School News

Message from the Head of School (Mr. Daniel Brace) 

 

It has been a mixed week for us at Gorki this week. On one hand we had the opportunity to meet with parents across the school on Monday and Wednesday afterschool, enabling us to show how well our students are doing. We are able to welcome some more additions to the Gorki staff which will complete our staffing requirements allowing us to provide an even more effective experience for our students. On the other, we are saying goodbye to three more of our fantastic team – we wish them all the best in their future endeavors and thank them for all their help, support and professionalism over the years. We will miss you very much.  

A reminder to our year 11’s - it is almost mock exam time so please ensure you have discussed revision plans with your teachers and make time in the break to keep up with your revision. As requested, we will be providing some additional work for students to complete at home and over the holidays to ensure they are in the best possible place when the term recommences on the 9th January. 

Please ensure students are attending school right until the end of term as there are end of topic tests, revision sessions and information events relating to the exams that should not be missed. It is also the time for end of term reports to be written and we need as much data as possible to give the best picture of each students’ progress and attainment levels. Have a great weekend and enjoy the group of 16 for the world cup. 

 

Key Dates 

 

Wc 5th December – charity week 

Wc 12th December – school winter concert week 

Term 2 ends – 16th December at 1200 

Term 3 begins - 09th January at 0830 

Mock exams begin 16th January 

  

Primary 

 

Message from the Head of Primary (Mr. Paul Curry) 

 

Dear parents, 

We reach the final month of the calendar year, and the main focus of our attention is now on our Winter concerts and events.  In the Upper building, Ms Amanda and class teachers have been hard at work rehearsing their roles in the ‘Elf’ production, whilst in the Lower building our teachers and assistants have been helping the children learn their songs and dances for our ‘New Year Party’-themed presentation.  Positive collaboration is key to making these events a success, and that is why it is our latest monthly theme – people young and not-so-young working together for the benefit of everyone. 

Our classrooms, and school in general, are looking very festive now as we look forward to the Christmas and New Year holidays.  Lower building had a lot of fun decorating their rooms, with help from parents, and Year 2 took time out to decorate the tree in the reception area.  May I remind Lower building parents that we have four Christmas trees on school grounds allocates to each House, and you are all invited to bring in decorations and make each tree shiny and beautiful.  The best one will win that House Event competition. I have noticed two things, however: Year 1’s classroom is not as festive as the others, and Pushkin’s Christmas tree is the same. In the spirit of collaboration, it would be wonderful if the children from other classes and houses, with assistance from parents, could help out Year 1 and Pushkin’s children to decorate these areas.  

New staff joined our team this week, too.  Ms Alexandra became the new Learning Assistant for Year 2, replacing Ms Marina who left us recently due to relocation.  In addition, Ms Elizaveta became the new nanny for Nursery, replacing Ms Anastasiya.  We look forward to making further staffing announcements shortly, and we hope you get the opportunity to meet and welcome our new staff when dropping off or collecting your children.  Just to remind you too, that Mr Arno – our new Year 2 class teacher – will be absent for the final two weeks of term as he needs to return to South Africa and collect a new work visa.  He will be back for the start of Term 3, and I will be taking Year 2 lessons until December 16.  I look forward to spending more quality time with the class. 

Finally, mid-year reports will be issued in the last week of term and, to get the best comments and results, coming to school every day and on time is essential.  So please continue doing that until December 16! 

Have a great weekend, and be careful on all that ice underfoot! 

Mr Paul  

 

Message from the Year 2 Teacher (Mr. Arno Greyling) 

 

Dear parents, 

I would like to introduce myself as the new teacher of the Year 2 class. I have had an amazing two weeks teaching at CIS Gorki and getting to know the students and my colleagues. 

During my short time teaching Year 2, we spent a great deal of time on English and Maths. We studied digraphs such as ‘sh’, ‘ph’, ‘ch’, and ‘wh’ during the English lessons and the students were extremely motivated to make sentences with words starting or ending with the new digraphs that they had learnt.  

During the Maths lessons, we focused on telling the time. I was amazed by the fact that the students not only quickly learnt how to read and write time digitally, but they had the ability to tell time using English vocabulary as well. They understood time phrases such as “o’clock” and “half past one” in no time! 

We had exciting lessons such as ICT and Art as well. The students studied different parts of a computer, typed full sentences in English, and made an educational craft based on a functional laptop. 

The students were especially verbally engaged during Science lessons when we discussed different types of materials and what we use them for.  We spoke a lot about recycling and the benefits of reusing everyday items. 

I wish you all a pleasant weekend! 

Mr Arno Greyling and the Year 2 Team. 

