Category: Events

April is BIBA Wellbeing Month

What is Wellbeing?

The BIBA family is taking April to celebrate Wellbeing and Kindness. Wellbeing is the act of showing care for yourself, and for those around you. Wellbeing is many things that include, but are not limited to:

  • Physical health and exercise.
  • relaxing
  • doing fun puzzles or brain work.
  • helping others
  • sharing
  • giving compliments
  • giving thanks and showing politeness.

Upcoming Events!

April 15th: Our Reading Month Opens. (Reading is a major part of Wellbeing!) Reading Month events will be updated in another post later.

April 16th: Pajama Day. Students (and teachers) dress up in their Pajamas to show understanding of the need for proper sleep patterns, and the tie to health, and wellbeing.

April 17~18th: Parent Teacher Conferences. Students will come with parents, and spend 5~10 minutes recounting their work and progress to the parents. They will look over examples of their work while doing this. After that , Parents and Teachers will spend 5~10 minutes. They will discuss what they have observed in class and at home, and ways to help the child progress. Sing up information may have been sent out, if not please be patient while we get that sent out.

April 29th: Pink Shirt Day. Students and teachers will show support for the anti-bullying campaign by wearing Pink. The Pink Shirt is a very near and dear campaign to me and I want to use it to help children show support for everyone. We will show everyone that bullying is not ok!

April 30th: Sports Day A day for outside fun and sports. to end our Wellbeing month off with some well deserved fun and exercise. Just before our Labor Day Long Weekend. (May 1~4th).

Unit 1 finished!

With the closing of our first unit on Personal narratives, we were capable to have a celebration. The children earned awards, and got food, and games. We had parents visit, and an all around good time.

I would like to thank these children for completing their AR Goals:

  • Hannah Li
  • Adam Li
  • Maggie Lyu
  • Max Shi.

These student will have the chance to enjoy a lunch at our PTA Cafe on a day of their choice. (That I am not on Duty). If they pay the extra dojo points, they can invite their friend as well!

I am including copies of the children’s completed books below.

Writing Celebration Update

On Friday we had an amazing event. I hope the parents had a great time. We had a scoring system that included everyone, because I knew that I would be distracted between hosting and keeping some of the children engaged.

The score sheet gave everyone present (Students, Parents, and myself) the chance to score everyone on 3 categories:

  • Was this a good topic for the child?
  • Did they present well (Can be heard, eye contact, didn’t read from their speech)
  • Did they convince the listener to agree with them.
  • Audience Skills (Only I did this one)

Our class parents brought a large amount of snacks for the children. The children would have a lot to eat while they listened.

We would have 5 presenters, then a snack break, and then repeat until we had gone through all of the speeches. This gave the children a brain break, and some time to see their parents between segments.

At the end of the day, I collected the score sheets and copied the scores into the computer. my vote only counted as 1 of the 47 votes. The scores below are a combine all the categories, and are presented by the speaking groups.

  • Emily Zou – 86%
  • Oscar Lv – 85%
  • Audrey Jiya – 86%
  • Joy Chen – 86%
  • Chris Wen 73%
  • Laurence You – 81%
  • Daniel Cui – Had Stage Fright.
  • Dido Wu – 74%
  • Lucas Wang – 79%
  • Ethan Wu – 62%
  • Meimei Li – 88%
  • Vivien Liao – 92%
  • Michelle Wang – 96%
  • Adam Wang – 84%
  • Stephenson Sun – 72%
  • Steve Zhang – 75%
  • Della Yang – 89%
  • Victor Xue – 92%
  • Rita Sun – 76%
  • Fang Zhang – 86%
  • Candice Zhang – 82%
  • Abigail Tang – 84%
  • Jason Wang – 76%

Now clearly, these are not the photos from the event. You can find those on our Class WeCom Social Group. I am still wary of posting photos of the children due to our school’s Social Media policy. Please understand.

Almost everyone did amazingly, and even those who did not meet the expectations made me proud. They had been working on these speeches for a couple of months, and some students where meticulous in their research and note taking, and others had more difficulty with their organization.

On Tuesday is a Competition pitting Our Michelle and Victor against the other Grade 3 Class winners, to earn the trophy!

