Hello everyone!
It’s been a fun and exciting week four! We have had a lovely week celebrating an early Chuseok at UHIS. You can find photos from the day at the end!
English
In English, students completed Chapter 5 and 6 of Animal Farm. Within these chapters, students investigated the allegorical connections between real-life figures and the characters within the book. By researching the historical context attached to Animal Farm and applying this information on the Russian Revolution and Stalinism to their analysis of the novel, students are thinking more deeply and analytically about the themes of totalitarianism, inequality, and oppression. Students have also furthered their understanding of propaganda and considered how the art of rhetoric can be a powerful tool when wielded by powerful people.
In their Friday workshop, students implemented the classic five-step story arc and created their own short story through the medium of a comic.
Maths
Year 7
This week we finished our unit on Algebraic notation and substitution, had an end-of-unit assessment and began our new unit on Expressions and equations. All students scored well on the end-of-unit assessment.
- Aut.2.7 – Find a function (two step)
- Aut.2.8 – Substitution (two step
- Aut.3.1 – Equality and equivalence
- Aut.3.2 – Related facts
Year 8
This week, year 8 continued throughout the algebraic manipulation unit.
| Aut.3.4 – Use directed number with algebra |
| Aut.3.5 – Substitution with directed number |
| Aut.3.6 – Expand a single bracket |
| Aut.3.7 – Factorise into a single bracket |
| Aut.3.8 – Expand single brackets and simplify |
Homework worksheets were given on Friday to complete. Students will have a test on the topic Algebraic Manipulation on Wednesday.
Year 9
Percentages
Students completed their percentages unit this week, finishing the following lessons:
| Aut.2.6 – Repeated percentage change |
| Aut.2.7 – Understand interest |
| Aut.2.8 – Simple interest |
| Aut.2.9 – Compound interest |
They also completed their end-of-unit assessment. I will give the test papers back on Tuesday for review and feedback.
IMYC
In Humanities, students explored how the meaning of celebrations can differ between people and societies, and how governments can use celebrations and commemorations as a form of propaganda. Building on their learning from Animal Farm, students examined posters from the USSR, considering what events, people and ideas were chosen to be celebrated, and why. They also began exploring the Berlin Wall through roleplay, where we divided the class into East and West, and provided different rules to each side. This has laid the foundations for next week’s investigation into its fall and why its collapse was so widely celebrated.
In Science, students continued their exploration of genetics by investigating DNA and its role in living organisms. They explored the molecular makeup of the four DNA bases — A, G, C and T — and learned how these work together to form genetic information. Students then created their own DNA models, applying the principles they had learned to represent the structure of DNA in a hands-on way.
PE
In PE, students participated in a full game of kickball and challenged themselves to remember the rules from last week. We also introduced them to netball, where they learned how to chest pass, and catch balls while in motion, without moving with them. Next week, we will work on footwork and positions.
Chuseok Celebrations
Students have been practicing their dancing for weeks in music in the lead up for Chuseok, and finally they got to show friends and family! They also got to try a range of traditional Korean games, and ate some delicious treats!