 

Secondary 

 

Message from the Head of Secondary (Mr. Christopher Kingshott) 

 

Dear Parents and Guardians,   

With the holiday season upon us, it is important to remember this as a time for family as well as a good time for giving. Whilst, we might take the privaledge of a warm coat for granted, there are some that cannot afford.  Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be running a number of charity inititives. We are going to be fulfilling the Christmas wishes of students with less than privaledged circumstances around the local area.  We will also continue to support the dog shelter and continue collecting clothes for others.  This weekend, some of our Year 10 and Year 11 students are going to be volunteering at a sports festival for children with disabilities. Well done to them, and I am sure that there support will be appreciated.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.   

 

Message from Joshua Levy (Computer Science Teacher) 

 

Dear parents and guardians, 

It has been a great start to this academic year, with positive results and significant improvements across the learning years. I for myself being a computer science teacher been pleasantly surprised by the rapid progression of students’ interest within this subject. However, one thing which lies at the core of learning progression are handwriting skills, which not only define a student’s personality but develop critical thinking skills along with perfection of linguistics. Whilst, computer science might not be a core subject intrinsically linked, nevertheless, iGCSE exams are explicitly based on writing and explanation skill and technique. 

How can parents encourage handwriting in children? 

One way is to encourage your child to make a note of any ideas that come to mind. No idea is a bad idea at this stage! Some techniques to help idea inspiration include. 

1. Mind maps 

2. Cut out pictures to make collages and storylines 

3. Category lists 

Note down interesting things they have seen or experienced during school times or writing about an interesting holiday. 

Another way to encourage your child to write is by describing a picture in words. There are so many resources children could use that are lying around the house! In the case of computing, you could ask your child to describe their ideal mobile or computer device. 

There are several outstanding resources for handwriting development, which include: Nelson handwriting course (Nelson Handwriting (oup.com) and Teach Handwriting 

 

Russian Curriculum 

 

Message from the Nursery Learning Assistant (Ms. Anna Amelina) 

 

Подготовка детей к обучению грамоте занимает особое место в развитии детской речи. Грамота-это владение умением читать и писать тексты, излагать свои мысли в письменной форме, понимать при чтении не только значение отдельных слов и предложений, но и смысл текста, т.е. овладение письменной речью. От того, как ребенок будет введен в грамоту ,во многом зависят его успехи не только в чтении и письме, но и в усвоении русского языка в целом. 

В начале учебного года в своей работе с группой Nursery я проводила следующие занятия: знакомство с гласными звуками, уточняла, что звуки, при образовании которых воздух проходит свободно, этим звукам ничего «не мешает»-ни зубы, ни губы, ни язык, называются гласными. В своей работе я использую пальчиковые игры, которые не только развлекают малышей, а еще и помогают взрослым развивать у ребенка координацию движений ,стимулировать развитие речевых навыков, активизировать память, мышление, развивать творческое мышление и внимание. 

Дети в процессе обучения с удовольствием изучают народные песенки,потешки ,пестушки -которые также представляют собой прекрасный речевой материал.Занятия носят комбинированный характер ,каждое из которых включает в себя несколько программных задач .На занятии я предлагаю детям как новый материал ,так и материал для повторения и закрепления усвоенных знаний. Во время занятий широко применяю игровые методы, которые направлены на повторение, уточнение и расширение знаний, умений и навыков детей в области грамоты.Так как дошкольный возраст-это возраст игры, то и обучение проводится в игровой форме. 

На прошлой неделе в пятницу,25 ноября Ассамблея была посвящена теме «Животные».В наших занятиях с группой Nursery мы очень часто разговариваем и читаем о животных. Животные также встречаются на страницах наших учебников. Они нам помогают изучать много нового и интересного. Например:делаем пальчиковую гимнастику.  

Игра-один из тех видов детской деятельности,которая используется взрослыми в целях обучения,что позволяет создать ситуации успеха для каждого ребенка,доброжелательную,творческую атмосферу на занятиях.По итогам обучения на данный момент я вижу,что у детей появился стимул и желание получать новые знания, делать новые открытия,покорять новые вершины в обучении! 

 

Message from the Head of School (Mr. Daniel Brace) 

Wow, we have had dogs, dinosaurs and driving as our key moments this week.  

As you have seen we are no longer able to use the gate opposite kindergarden as an access point to the school. This is to meet the requirement placed on us by the local authority in regard to parking , traffic obstruction and noise reduction for our neighbours. Please help us to meet these requirements by parking in the main car park by the tower, parent badges have been disables at the rear gate (by the lower building) so you will not be able to gain access anyway. If you have children in both schools we will be communicating with you on monday how you will be able to access the upper building through this gate. I will be there to help and assist where possible this week. 

