A unique Primary School, offering a British based, child centred education in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Provo Primary School are thinking about what ‘Beautiful by Nature, protected by us’ means to them. The National Trust and Turks and Caicos Conservation Society have asked schools – how can we conserve our island for generations to come?
What does the slogan mean to you? Read on to find out how each class in our school have expressed their ideas through art and writing.
We’ve had such a lot of fun learning Spanish in JK this half term. I am lucky enough to spend two mornings a week with the wonderful children of JK and their fabulous teacher Ms Myrna, speaking and playing in Spanish. We use Spanish for lots of our everyday routines including circle time, playtime and craft activities. We count how many children are in the class in Spanish (as you can see from the video when you click on ‘read more’ below), we talk about colours and shapes when we’re playing our games and getting into our groups. We even know how to tidy up, have a water break and put on our shoes in Spanish!
After more than three weeks of careful thought, endless research and lots of hard work, pupils in Year 4 finally had the chance to present their home learning projects! As part of the Year 4 topic on ‘The Birth of America’ children were challenged to plan and produce a large project showing their independent learning that focused on one area of the subject.
To celebrate learning colours, Preschool had great fun this week making a giant outdoor painting. The children enjoyed choosing colour after colour to paint the ‘colour wall’ while having the freedom to get messy. One of the children said “look a rainbow” while she was looking at the beautiful art. Please have a look at our photo gallery and see our creative Preschool kids at work.
Year 5/6 had the great pleasure of spending some time with Kindergarten one Thursday afternoon and what an afternoon! Each Year 5/6 pupil ‘buddied’ up with a Kindergarten child and they then moved around a round-robin of activities. The children went from solving jigsaws to reading together to creating beautiful butterflies! It was a great learning experience for both age-groups. Year 5/6 are always eager to spend some time with the younger children, they are a caring and thoughtful group and they don’t often see the Kindergarten with break and lunch timetables differing. This was a fantastic opportunity for the Year 5/6 children to not only practise patience and listening skills, but also to hone their teaching skills and perhaps most importantly make new friends! It was so interesting to see the interaction between each partnership and how positively the younger children responded to their older peers. It also took the Year5/6 back to their days in Kindergarten and lots of fond memories for all. We went away with big smiles and a keen interest from all the Year5/6 to return… and soon!
On 5th November, children and parents of Provo Primary School celebrated Bonfire Night…Provo-style! This year’s School Council had decided that they would love to organise a bonfire party on the beach – and what better occasion was there for it than Bonfire Night?! The event was attended by many families from across the school. As people arrived, everyone was interested to look at the two Guy Fawkes models placed carefully on top of the unlit bonfire! Just like Bonfire Night celebrations held across the United Kingdom on the 5th November, our own Provo Bonfire Night began with the burning of the Guys. The crowd gathered to watch as the fires were lit and many children were excited to see their carefully-made Guys catch fire! We would like to say a huge thank you to Clive and all the staff at Bay Bistro for putting on such a fantastic evening. It really was a terrific night for our whole school community – for parents, children and teachers. We, of course, would also love to thank the School Council for their fine idea!
What a Guy!
In preparation for the School Council’s Bonfire Night party at Bay Bistro, children in Years 2, 3 and 4 all had a busy day making a Guy Fawkes to put on the fire. After hearing the story of the Gunpowder Plot and learning about how Bonfire Night is celebrated in the United Kingdom, it seemed only right that our own Provo Bonfire should have real Guys!
Children in Year 2 worked together to make a huge, life-size guy by stuffing clothes with newspaper. In Year 4 children were challenged to develop their sewing skills and make a Guy typical Stewart clothing. Children from Year 3 joined the Year 4s and really did prove that “many hands make light work”! Some super cooperation and communication ensured that this difficult task was completed on time and in style. After a very busy day, both Guys looked fantastic!
Children from both classes were proud to parade their Guys at home time. Everyone was excited to see them sat on the Bonfire at the party!
