Recently at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing), Year 2 students invited their parents in to take part in their latest Celebration of Learning, which served as the climax to their unit of study on poetry. The students studied many famous poets such as Shel Silverstein, Spike Milligan and Jack Prelutsky to name a few. We speak to Megan Banerjee, Year 2 teacher about what took place.

What are “Celebrations of Learning” and why do they matter?Celebrations of Learning are interactive presentations that provide a chance for students to celebrate their learning together as a class, and sometimes with other classes and or parents. They are important because other than being fun, they allow students to show what they’ve learned in action.

Please introduce the recent Year 2 Celebration of Learning.Our latest Celebration of Learning was themed "Reach for the Stars”. We held a poetry event in the class and invited parents in to take part and serve as judges for the poetry reading competition which featured as part of the celebration.

We had the children write their own original poems for the event and compiled them into an anthology, which we intend to share with parents. On the day students showed off their writing and verbal communication skills while practising their public speaking. We started things off by seating the students side-by-side in a single file line of chairs facing the parents. Each child then took their turn reciting their poems to the assembled crowd, using a microphone which they shared, passed it along to their classmates as they went. Parents were then given a set of laminated cards with stars on them and instructed to visit each child individually to enjoy a one-on-one recitation. Criteria to judge the children’s efforts was clearly posted and parents were to award each student a star if they found the child had met the requirements of the rubric.

What did students enjoy most?Presenting to their own parent(s) was definitely what got them most excited. They relished the opportunity to show off what they’d learned to their parents in the school setting. It allowed them to make their hard work and newly acquired knowledge shine.

What was the highlight of the event?Well, all of the students did splendidly. Despite the competitive nature of the poetry reading no one student out-shone the rest. However, the initial plan had been for the student who received the most stars to be allowed to douse a teacher with water! The students were all very much looking forward to this, but sadly for them (luckily for faculty), the weather did not allow for it.

What do you have planned for Year 2’s next Celebration of Learning?Well, not sure yet. We still have some planning to do, but I can say that the next unit of study will focus on recounts and we cannot wait to hear and read what our little stars come up with.

Well done to Year 2’s scholars on a poetic finale to their Reach for the Stars Celebration of Learning.