Hello all,
We can nearly say it’s the end of our first full week back! Enjoy your weekend and we cannot stress enough the importance of reading this through - there are important sign ups included here that you don’t want to miss out on!
New Spaces
Our new faculty lounge/lunch room (Room 1602) - the corner room on the ground floor near the play areas will be ready from Monday!
We will relocate the refrigerator, microwaves and teacher mail cubbies also in there. Tea / Coffee will be available through the day.
The printer and Copier - will be relocated to room 2604 (3-5 Collab Room). Please be mindful of and respect the personal space / property of the EAL Teachers who are sharing this space. On Monday the printer may still be in room 2601 if the network cable cannot be moved by then.
All teachers and TAs can print to these locations - Color Printers: ES CIC and Collab Room 2604
Black and White Printers: ES Workroom 3602, Collab Room 2604 & MS CIC
All teachers and TAs can print to these locations - Color Printers: ES CIC and Collab Room 2604
Black and White Printers: ES Workroom 3602, Collab Room 2604 & MS CIC
Smile! It’s Photo Day! - Click here to access the Class photo sign up. Once you have confirmed the time, please ensure you share the day and time with parents via Edmodo.
Kitchen Sign-up Calendar
Our new ES kitchen is now available to sign up for classes! Please remember this space can be used by anyone, although please do not make year long bookings. We encourage all classes to sign up for an initial hands on exploratory cooking class.
Please remember to make sure the kitchen is as spotless as you found it so it can be enjoyed by other classes. If you feel we are missing necessary items, please let your Grade team leader know and together we can compile a list for Mouli to purchase.
Hazel has shared the calendar with you - click on that link to add the calendar to your list and make bookings.
Erma Andersen is coming to AISC
Erma Andersen will be on campus, September 27-29, to deliver Institute 1 of Math Specialists in International Schools (MSIS) Training for Elementary and Middle School Teachers. This training is one of five trainings toward a certificate (two year commitment). Erma is scheduled to return to AISC for a second institute in 2018-19 (specific dates to be determined). If you are interested in this training see description below. To indicate interest in attending, please see Keryn directly.
Institute 1: MSIS Certification Year 1: Numbers and Operations
The focus is on the content and the Common Core Mathematical Practices that support the Numbers and Operations progressions of the Common Core Standards. Attention will be given to ways of representing numbers, relationships between numbers, number systems, the meaning of operations and how they relate to one another, and computation within the number systems as a foundation for algebra
**At AISC we can fully support teachers in this Math Institute program to two MSIS Institutes (1 each year 2017-18 & 2018-19) on campus, AND contribute programmatic funds of $1000 per teacher towards each of the additional 3 remaining courses.
Morning Meetings
As you know, consultants are coming in to set the scene for how morning meetings, through Responsive Classroom, build inclusive communities. The question has been asked ‘can we begin this now?’. The answer is yes!! Those of you who have participated already in this training, please share your ideas with your team too!
As you know, consultants are coming in to set the scene for how morning meetings, through Responsive Classroom, build inclusive communities. The question has been asked ‘can we begin this now?’. The answer is yes!! Those of you who have participated already in this training, please share your ideas with your team too!
This is excellent practice to begin the year with, and after the consultant's visit us there will be guidelines. One way to begin is to start every morning with a 10 min meeting/conversation.
Some great ideas include
- a morning message displayed for the children to think about and or respond to in writing - posted on board or in doorway. Could be data collection e.g. Who swam this weekend? Or Who has an ASA today?
- forming a circle in the meeting area for a chance to begin the day together and connect
- a chance for each child to greet one another in a new chosen way each day
- any news or announcements to be shared
The purpose is for each child to be welcomed each day and to ensure everyone feels included in the class community to build for success each day.
From Dan regarding Paul Andersen NGSS - coming to work with teachers in Grade 2 - 5
- Look for calendar invites from Dan’s office.
- Homeroom teachers will work in their teams for a 90 minute session which may go into or over lunch (lunch will be provided)
- EAL teachers will join during grade level planning block, but may need to cover class for the second part (Thank you for your flexibility and understanding)
Introducing Victor (5BT) and Tomas (EY5JR)
We have two new students with high needs joining us in Elementary School this year; Victor in 5BT and Tomas in EY5JR Please see below for tips on how you can best support Victor or Tomas on the playground, in learning celebrations, special events, and around school.
We have two new students with high needs joining us in Elementary School this year; Victor in 5BT and Tomas in EY5JR Please see below for tips on how you can best support Victor or Tomas on the playground, in learning celebrations, special events, and around school.
VICTOR - GRADE 5BT
- Victor has extremely limited vision, caused by Meningitis as a baby.
- He loves to play soccer but tends to get really up-close to the children he plays with and so this can cause some tension. If you are duty, you may be able to identify such a situation and resolve it by talking to the children and Victor.
- Victor may need assistance in the cafeteria to read the menu so he can buy his lunch. His classmates are very helpful but in case no one is around, he may need help.
- Victor speaks Danish. He has limited English and so tends to rattle off in Danish when he gets excited and upset. He will try to find the right words in English. Patience and kindness goes a long way.
- For learning celebrations, it might be helpful to forward the presentation a day before because the screen is too distant for him to be able to see anything. If it is sent to Becky, she can forward it to his mother, and she will share it with him.
