We made it!
Happy end of the 2023-24 school year everyone!
We had an exciting week including a science unit test, history final project presentations, a water fight, and Gyeongju World trip!!! The classroom is cleaned out, year books signed, and now it’s time to enjoy some summer sun.
Don’t forget to:
See you in the next school year,
Mrs. Leah
Dear parents of students joining Mrs. Leah’s class in the upper school in 2024/25.
This is Mr. Green writing to inform you of the arrangements the school is making for the following academic year. As you may be aware, the Year 789 class for 2024/25 will be the largest the school has enjoyed in a number of years, and this has led to valid questions regarding how the school can best provide a high quality of education to such a group.
Class Teacher
Mrs. Leah will continue as the class teacher for Year 789. This will be her second year with this age group, and she has established strong relationships with the students who will be returning, as well as a good understanding of the curriculum and expectations for the upper school. Mrs. Leah is an excellent fit for the oldest students in our school and thrives working with this age range.
Maths
In order to better provide for the range of abilities, Mr Green will be joining Mrs Leah to teach maths on a daily basis. Mr Green will teach maths to the Year 8 and 9 students and Mrs. Leah will teach maths to the Year 7 students. These will be separate classes held in separate classrooms and will create an effective class size of around 10 students.
English
Mrs. Leah will be joined by Ms. Tanisha for English lessons on a daily basis. Ms Tanisha has been working at the school this year as an EAL teacher, and we have employed her on a full-time basis for next year. Ms. Tanisha is well-known to the students and will be able to provide excellent support to differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of all students. As well as daily English lessons, a significant amount of Ms. Tanisha’s timetable will be assigned to the upper school for general in-class support.
Assessments
The school has been examining how we assess students progress and report to parents, and has decided to make some improvements. Students will no longer sit externally marked Cambridge exams in Year 9. These exams were not providing good value for money, and the cost savings can be used to provide better teaching and learning resources for all students. Instead of Cambridge exams, students in the Upper School will take internally marked assessments in maths and English once per term, which will be reported to parents. All assessments are linked to the curricula the school follows and marked against externally set standards. These assessments will provide parents with a better understanding of the progress students are making, as well as provide evidence of attainment for students leaving the school.
Upper school students will also continue to take Cambridge InCAS assessments, which the school uses internally to track progress and identify trends.
Curriculum Meeting
We will be holding a curriculum meeting early in term 1 of next year, at which we will be able to provide more information on the curriculum the upper school will be following and arrangements for the class in general. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at that meeting.
Future Developments
The school is committed to the continued development of the Upper School section and we are looking forward to the opportunities presented by our largest cohort in many years. Personally, I am looking forward to teaching in the upper school again and being around to drive curriculum development and ensure the highest standards.
If you wish to meet me to discuss any matters, I am available this week and for most of the school holidays.
Regards
Mr Green
We are coming to a close open all our learning units this week so we have remained busy this week.
NEXT WEEK:
The upper school teachers a planning a water fight for our ABC Countdown W day! In lieu of PE, we will set up some water based games and competitions amongst the tree classes, and then have a water fight afterwards. This will take place after morning break time. Please, for TUESDAY JUNE 25th bring:
Remember, there are NO CLUBS the last week of school. There will be a first and second bus, please see the HFS Newsletter email for details.
On Thursday the 27th we have the school trip to GYEONGJU WORLD. Make sure you have signed your student up and to wear comfortable, hot weather clothing and good walking shoes. You will need a water bottle, pack lunch, and some money if desired. Let me know if you plan to make pick up arrangements for your student other than the bus or regular after school pickup.
OUR CLASS:
In English we spent the week writing a review of Romeo and Juliet using our act summaries, lesson notes, and quotes from the text to talk about the plot, characters, language, themes, and how the audience then and now would perceive the story. Students work hard on a multistep process including a hand written rough draft that answered each question from the review outline, typed out their work, corrected any edits and/or comments the teacher made, and then were able to use AI to do a once-over o their work for remaining spelling/grammar issues. On Friday we looked at movie trailers and planned how to create a tailor for Romeo and Juliet as a final activity for the book next week.
In math we finished out units and took the final unit assessment of the year. Then, students started a final math project planning a 7 day, 6 night vacation to a destination with $10,000 USD. Students are responsible for finding airfare, travel arrangements, accommodation, meals and activities for the week, and keep track of their budget in the process. Everyone has had a lot of fun using real travel sites to research locations and hotels, but also realization just how difficult planning and budgeting can be in the real world!
