The Communicator
PYP and MYP Update
January 2017
The Current State of IB at Peirce
Primary Years Programme (PYP) - Candidate School - Authorization Visit Spring 2017
**The Application for Authorization has been ACCEPTED!
**The Verification Visit is going to be May 25-26, 2017.
Middle Years Programme (MYP) - IB World School - Evaluation Fall 2017
The Learner Profile
We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
SPELLING BEE 2016-2017
1st-2nd Grade Spelling Bee
Winner
Madeleine Rosen
Runner Up
Ramona Harold
3-5th Grade Spelling Bee
Winner
Rachel Yanoff
Runner Up
Hrithik Rao
6-8th Grade Spelling Bee
Winner and Peirce Panther Champion
Elliott Topp
Runner Up
Isabel Korte
The PYP at Peirce
Supporting the Inquiries
**Ask about what your child is learning in class
**Support and encourage interest and curiosity by following up with activities at home.
**Encourage and practice good communication skills such as starting conversations and debates about current events.
**Help your kids develop research skills online and from text.
**Enjoy building projects together in the home.
Preschool
Central Idea: People play different roles in society that impact our community.
Key Concepts: Responsibility, Function, Causation
Lines of Inquiry:
1. The responsibilities members have in a community.
2. How a community functions
3. How our actions impact the community.
Kindergarten's Current Unit
Central Idea: Animals and plants interact to create a system
Key Concepts: Change, Causation, Connection
Lines of Inquiry:
1. How plants and animals affect each other
2.The role environment plays in the lives of plants and animals
3. What living things need
1st Grade
Central Idea: Structures and the relationships of natural and designed objects are related to their functions.
Key Concepts: Causation, Connection, Function
Lines of Inquiry
1. How offspring are similar to adults
2. How humans/plants/animals protect themselves
3. Patterns in behaviors of offspring from parents
2nd Grade
Central Idea: Organizations have structure and function
Key Concepts: Function, Connection, Causation
Lines of Inquiry
1. How we govern ourselves
2. Purpose of rules and laws
3. How society affects change
3rd Grade
Central Idea: People apply their understanding of forces and motion to invent and create
Key Concepts: Form, Causation
Lines of Inquiry
1. The natural laws of motion
2. Magnetism and static electricity
3. How understanding forces and motion help mankind
4th Grade
How the World Works
Central Idea: Energy may be converted, transformed and used to support human progressKey Concepts: Function, Form, Change
Lines of Inquiry
1. Physical and chemical weathering of rocks and minerals
2. Composition of rocks and minerals
3. The patterns in rocks and the explanation of changes in a landscape
5th Grade
Central Idea: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Key Concepts: Reflection, Form, Perspective
Lines of Inquiry
1. How appearance influences our perception
2. Arts as a form of expression
3. Influence of cultural and societal norms on the appreciation of things
PYP Behind the Scenes
Focus on Social Emotional Learning and Inquiry
The MYP at Peirce
Happy New Year from the Peirce MYP
These New Year's Babies are stopping by our January Newsletter to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2017. Can you guess who is who?
Seoul Baby!
Sunshine State Baby!
Foodie Baby
Wild Baby
Chocolate Loving Baby
Bookworm Baby
Chi-Town Baby
Bubble Gum Baby
Milwaukee Baby
Here's what MYP students will be Jumping into this January!
Ms. Brugman- Language and Literature
The classes will be switching units. 2nd period will begin studying the Holocaust and reading Maus. 3rd and 4th periods will begin The House on Mango Street. All 3 classes will be on their 3rd novel and reading unit of the year.
Mr. Skvarenina- Physical and Health Education
All grades will begin their unit basketball unit.
6th grade - Skill building vocabulary pick up
7th grade - Skill building and beginning of team play
8th grade - Game plan and design planning. Students will work to create a tournament and crete team strategy to use within tournament.
Mr. Greenwell- Spanish
6th grade- Students will talk about their classes and schedules.
7th grade- Students will study Ecuador and the house.
8th grade- Students will study technology and learn about Argentina.