Well done Primary team, what a fantastic set of trip we had this week to see the dinosaurs and work through a brilliant I-spy sheet. The students did us proud and were a joy to take away – this means we can do it again and hopefully again (elsewhere though). Please give us some suggestions of places you think we might be able to take our students (of all ages) for an educational experience we may not know about. 

The house dogs went down a treat in the snow and even though a few managed to escape the lower school pitch, fun was had by all. A huge thank you to the dogs team and the school staff for all the help, support and effort that went into making both events really special.  

Please remember we are almost at the business end of the year – reports are due soon, exams will be early in the new term and all our new staff will be in place by the start of the new term. Students must continue to push themselves to achieve the best progress they can for the reports, our older students need to prepare for mock exams in January and our lower school students should be read for their winter rehearsal. 

 

Key Dates 

 

28th December – PTC parent teacher conference – sign up on edupage   

30th December – PTC parent teacher conference – sign up on edupage, plus Year 11 meeting 

1st/2nd December – Eyfs & Lower primary trip (if we can) 

5th December – Winter event rehearsal and charity week (whole school) 

12th December – Winter events week and reports 

16th January – 27th January – Mock exams, more to follow in the coming weeks. 

 

Primary 

 

Message from the Head of Primary (Mr. Paul Curry) 

Good day everyone! 

We have crammed a lot into life in Primary at Gorki this week, and the students have really enjoyed themselves.  Firstly, on Thursday and Friday we took Upper Primary to the Orlov Paleontological museum in southern Moscow to take part in an I-Spy challenge – students had to find all manner of interesting exhibits in and around the museum, make comments on what they saw, and draw pictures in order to win points for their House.  I was really pleased with their enthusiasm and genuine interest in the dinosaur skeletons and fossils.  Really well done to everyone, and I look forward to the next excursion in the new year. 

Also, on Friday, the House dogs made a return to Lower Primary and our youngest students had a lovely time meeting a selection of the smaller dogs housed at the shelter.  The dogs seemed to be having as much fun as the children, playing in the snow together.  We will welcome them back again next year. 

Rehearsals have also begun in the lower building for the Winter Celebration event named ‘New Year Party’, with each class performing two winter-themed song and dance performances.  Working with enthusiastic and talented youngsters is such rewarding fun! 

December is just around the corner – how time flies!  Have a lovely weekend! 

Mr Paul 

 

Message from the Reception class teacher (Mr. Joshua Prinsloo) 

Dear Parents and Guardians,   

We have successfully completed the third week of this term. This week was indeed busy and eventful as it concluded with high emotions and joy.    

For English this week in Reception, we have completed Phase 2 Phonics. We are very happy with everyone’s achievements and progress. In the Early Years Framework, Phase 2 Phonics consists of twenty-three phonemes (sounds) which are used to decode and create simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. With phonics blending, the children fluently join together the individual sounds in a word to read or construct a word such as “sit”. Next, the children will focus on blending and writing the words using the sounds they have learnt. When they are confident reading and writing, they will continue to learn the next twenty-seven phonics sounds, which form part of Phase 3 Phonics.    

Our Mathematics lessons continued on the topic of measurements. We have learnt that things can be long/tall and short. We have discovered that objects can be measured in different ways, such as by using blocks, pens or a ruler.    

In Understanding The World, we have come to understand how important it is to take care of animals. To everyone’s joy, the House Dogs visited the Lower Building. It was really exciting and tremendous fun to interact and play with the dogs.    

To add to all the excitement and joy, the weather suddenly turned colder and snowy. A kind reminder to our Parents and Caregivers to ensure that everybody comes dressed warmly to brace the cold. An additional pair of socks/tights could be kept at school, as these may get wet during outside play.   

As always, we thank you all for your continuous support in providing your child with the best education.   

Have a great weekend, and see you on Monday!  

Mr. Joshua   

 

Secondary 

 

Message from the Head of Secondary (Mr. Christopher Kingshott)  

Dear Parents and Guardians,  I hope that you are all well.   This week has been a busy one as teachers and students are busy preparing for the end of term. Such things happening include our preparations for the end of year performance, reports and mid-year assessments. We are also planning a charity week so that we can prepare gifts for Special Educational Needs schools in the area along with other charities that we work with.  

Monday and Wednesday next week we are holding our first Parent, Teacher, and Student meetings. It would be great to meet as many of you as possible. This is a great opportunity to align home and school, so that we are all working towards the same thing. The education and well-being of the children. If everybody works together, the chances of success are much higher.  I hope that you all have a relaxing weekend. 

Regards 

 

Message from the Judit Sarkozi (English and Humanities Teacher) 

We have begun another exciting term and I am delighted to be part of the CIS team as a Teacher of English Language and Literature. 