- Victor is a happy child and he will be pleased to chat with you if you see him during recess.
TOMAS EY 5
Tomas has a cochlear implant system; medical device for children who have a severe-to-profound hearing loss. The implant processes sounds and uses electronic signals to send a reproduction of sound to the child’s brain. While this does not replicate sounds exactly as you would hear them, it does allow children to hear and understand sounds, voices, and music.
Tomas is still transitioning into using this device. Ways to interact/support him right now include:
- Making eye contact when talking to him
- Pairing words with pictures
- Using hand gestures such as a thumbs up to check that he is doing ok
Please take a moment to answer the single question on the link above. If you are interested in having a copy of our all-school yearbook, one will be provided for you free of charge. Not responding to this survey will be taken as being not interested in ordering a book this year.
MAP Testing
Grades 2-5 will once again participate in MAP testing beginning the week of September 4th. Attached is a draft schedule which takes into account specials classes, Learning Celebrations and Paul Andersen’s meetings with grade level teams. This draft is exactly that - a draft for your consideration. There is a fair amount of flexibility in the days and times of testing; we are limited only by the number of devices we need to loan to students and the number of IT staff that can support the log in process. Also, most teachers want to test at 8:45ish but you’re welcome to test later in the day if it’s better for your schedule. See Lori with any requests for changes.
Note from Sherriden - Edmodo
Please be advised, all documents shared via Edmodo must be in the form of a Google Doc, with the sharing settings set to "anyone with the link can view/edit". These sharing options sometimes requires you to press the "More..." menu underneath the share options, in order to reveal it.
From the IT department
Last year the Blended Learning iLab innovation team found that IXL is being used at only a fraction of its capacity and effectiveness for Math. For this reason we are not deploying IXL to all teachers this year, rather we will provided licenses to those teachers who use it as prescribed by IXLs own best practice recommendations and where student growth is supported by data in IXL. We also believe there are better tools out there will be prototyping other adaptive systems for possible adoption; you can click here to explore these programs.
Last year the Blended Learning iLab innovation team found that IXL is being used at only a fraction of its capacity and effectiveness for Math. For this reason we are not deploying IXL to all teachers this year, rather we will provided licenses to those teachers who use it as prescribed by IXLs own best practice recommendations and where student growth is supported by data in IXL. We also believe there are better tools out there will be prototyping other adaptive systems for possible adoption; you can click here to explore these programs.
Be RaptorWise (Digital Citizenship) - Message from Hilary
This year our goal is to educate all of our students on how to be safe, respectful, and responsible digital citizens. The full RUP can be viewed here. As the beginning of the year starts, I know students are super excited to dive right into technology. It is suggested that before students use or post online the following guidelines from the Responsible Use Policy be taught.
1. Carry, use, and store any device carefully.
2. Don't share your private information.
These can be easily incorporated into your regular classroom instruction. As you are developing classroom agreements, have students make connections to agreements that we want to follow when we work online and the ways in which we take care of our devices. Here are some pictures from these lessons with Jyostna's and Janna's grade 4 classes. You can also get the full lessons at www.coachievable.com.
Book Bags
All grade levels should now have book bags. There are a handful of extra bags for new students; see Alex in 3612 when the time comes to get one.
Student Transitions
At the team leader meeting this week, we made a few decisions regarding student transitions for grades 3-5. Teachers will continue to meet their classes at the beginning of the day, and will continue to do individual handovers to parents/older siblings/ASA instructors/bus monitors at the end of the day. During the day, we’re going to show our older students a higher level of trust in transitioning around the school. For example, when the recess bell rings, students are no longer required to line up and wait for an adult to walk with them; they can simply begin heading upstairs, whether that be to their homeroom or to a specials class. Easy transitions (i.e. grade 4 to music) can be supervised from a vantage point in the hallway. We do want to supervise the walk between the ES and PE because of the longer distance.
EY3-Grade 2 transitions remain unchanged.
Discovery Studio - message from Carl
I will be having a workshop for all the TA’s in the next few weeks to show them how to use some of the tools in the room. This is to get them more knowledgeable as to what we have and how to work some of the power equipment. A workshop will also be held for teachers at a later date to get them up to speed as well.
From Karen - WIDA MODEL Data: Key Uses Can Do Name Charts
As soon as the WIDA MODEL data is uploaded to PowerSchool in Can Do Name Chart form, you will be notified.
WIDA has elaborated task ideas for different levels for their "Key Uses," recount, explain, argue and discuss, the last of which is for developing oral skills.
(For new teachers, this relates the learning task we did with highlighters and sample students during the EAL Framework workshop during NFO)
EAL teachers, on Monday you will receive the Can Do Name Chart folder for your Grade level. Please take some time in an upcoming triad meeting to go over the details of this data with your homeroom teachers. You should have or will be getting the more detailed Key Uses WIDA booklet for your grade band. If you do not have one with the materials turned over to you or if you've misplaced it, please let Karen know and she will prepare more copies.
Can Do Name Charts assist in leveraging students' strengths in English for content learning as well as for grouping and partnering students. It can also be used to note progress as students advance in their ability to handle more complex tasks in English.
Yep - it was a long one! Thanks for reading through until the end.
Warmly,
Keryn & Lori
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