Ms. Hopkins- Mathematics
Our new unit "Can you Speak Geometry?" will begin in January.
Key concept: Logic
Expression (Through accurate measurement, we can begin to appreciate the aesthetics in buildings and nature.)
Statement of inquiry: Logic is a powerful tool for justifying what we discover through measurement and observation.Common Core State Standards 7.G.5 Use facts about supplementary, complementary, vertical, and adjacent angles in a multi-step problem to write and solve simple equations for an unknown angle in a figure.
Ms. Hernandez- Science
In January, students will consider whether an extinct species should be brought back to life as they examine fossils, consider the lines of evidence for evolution, natural selection, and the role of genetic mutations. Students evaluate the impact of humans on the extinction/evolution of species.
Ms. Keiner- Year 2 Math &Year 3 Science
Ms. Lawrenz- Year 2, Language and Literature
Classes will finish up with their argument-based seminars. Students will examine the three types of irony: verbal, situational and dramatic. We will be reading The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. In January, we will start class novels.
Ms Jetton- Year 1 & Year 3 Science
6th: The students will explore erosion and deposition and its effect on the changing landscape of Earth.
8th: The students will explore energy, including energy transformation and the various forms of energy we use in the United States and around the world.
Ms. Kerkstra- Year 1 Mathematics
We will continue our exploration of rates and unit rates by extending our understanding to percents. Students will express a fraction as a percent, and find a percent of a quantity in real-world contexts. Students will learn to express a ratio using the language of percent and to solve percent problems by selecting from familiar representations, such as tape diagrams and double number lines.
Ms. Puente-Year 1, Language and Literature
6th grade has begun their Abracadabra MYP unit in Language and Literature. This unit focuses on the elements of nonfiction and interpretation of figurative language within the Houdini biography. We continue to learn and develop a deeper understanding of all reading material with the support from Argument Centered Education.“My Brain is the key that sets me free.” Harry Houdini.
Ms. Mangas- Years 1-3, Individuals and Societies
6th: The students will begin to explore Ancient Greece and compare the culture to other civilizations we have studied.
7th: The students will be studying Reformation
8th:The students are exploring reconstruction after the Civil War. The students are going to be preparing for tabletop debates through the use of argument centered education.
What does it mean to Think Globally?
Move Over, Science Fair.... Hello, Energy Fair !
Field Trip Forecast
- On Thursday, January 19, 2017 the 8th grade is going to see The Hunter and the Bear, a play through Writers Theatre, our arts partner.
- The 6th graders will be heading out to Indiana to explore the Dunes Nature Center February 2-3, 2017.
- January 18-20, 2017, the 7th graders will enjoy an outdoor education at the Lorado Taft Center on the campus of Northern Illinois University.
- On Friday, February 17, 2017, Peirce MYP students will going to Village Crossing Theater in Skokie for a private showing of Hidden Figures, the story of the three African American women who made NASA's moon landing possible.
- On Friday, June 9th,201, the 7th graders will also be visiting our Springfield during the third quarter to learn more about the history and government of the state of Illinois.
- Both 7th and 8th graders will invited to attend Peirce School's trip to our Nation's Capital, Washington, DC from May 10-12, 2017.
Fundrasing: Support needed
For questions, contact Talyia Riemer, IB MYP Coordinator @ (773)534-2440.
T-Shirts for Sale
We have new PEIRCE SWAG for sale. Brand new T-shirts in all sizes are available for $10! Look for order forms that will be going home with students next week.
UPCOMING EVENTS!!!
International Dance Night
$3 for kids and $5 for adults. All proceeds benefit the Washington D.C.Trip Scholarships.
Friday, Jan 27, 2017, 04:30 PM
Helen C Peirce Public School, West Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States
Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies
773-534-2841
Dr. Talyia Eve Riemer - MYP Coordinator
773-534-2440
Website: peirce.cps.k12.il.us
Location: 1423 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States
Phone: 773-534-2440
PYP Disclaimer for Being A Candidate School in the International Baccalaureate
Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies is a candidate school* for the Primary Years Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Peirce Elementary School believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.
For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org