Last Day

Friday was our last day of school for the 2012-2013 year at LTIS. Students from Kindergarten, First and Second Grade (Preschool's last day was Thursday) made goodbye cards for friends and teachers, spent time outside, had a special drama with costumes and the castle and enjoyed a delicious cake provided by Physical Education Teacher Sabina- thank you so much for the cake and a lovely year of fun gym classes Sabina!

 

 

It was sad to say goodbye after such a fun last day, but we parted ways knowing that is has been an amazing year of growth and learning for students, teachers and the school. We deem the first year and formation of the LTIS community a success! Thank you all for your interest and support! Please stay with us as we get ready for next year.

What have we been working on the last week?

Learning continues at LTIS, even during the last week of school as we prepare to say Goodbye!

 

Milenia worked with First and Second Graders on measuring, three dimensional shapes, reading and writing. Below is a shapes exercise and writing practice.

 

 

Still working

 

 

Playing Shape Bingo with Erica and Mercedes as the class practices their English and review what they learned with Milenia.

 

Mercedes is impressed!

 

 

In Kindergarten we reviewed some of our units and vocabulary including the house, the body, the community, the classroom, plants and animals. We also researched dinosaurs, a current interest among the group. Below we read about dinosaurs and draw pictures of our favorites.

 

 

Dinosaurs are so interesting!

 

Ana Evelyn playing with dinosaurs, identifying "meat eaters and plant eaters," declaring, "the plant eaters live together here but they don't let the meat eaters in!"

 

 

Dileni continuing to work on her beautiful patterns with found objects

 

We have been talking about the rapidly approaching last day of school and discussing summer plans and what class our students will be in next year. It is hard to believe that the year is really coming to an end. We are excited for last day celebrations, but sad to have to say goodbye!

 

 

Preschool Princesses Final Week

There was a special treat for the ladies and Jeremy in Annette's class the final week of school. Annette's end of the year tradition is to take out a special castle tent for dramatic play and have a week filled with fun, fantasy and special stories. The girls enjoyed making crowns and wands, playing in their special imaginary world and painting a castle with Mercedes for art.

 

Making wands and crowns

 

 

Lea and Pamela working on their royal attire

 

Playing in the castle

 

Princesses playing with cars and trains

 

The castle

 

The crew inside the castle

 

Pretty princesses

 

The Preschoolers really enjoyed their last week. They had so much fun learning new vocabulary, listening to beautiful stories and playing with each other. So many skills developed, laying the foundation for Kindergarten next year! It's been a great 2012-2013 school year. Have a great summer preschoolers!

Physical Education and Holistic Development

Guest Blog by Jose Bourget Tactuk from the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation

 

Physical Education and Holistic Development in Childhood

 

 Physical education is taught at the basic education level (K-8) to enhance proper physical development, to awaken motor skills and to promote adequate physical health. Classes often engage students in sports and in specific motor skills.

Recently, several scientific studies have enriched our understanding of the value of phys ed or gym classes noting that besides the physical benefits of proper physical development in childhood and

adolescence, there are also valuable contributions throughout the life span of the individual. This is mainly due to the fact that physical education (including sports) awakens an inner discipline that is essential for the development of the individual, for an enriched family life and for a productive participation in society. In other words, adequate physical education helps prepare students for a healthier, disciplined and productive life.

 

 Annette Snyder, principal of Las Terrenas International School (LTIS), believes that physical education is more than calisthenics or exercises, "it's core to the purpose of education as it encourages self-discipline and awakens in the student the courage to set and achieve goals." She adds, “that’s why we feel fortunate to have Sabine and Zeljko as phys ed teachers, because they are professionals and scientists in sports and physical fitness, with great experience in developing individual and team physical skills ."

Zeljko and Sabine Smičiklas joined the LTIS team in September 20 and have used their experience and knowledge to improve the habits and physical fitness of students by means of specialized techniques and skill-building tools. Jose Bourget (Ph.D. in education) is co-founder of LTIS and of the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation that supports the school, and he believes that "what Zeljko and Sabine do contributes to the holistic philosophy of the school because they lend support to the ideals of learning for the life span”. According to Bourget, individual monitoring of LTIS students meets the educational goals of the fledgling institution because "we seek to create a generation of children that are creative, critical thinkers, multilingual, multicultural and active participants in the creation of a fair, just and equitable society; hence the value of physical education that promotes self-discipline and holistic development."

 Professor Zeljko asserts that "basic motor skills such as speed, reaction time and endurance, as well as spatial intelligence and bodily responses are observed, tested, and trained individually throughout the year and discussed with parents when necessary, for the comprehensive physical development of children directly affects not only the student's physical development, but also the whole of the person—emotionally, socially and intellectually."

Professor Sabine, who does volunteer work in preschool and has three daughters enrolled at LTIS, says that "the most important discipline not only in formal education but for the entire life span is self-discipline, so it is essential that it begins at an early age through physical education and sports training."

 

 Parents interested in quality education should look carefully at the value of physical education and sports training in the development of their children. Physical education classes are often seen as lacking value when, in fact, they are extremely important for long-term personal success. This means that in addition to learning proper fitness, breathing, nutrition, health and specific sport skills, physical education also leads to a more successful, productive and committed life. This is another educational contribution of Las Terrenas International School, where in addition to its English immersion program and the presence of certified, experienced and professional teachers that are native English speakers, students can also develop their creativity, their thinking skills and crucial physical fitness habits and discipline.