The top four students from our class will earn Medals even if they do not win the Grade level contest. On top of this, our “Most Improved” student will win a medal, but I would like to keep that student a surprise until Tuesday. They deserve it and have had a lot of personal struggles to overcome.

Writing Celebration

亲爱的家长们，

我们班诚邀您参加BIBA学校的特别活动，共同庆祝我们三年级3B班学生在说服类写作方面不可思议的旅程。

日期：2024-05-10
时间：8:20 – 10:00
地点：3B classroom (UES 304)

我们的三年级学生一直在努力提升他们的说负类写作技巧，将他们的创造力和想象力融入到自己的故事中。相信您会很期待见证并庆祝他们的成就。这个活动将为您提供一个机会，让您亲自体验孩子作为一名作家的成长和发展，以及认可他们对这一重要技能的奉献。

活动日程包括：

  1. 欢迎和介绍：我们将以简短的欢迎词和说服类写作单元的概述开始。
  2. 学生说服类写作总结：您的孩子将有机会向观众总结他们的说服类写作，并讨论他们在该单元中的优点和挑战。
  3. 分享阅读：学生可以在此时与朋友和其他家长分享并朗读他们的说服类文章。我们鼓励您认真聆听，并提供积极的反馈，以增强他们的信心。
  4. 茶点招待：我们班将提供轻松的茶点招待，让您与其他家长、老师和学生交流互动。

请带上任何想要分享这个特别庆典的家庭成员或朋友。

我们期待着与您一起庆祝我们年轻作家的成就，并希望在 日见到您。如果您有任何问题或需要额外的信息，请随时联系我。

感谢您继续支持我们的学生和他们的教育之旅。

我希望在那里见到大家
Mr. Chad Baldwin
Grade 3B Homeroom Teacher

Dear Parents,

Our class invites you to join us for a special event at BIBA as we celebrate our students’ incredible journey of persuasive writing in Class 3B

Date: May 10, 2024
Time: 8:20 – 10:00
Location.: Class 3B Classroom (UES 304)

Our third graders have been working diligently on their persuasive writing skills, pouring their passionate opinions into their speeches. We believe that it’s essential for you to witness and celebrate their accomplishments. The event will serve as an opportunity for you to experience the growth and development of your child as a writer and to recognize their dedication to this important skill.

The agenda for the event includes:

1. Welcome and Introduction: We will start with a brief welcome and an overview of the opinion writing unit.

2. Student Opinion Writing Summaries: Your child will have the chance to summarize their opinion to the audience and discuss their strengths and challenges throughout the unit.

3. Speech Presentations: Students will present their speech to the class and other parents during this time. We encourage you to listen attentively and provide positive feedback to help boost their confidence.

4. Refreshments: Light refreshments will be served, allowing you to mingle with other parents, teachers, and students.

Please bring any family members or friends who want to share in this special celebration.

We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our young writers with you and hope to see you on May 10. If you have any questions or require additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your continued support of our students and their educational journey.

I look forward to seeing everyone there,
Mr. Chad Baldwin
Grade 3B Homeroom Teacher

International Day

Friday March 29th 2024 was International Day at BIBA, and the school was dressed up for a great time. For this International Day the children of 3B were learning about Ireland.

Guests

Mr. Quinn Explaining Irish Facts to the children.

To prepare for this day the children and I did quite a few things; we learned about Irish culture through our Guest Speaker Mr. Patrick Quinn. Mr. Quinn, BIBA’s Early Years International Curriculum Coordinator, is from Ireland, and he delighted the children with information about the country, and introduced them to the story of the Giant’s Causeway.

Finn McCool Making the Giant’s Causeway.

Myths & History

The children read myths and fables about Ireland, learning about the Giant, Finn McCool, his wife Oonagh, Saint Patrick, leprechauns and other myths and monsters. The children discovered that Ireland is the origin of one of their favorite foreign celebrations, Halloween.

Multimedia & Interactivity

Irish Dancing through Ireland.

The students made a video where they explained some interesting things they learned. We had a class on Irish Dancing. Some volunteers: Joy, Emily, Audrey, Michelle, Vivien, helped me make a video of their dancing, which we put together into a class video.

