Message from the Head of School (Mr. Daniel Brace):
It was great to see so many of our parents, and school community, this week during our “meet the teacher” events. We were able to meet 30 parents allowing them the opportunity of providing us with valuable feedback as well as seeing their children's classes (and teachers) in action. There will be other opportunities to meet with the teachers and staff if you were unable to make it to this event. We will be sending the first terms events calendar home soon so please look out for this as it will have some important information on the events and activities our students, and wider school community, will be asked to be involved up to the winter break.
Please can we stress the importance of ensuring students are in school on time and in full uniform, it is a difficult way to start the day if we are moaning right from the start. This is necessary to ensure that the school looks and feels ready to learn right from the outset and to maintain discipline within the campus. Please may I also take this opportunity to remind parents and students of the requirement to wear our ID at all times on the campus.
Please see the separate communication regarding the parents' council to see how you can help us to improve the school environment and community. The invitation will hopefully answer any questions you may have and I do hope that you will be able to help us with school communication and consultation.
All student homework should be available to you to check and engage with in EDUPAGE according to the timetable given. Please feel free to contact the teachers via the edupage account if you are experiencing difficulty with this. As a reminder there is EDUPAGE assistance available each morning (tue-fri) at the secondary reception desk.
Key Dates:
Wednesday 28th Sept. – Head of School coffee morning 0900 – 1000 in the upper building
Wednesday 5th Oct. - Gorki Vs Skolkovo Campus 5-a-side football – 1330 football pitch (secondary)
Friday 7th Oct. – Gorki space day as part of International Space week (4th –10th Oct)
Primary
Message from the Head of Primary (Mr. Paul Curry):
Dear parents,
The ‘settling-in’ period at the start of each academic year is always a very important time, and now that we are into our third week of school, most of our students have successfully settled back into their routines and are enjoying mixing with new friends, new teachers, and in new surroundings.
Already the weather is starting to turn towards being a little wintry – there hasn’t been much sun this week, and more than a bit of rain has meant indoor play at times. However, it is always very important for our children to get fresh air and run about during the school day, so can I politely remind everyone to ensure appropriate outdoor clothing is worn each day, which obviously incudes a thick coat, boots, hat, scarf and gloves. We want our children enjoying outdoor break without the risk of catching a cold!
Thank you to those parents who joined us this week to meet Primary class teachers and enjoy productive discussions with members of management. Meeting with our parents on a regular basis is important to us, and there will continue to be ample opportunity throughout the year.
Finally, we held our first House event of the year today – a general knowledge form-time quiz. Results will be sent to parents via EduPage once I’ve totted up all the scores, and I’ll also send the quiz itself too if you want to try and outscore your child!
Have a lovely weekend!
Message from Mr Joshua Prinsloo (Reception Teacher):
Dear all parents,
On behalf of the Early Years team, I would like to welcome you all to the new academic year. The first term is well underway and most of the children have already settled in their new classes. The children in Early Years usually adapt in their classrooms after two to three weeks. While there still may be a few tears in the mornings, these unhappy emotions turn completely around rather quickly when everyone becomes busy with our daily activities.
We are also happy to announce that the first week of our curriculum has successfully commenced. We all, including the children, are very excited and motivated to achieve all the goals and targets set. Learning is a vital part of a child’s life as it is a continuous process as the child grows up. In Early Years we provide your child with a safe and secure environment where this learning can take place.
This week we started to learn the first set of phonemes. A phoneme, in linguistics, is the smallest unit of speech distinguishing one word (or word element) from another, as the element ‘p’ in ‘tap’, which separates that word from ‘tab, tag and tan’. It is the sound each letter, or digraph produces. The children learn a new phoneme each day. There are four phonemes in a set, therefore the children will learn a new set every week. We have learned the phonemes ‘s, a, t and p’ this week.
We have focused on numbers and counting during our mathematics lessons this week. After a long holiday it is important to refresh our minds again and reinforce previously learned information. This week we have learned to count from 0 – 20. The children are also in the process to learn to identify, read and write the numbers in random order.
This year, reception will focus on their reading and writing skills and as a result we will spend a good time in practising our handwriting skills. We would like to encourage everybody to continue working and improving on their handwriting skills on weekends or other days off from school.
Thank you for your continued support!
Regards,
Mr Joshua and the Reception Team
Secondary
Message from the Head of Secondary (Mr. Christopher Kingshott):
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
I hope that you are all well.