History has been independent work time for student projects. Students had a class period last week, the weekend, three class periods this week, and any weekday outside of school hours to work on their submissions. Everyone submitted on Friday, but I was surprised that some students lamented they were not finished. This has been an ongoing issue and next school year we will work together on time management, and I will be a lot more strict about late and/or incomplete work. Next week students will have to present their work their classmates and teacher.
In Science we finished up our unit on plant reproduction including pollination, flower adaptations, and seed dispersal methods. Students have reviewed a review sheet on all the topics we covered and will be on Monday’s assessment. I have encouraged students to take home their science notebooks to use their notes to complete the worksheet. This will be that last bit of work for end of the year in science class.
Homework:
Students took home a stack of papers from their previous Math and English units. Feel free to review or recycle. Next week all class notebooks will go home as well.
Have a lovely last weekend,
Mrs. Leah
This Friday report cards were sent out with the homework. Next week I am hosting parent teacher conferences. If you would like to meet to discuss student report cards, please use the following link to book a timeslot:
https://calendar.app.google/3QAabNhFHD7HAYB8A
As we come close to the end of the school year, we still had a lot of learning to do this week. In English we finished Romeo and Juliet. We explored the passion and despair of the star-crossed lovers and their tragic end, students drew Juliet imagining herself awakening in her crypt and used text to describe the macabre images, and we chose our favorite characters and tried to have our classmates guess who it was by describing them with an animal, a motto, an actor who might play them, and a favorite scene from the play they are in.
In ICT we played with the ABC countdown and had M for Microbits! Students have a lot of fun programming games, music, and other apps with the little devices.
In math we finished up our units on properties of multiplication and division with year 7, and numeracy with years 8/9. Year 7s worked with finding the areas of trapezia, solving problems using the mean, and algebraic expressions. Years 8/9 worked with metric conversions including length, area, and volume. In the homework each group as a review packet; students do not need to do all the problems, it is to practice and identify and weak spots before the unit tests on Tuesday next week!
For History we finished our unit on World War One talking about the after effects of the war on politics, society, art, the military and medical fields. Students were given a choice of a final project to work on and complete by next Friday, June 21st. It is expected that these projects will be worked on over the weekend, as noted on the homework sheet. I am looking forward to seeing the results of everyone’s enthusiasm!
In science we looked at pollination and the two different types of pollination; insect and wind. We compared the different plant adaptions for each type and were able to dissect flowers on N for Nature day outside by the lovely HFS garden. We took real flowers, carefully took them apart, and identified their different parts. It was great being outside on such a sunny warm day.
We were also able to do our experiment from E for Experiment day, which got delayed. We did the classic ‘Elephant’s Toothpaste’ experiment where hydrogen peroxide is broken down by active yeast in dish soap. For those that don’t know, the yeast separates the water and oxygen molecules from the hydrogen peroxides and the gas is trapped in the soap bubbles causing a ton of foam to spew out!
Everyone have a great weekend and see you Monday!
Mrs. Leah
Homework Week 9:
English –
Maths –
History –
Science –
This week we have had some issues with cell phones. Students are able to bring personal phones to school but they are expected to stay in backpacks, in lockers during school hours. Phones have been creeping out into use before school, break times, and clubs. Students are disrespecting requests to put phones away just before the school bell, and after the bell delaying class start times. Students are also stuck in their phones on breaks rather than socializing, playing outside, or other recuperative activities.
Starting week 9 all students will be expected to spend their break periods outside and without phones. Phones out after the bell will hang out at my desk until the end of the day.
On a more positive note, Wednesday was I for Ice cream so the whole school walked to the shop and got a treat at the end of the day. Our class helped the youngest ones arrive safely 🙂
In English we are working our way through Romeo and Juliet, everyone is very into the storyline which makes class discussions fun! Students looked at the elements of happiness and dread that are juxtaposed in the text, wrote a wedding invitation for Romeo and Juliet, and on Friday did K for Kahoot review of the scenes read as a part of the ABC countdown.
For math this week we are still working with multiplication and division in year 7. Students have reviewed dividing integers and decimals, the order of operations, and are working with finding the areas of rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles. Years 8 and 9 reviewed estimating and rounding numbers, error intervals, and calculating money with percentages.