Hi! This month in Preschool we are enjoying music and dance in preparation for our end of term show and our daily craft activities are helping our hand eye coordination skills. Last week we had a ‘big kid’ helper who loved being chased on the green field and he also helped us to learn how to skip. During free play in class, we are very busy in construction – we have discovered how to build towers, funny faces, castles and ladders. Have a look at our busy bee pictures and enjoy the fun!
We adore our colourful new playground, all gleaming and sparklingly clean! We love all the new red bikes and the amazing road. Your efforts with the shades and new equipment has increased the fun at playtime! So thank you again to all the PTA helpers from all the early years children and teachers for the beautiful new colourful playground. Many smiles, hugs and appreciation!
Children of all ages as well as adults were decked out in a variety of creative costumes enjoying every minute of the cheerful PTA Halloween Party atmosphere. Trees, posts, Classroom doors and anywhere plain were decorated with playfully spooky spider webs, pumpkins, skeletons and other Halloween accessories. Laughter filled the evening as kids enjoyed the contemporary music, snacks, getting temporary tattoos, playing exciting games and winning lots of little prizes.
It has become a tradition now that each class decorates their classroom door for the PTA Halloween Party. It certainly adds a colourful background to the event and each class very much enjoys the activity.
Take a peek at the creative door decorations for this year…
Mark your calendars for our Parents’ Reading Workshops on Thursday 1st November @ 6 PM and Friday 2nd November (repeat) @ 8:45 AM.
Our aim will be to provide an insight into how teachers and children approach reading in school, how our reading scheme and library books are organised and how you as parents can help your child on their reading journey, as they progress through the school.
After our successful week of trialing, our new lunch menu has been set. You will see that we have added the chicken fried rice and roast pork loin which seemed to be the most popular choices with the children.
Next week, we will be having pizza on Wednesday; pasta and meatballs on Thursday; and chicken fingers on Friday. The following week, we will be on the new schedule.
If you would like your child to have lunch, please complete the form and return it to the office on Wednesday morning, together with payment.
The children of Provo Primary School Council warmly welcome them to their Bonfire Night on Monday 5th November. See details on the invite below.
School Council Bonfire Night Invite 2012
We hope to see you there!
Year 3 went pumpkin crazy this week.
Linking Art with Literacy’s poetry, guided reading and handwriting, we each created a pumpkin to decorate our classroom door for our PTA Halloween party. Each pumpkin face looks so unique with it’s own individual character and expression! Brilliant work, Year 3!
Click on ‘Read more…’ to take a look at some photos of our different activities, and read our class pumpkin poem.
Provo Primary School was proud to be a part of a Guinness World Record attempt last Friday. National Geographic Kids aimed to organise ‘the most people running 100 metres in 24 hours’. It was an exciting event to be a part of. It wasn’t about who came first, it was about everyone taking part. It certainly was fun and we all looked very colourful in our orange and black dress-down day clothes!
The ‘Guinness Book of Records’ books are very popular in all the classes and the thought that we could be in the next edition, and be able to say that we had broken a world record, was an exciting prospect. Well done to each and every one of you. In the words of the late Roy Castle…’You’re a Record breaker!’
A big thank you goes out to Matthew and Sonia at the TCIFA National Soccer Academy for letting us use their pitch and also for them offering to witness our record breaking attempt.
One of our parents at the school is a talented art teacher. She has been working with the Year 3 this week, helping them to develop their art skills.
In our sunset silhouette art project the children mixed primary colours to create secondary colours. They learnt how to blend these colours in horizontal lines to create a sunset sky effect.
Then using templates, as well as their own shape ideas, they cut out different silhouetted objects in black paper and stuck them onto their sunset background. Some children also overlapped their silhouettes, just like they do in real life.
The activity encouraged the children to understand how things that are closer appear bigger, and how things further away appear smaller and they were introduced to the vocabulary foreground, mid-ground, and background.
Thank you, Charlotte. We had great fun and learnt lots of new art techniques, too!
Calling all vampires, princesses, witches and superheroes! Provo Primary’s annual post – Trick or Treat Halloween Party will be held on October 31st, from 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM.
Games, prizes, dancing and more! Food and beverage for sale and Brilliant by Tropical Imaging will be doing costume photo shoots for charity.
