Year 5 had a real treat this Thursday! We were lucky enough to enjoy the expertise of Mr Terry Richardson who is a keen photographer of birds. He showed us an amazing collection of osprey photos which really ‘told the story’ of an Osprey’s life cycle, something we have been studying recently. The background detail Mr Terry gave to every picture was so interesting and all the children thoroughly enjoyed the talk as well as the truly awe-inspiring close-ups he has been able to photograph! Please come back again to show us more of your nature photos!
Yr 5 enjoy an outstanding osprey presentation
31 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Thank you DEMA and Fortis TCI. Ltd
28 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Our Year 2 class wrote thank you letters to DEMA and Fortis TCI. Ltd to thank them for working together to install the new Osprey nesting platform in the Children’s Park in the Bight. Here are a couple of examples. Saying thank you is an important skill to instil and we were pleased to get a prompt reply…
Dear Miss Jones,
The letters from the students are simply WONDERFUL!! Thank you so much for sharing them. We are so happy to have been able to partner with DEMA and make this event possible for the students to witness. Hopefully they will soon get to see an Osprey in its new home.
We have a few staff that will see you all tomorrow for the clean-up. 🙂
Best regards,
Talisha Simons|Manager of Corporate Communications | FortisTCI.Limited
Migrating ospreys fly close to TCI
28 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
What a fabulous week we all had learning so much about the amazing life of an Osprey bird. We discovered lots of fascinating facts! For instance did you know that the wing span of an osprey can be as long as 1.82meters (around 6 feet)? The females are bigger than the males. They lay between 2 to 4 eggs each year and they migrate to the same place. We wonder if the new osprey nesting platform, that was put up this week at The Bight Park, will become a new nesting place for a new pair of ospreys, we hope so!
We were also introduced to Belle. An American Osprey that migrated to Brazil for the winter months and is at this very moment making its way back to the US. Belle actually flew very near to us in the TCI on her journey back. We found out that she flew over 700 miles in 36 hours – how impressive is that! We decided to make some friends for Belle so we made some of our own ospreys. Check out our photos and meet Olive, Rainbow, Oscar, Otis, Freddy, Ricky, Sherman, Dotty, Oreo, Penny, Bed Head and Bucky the Year 3 Dolphin Ospreys – have fun! Click ‘read more…’ to see lots of photos of the children creating their ospreys.
Osprey class watch new osprey nesting platform go up
28 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Wow! What an amazing opportunity the Year 2 Osprey class got to be part of this week! As part of World Osprey Week Fortis teamed up with DEMA and built an artificial osprey platform and we were fortunate enough to watch it being erected in the Children’s Park in the Lower Bight.
We all watched with open mouths as a digger was used to lift the heavy wooden pole, with an attached platform and crate at the top, into a deep hole in the ground. We then crossed the road and visited the Environmental Centre, where we got to learn about the other wildlife we are lucky enough to have in and around our island.
To complete our Osprey field trip we went to Smiths Beach where an osprey platform has already been successfully erected and ospreys have moved in and made it their home. Sadly, there was a lot of litter immediately surrounding the nest and, knowing how bad it can be not only for ospreys but all wildlife, the Yr 2 children did a small litter pick in the hope that it might make a small difference to the ospreys nesting there.
We had a fantastic field trip and felt very privileged to be part of this unique, special day.
Stepping back in time with Flamingo Class!
25 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Year 4 were busy creating an enormous timeline of the world’s greatest civilisations today. And wow – what a task it was!
Going back over 5000 years, we plotted 14 major civilisations who have left their mark on world history forever. Whether you want to date the Egyptian Pyramids, climb atop a Mayan temple or sail on a Viking longship – the Flamingo Class timeline will tell you when to set your time machine for!
The project marks the beginning of our new topic on Discovering Ancient Rome where we will be uncovering the amazing history of the period and region. Through archaeology and research, we hope to discover what the Romans did that makes them so important nearly 2000 years later!
Come by Flamingo Class over the coming months to share in our amazing discoveries!
What would you like to find out about ospreys?
24 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
World Osprey Week began this morning with a welcoming display of newly purchased osprey books on our stage. Classes have enjoyed the opportunity to come out to read together over the day and to find out more about ospreys. Children and adults alike were encouraged to write down questions which were then pinned onto our display board. As the day went on more and more questions appeared. It was interesting to listen as children and adults discussed what they thought the answers were. We were delighted to see that there is certainly some pre-existing knowledge amongst us, but clearly there is still lots to learn about this majestic bird. What an exciting week of discovery we have ahead of us!
Class Osprey Art Competition
21 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
To celebrate the first ever ‘World Osprey Week’, Provo Primary School and DEMA will be holding a Class Osprey Art Competition for Year 2 to Year 6.
Use pencils and coloured pencils to create a drawing of an osprey. You can choose to draw a close up of an osprey, focus in on its head or talons, draw an osprey in a nest, flying or hunting, draw a scene from a distance…the choice is yours, be as creative as you can.
Certificates will be presented to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each class.
There will also be a small prize for the 1 place winners.