In Science we started a new unit, related to the photosynthesis unit we just finished, on pollination. Students explored the parts of a flower and their functions. We will use this knowledge next week as we look into the process and importance of plant pollination. Students also had a unit test in Geography on Plate Tectonics as well. We reviewed as a class on Monday so students could prepare for the test, the results were very satisfactory.
For History we examined the 1918 Spanish Flue epidemic and how it affected the world and war. Just as the American arrived in Europe, the strange deadly flu gripped the soldiers and civilian alike causing more casualties than battle. We were able to identify similarities and practices from this time seen and used again during the recent corona virus outbreak. In the homework is the second half of an activity started in class to examine an article to answer as we only had a single class period this week due to Thursday’s day of remembrance.
Finally, for PE on Friday our class stepped up as the big kids and helped transport, set up, facilitate activities with the lower school, and clean up equipment for rotation style activities and games. Its rather nice being out in the sun and playing with our younger friends!
Homework:
English –
Read Romeo and Juliet Act 3, scenes 3, 4, 5. Be prepared for discussion and comprehension questions MONDAY!
Finish your Act 2 summaries on your stage handout.
Maths –
7s – Area of Triangles (please finish up multiplying and dividing decimals and integers, order of operations, and the area of rectangles and parallelograms worksheets from this week if you did not finish!)
8/9s – Order of Operations with decimals
History –
The Influenza Epidemic of 1918. The link for the article to answer the questions on the worksheet is:
https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2018/05/1918-flu/?authuser=0
It is also linked to the History Classroom!
Answer all the questions thoroughly in full sentences.
Have a great weekend and see you Monday,
Mrs. Leah
English has been a lot of fun as we have started our novel study on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Everyone has been keeping up with the assigned reading which makes class discussions and lot of fun and very interesting considering many of us are the same ages as the main characters! Students have pondered their own idea love matches, wrote love letters as Romeo to Roseline, recalled the format and characteristics of the sonnet, and played with iambic pentameter to make Shakespeare more understandable and engaging. This weekend students will read the start of Act 2 to be ready for a reading quiz Monday!
Year 8/9 students finished their multiplicative change unit and tested on Wednesday; everyone did well and passed so hurrah for a maths success! They started their next and last unit on numeracy basics starting with a refresher on rounding to significant figures and to a given number of decimal places.
Year 7 students continue working with multiplication and division as a refresher as well. Nailing down the basics will help significantly into the next year!
This week in Science we reviewed for the unit test on photosynthesis on Thursday. Students studied in class using their notebooks and created notecards with key information to use on the test. They thought they were getting a cheat code, but actually they were refreshing knowledge they already knew by pouring over their notes and handwriting pertinent information! The results were good; we seem to have a firm grasp on the process of photosynthesis and the plant adaptions that make it possible.
In Geography we closed our unit on plate tectonics by exploring the theory of plate tectonics. Students visualized how the continents fit together and the fossil and ice mineral deposits that support the idea of a super land mass called Pangea. We cut out the continents ourselves and marked where and how they fit together and where physical evidence has been discovered. We also too a look at sea floor spreading which explains how continental drift could be possible.
Since we had some left over cookies from C for Cookie day as part of the ABC countdown, we modeled how plate boundaries move and made observations comparting the cookie to how the earths crust behave with these different types of movements.
In History we looked at when and why the Americans joined WWI. Students cracked a spreadsheet based code (in a nod to our ICT unit) to decipher the Zimmerman Telegram beckoning Mexico to invade the US. We also met the end of the great war and took a look back at the Paris Peace Conference which we covered in term 2. Next week we will look at the outbreak of the Spanish Flu and its effects on the war, and well as how the war affected society politics in the years after.
In PE we enjoyed some F for free time in the sunshine!
HOMEWORK:
Due by MONDAY JUNE 3RD
English:
Romeo and Juliet Act II: The Prologue, scene 1, scene 2, and scene 3. Be prepared to talk about these scenes in class on MONDAY – there will also be some comprehension questions to answer.
Besure to complete your Act I stage summaries as well!
Due by FRIDAY JUNE 7TH
English:
William Shakespeare reading comprehension with a mind map activity; include 6 different things you learned about the English bard from the reading and/or from the internet! (include a website citation please!)
Maths:
Yr 7 – Formal Methods Dividing Integers
Formal Methods Dividing Decimals
Yr 8/9 – Round Integers to Powers of Ten
Round to One Significant Figure
Rounding to a Given Number of Decimal Places
IMYC: Geology
From Pangea to today reading comprehension with questions
Incase you forgot, here is a copy of our ABC countdown calendar:
What a great week we had last week on our residential trip!
