Report Books and Homework

1. Reports Books not completely signed or left at home.
There were a number of pupils who did not get their parents to sign on all the required pages, such as the result slip for Science Practical. Together with those who have left it at home, they have been reminded to bring them next Monday, 5th January 2009.

2. Math Homework
(a) Pupils have been tasked to read up and try to understand the concepts presented in Chapter 1, Numbers 1 to 100 000. The recommended reading is from the 4A Math textbook, pg 8 -19.

(b)They are also encouraged to try out the sums in the textbooks in pencil. The concepts will be reinforced next week during lessons.

(c) For pupils who did not bring their Math workbook to class, they are reminded to do so by next Monday next Monday, 5th January 2009. They are also to bring their green and yellow file and store them in class for regular filing.

3. English Homework Unit 1, Part 1 (MCQ)
(a) Item No.3, Vocabulary Discrete. Item No.4,
If pupils are not sure about the meaning of a world, they will be required to check the dictionary for meaning and note it down in the worksheets

(b)Item No 5 Comprehension MCQ
Pupils read for contextual clues that will help them select the correct answers. If they encountered difficult words, they are encouraged to check the dictionary.

(c) Black and Red English Files. Pupils are to bring this to class on 5th January 2009 for class filing as well.

4. Stationery Items
If your child does not have a green pen, please kindly get one for him as it will be used for corrections. Highlighters, preferably, in two colors, will be useful for tackling Math problem sums and Comprehension Passages.

Adminstrative Documents, Letters, Etc.

Dear parents and pupils,
Here is a list of the documents given out in class today:

1. 2009 Class 4G timetable
Printed single sided, 1 page. Parents may want to duplicate a few sets for reference at home or in office.

2. Letter to Introduce Vice-Principal, Mrs Sim Swee Yeong
Printed single sided, 1 page. For your information.

3. Letter for Marist Befriender Programme
Printed single sided, 1 page. Please take kindly give your consent, sign and return the acknowledgement slip next Monday, 5th January 2009.

4. Form Teacher' s Letter to Parents & Feedback Form
Printed single sided, 2 pages. Please do visit the class blog with your child as a form of encouragement and at the same time, let him know that you are committed to monitoring his progress.
Do take some time to complete the feedback form so that your child can return it next Monday, 5th January 2009.

Thank you for your attention =)

A Very Warm Welcome Online

Dear Parents & Guardians of Class 4G,

Season Greetings and a Happy New Year to you and your family. A very warm welcome back to school once again! I hope all of you have enjoyed a relaxing holiday. It is my pleasure to inform you, that for this year, I have the privilege of being your child’s Form Teacher in 4G. Together with you as our valued stakeholders, I will be facilitating his learning in English and Mathematics. To ensure that your child’s fullest potential is actualised, there are a few areas I would like to highlight:

1. Online Class Blog (Trial Version)
This will be the first time I am putting up a class blog. Given the progress of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Maris Stella High School being awarded Centre of IT excellence, there’s a constant calling for teachers to undertake initiatives to leverage on ICT to enhance the learning of our pupils and at the same time, involve their parents. The aim of the blog is to serve as a platform to inform parents and remind pupils of their daily assignments while also highlighting other administration matters, e.g. the signing of various consent forms. The advantages of an online blog as compared to email are that it is more media-rich, allowing for an easier read without the clutter of other emails in the inbox. Having said that, I would appreciate it if you could point your browser to the following URL:
http://2009blessed4g.blogspot.com/

2. Other Modes of Communication
Though you may post comments on the blog, I am happy to entertain emails on matters of a personal or private nature at the following email address:
chewhupseng@yahoo.com

You can also reach me via the staff email list posted on the school’s website.

Though email is a great way to communicate, I would usually call back, as a phone conversation gives a more personal touch. Should the need arise and I am unable to reach you during school hours, or vice versa, I’d try to call again when I reach home.

3. First Round of Feedback
It will be very helpful if you could fill up the attached feedback form so that we as teachers can get to know the parents and child better. For those with learning needs and have submitted the relevant documents, do let me know so I can find out a bit more from the previous teachers who have interacted with your child.

4. Strategies For Better Results
In a mixed ability class, different children learnt at varied paces. Therefore, it’d be an excellent practice to read up in advance of chapters before they are taught in class. When this takes places, classroom teaching will serve to reinforce concepts even more.

With a weighed approach targeted at areas that a class is generally lacking in, it is impossible to discuss every question during a Math or English lesson of 2 periods. Detailed Worked Solutions (DWS) will be given in such cases. This is different from “copying from an answer key”. According to feedback from parents of my previous classes, DWS allows our pupils to spend more time analyzing their mistakes outside classroom time and when at home, they could always seek alternative help ranging from their parents to siblings or even tutors. However, students should feel free to approach me if they require assistance in their learning.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to drop me an email. And with your permission, some of these may be put up on the class blog so that other parents could benefit from a community of knowledge sharing as well.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr. William Chew
Form Teacher, Primary 4G