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Monthly Newsletter

January 2024 K4 Newsletter

Dear K4 Families,

January was an exciting month in K4 as we began our new inquiry unit: Exploring animal habitats.  Students have been researching a variety of animal homes and have started to explore the different biomes from around the world. Together students have created a Savanna, Marine Biome, Farm, and Tropical Rainforest for insects. Students have been sorting animals by which biome they live in, and exploring these biomes through play. Using their imagination through play has allowed students to display their understanding of the interactions between living things within each biome. 

In Early Literacy we have been focusing on the sounds to the letters: z,w,v,y. Students continue to use our guided reading center to study the structure of a book, explore picture walks, follow the patterns in simple stories, use images for visual cues, and are introduced to sight words. Students have enjoyed our story sequencing center this month and can create stories using six sequence cards. In January, students have experimented with the word families “og” and “an,” and explored CVC words. In early numeracy, students have started to explore simple addition through stories and play. 

Students are excited to continue to use their natural curiosity to explore the interconnectedness of living things through wonder, inquiry and play. The K4 class looks forward to our field trip to the aquarium next month. 

Dear Parents/Guardians of K4,

Welcome to the start of an exciting year in K4 at Busan Foreign School. My name is Stephanie Smyth, and I, along with Ms. Ho Jung, are both looking forward to working closely with the K4 students, parents, and the BFS community this year. We believe that this year is going to be a great year filled with new learning experiences.

 I am originally from Montreal, Canada. I received my Bachelor of Education, and my M.A in Education and Society from McGill University. In the past 17 years, I have taught various grade levels from Pre-Kindergarten up to high school and in a variety of countries including: Canada, Australia, China and South Korea. I love to travel and have new experiences, and I look forward to teaching K4 again this year at BFS!

 Pre-Kindergarten is a special time in a child’s life, where they are free to use their imagination and explore through their own curiosity, the environment around them.  The Early Childhood program at BFS is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach that promotes a rich environment encouraging students to wonder, explore, experiment, discover, and create relationships through Inquiry-based experiences and play.  Every day will be a special day in Pre-kindergarten inspired by learning and creativity. 

The first day of school will be on August 21st.  Our School day begins at 8:20am and ends at 3:30pm. We will be using Bloomz to communicate and to keep you informed about matters relating to your child and their classroom. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me by email at ssmyth@bfs.or.kr. If you would like to schedule a time to meet in person, please contact the front office to make an appointment.

We look forward to a wonderful year of learning!

Sincerely,

Ms. Stephanie Smyth and Ms. Ho Jung

Stephanie Smyth – Early Childhood (K4) Teacher (ssmyth@bfs.or.kr)

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