Interviews with the beautiful scenery of Ireland.

The Student who volunteered to be interviewed: Emily, Chris, Oscar, Victor, Michelle and Steve, got to explain their favorite facts about Ireland. They were really excited about sharing, even though they were nervous to be on camera.

The Day Arrives

Trying to put Penguins on the melting ice… -_-!

On The Actual International Day, students and I dressed up in our best Leprechaun costumes, and walked about the school. Our first stop after the performances and parade in the morning, included Antarctica! (Really just the Science Lab) The children learned about what animals are living in Antarctica, and how global warming is causing their habitat to disappear. Some student, who answered questions fast enough earned prizes, and everyone walked out of Antarctica with Ice-cream, Yum!

A stuffed penguin, Excellent Prize!

Our Next Destination was the international Food booths. The children got to try food from all over the world arranged by our Parent Volunteers. We all really enjoyed this. Some of us, myself included, wanted to just skip the next activity and continue to eat. (he, he, he…)

Our next activity was a Tug of War Contest amongst the Grade 3 Nations. I am proud to say, Ireland (3B) came 2nd place in this contest, only losing out to the Netherlands (3F). Excellent work Everyone!

After this we enjoyed our Lunch, and then began our World Tour! We traveled to different countries in the world (Really just other classes), and did activities to learn about those countries. We visited India, Mexico, Papa New Guinea, South Africa, Argentina, and Norway.

At the end of the day we were all very tired, but happy.

Our Brochures made by the students.

Global Ambassadors in Action:

BIBA Grade 3’s Cultural Immersion at the Ethnic Park
Embracing Diversity: The BIBA Grade 3 Journey Through the Ethnic Park
By Mr. Frank Farooq

At Beijing International Bilingual Academy (BIBA), our mission extends beyond the classroom. We aim to cultivate informed and empathetic global citizens prepared to represent our values in every corner of the world. This mission was vividly realized during the Grade 3 field trip to the Ethnic Park. This venture expanded our students’ understanding of cultural diversity and reinforced their roles as ambassadors of BIBA’s ethos.

Destination: A Learning Oasis
Choosing the Ethnic Park was a deliberate decision, aligning with our goal to immerse our students in an environment that celebrates the cultural richness of various ethnic groups. This park, a microcosm of global diversity, provided the perfect backdrop for our students to explore, learn, and embody the BIBA spirit of inclusivity and respect for all cultures.

The Cultural Scavenger Hunt: A Pathway to Understanding
Central to this journey was a thoughtfully designed scavenger hunt, aligning with BIBA’s belief in active, immersive learning experiences. Students, accompanied by their teachers and parents, embarked on this quest as participants and explorers eager to uncover the stories and traditions of China’s 56 ethnic minorities. This activity was a dynamic illustration of learning through engagement, highlighting the diverse tapestry of cultures that shape our global community.

A United Effort: BIBA in Action
The entire Grade 3 cohort participated in this journey, including homeroom teachers, ELD teachers, specialists, Chinese teachers, and enthusiastic volunteer parents. Each participant
was pivotal in fostering a learning environment beyond traditional boundaries, emphasizing teamwork, community, and the shared goal of representing BIBA’s core values.

Activities: A Testament to BIBA’s Values
Throughout the trip, our students engaged in activities that enriched their cultural understanding and served the community. By cleaning up the park, they put into practice the lessons of respect, responsibility, and care for the environment, demonstrating to visitors the principles that guide us at BIBA. These actions represented BIBA in the broader community, earning admiration and setting a commendable example of proactive citizenship.

Acknowledgments: A Community of Support
Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to everyone who contributed to the success of this enriching experience, especially our principal, UES office staff, bus drivers, and the dedicated BIBA staff. Their unwavering support and commitment ensured a safe and productive outing, exemplifying the strong sense of community that BIBA prides itself on.
A Unified Voice: Our Song of Identity
A memorable highlight of the trip was the spontaneous chorus of our BIBA song, an anthem that binds us together and reminds us of our collective identity.

