On Friday, May 25th the third grade class went on a field trip to the Winterthur Kläranlage. Mr. Müller provided us with a thorough tour of the water treatment plant. We first met in the meeting room for a few questions and a discussion of the work they do. Following this, we went to the main operating room where we saw a large wall-sized diagram of the plant. Here Mr. Müller explained the process the water goes through from the time it comes into the plant until it is released back into the river Töss. The students provided him with many relevant questions which he welcomed and clearly answered. He then gave us a tour of the plant so we could see all of the parts explained first hand. The general consensus was that the trip, while very smelly at the beginning part of the tour, was very interesting and enjoyable. The students felt that they learned a great deal about the water cleaning process and now know what they can do to help. So be warned parents, they may be making you more aware of what you put in our water and how you can help. Please ask your child for a detailed explanation of the water cleaning process, I am sure they can entertain you for a while with the topic!

We would like to extend a big thank you to Mrs. Fuchs for accompanying us on this trip and providing us all with an ice-cream treat, which was much appreciated on such a nice, warm day! We appreciate you giving up your time to join us and making the trip possible. Many thanks!

Here is a photograhic journey of the trip! Enjoy!!!

      

Enjoying a picnic lunch in the forest...

A wonderful field trip!!!

BOOK FAIR at ISW

on May 29th

from 13:30 – 16:30.

 

ISW will be hosting a Summersbooks Book Fair on May 29^th. A large selection of reasonably priced books from a wide interest range and suitable for ALL age groups in the school, will be on display in the school foyer. There are also books suitable for pre-school children, parents and staff such as fiction, cookery, art and hobbies. Books on the ISW MYP Summer Reading list will also be for sale. The ISW library benefits from the book fair through the acquisition of free books. Please support the book fair!

                                                

The students have been learning about ways that we can help conserve water.  They did an activity where we had four groups, and each group was given a book about water conservation, which they would use to become experts. They were given jobs in their groups, one was the reader, another was the recorder and the last the speaker. The reader read the information from the book, the recorder wrote down the different ways that they found to conserve water, and the speaker was responsible for presenting the findings to the class.  All the ways that they found to conserve water were added to a chart for future reference.

                                             Books used to research water conservation ideas!

The students of grade 3 are reading the novel James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.

A little magic can take you a long way. When James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree, strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it’s as big as a house. Then James discovers a secret entranceway into the fruit, and when he crawls inside, he meets a bunch of oversized friends-Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. After years of feeling like an outsider in his aunts’ house, James has finally found a place where he belongs. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, adventure begins!



Water Distribution on Earth

For unit of inquiry we investigated the way that water is distributed on the Earth. The students were quite surprised to learn that about 97% of the Earth’s water is salt and only about 3% is fresh water. Of this 3% only about 1% is useable fresh water. The fresh water is found in glaciers, icecaps, snow, ice, groundwater, swamps and rivers, soil moisture and atmosphere and other such places. Through conducting the experiment they were able to reflect that we have a limited supply of water that is constantly being recycled and we need to take good care of it.

Teamwork Leads to Success!

During our water unit last week we read two books which describe the water cycle. The first one, The Drop Goes Plop by Sam Godwin, follows the journey of a drop of water from the time it falls from a cloud until it travels through its journey on Earth and eventually returns to the ocean where it evaporates.

The second book, Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story by Neil Waldman, explains the water cycle process through the journey of a snowflake. After hearing these stories the students were able to write reflections describing the water cycle in their own words.

Finally, we made water cycle mobiles which depict the stages of condensation, precipitation and evaporation and have definitions of each stage pasted to the back. These are hanging on display in the classroom.

Our Water Cycle Mobiles!