EtonHouse Newsletter - May 2019

1. 10thMay.2019 Dear Parents, I hope you and your families all enjoyed the Labor Day holiday. The children have returned revived with new energy and zest for learning ! Please see the following items for this week’s Newsletter: Graduation Day For Year 1 parents and families, please keep Friday 31st May free as we have scheduled the very important event, Graduation Day for our Year 1 students. This will involve a short ceremony followed by morning tea, so if you are required to schedule this into your work schedule, it would be most appreciated. This is one of the major events in your child’s life, so please ensure you have taken the necessary steps to enjoy this wonderful occasion-Thank you ! Payment Schedule for the 2019-2020 academic school year. We are working on issuing the tuition fees payment notices for 2019-2020 academic year at the moment and hopefully your will receive it next week via both email and hard copy. The tuition and other fees are remained the same as last year. Please kindly check your email box and child’s school bag by then. The payment due day is 31st May.2019. Should you have any further enquiry regarding tuition fees payment, please feel free to let us know. Attached Academic Year Calendar for your reference.

3. Next Year Staffing We have concluded all staffing interviews for next year and are now working on new class lists for next year. Please note, it is more than likely that your child will have a new international Teacher in 2019-2020, as teachers have strengths and skill sets in different areas and Year Levels, so placement of staff is done with vigilance and care, to ensure your child receives the best education and care for their year of development. For N1 students moving into N2, these students will have at least one Chinese Teacher accompanying their class into N2. Next Year the specialist areas will include Physical Education, Art, Music, Public Speaking and Drama. The latter two subjects are an important inclusion and exposes the children to a wider, multi-modal language curriculum ( more detail on a “multi-modal approach is overleaf). It is important that we as educators and parents do not bypass the joys of literacy. Mother's Day 2019 Here are a few photos of students making flowers for Mother's Day during outdoor learning time.This involved fine motor control through wire bending and paper folding. The students were quite caring and showed excellent leadership skills in not only helping other students but also giving them the agency to do it by themselves by scaffolding.

4. If we only teach children the forms and conventions of print and phonemic competencies, we are could potentially lead many children to respond in the following ways: lack of interest, memorization with no understanding, stress, or rebellion( Elkind 1987). In contrast, when children are in an environment filled with diverse, everyday literacy experiences, children come to understand the value and meaning of the printed word, and are then eager to decode and reproduce these symbols in their world. Reggio Emilia Parent Workshop There will be a whole school parent information session held on Wednesday 22nd May on presenting the fine detail of the Reggio Emilia approach, which we deliver to our students with the IB curriculum. On the surface, the Reggio approach relates to Nature, the child being in the centre of all learning where their interests, likes and dislikes are respected, encouraged and catered for. However, there are many deep layers of the Reggio Emilia philosophy that are not so visible, and of which are the essence of our teaching/learning program. Here at EtonHouse, we pride ourselves on being unique and very different from other local Kindergartens in Shanghai. This due to the implementation of two world-renowned philosophies, the International Baccalaureate Curriculum and the Reggio Emilia approach, that work in synergy together, and which purports the importance of children being highly motivated and engaged, taking charge of their own learning, but moreover learning to love learning. We will also be presenting information on new subject areas we will be introducing to our Kindergarten and Year1 students. These include public speaking, debating and Drama, which ultimately enhance English communication where children learn to apply deductive reasoning skills, research skills, and creative thinking through speech and presentation projects and tasks. Again many layers of teaching and learning are present and incorporate a “ Multi-Modal” approach. Skill development will include: Comprehension and Collaboration /Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas Audience Analysis/Narratives: writing and presentations/Using Visual Aids/ Impromptu speaking/Creative Writing Welcome Workshop

5. These skills are imperative for our students to have in order to be successful in Primary School interviews after they conclude Year 1. Many School Principals ( including Chinese Head of Departments), have stated how impressed they are with the Year 1 cohort of students and their unique set of skills, and consequently have been successful in receiving offers in Local, Bilingual and International School settings. We attribute this success to the high standard of curriculum delivery and dedicated and committed teaching staff. Multi-Modal Learning Here at EtonHouse, we teach children using a multi-modal approach. Our students ( over 200 children on our campus), all have different learning styles. One student might need as many visuals as possible, while another would swap a picture for a verbal explanation. Other students need information in multiple formats too effectively learn new concepts. This is why a multimodal approach to education is best. • Learning definition • Importance of Multimodal Learning • Multi modal Learning Strategies. • Importance of multimodal learning • Multimodal learning strategies • 5 Guidelines for creating a multimodal learning environment • 5 Examples of multimodal learning activities for the classroom What is multimodal learning?  Multimodal learning in education means teaching concepts using multiple modes. Modes are channels of information, or anything that communicates meaning in some way, including:

6. Modes are experienced in different ways by each of the senses — usually visual, auditory or tactile. They often interact with each other, creating a dynamic learning experience. For instance, an educational video might include speech, images, music and text — all of which can enhance a student’s learning experience. • Here at EtonHouse, teachers are asked to combine two or more multimodal learning modes to provide a well-rounded educational experience. Since school environments have diverse student populations with a wide variety of learning styles, a multimodal approach helps each student achieve academic success in their own way. • To effectively implement multimodal learning, teachers firstly need to understand learning styles. • What are learning styles? • Learning styles group together different ways individuals prefer to learn. They categorize people based on their “style” of learning, or the way they learn best. Every individual has a unique learning preference that falls into one, some or all of these categories. • Consider this scenario: • Imagine someone is explaining a new concept to you, and you’re having trouble understanding them.  • What will help you understand the best — is it: • Seeing a diagram or illustration about the concept? • The person repeating themselves, or explaining things verbally in further detail? • Seeing a written explanation? • Connecting the concept to a real-life example? • Think about your answer to this question, then consider what your friends or family would pick. Are the answers different?  • Many people have different answers and some might wish to choose a combination of them. This is the concept of learning styles, at its core.

7. The VARK model of learning • There are a few different models to explain learning styles. One of the most popular is the VARK Model, created by New Zealand teacher, Neil Fleming. • The subsections of the VARK model are: • Visual — these people learn best by seeing, responding to visual cues like images, graphs or charts. They might be distracted by seeing things outside. • Aural — these people learn best by hearing, responding to auditory cues like verbal instruction, discussions or songs. They might be distracted by outside noises.  • Read/Write — this is sometimes listed as a subsection of the visual category, but the VARK model puts it in its own category. These people learn best by reading and writing, responding to written cues like lecture notes, books and cue cards. They might be distracted by poorly worded text, or text that doesn’t match speech. • Kinesthetic — these people learn best by doing, responding to tactile cues like movement, actions and real-life examples. They might be distracted by uncomfortable seats or room temperatures.

8. A multimodal learning style works most effectively with many communication inputs, or modes. A multimodal learner will thrive in a comprehensive learning environment that uses visual, auditory and kinesthetic inputs — both verbal and non-verbal — including videos, images, actions, real-life examples and hands-on activities. Hence, the Reggio Emilia Approach MUST operate concurrently with the International Baccalaureate curriculum, where both approaches use hands-on, inquiry-based, hands-on activities to benefit the student and ensure optimum learning takes place.