Remember that we have some special, new osprey books in the library which you make like to use to inspire your art work. You also might like to visit an osprey nesting site this weekend to see a real osprey.
Click on ‘read more’ to see some photos to help inspire your artwork.
All artwork needs to come into school next week by Thursday 27 March.
[Read more…]
Up-coming Obstacle Course and Triathlon
21 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
To kick off our Keeping Healthy week (7th – 11th April), we will be staging an Obstacle Course and Brain & Body Triathlon event at school on Friday 4th April. Working towards the Triathlon, the children are encouraged to work hard to practice their class Literacy, Numeracy and Mind/Body challenges.
Through sponsorship, we hope to raise money to assist us in upgrading and extending our computer and information technology and classroom reading resources throughout the school. Last year we raised almost $5,000 with funds being used to purchase 8 new IPad and Samsung tablets and new reading books, extending the number of books we have at varying levels in our reading programme.
Do you recognise this serious young biker from our 1998 Bike-a-thon? Click on ‘Read more’ and have a guess…
Kindergarteners explore partitioning 10 with Cuisenaire Rods
20 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
What does “active learning” look like for mathematics? When the Kindergarteners play and explore the concept of number with the Cuisenaire rods they learn to partition the number ten in many different ways…one and nine, two and eight, three and seven. What a wonderful example of how children critically think about number in a concrete and hands on way!…In the name of “play” we support children’s learning in rich and meaningful activities.
Today is ‘Very Hungry Caterpillar Day’
20 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Let’s take our Year 3’s on trip down memory lane as we enjoy hearing them retell the story of The Hungry Caterpillar in Spanish. 🙂
2014 marks the 45th anniversary of Eric Carle’s classic story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The anniversary is officially celebrated on the annual “Very Hungry Caterpillar Day” which takes place every year on the first day of spring (March 20th).
I wonder how many bedtime story-times tonight will tell the story of that very special caterpillar’s gastronomic adventures, bringing joy and memories for generations of children, parents and grandparents around the globe.
Making sense of pretend play in JK
19 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
The Junior Kindergartens have been introduced to the many different people who help in the community. In particular, they have enjoyed learning about pilots. They have made a big aeroplane in our role-play area and love the idea of pretend traveling everyday with their peers.
In order to bring more real life knowledge to this topic, and to extend their experiences, the children visited Provo Air Center to explore aeroplanes and the job of pilots in more detail. The children were all interested in the pilot’s job and they each got the opportunity to sit in their seat and look at the cockpit. Take a look at our photos below.
The trip has certainly enriched the language and scenarios played out by the children in our role-play area. Since the visit, they are incorporating their new knowledge and talking more about their travel experiences.
[Read more…]
A Thrilling Dance Workshop
17 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Dance excitement filled the air early Tuesday morning at Provo Primary with a short whole-school workshop with Mike and Mara from Wexford Dance Academy, New York. The chosen music was Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ and the choreography, involving everyone pretending to be zombies, was much enjoyed by the children.
Following this, a group of enthusiastic Year 4, 5 and 6 children worked on an additional hip hop choreography during their PE lesson.
A big thank you to Mike and Mara for taking the time to visit us during their short stay on island. Also to Barbara and the TCFAF for creating this opportunity. How fortunate we have been to have such a creative couple share their passion for dance. They were fantastic teachers and inspired children from toddlers through to Year 6 join in and take part.
Showcasing our Maths learning throughout the school
14 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
‘Maths Calculations’ was the focus of our 2014 Education Week Theme Week. Throughout the week we aimed to explore, share and celebrate the amazing range of Maths skills that students have in our school. Many parents and visitors came along to our Open House and Showcases. Take a look at all the Maths going on in at these events in our two movies.
Querido Zoo leido y actualizado por Kindergarten
14 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
In Kindergarten Spanish we have been building on the children’s learning about animals and animal classification using the popular book ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell. First we needed to hear the story in Spanish, picking out and learning the names for all the animals the book talks about. Then we needed to look at the adjectives used to describe each of the zoo animals, and why they wouldn’t make suitable pets. I’m sure you’ll agree that the animal chosen at the end of the book would make a much better pet than a lion, a snake or a camel!
The children then put their newly learned vocabulary, as well as some excellent animal impressions, into a re-telling of the original story in Spanish. Watch our video to see what a wonderful job they did!
World Osprey Week – 24th – 28th March
13 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Did you know that it is first ever World Osprey Week during the week of 24th – 28th March? This is an exciting opportunity for families and schools to learn more about our local ospreys, to follow the amazing migratory journeys of satellite-tagged ospreys around the world and to make contact with schools on migratory flyways. Check out Rutland Ospreys website for more details and see our school as one of the Osprey Flyways Project Schools.
Here in the Turks and Caicos we are fortunate to have ospreys nesting close to the beach for us to observe. With ample food all year long, our sub-species lives here throughout the year. Why not plan a family trip to one of the nesting sites in Turtle Cove or Leeward to watch these majestic birds of prey.
Things are heating up in Osprey Class!