It was great to see several parents at the Meet the Teacher events that we held on Monday and Wednesday. The experience was valuable as parents were able to place faces with the teachers, and see them teaching their children in their learning environment. When our first set of reports comes out towards the end of the term, we will have another session where you will be able to discuss your child's progress. A strong parent-teacher relationship is important, so please feel free to reach out to any of our teachers, if you want to discuss your child. I also welcome any of you to meet with me, should you have a queries or feedback.
Several big events are currently in the works for this academic term, with our first one being International Space Day at the beginning of October. More information on this to follow shortly.
Message from the Drama Teacher and Year 7 Form Tutor (Amanda Paiva):
Dear CIS Community,
I am indeed pleased at the remarkable and dramatic start our young stars have had this term! Everyone has been super enthusiastic and have shared their ideas and thoughts on how they want to contribute with their creativity and talent to the performing arts programme here at CIS Gorky.
Upper Primary have been exploring drama concepts from mime to storytelling and dramatic expression. Our lessons are packed with bursts of energy and action as we journey through vast jungles, dive deep in to the oceans and climb high peeks while we explore the amazing world of ‘Imagination.’
From year 7-9 students have devised and improvised amazing content and have worked on group tasks aimed at developing and supporting their speaking, and listening skills. Throughout secondary it has been a pleasure to witness amazing talent, enthusiasm and a love for performing arts.
I am excited to state that groundwork is in place to present the Winter Musical Production!! This would be a great opportunity for students across the school to demonstrate and develop their skills in drama, music and dance!! More details will follow in due course.
Amanda Paiva
Drama Teacher
Russian Curriculum
Message from the Russian Language and Literature Teacher Y9-Y11 (Ms Vera):
О роли домашних заданий в изучении русского языка
Подходит к концу 3-я учебная неделя нашего нового учебного года. Прошло обаяние первого школьного праздника, восстановился прежний режим учебных дней, на уроках прошло повторение тем, изученных в предыдущих классах. Впереди серьёзная работа, которая принесёт новые знания.
В этом учебном году с целью повышения качества обучения русскому языку и литературе в 5-9 классах изменена система домашних заданий по данным предметам. По новой системе домашнее задание задаётся после каждого урока, а не один раз в неделю, но при этом объём его такой, что на выполнение планируется не более 15-20 минут. Домашнее задание проверяется учителем ежедневно у всех учащихся. Начинать выполнение домашних заданий рекомендуется с работы над ошибками. Чтобы на его выполнение не уходило больше времени, следует внимательно читать формулировку заданий и умело пользоваться аппаратом учебника. На странице 3 каждого из наших учебников даны условные обозначения, в конце учебников размещены различные памятки – всё это поможет ориентироваться в заданиях и быстро справляться с ними. Выполнение домашних заданий обязательно для всех, так как они задаются для того, чтобы закрепить изученную тему или повторить пройденное и подготовиться к изучению нового материала.
Задача уроков русского языка – научить учащихся грамотно говорить и писать, а значит, и грамотно мыслить. Сошлюсь на мнение русского писателя А.Н.Толстого, который сказал, что «обращаться с языком кое-как – значит и мыслить кое-как: неточно, приблизительно, неверно». Учиться обращаться с языком НЕ кое-как помогают нам и уроки литературы. Домашние задания по литературе чаще всего бывают устные: это чтение, пересказ, ответы на вопросы, выразительное чтение стихотворений наизусть. Как и задания по русскому языку, они способствуют развитию речи, творческого мышления, памяти. В учебниках они распределены по рубрикам «Проверь себя», «Размышляем над прочитанным», «Обогащаем свою речь», «Учимся читать выразительно», «Читаем самостоятельно». Ключевое слово, объединяющее все рубрики, - «ЧТЕНИЕ». И хотя на выполнение подобных заданий тоже рекомендуется 15-20 минут, мы советуем учащимся читать художественные произведения постоянно, каждый день, потому что трудно переоценить роль чтения в обучении и развитии.
Летом, перед уходом на каникулы, ребята получили список произведений, рекомендованных для чтения. Список очень интересный. В нём, кроме программной литературы, каждый из учащихся может найти «что-то своё». К данному списку можно обращаться в течение всего учебного года. Прочитанные произведения можно представить и на уроках внеклассного чтения, и на читательской конференции, и на ассамблее, и на других интересных школьных мероприятиях. Подготовка к подобным мероприятиям тоже бывает домашним заданием, только времени на её выполнение даётся больше: неделя, 10 дней и более. Это может быть сочинение, проект, исследование, выступление, презентация, инсценирование и т.п.
Только постоянная, системная работа и на уроках, и дома поможет нам понять, что «русский язык в умелых руках и опытных устах красив, певуч, выразителен, гибок, послушен, ловок и вместителен».
Учитель русского языка и литературы
Вера Николаевна