Everywhere we go,
People always ask us,
Who we are.
And where we come from.
So, we tell them,
We’re from BIBA,
Mighty, mighty BIBA,
Mighty, mighty BIBA.
And if they can’t hear us,
We shout a little louder.

This song, sung with pride and unity, underscored our presence as BIBA representatives, spreading a message of joy, inclusivity, and community spirit wherever we go.

Grade 3 Learning Outcomes from the Ethnic Park Field Trip:
Standard 4: Cultural and Intellectual Developments Among Societies
4.5.a. Students compared and contrasted the cultural characteristics of different regions and people, enriching their understanding of global diversity.
4.5.b. They explored how different cultures meet human needs and concerns, appreciating the variety of solutions societies develop.
Standard 5: Social Systems and Structures’ Influence on Individuals
5.5.c. The trip allowed students to compare how groups and cultures are similar and different in addressing the needs and concerns of their members, fostering a sense of empathy and global connection.
5.5.e. Students identified and described ways ethnicity and culture influence people’s daily lives, gaining insights into the impact of cultural heritage on everyday experiences.

Looking Ahead: The BIBA Journey Continues
The field trip to the Ethnic Park was a vivid illustration of how BIBA students carry the banner of our values into the world, embracing diversity and actively contributing to the communities they engage with. This experience has broadened our students’ horizons and reaffirmed their roles as ambassadors of the BIBA spirit, ready to make their mark as globally aware individuals who cherish diversity and strive for a positive impact in every endeavor.

Written by: Grade 3 Class C, Frank Farooq, Homeroom Teacher, M.Ed.

Special Thanks to Chad Baldwin for his invaluable contributions and support.

News: March 25th

This morning, Day B, I had the opportunity to talk briefly with the student who had been on time. I was able to discuss some of the news from this week with them, and feel it is a busy enough week for us to write about here.

Monday:

Today four volunteer students and I practice some Irish dancing in the basketball court. I truly appreciate the help in this from them. I know they enjoyed it, but also Irish Dancing is not easy and requires a very high level of energy that I was having a hard time keeping up with. I am so glad they were able to.

Tuesday:

The Leopard store opens up tomorrow, and so I will probably be giving out the last of my leopard cards in the morning. This store opens only once a month, the children can spend their Leopard cards that they earned through the month on things they wish to own.

Children earn these leopard cards by following the 4 Rs of BIBA, (Rigor, Respect, Responsibility, and Relationships)

Tuesday will also be the day that my volunteers and I video about Ireland. Some will video the dancing, some will be asked to video what they learned in the classes or through their individual research.

Tuesday we will also be using a class to begin our Research into Natural Disasters. as that is what we will be showcasing during the Biba Science Fair in April.

Wednesday:

This is the last day student can use to finish their Ireland Brochures. They have been writing and sending me pictures to put on their brochures. Thursday I will be printing them, but I will also post them here for you to see.

We also have a Maths Practice test on Wednesday. Of course a practice will be sent home.

Thursday:

I will be printing up the students work and final Brochures, we will be putting final posters on the walls for International Day and finishing up all student work that needs to be put up to showcase Ireland. I will also be letting the children view their video that they recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thursday is also a Maths Test. Our final test for geometry.

Thursday we will have our second class on Natural Disasters. We will be learning about Hurricanes and how they are dangerous. We will also learn about how to help people who are victims of hurricanes, and other wind storms.

We will finally get to meet our new student in 3B and welcome him to the class. Lucas will finally be able to join us. We are all looking forward to meeting you.

Friday: International Day

There are so many things happening on this day it is hard to explain.
first there will be presentations, performances and parades.
Then we will learn about the international community living on Antarctica, and how they survive and meld together.
Then we will have the chance to try food from around the world
We will have our International Day Tug of War contest, to see which country comes out the strongest.
In the afternoon we will be traveling to different classrooms representing different countries from every continent on the world.

Spring Break:

Immediately after the International Day festival, we will have 11 days of no school for Easter, Qing Ming, and Spring break all rolled into one. Classes will begin again on Wednesday April 10th.

Earth Day

Today on Earth Day we learned about pollination, and we practiced the 2nd R.