 

 

 

Thank You to Brookfield!

Sets of leveled readers were at the top of our wish list this year. With Kindergarten, First and Second Grade at our school, having material for the children to learn to read was essential. Sets of books at different levels are an important part of literacy development because they allow the class to read along together and for teachers to select material that is at the right level for each child. It was a challenge to create our own literacy materials each day at the beginning of the school year. Luckily Anthony Bivona, superintendent of Brookfield Public Schools in Connecticut (and father to Kindergarten teacher Marissa) was able to search around his district for old books and other materials that were no longer being used. They were shipped to the Dominican Republic in a container thanks to ACES foundation and we now have an amazing collection of beautiful literacy materials and books a many different levels. I enjoyed reading with the entire class and was amazed at the words my students read and how they followed along with the books.

 

New collection in the office

 

 

Such amazing resources

 

Learning to read!

 

Reading and writing in First and Second Grade

 

 

Thank you so much Brookfield School System for your generous gift of books, resources, weather kits, paper and so many more materials. We are so lucky to have generous people who believe in the work we are doing at LTIS and put effort into helping us. Your contributions definitely have made a positive impact here!

 

 

End of the Year Energy and Motor Skills

Working outdoors on fine and gross motor skills with golf tees and tools. Development of motor skills is very important for children at this age to develop. Thanks to a kind donation of golf tees we were able to have some fun at recess while working on these skills.

 

Making patterns

 

 

Building with tools

 

Tool vocabulary

 

Hand eye coordination while hammering tees into the dirt

 

Getting out energy!

 

While reviewing all that we learned about the community we decided to set up our own bakery and used our motor skills with play dough. Working with tactile substances like play dough is soothing as well.

 

Community blocks and puppets 

 

 

Bakery! Putting oil in the pans so our cakes don't stick

 

Mixing flour and salt with our play dough

 

Sisa decorating her cake

 

Building with Legos is a fun way to practice fine motor skills and to develop math tools like problem solving and spatial reasoning. Dileni built a tower that was taller than she was!

 

 

Ana Evelyn's special house with a pool and rooms for animals

Kimberly using chalk to write the alphabet on the floor

 

 

We definitely have a lot of energy these last few weeks! We are trying to come up with exciting activities that help the kids to channel all of the excitement and anticipation for the last day of school, while reviewing some of the material we have learned this year.

 

 

Tainos

The Tainos were the native people living on the island of Hispaniola when Columbus arrived there. Many of the children in the class know some traditional stories of Taino resistance to the Spanish invaders such as the story of Anacaona (for whom the library is named) and the story of Chief Enrequillo. While talking about these stories with my class I decided to do some research on the Tainos and then asked the class if they would be interested in learning more about these people and the history of Hispaniola. It turned out to be a great unit, and as we learned about the Tainos we reinforced other skills we have been working on throughout the year.

 

 

The story of Anacaona has become a legend that is part of the cultural fabric both in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti, and there are many different versions of the tale. Anacaona was part of a powerful Taino family and ended up a chief in her own right, known for her writing, songs and poetry. She was optimistic when Columbus first arrived and was part of initial negotiations, however she later realized the intention of the Spanish forces. There are differing accounts about the degree to which she aided in the resistance effort and the Taino revolt, but most stories say that she was arrested and executed during what was supposed to be a peaceful meeting. Many people say that Anacaona was given a choice between execution and becoming the wife or concubine of one of the Spaniards and that she chose execution. Many people on the island remember the tale of Anacaona today, and the class was excited to learn about her day to day life.

 

First we talked about how the Tainos lived, what they ate, how they cooked their food and what their homes and communities looked like. Here we practice fishing and counting.

 

 

Tainos were one of the first people to use hammocks and Europeans took the idea and began to use hammocks in their boats to prevent seasickness at night. We made our own hammock and tried it out.

 

Sisa catching fish with a "net," and Rosangela making fish soup over a fire.

 

During morning free play I put out some books and open ended materials for Taino dramatic play. The story Encuentro by Jane Yolen was a really beautifully written story of the first encounter between the Tainos and Columbus' men seen through the eyes of a child.

 

 

Hammock, pond for fishing and materials for dramatic play

 

Cooking

 

 

More cooking

 

 

As one of our activities we wove baskets, a craft that the Tainos excelled at. Using natural materials, fabric and sticks we made our own.

 

Experimenting with different materials

 

Weaving

 

Lining the basket so the inside is soft

 

Using fabric

 

Dileni cutting

 

 

The Tainos were also know for their pottery. We were lucky to have a few very old artifacts that we could examine.

 

After learning about the techniques used by the Tainos to make clay pots, the class chose and made coil or pinch pots with clay.

 

 

Ana and Sisa showing their creations

 

Hard at work

 

Nearby in Haitisis National Pak as well as in several other caves across the island, pictographs and pictograms have been preserved in the stone of the caves. The Tainos used these symbols to tell stories. They represented religious rituals and scenes from everyday life. After reading about caves and the pictograms we were curious to make our own.

 

 

We had to improvise a little to make the cave, but were able to see how it would be to write or carve on the walls right in our classroom.

 

Our final cave drawings.

 

This was a really fun unit. I learned so much and the kids shared stories and knowledge with each other.