Welcome to grade 4

Team Leader: Irene Tjandramihardja                  

Expat teachers:       

• Alexis Hughes

Hi!  It's Ms. Alexis here.  I am very excited to be partnering for the 2nd year with Ibu Irene and to be working together with our new students and families in 4A!  This will be my 21st year of teaching and my 12th at SPH. Over the years, I have taught grades 1-4.    

            Originally, from the United States, I am happy to call Indonesia my home.  As a 4th grade student myself many years ago, what I remember most was my teacher reading to our class the books she loved.  She introduced me to the world of Nancy Drew books and even took me to meet the author! She taught me how to shuffle cards one rainy day during inside recess.  She cared for us and helped us to enjoy working together.  I remember little about my classmates or about what I learned academically, but it was in grade 4 that I first told my friends that I wanted to become a teacher.  As an adult, I now recognize the calling God had for me even at such a young age. It is my prayer that as we begin our year in 4A that the students of our class would love learning together too and that God would begin to reveal a bit of the plan that He has for each of the student's lives. Together with you!

• Ms. Allison Pierce

My name is Allison Pierce. I have a Bachelor's & Master's degree in Elementary Education, specializing in Reading. I have taught in US schools for 20 years, ten of those years was teaching students with Dyslexia. This is my second year at SPH, grade 4. I love to read, sing and paint. I am a new grandmother of twin granddaughters. I continue to strive to grow daily in my relationship with the one true God.

• Mr. Jacob Schultz

Hello, I am Mr. Jake from Wisconsin, USA! I graduated from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN with a major in Elementary Education, and minor in Science. This is my first year teaching at Sekolah Pelita Harapan, but I am very excited to begin teaching grade four and consider myself very blessed to have this opportunity. There is no doubt the Lord has blessed SPH and the people here; I only hope to be an instrument in which the Lord can use to bring his little lambs to the knowledge of their Savior. Please feel free to contact me any time, I am here to serve!

 

National Teachers:

• Veronica Suci Andiani Putri

Hi, my name is Veronica Suci Andiani Putri. I am from Cirebon, West Java. I received my Bachelors of Education from Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga. This is my seventh year of teaching at SPH. I taught Bahasa Indonesia for expatriate students, grade 5 and grade 2 before teaching grade 4 this year. God has proven His amazing care for young children as I teach His students. He has graciously equipped me with the tools necessary to teach the young ones. I believe that God will reveal more of Himself this year through my students, colleagues and all of the parents who work with me.

• Irene Tjandramihardja

My name is  Irene Rosanti Tjandramihardja. I was born in Salatiga, a small town in Central Java. My parents were teachers but when I was small I never thought that I wanted to be a teacher. Since I graduated from Satya Wacana Christian University I decided to become a lecturer at the UKSW University for 3 years. I started to teach at SPH in 1997.  I taught in Grade 4 for 8 years before I got transferred to teach in Grade 5 in 2006. Last year I moved back to Grade 4 and I am looking forward to seeing Grade 4 students who earnestly seek to know the truth of Jesus Christ this year.

• Selma Linggadjati

My name is Selma Linggadjati and I live in Tangerang. I graduated from Teachers College - UPH for Primary Education. This is my first year of teaching and I am excited to meet my students. I will do my best to cooperate with my students in meeting their education expectation

 

General Grade Level Info:

 

Our Grade 4 students are encouraged to take responsibility and ownership in their learning. At this level, the teachers would expect the students to begin establishing their own routines and practices to make sure that they complete their work on time. To assist this process, each student has a Boomerang book to record their homework and reminders. Each night, the students should be prepared to do around 70 minutes of the homework, including a reading activity for 20 minutes.

 

Curriculum Overview: (A summarizing paragraph for each of the 6 UOI's)

 

Unit: Who We Are

CENTRAL IDEA: Our bodies are made up of systems that require understanding and maintaining.

Key Concepts: function, connection and responsibility

Lines of Inquiry:

• Various systems in the human body (skeletal, digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, and muscular) and how they work
• Health issue(s) related to the system(s) of the human body
• Our responsibility in maintaining healthy body systems

 

Unit 2: How We Organize Ourselves

CENTRAL IDEA: Scientific and technological contributions make an impact the development of society

Key concepts : change and connection

Lines of Inquiry:

• How inventions in science and technology are used in human made system within a society
• How inventions in science and technology impact how a society develops

 

Unit 3:  Where We are In time and Place

CENTRAL IDEA: Exploration leads to discovery and the development of new understandings

Key Concepts: form, change and causation

Lines of Inquiry:

1. Reasons for exploration

2. Different kinds of exploration

3. Impacts of exploration

 

Unit 3: How We Express Ourselves

CENTRAL IDEA: Our host country has various ways of communicating its culture

Key concepts: form, function and responsibility

Lines of Inquiry:

• The host country's various cultures
• How our host country expresses its cultures through various art forms

 

Unit 4: How the World Works

CENTRAL IDEA: Constant changes in nature cause people to adapt.

Key Concepts: change, connection and causation

Lines of Inquiry:

• The changing nature of earth
• Connections between the changing nature of earth to natural disasters
• Impact of natural disasters on communities and the environment
• How communities prepare and respond to the effects of changes in nature.

 

Unit 5: Sharing the Planet

CENTRAL IDEA: The ocean environment is affected by human activity.

Key Concepts: causation, perspective and responsibility

Lines of Inquiry:

• Ocean habitats
• Effects of human activities on the ocean environment
• Human responsibility in caring for the ocean environment

 

Christian Service Project: (A summarizing paragraph for the project)

This year, our Grade 4 students are working with the children from  Sekolah Lentera Harapan (SLH), Binong. We hope that our students can serve others in many different ways during their class visit.

 

 

Grade 4 Teachers

Team Leader: Irene R. Tjandramihardja

Teachers: Alexis L. Hughes, Jacob Schultz, Veronica S.A Putri,  Allison Pierce, Selma Linggardjati