WELCOME TO YEAR 4JFI

AT AIS
Dear Parents,
My name is Jeremy Fitzpatrick and I have the pleasure of teaching your child this year. This is
my third year teaching at the school and indeed in Vietnam and I am thrilled to be part of
such an excellent team of teachers. Prior to coming to Vietnam I spent seven years teaching
in Melbourne, Australia. The past four years has seen me teach Year four students and it is an
age that I really enjoy teaching; I find the students to be very energetic and curious which
makes for a great mix when exploring new topics and ideas. Living with me is my wife Carmen
Fitzpatrick who is also teaching at AIS in secondary school, and our young son Archer who is
at AIS at the Xi campus.
This year I will be working alongside my Support Teachers Ms Thanh; her experience and
depth of knowledge of the school and the children is a hugely valuable asset to me and the
students in our class.
We will be covering six Units of Inquiry this year beginning with How We Organise Ourselves.
This theme will cover systems and how they meet the needs of society. We will begin the Unit
by learning about different systems we encounter in our daily lives, with a closer focus on the
systems at use in the Olympics more specifically.
Communication plays a very important role in the education of your child. This letter forms
the beginning of this process. The best way to communicate with me is via email at my school
email address posted at the end of this letter. As I am teaching during the day, a quick email
reply is not always possible, so please understand it may be at the end of the day. If you have
an urgent message, please contact the School Reception. Our class weebly website will have
all the details of the curricular and extracurricular activities of 4JFI and keep you up to date
with specific dates. Hopefully by the time you receive this letter you will have had a chance to
establish your Managebac account. This is the portal which allows you to access your childs
attendance records and report cards.
Please make note of the following things for this year:
THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
The 4JFI students have already begun collaborating on a class essential agreement which
identifies all the things that we need to ensure an enjoyable, engaging, rich learning
environment. In a nutshell, the class needs to adhere to the International Baccalaureate
Learner Profile and embody the Learner Attributes. These are posted around the classroom
but can be found at http://www.ibo.org/programmes/profile/
These attributes and profile ask students to strive to be the best version of themselves that
they can be.
Other rules include:
Be ready to learn
Use polite manners
Take risks, try new things
Listen actively when a person is talking

We normally raise our hand if we have something to say in class.

Believe in yourself
Respect yourself, others and the school
Strive to be your best

A copy of the essential agreement can be found on the class weebly (see below).
Collaborative learning is a vital aspect of learning in the International Baccalaureate program
and it is important that students share their understanding, opinion and ideas with the class.
We have the class set up in fluid table groups to allow this sharing of knowledge and we
encourage you to ask about the various goings on in the classroom to help the students
develop this culture of contribution and sharing.
To help establish this culture, the class will adopt various positive reinforcement and incentive
programs which award effective behaviour, namely the Home and Individual points. At times,
however, students need to be guided toward this behaviour and we have the yellow, red
card system. After two repeated warnings for inappropriate behaviour students will be
required to write a reflection on their choices during a break time.
HOMEWORK:
Your child will have homework set on Mondays in their homework book to be completed and
returned to school on Friday mornings. At Year Four it is expected that they spend 20 minutes
on reading each night and 40 minutes on other curriculum areas. This could include spelling,
writing, math activities and problems, puzzles and learning to support our Unit of Inquiry. The
weekly homework reflects the work we have been covering in class and will support this
learning; it should be completed by your child independently, so please let me know if your
child is struggling with the homework tasks set. 4JFI runs a homework incentive system to
encourage children to take responsibility for their work and to keep up good standards of
presentation. The criteria and code work as follows:
4
4
3
2
1

All completed to a high standard of presentation and at school on time

All completed and at school on time
Mostly complete or presentation needs work
Partly completed or poor presentation
Mostly incomplete

Each score of 5 will earn the student 50 points for their bank (an in class incentive program,
enabling them to earn games or gifts).
Again, as we progress we will be developing a class weebly for some homework links, so
children will require regular access to a computer. Children will be taught about internet
safety to help make the computer and internet use problem-free.
I would encourage you to go through your childs work with them when they have finished.
Ask your child to explain what and how they have finished their work. The weebly will have a
toolbox link that helps explain to students the way we address problems and to work
through the homework in a step by step process. Please encourage them to check the
homework sheet to make sure they have completed all the expected tasks by Friday.
WATER BOTTLES:
I encourage the children to drink water and stay hydrated throughout the day as it helps them
focus on their learning. Please make sure your child has a sturdy, re-useable drinking bottle at
school. We have several water fountains and water dispensers where children are able to fill
up their water bottles. In order to help preserve our environment, I have banned the use of
single use plastic bottles in the class.
UNIFORMS:

School uniforms and school bags need to be clearly identified with your childs name so that if
lost it can be easily returned to the rightful owner. To participate in PE and play outdoors our
students need to put their AIS hats on during recess time. Please make sure that their labeled
hats are with them every day. Regulation uniform, hats and shoes are expected on all days
other than Thursday for PE and special celebration days.
CLASS WEBSITE/ WEEBLY:
At least once a week, we will be updating our class website (known as a weebly) with a range
of different news, articles, photos and going-ons of the classroom. The weebly is used as a
one stop shop where you can access all manner of information, permission slips, homework
and keep up to date with everything that is going on in 4JFI. We recommend that you visit the
site frequently as it will be a focal point of our communication and news. To go the site;

http://4jfiais.weebly.com/
SWIMMING:
Please make sure that your child brings their swimming costume and a towel every
Wednesday for our swimming lesson. All items of clothing must be labelled and have a bag
provided!!!
PHYSICAL EDUCATION:
Our class will have P.E. each Wednesday. Please remember to send your child to school with
the AIS Physical Education uniform.
THANK YOU

If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I will reply as soon as possible.
Please remember to let the office know if your child is going to be absent, as students
must be lined up and ready to begin class by 8am. As mentioned, as we get started
we will be using the class weebly as a focal point for information regarding the regular
goings on in the classroom and I encourage you to use this tool as your one stop
shop.
I am looking forward to a great year ahead of learning and fun with your children!
Kind regards,

Jeremy Fitzpatrick
4JFI Room Teacher

jeremy.fitzpatrick@aisvietnam.com

http://4jfiais.weebly.com/