A fun week is behind us! The students started it off with beginning to inquire into the fourth Unit of Inquiry of this school year. For Grade 4, that is a Unit about Culture, with the Central Idea of “People show their culture through art”. The students searched for the meaning of the word “culture” and discussed the different ways we can show our culture. They finished the week by exploring the life and work of famous artists and how they expressed their emotions. Grade 5, 6 and 7 students started to plan their own, uniquely-designed Units of Inquiry, that they are working on as part of this year’s PYP Exhibition. ☘️
After a week of hard work, it was time for Friday’s field trip. The students wanted to visit everyone’s favorite Tirol forest park in Shiojiri, which will unfortunately close for good this year. Everyone got up very early, ready for a day full of fun. We got on a train at Matsumoto station and changes to another one at Shiojiri station. This brought us to Ono station, from where we had an hour of hiking to reach the park. The students were very respectful and kind to the other passengers on the train. 💺
At the park, the students spent some time playing with and feeding the animals. Everyone’s favorites were the cute squirrels and hamsters and the lively alpacas. We pondered for a bit on what will happen to the animals after the park was closed, but the staff calmed everyone down by saying they will find a happy home in other similar parks across Japan. After that, it was time for the students’ soba making workshop. Thanks to the experienced teacher, the students practiced mixing the soba dough, rolling it out and cutting it into thin noodles. We enjoyed our own creations afterwards. 🐮
The students spent the afternoon playing with their friends and enjoying the rest of the park’s activities. At 4, it was time to hike back to the station and get on the train to take us all home. Everyone was very tired, but seemed happy to have experienced a nice field trip.
Until next time! 🌤️