There is some outstanding teaching going on in our practical subjects around school and all members of staff and students are looking forward to the upcoming Christmas concert.  

One of the priorities as teachers is to ensure students’ work is accurate and presented neatly. One top strategy for this is the ‘50 Word Challenge’. The students have to write 50 words about a topic, no more! When I use this method, the pupils are engaged by the focus on making sure they do not ‘waffle’ to improve accurate, concise writing.  

As an English specialist, I am passionate about teaching different literacy strategies the students can use in the upcoming IGCSE exams. One of these strategies is the ‘rolling glossary test’. Every week I will give my IGCSE students 5 key words and then test the pupils on their understanding of the words. The week after I will give 10 words comprising of 5 new and the original 5. This will be repeated up to 30. This exercise helps the students develop mastery of key terms and will help them use the key words accurately.  

I aim to help my students achieve ‘beyond outstanding’ by using the ‘Talk, Model, Write…’ technique. This is how I was taught during my teacher training in the UK to structure all my written tasks. 

I pose a question on the board, ask the students to talk for 30 seconds about what they would write, ask questions about what a good answer needs whilst I create a success criterion on the board and then get the students to write it up.  

Simple and effective way to ensure the success of my IGCSE students.  

In our Literature lessons we have been focusing on poems and analysis. You just need to remember to SMILE when you see a poem and talk about S-tructure, M-eaning, I-magery, L-anguage, E-ffect. 

 

Russian Curriculum 

 

Message from the Russian Language and Russian Literature teacher (Ms. Vera Dubinina) 

Наша работа день за днём 

   Дни учебного года мчатся неумолимо. Прошёл уже первый учебный модуль и осенние каникулы. Хорошо отдохнувшие на каникулах, мы готовимся новыми успехами встретить Рождественские праздники. Школьная жизнь не даёт нам расслабляться: ежедневные репетиции, уроки, ассамблеи, классные часы, олимпиады и конкурсы – всё это составляет её содержание.  

    На прошлой неделе проходила Международная игра-конкурс «Русский медвежонок -2022». Участвовали ребята с 1 по 8 класс. Первоклашки – впервые. И хотя результаты конкурса будут известны только 5 февраля, все остались довольны, потому что задания были занимательными, весёлыми и интересными, выполняя их, можно было узнать и что-то новое. Например: 

1. Кто нередко использует в работе ЗУБИЛО?

а) ветеринар; б) слесарь;  в) зубной врач;  г) менеджер по кадрам;  д) полицейский 

или 

1. Раньше в слове СЕРЧАТЬ писалась ещё одна буква, которая теперь не пишется. Какая? 

а) П;  б) Т;   в) Д;   г) Б 

      3.   Вставьте пропущенное слово в этот анекдот: 

ПОКУПАТЕЛЬ: - Мне хотелось бы купить какую-нибудь книжку. 

ПРОДАВЕЦ: - Вам что-нибудь   _____________  ? 

ПОКУПАТЕЛЬ: - Это не имеет значения, я на машине! 

             а) новенькое;  б) интересное; в) страшное; г) лёгкое;  д) красивое 

   Международная игра-конкурс «Русский медвежонок – языкознание для всех» проводится с 2000 года. Она привлекает каждый год около полутора миллионов участников из России и десятка зарубежных стран. По результатам игры все участники получают сертификаты с указанием набранных баллов, а лучшие – призы. 

     В декабре нас ждут итоговые контрольные работы, а в феврале - у девятиклассников УСТНОЕ СОБЕСЕДОВАНИЕ.  

  Устное собеседование проверяет по ФГОС развитие устной речи и уровень коммуникативной компетенции выпускников основной школы . 

Собеседование состоит из 4 заданий:  

- выразительного чтения предложенного текста,  

- его пересказа с использованием небольшого дополнительного материала,  

- небольшого монолога по одной из предложенных тем и  

- диалога с экзаменатором по выбранной теме.  

    Успешное прохождение собеседования является допуском к сдаче основного государственного экзамена (ОГЭ).  

   Далее нам предстоит подготовиться и 6 июня сдать ОГЭ по русскому языку, который состоит из изложения, тестовых заданий, проверяющих знания русского языка за курс 5-9 классов, и сочинения. В настоящее время подготовка к данному испытанию ведётся на уроках русского языка и после уроков по четвергам с  15:30 до 16:30 в кабинете 324. 

   Конечно, результат любой работы зависит от вложенного в неё труда и наши учащиеся прекрасно знают, что «Без труда не выловишь и рыбку из пруда», а ещё – «Воля и труд дивные всходы дают»!