use. We will be meeting in the library at 7:00pm and then heading down to my classroom after wards. Snacks will be provided during the evening. I look forward to getting to know you better.

Finally thank you for all your support you have given your child. I'm happy to see that almost all homework books are being signed everyday. It's great to see the kids having such a good time in class while learning.



Best regards,



James Anderson

News, Notes, and our first Test

Dear Parents,


The school year is off to a fast start and the students are getting settled in with class structure and procedure. I am finding the students highly motivated and have a hunger for learning. Today we had our first journal writing, where students were to brainstorm "small moments" from this summer and then write in detail about one of these small moments. The journals are meant for the students to write in without fear of spelling or grammar mistakes, they are more for creative ideas and flow of the students writing style. We will have spelling tests, English and writing work that will concentrate on spelling and grammar. So that being said, I will not correct the spelling and grammar in the journal books.

The First Spelling Test will be this Monday. The spelling words will be based on the Dolch second grade sight vocabulary words which are words that second graders should be able to read in a book without stopping to sound out the word. This weeks words are: always, around, because, been, before, best, both, buy, call, cold.

NT$25 cost for folder and spelling book. Could you have your child bring in NT$25 to me as soon as possible. NT$10 is for the spelling book and NT$15 is for the homework folder. Exact change is appreciated.

Thank you for getting all your child's school supplies for class. And don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.


James Anderson

Special Classes During the Week

Monday Vocabulary Test, Chinese or ESL Class, Library Time, Clubs (3:00-4:00)

Tuesday  Computers, Music, Activities (3:00-4:00)

Wednesday P.E., Clubs (3:00-4:00)

Thursday  Chinese or ESL, Activities (3:00-4:00)

Friday P.E., Music, Activities (3:00-4:00)

Letter to the Parents

Dear Parents,

My name is James Anderson and I would like to tell you how excited I am to be teaching your child and would also like to welcome your child to an exciting year in the second grade. Let me introduce myself. This is my first year at Hsinchu International School but I have been teaching elementary school children for the past 5 years.  I am originally from America, born in Pennsylvania and raised just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  During high school I moved out west and attended Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon where I received a Batcher of Science degree in forestry recourses.

After university, I went to Florence Italy to earn my TEFL degree (Teach English as a Foreign Language).  It was there that I found my passion for teaching. I taught in Cusco, Peru and then South Korea before moving to Taiwan where I completed a Master’s Degree in Education from Framingham State University and earned an Elementary Teaching Certificate from the College of New Jersey. When I am not working I enjoy traveling, reading, playing ultimate frisbee, gardening, and spending time with my wife.  

To me, the best thing about being in the classroom is the children.  Their enthusiasm for learning makes every class fun and challenging for me.   A student-centered approach to teaching, emphasizing learning by experience is something I truly believe in.  By organizing the classroom in such a way that removes the “spotlight” from myself, instead focusing on the students and giving them the opportunity to participate actively in our lessons, I believe their interest in the subject matter can be inspired and stimulated. 

In my classroom students are encouraged to voice their own opinions, questions, and make connections to their real lives, making lessons meaningful to them.  By turning both the schoolyard and local community into classrooms, I feel that the gap between both the school and real lives of the students can be bridged and strengthened, adding further value to the classroom learning environment. I prescribe to the “small island grouping” philosophy of desk placement in my classroom. Students sit in small groups of four, facing each other rather than the white board.  This promotes peer communication, collaboration, and a more “family-like” atmosphere in the classroom, as students are encouraged to work cooperatively during activities.

Being respectful, responsible, and cooperative are the three “umbrella” rules that I implement in my classroom.  They are posted on a board and are clearly visible to all students.  I have found that these rules can be applied to any situation and are effective in further establishing the community atmosphere.

I look forward to developing a strong partnership with you over the course of the school year, which I believe can only further enhance the learning possibilities for the children.  I will be using this blog to communicate and post important information about the class, please refer to this blog on a regular basis and feel free to post comments or email me with any quistions you may have.

Sincerely,

James Anderson
jamesanderson.his@gmail.com