$5 entry fee.
A fun time for all ages!
You may have noticed a pumpkin patch taking over the Year 2 Hummingbird Class! We have been studying them closely for our observational art lesson. We have been working on keeping our drawings to a large scale and focusing in on different parts of the pumpkin, such as the inside. We have been learning how to draw using chalk pastel colours, carefully blending colours with in the direction of the lines, or using the flat side to create a thick line or the pointy end to create a thin, defined line. We have also been remembering that with observational work, you stick to what you can actually see in front of you and not work from imagination or add extra parts in that you cannot see!
Come take a look at the fantastic art we have created on display in our classroom and take a peek at some photos below.
It’s been an exciting couple of weeks in the Provo Primary Animators club! Children have been busy learning the basic skills needed to make an animation and have been working hard together to complete their first films!
First, we all learned how important it was to use the cameras correctly, making sure that they don’t move at all during filming. Then we learned the basics of stop-motion animation by filming a growing flower one frame at a time. It takes many, many photos to make even a simple movie!
Finally, we all learned how to use Movie Maker, a program that helps us to put all those photos into a beautiful film! We added a title sequence at the start and credits at the end before setting the whole movie to music!
We hope you enjoy our first ever movie projects. Click on ‘Read More…’ bring out the popcorn and enjoy!
Look out for us at the Oscars!
Cuisenaire Rods provide endless opportunities to introduce, investigate, and reinforce key math topics such as addition, subtraction, geometry, measurement, multiplication, division and much more.
Cuisenaire Rods come in 10 colour-related sizes and also electronically as virtual manipulatives!
This week, Year 3 has carried out a number of Cuisenaire Rod investigations. Take a look at them busy applying their measuring, adding and multiplication skills to solve the different problems.
In Year One, we have been exploring throwing and catching in PE.
This week, we practiced catching our ball using only one hand. We remembered to use our ‘big hands’ stretching up towards the ball to catch it. To make it even harder, we tried clapping our hands together before catching the ball. We counted how many times we could clap our hands before catching the ball. After that, we attempted to throw the ball, spin around once completely and then catch the ball again. To finish our PE lesson, we perfected our throwing and catching skills with a partner. We remembered to aim for our partner’s hands as we were throwing.
We are looking forward to showing you all that we can do on Friday 9th November at our ‘Year 1 and 2 Gym and Court Sports Showcase’ at the Graceway Sports Centre – starting promptly at 9:10 AM.
Year 3 are enjoying their very own peaceful classroom space in their new ‘Mindful Corner’. Relaxing with a book on the cushions, tracing patterns and feeling textures, observing nature, releasing anger by squeezing the ‘argh’ balls, writing down their thoughts and listening to serene music. There’s something in here to help everyone relax.
Everyone is appreciating this special area. The children have been bringing in their own special items to enhance and share in the Mindful Corner, and children from other classes are keen to come in and experience this quiet, relaxing space, too.
The ‘Mindful Corner’ was inspired by us being introduced to the MindUp Curriculum, which aims to provide children with emotional and cognitive tools to help them manage emotions and behaviour, reduce stress, sharpen concentration, and increase empathy and optimism.
Please feel welcome to come in and enjoy the peace and tranquility in our ‘Mindful Corner’ for yourself!
See some photos of us exploring our new area here. [Read more…]
The PTA Yard Sale was a wonderful community success with over 20 tables and lots of bargains to buy. A big thank you goes out to all the parents who donated items for our PTA table.
The PTA lemonade stand was a great hit with both the sellers and buyers. Nothing like a freshly made lemonade to refresh and quench your thirst! There were also sweet treats and homemade bread.
Well done to everyone who helped out.
Remember it is the yard sale this Saturday. Lots of bargains to be had!
Thank you for your support with donations for the PTA table.
We also encourage you to drop by Kirstof Lingier’s table at the yard sale. Kristof is selling products made from coconuts here on the island. His products are great for personal use as well as Christmas, hostess and baby shower gifts. He is donating a portion of each sale to the PTA.