It was absolutely a fantastic trip thanks to the organization from the school and the positive attitudes and excellent behavior of students.
I witnessed a lot of growth mindset, respect, responsibility, teamwork, leadership, and confidence from just about everyone. These types of trips really allow students to showcase these core values and build relationships with one another that transfer into school. Being away from home can be difficult but the peer-support and perseverance of students really helped keep everyone tuned into the exciting adventures we had.
And what adventures! We did the Skyline Luge Park Wednesday, rock climbed, created pottery, dyed fabric, did an obstacle course, and had a photo contest Thursday, and kayaked at Gwangali Beach Friday – whew! Here are some photos of our class having a blast:
Friday was the start of the school-wide ABC Countdown!
Please see the attached schedule for silly events to celebrate the last month of school. Any dress-up activities are optional, and in-class activities are either built into our regular lessons or slatted for the last 30 minutes of the day.
There was no homework this past weekend as we were all out, but starting Monday students are tasked to read an Act and Scene each night from our book Romeo and Juliet. Students will be held responsible for the reading with comprehension questions, quizzes, and participation in activities relating to the reading.
Have a Wonderful Week!
Mrs. Leah
We just had an amazing Sport Day on Thursday! The day started out cloudy and a bit cold, but by the afternoon the blue sky was shining and it was nice and hot. Everyone had a lot of fun playing games and working together as a team. Special thanks to Mr. Dunn for organizing the event, the PTA for supplying snacks, and my class for helping set up the equipment and helping younger students have a successful time! Well done all.
This week students were hard at work writing their creative narratives. On Monday we did some in-class reading and peer review. Students commented on stories directly and provided feedback on a separate form. For the homework students will need to finish their stories. They should be utilizing the checklist included in their homework (which they have had in class the last two weeks) and the feed back form to ensure they meet the criteria.
We also were able to assist Mr. Morgan’s class and provide feedback on his student’s written work!
In math, all year groups are working with multiplication. Year 8/9 have been making conversions with exchange rates and direct proportion graphs, and year 7 reviewing factors and common multiples. The homework includes review on these topics, and is due Tuesday as we will all be off on the residential trip for the rest of the week!
In Geography we took a look a tsunamis, specifically tsunamis caused by underwater earth quakes. Students created a story board depicting the events that would lead to such a devastating natural disaster. We only had one class period on this subject this week, so we will finish them up next week!
Students were able to complete the first part of their lab section on photosynthesis they started last week as well, answering questions from two texts and using data tables to graph information and use critical thinking to explain. These few weeks we have had so much in the way of days off, special events, etc. that we doing a good job revisiting and reviewing information to keep it fresh in our minds.
We did the same in History were we reviewed weaponry and the key points of major battles. We also briefly went over American interest in the war after the sinking of the Lusitania and the disruption in Russia caused by the Bolshevik revolution.
As mentioned, next week from Wednesday to Friday is the residential trip. Be sure to get any items you need over the weekend!
Homework:
DUE MONDAY May 20th
English:
Finish your story.
Your story has been peer reviewed, address their comments and use their feedback form to make the changes needed.
You should have a full story(beginning, middle, and ending) and it should be roughly 5-6 pages in length (un-spaced).
USE YOUR NARRATIVE WRITING CHECKLIST to make sure you have met the criteria.
Due Tuesday May 21 (we will be away from Wednesday to Friday)
Maths:
Year 7s – Understand and use Factors (step 2)
Understand and use multiples (step 3)
Year 8/9 – Direct and Inverse proportion
Exchange Rates
Last week was rather short; we had regular class on Monday, our Class Trip to the Ulsan Grand Park Tuesday, Wednesday was May Day so no school, and Thursday, Friday Mrs. Leah had business to attend and wasn’t in! That’s okay, students were able to complete their InCAS testing with Mr. Green those days and work on exciting Micro-bit projects.
This week we were back to business as usual. In math both groups finished their units and took the unit test. Everyone passed and proved they are coming along nicely in their understanding of content and the White Rose curriculum is working well. Years 8/9 started their next unit on multiplicative properties starting with direct proportion and using conversion charts. Year 7s will start their next unit Monday, also on multiplicative properties.