Pollination

We learned the new words of

  • Pollination
    • The moving of pollen from stamen to pistil
  • Fertilization
    • The act of making a seed from pollen and egg cell.
  • Germination
    • When a seed starts to grow
  • Petal
    • The colorful part of a plant
  • Pistil
    • A long tube that goes into the flower and ovary
  • Stamen
    • Thin branches that hold pollen
  • Ovary
    • Where egg cells are kept safe.
  • Nectar
    • Flower juice.

2nd R

In case you are not aware the 3 Rs are

  • Reduce
  • Reuse
  • Recycle

I asked the students to make something from things that they would probably throw away. Here are the results.

Friday Evening April 10

Starting this coming week we will be trying to hold more regular classes over Zoom. We will be finally be able to talk and see each other again. But that will bring a few changes to how we will be doing things.

Zoom

This Saturday ( tomorrow morning) at 9:00, I will be testing the Zoom class. I need everyone to try and connect to it. This is our first time and I would rather discover problems tomorrow than during the class.

If you are unable to connect between 9:00 and 9:10, because of technical issues let me know right away.

Raz- Kids News

  • Kevin Zheng reached Level S
  • Kevin Zheng had 32 perfect Quizzes
  • Christina Ma had 12 perfect Quizzes
  • Bella Han had 10 perfect Quizzes
  • Amy Chen had 9 perfect Quizzes
  • Alex Sun had 7 perfect Quizzes
  • Elsa Ling had 7 perfect Quizzes
  • Peter Liu had 7 perfect Quizzes
  • Jack Yu had 6 perfect Quizzes
  • Owen Cai had 6 perfect Quizzes
  • Zack Deng had 6 perfect Quizzes
  • Esther Liu had 5 perfect Quizzes
  • Felix Yang had 4 perfect Quizzes
  • George Wang had 4 perfect Quizzes
  • Gordon Zhang had 4 perfect Quizzes
  • Silver Zhang had 4 perfect Quizzes
  • Farrel Chen had 3 perfect Quizzes
  • Ada Liu had 2 perfect Quizzes.
  • Daniel Du had a perfect Quiz

Next Week

Starting Next Week I will be having 1 Zoom class per day with you. During that time we will be focusing on speach and verbal skills.

In the afternoon you will have work from your Cornerstones Workbook. That is related to what you learned in the Zoom class.

Raz-Kids will not be affected. You must still read at least 1 book from Raz kids everyday, send me a recording each week, and do at least 1 quiz (questions after the story). I will try to put more Raz books in our virtual library but if you read from that you must WeChat me to tell me which books and when

Education.com work will be relaxed. You will still be able to log in and do work on your own, but I will only assign 1 activity per week.

Science will be back to using activities from your Science book again, but I will still add Science A-Z reading every 2 weeks.

As mentioned before please upload pictures or documents of your homework into the correct spot in easyclass.com. don’t send any homework to me by WeChat unless you’re having difficulty with the easy class system.

I will not be sending Reports out starting this week. I am using this time to upload the kids current grades to Easyclass. Starting Monday, every Monday Wednesday Friday you will be able to check your current grades.

All work is due on Friday. Each Friday there will be a writing assignment which will be due on the following Friday.

Some assignments will be considered “practice” which means it will help you learn, but will not affect your grade. Those same skills will be graded in a different activity later in the same week.

Hopefully this new system will help us all progress well and help us stay organized.

Thursday, March 5th

Good Morning Class!

is Pink Shirt Day. (At our School.) Some of you may know that Work with Pink Shirt is in February. But in China we are still on vacation during that day. So we celebrate it on the first Thursday of March each year.

Today we will be reviewing the vocabulary that was given to you on Monday. The files is available below, and will be sent to the Wechat group. Please feel free to look over the Vocabulary page on this website, and try some of the games if you have time.

This Worksheet is due Tomorrow. Of you want time to correct your mistakes pass it in today.

W3 Eng (4) ThursdayDownload

For Science please find a vegetable or fruit from your house, remove the seeds and plant them in some soil. If you dont have soil, most seeds will start to grow in wet tissue. This will do to start.

Every Thursday take pictures and share with us.