13 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Did you know that materials often change when they are heated? Well, Osprey class do now! Last week we took Science into the kitchen and got to see just what happens when you heat certain types of food materials. We also got to use our Maths skills by weighing out the ingredients before we mixed them!
Preschool take their Snakes for a Walk
12 March, 2014 1 Comment
Hi! This term we have been learning about fur, feathers, skin and scales. We loved making snakes and taking them for a walk in the bushes. Please see the photographs below where you will see how we made our snakes. The children were asked to say what kind of snake they had made. Here are some of their suggestions: “a mummy snake”, “a rattle snake”, “a Nemo snake”, “a colour snake”, “a big snake”. We learned that snakes have scaly skin, eat mice and frogs, have fangs, can be small or large and, most importantly, that if you see a snake, get an adult – don’t touch!
Once Upon a Story Night…
12 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
“Once Upon a Time, on a lovely little island, at a lovely little school, there were lovely little students who loved reading books and listening to stories…”
If a tale was to be written about our annual evening of Bedtime Stories, that would be a fitting opening line. The sun had begun to set and just the right amount of breeze was blowing, as dozens of children streamed back to school at 5:30 in the evening, wearing their pajamas, clutching their teddy bears and excitedly awaiting the hour of stories that lay ahead.
School Council makes a donation to the TCIRF
11 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
At the end of Fabien Cousteau’s presentation, our Year 5 and 6 School Council representatives invited Fabien Cousteau, along with David and Don from the TCI Reef Fund, to a special Provo Primary donation presentation. Two donations were made, one on behalf of the School Council to the TCI Reef Fund and one from the school to Fabien’s ‘Mission 31’ project.
Fabien Cousteau Visits The Turks and Caicos Islands!
11 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Fabien Cousteau, world-renowned conservationist and environmentalist and the grandson of Jacques Cousteau, visited the Turks and Caicos Islands last week. The Turks and Caicos Reef Fund organised an Educational Outreach event for the TCI Student Community and our Year 4, 5 and 6 students attended an inspiring presentation by Fabien about the importance of protecting the marine environment.
Year 6 care for their ‘Flour Babies’
9 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Year 6 have been studying the novel ‘Flour Babies’ by Anne Fine. The students decided that they would like to experiment with their own flour babies project just like the children in the novel. Getting to work fast they soon created a classroom filled with new members.
The students have to care for their flour babies for over a two week period and ensure that they are not damaged, left unsupervised or neglected in any way. All activities completed have to be recorded in their flour baby journal.
An excellent project that develops the skills of responsibility and caring for others.
Sk8 Night A Big Success
8 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Red-faced, sweaty and all smiles, skaters throughout the night enjoyed the camaraderie of skating with pals from school and elsewhere while parents socialized on the bleachers or got in on the act and skated right along with their kids. While the younger set had a spot to boogie off the “ice”, this year the majority of children attending – from 3 to 13+ – skated, and skated incredibly well, with nary a wipeout to be seen.
A huge thanks to all that came out and supported the event; the cadre of PTA volunteers that manned the admissions table, rink door, concessions and puck shooting contest., making the evening a smooth running success; to Lemon2Go and Giggles, whom generously donated prizes for the puck shooting contest; and to MELT, who treated each child to a $10 voucher on their way out (many of which were seen being used the following afternoon!).
‘Wildlife Digital Photo Contest’ Winners
7 March, 2014 1 Comment
It’s a ‘grand slam’ for Provo Primary School in the ‘Wildlife Digital Photo Contest’, with winners in first, second and third place. Congratulations, what a wonderful achievement for our young photographers! Announcing the winners in a special assembly was gripping and exciting for all the children. Unfortunately, our first prize winner was absent so you’ll have to wait until next week to see a photo of our prize winners standing proudly with their photos. Click on ‘read more, to see their prize photography.
‘Favourite Colours’ Dress Down Day Surprise!
7 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Dress Down Day last month celebrated the favourite colours of two much-loved students who were sadly leaving the school to islands new.
The creative idea came from one of our Year 6 students who organised the event and kept it top-secret, together with all the children and teachers in the school. What a lovely way to say goodbye to two amazing girls and a family that has been at the school for over six years. Everyone enjoyed taking part in the surprise, dressing up in red, pink, purple and blue. The two girls were very touched. I know they will be dearly missed, but much welcomed by their new school and community. We hope to keep in touch and hear of your new adventures soon.
Well done to our caring and thoughtful Year 6 student for speaking out and making it happen. It really goes to show the power of a small act of kindness and the great impact it can create!
Maths Week gets off to a fast start in Flamingo Class!
7 March, 2014 Leave a Comment
Improving our times tables has been the new craze in Year 4 this week. Students were challenged to learn their multiplication facts off by heart, so that they can apply this knowledge throughout their maths work.
To test their knowledge under pressure, teams were asked to complete a follow-on game. Each card has a question printed on it and children searched the remaining cards to find the matching answer. It sounds so easy…until you set 3 teams against each other and the correct answer is hidden in a HUGE pile of cards!
As you will see, the results were fun, excitement and some great mental maths!