In English students have started to get to work on their creative narrative writing. We reviewed sentence structures and figurative language devices to make our writing more varied and interesting, and practiced rewriting sentences with different techniques. Now students are tasked with writing their stories out; in fact, the main homework this weekend is finishing their first drafts (They have had three class periods to work, so it should not be too much!) They are expected to have 4-5 single-spaced pages (1 page of exposition, 2 pages ring action and the climax, and 1 page falling action and conclusion) of a fully plotted story (beginning, middle, and end) so we can do peer review Monday.
We were able to work on ICT this week and looked at using spreadsheets to perform calculations. Using formula functions, students practiced auto filling data tables, playing with faux budgets, and calculating totals.
In History we looked at trench warfare and what it was like to fight on the Western Front. We also looked at the differences between the Eastern and Western fronts, major battles including Gallipoli, Verdun, and The Somme. Students were really enthusiastic learning about the weapon technology used, including gas, heavy artillery, U-boats, tanks, and airplanes. We will look more that weaponry next week!
For Science students began to apply their knowledge of photosynthesis to lab questions based on reading passages (great for reading comprehension skills and and identifying key words) and on data tables and graphs. Students are able to use their notes, knowledge and critical thinking to understand the process of photosynthesis and effects of different variables.
English:
Complete your 1st draft of your creative narrative which was started this week in class. You should have a full story plotted (beginning, middle, and ending) and it should be roughly 4-5 pages in length (unspaced).
DUE MONDAY: We will be doing peer editing on Monday, so please come prepared as there will be no writing time that day.
DUE BY FRIDAY the 17th:
Maths:
Year 7s – Add and Subtract in Standard Form (Step 13)
Year 8/9 – Converting Between Units
History:
Finish your Battles of World War 1 Digital Notebook and submit it to the classroom!
Geography:
Read each passage and determine the plate type. (You may need to use your in-class notes!)
Reminder!
Next Wednesday is Buddha’s Birthday so no school, and Thursday the 16th is Sports Day! Be sure to see the HFS email in regards to the teams and colors to wear that day!
Happy Weekend,
Mrs. Leah
What a great finish to the end of our week – HD Heavy Industries KFCC put on a lovely concert of music and awards, followed by a gift! Thank you to all who made it possible; and a very big thank you to all the students who participated in the read-a-thon and raised money for the orphanage.
Also, a shout-out to our Ms. Year 9 student who worked so hard this week completing her Cambridge Testing. I am so proud of her hard work and dedication to her studies, I am sure she will do well. 🙂
REMINDER:
Tuesday April 30th we will go on our class trip to ULSAN GRANDPARK. Everyone signed the permission slip at the end of term 2, so we are proceeding as planned. We will return to school by 3:30 so regular club/bus schedule applies. Students will need a pack lunch, water bottle, hat, sunglasses, and comfortable shoes and clothes to walk in. I will remind everyone on Monday.
Tuesday we took a break from our normal schedule to participate in World Book Day by reading to little friends in the Library. We also had so in-class reading time to relax and engross in our favorite books for an hour.
In maths years 8 and 9 continued to work with ratios including expressing ratios in 1:n and comparing fractions and ratios, while year 7s used addition and subtraction in various areas including area and financial problems. The homework is a follow up practice for each lesson on Friday so I recommend to complete it over the weekend and return Monday.
In English we looked at character types and the functions of different characters as per Propp’s character theory. In the homework there is a worksheet in which a favorite book or movie should be analyzed to match the types of characters to Propp’s theory and explain their function in telling the story. We also looked at writing setting descriptions and conveying atmosphere with physical descriptions.
In History class we looked at the pre-war background of Europe to understand how nationalism, imperialism, alliances, and militarism all contributed to the outbreak of WWI. We also did a reading rotation to collect information about trench warfare to prepare for Monday when we discuss why trenches were used and what being in a trench was like.
In Geography class we dove into the different types of plate boundaries and the types of disasters they caused. We then mapped out the major plates on a world map and marked volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in the last 7 days from real-time geological websites to visualize how active they plate boundaries are. In the homework in a reading review of these processes.
For science we looked at plant parts and adaptations to carry out the process of photosynthesis. Students had to match the model with the label and its definition before recording this information in their own notebooks. We also looked at plant transport with the xylem and the phloem and how plants move water and nutrients. There is a quick read and fill in the blank activity to review for homework.
Have a great weekend and see you Monday!
Mrs. Leah