Whats Happening in the Lab this Week?

It was great to see so many parents at Open House on Wednesday night! Thank you for coming.

Here’s what been going on in the lab this week:

PreK & Kindergarten – We’re working a lot on mouse control and coordination right now, with lots of practice clicking, double clicking, and dragging and dropping. This week, the students sorted out a pile of Autumn leaves by dragging them and dropping them into new piles, reinforcing the concepts of color and shape.

1^st Grade – We opened the lesson by talking about opposites, with the students brainstorming many examples. We then did an internet search for clipart images to match some of our opposite pairs and saved them onto our desktop. Next week, the students will insert their images into a Pages document and create captions. 

2^nd Grade – Students worked in pairs to research an aspect of Westward Expansion, then took notes on a graphic organizer. They will continue their research next week, then organize their findings on a handout for their classmates.

3^rd Grade – Students researched the Vikings on the BBC website, watching videos and playing a Viking game.

4^th Grade – This week, 4^th graders began a virtual Around the World race; in partners, they have to plan a trip around the world, starting and ending in Thorpe and visiting all seven continents. They must record the latitude and longitude of each of their destinations and calculate the distance using online resources and Google Earth. The team that can achieve this while travelling the fewest miles will win!

Have a fab weekend!

Mrs. Elliott

Welcome to the 2012-13 School Year!

My name is Katie Elliott and I will be teaching IT in the Lower School computer lab this year. This is my eighth year at TASIS, having previously taught 2^nd grade and 4^th grade. I am delighted to be working with Pre-K through 4^th grade students and look forward to the upcoming year.

I would like to extend a huge welcome to families new to TASIS, and welcome back to returning families. It’s a fantastic place!

I was born and raised in Indiana, and completed my degree in elementary education at Indiana University. During my time there, I was very fortunate to be able to student teach in Norwich, England. I fell in love with this country and decided to then teach here for one year; here we are 11 years later and I haven’t left yet. In that time, I taught in British state schools in Norwich, then in Virginia Water, before discovering TASIS.

My objective is to give pupils a sound level of IT capability and the skills to build upon in their learning of other subjects. The TASIS LS Lab is a fantastic facility for students to learn these basic skills. In the lab this year, your child may have instruction in the areas of internet safety, word processing, presentations, and keyboarding skills, among others. I will be working closely with your child’s teacher this year to plan lessons that are both fun and educational.

Email is probably the easiest way to reach me. My email address is kelliott@tasisengland.org. I check this email several times a day, including before school and lunchtime, but not during teaching time.

If you need to urgently reach me during the school day, call Alex Church in the Lower School office at 01932 582427.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach your child. I view my relationship with you as a partnership in which you and I work together for your child’s educational and social benefit. I look forward to an exciting year of learning with you and your child.