Dear Faculty,
Spectacular seeing everyone dressed in national dress today and in spirit themes all week. Yay to Elementary faculty. Kids particularly enjoyed seeing all those to took a risk and came in their PJs on Monday!
Thank yous (have someone to thank - let Lori or Keryn know!)
Jack and Ron who have begun an intramural soccer league with 4th and 5th graders
Priya and the entire IT staff for their support during MAP testing
Janna and Adithya for a great and thoughtful math conversation today (from Calley)
Nicole who became lead usher at the Peace Parade today and streamlined seating kids in seats
#aiscelementary twitter competition
Congratulations to Deepa Jacob - winner of this weeks twitter competition! Gift coming your way soon. Want to see what Deepa tweeted? twitter.com
Goal Setting Conferences
Happening next Monday 25th - 3:30 - 5pm and Tuesday 26th all day. Homeroom and EAL teachers will be involved in many conferences during the day; specialist teachers please be present and around on Tuesday in case a parent comes by for a drop in conference. Otherwise, you can spend the time working on any needed documentation. This is a good day to find a time with a learning coach!
Supervision in the regular spots will be covered by TAs.
Monday - Sandwiches available at the ES Office (packed) & ES Lounge (Counter) from 3:15 pm.
Tuesday - Lunch in the ES Cafeteria - Indian and Continental Options.
Teacher illness
We are now making this message as black and white and clear as possible:
If you are sick; stay home.
If you have had a contagious illness, you need to have full clearance from a doctor before you return to school.
If you are absent in the morning because of illness, please do not come in for the afternoon.
It is actually more challenging for us to cover for half the day and help you make it through the afternoon when you really are not feeling up to it. We do not want to mother you!
India month - important information for rehearsal times!
There is general information about India Month in this document including practice schedules for each grade level.
Unified Classroom Skills Tracker
Sherriden sent a google sheet on Wednesday regarding Self assessment of technology related skills needed for continuity of instruction. Please ensure your own information is entered and complete by Monday 25th.
If there are areas you identify as needing support, IT will be reaching out to you directly to offer training and support from next Wednesday 27th.
New Basketball Hoops
Two new hoops and 5 basketballs are now set up and ready for student use. Although they’re located in the back corner of the EY playground (OLC), they were designed to be used by older students as well. Anyone can play here during regular recess times. If you’re on playground duty, please wander through the space and keep an eye on that area.
Duty Schedule Swaps
If you have made a swap from the original duty schedule, please confirm that it is reflected in this document. We had a couple of incidents this week where people missed their duties and/or coverage was arranged based on an incorrect schedule.
Meet AISC - Ross Connelly - Grade 4 Teacher
Ross loves engaging students in big conversations and asking them deep questions. He can speak French and wishes he knew more languages. When Ross is not teaching , he likes to jog and has recently started making homemade ice cream. Before teaching he served in West Africa with the Peace Corps, where he slept many nights in a mud hut. Ross has taught students from grade 1 through grade 12 and Elementary is his favorite!. He has been really proud to work among a lot of inspiring teachers at AISC and other schools and has learned a lot from them. Their examples have pushed him to be a better educator. Sometimes people tell him he looks like James Hetfield from Metallica after he cut his hair off. Ross says “It would be pretty fun to be him for a day when he's playing a sold-out stadium show!”
News for You from 3612
5 Tips for Managing a 1:1 Technology Environment
By Hilary Barron
September 14, 2017
1. Provide Clear Instructions
As many of you already know, our students don’t enter the classroom knowing how to do everything “technology”. One ways to help students is to provide a clear set of instructions that provide review, modeling, and are easily accessible to students throughout the year. Something I learned at Learning2.0 conference is using app flows. I have posted an example below. This gives students color coded visual icons to help them step-by-step. If it is a longer set of instructions, you may want to create a screencast and post it to Edmodo. You may also want to pin the post so that it remains at the top of your group for all students to see. Alternatively, students can save the post to their backpack so they can go back to it at anytime.
2. Recruit Student Tech Gurus
Students feel more comfortable asking each other for help than their teachers. They might also be more tech savvy than some of us. Find 2 students who are hard working, helpful, and patient. When you know you will be using a new tool, invite them to have lunch with you and train them. You could even let them create a cool name for themselves, “Savvy Cyborgs”. They can probably do better.
3. Stay Close
Proximity...do you all remember learning this in our teacher program? Staying close to your students is an easy way to manage behavior both on and off line. “One particular technique that has proven simple and effective is the use of proximity control – the idea that simply being physically near students improves their behavior and focus” (Jordan Catapano, TeachHub.com). Another way to make it easier to view students screens is to use pair seating.
4. Cultivate Curiosity
Try to use tools that enhance the learning experience. Technology offers us so many opportunities to engage our students. There is so much available it can be overwhelming researching all that is out there. If you aren’t sure of what tool to use, see a coach for suggestions. Remember when planning technology integration, start with the learning goal. Practice, Practice, Practice. Use the tool several times yourself before introducing it to students to work out all the kinks.
5. Demonstrate Digital Citizenship
This has been a huge topic of discussion this year. As students are becoming more and more active on social media and the Internet, it becomes increasingly important not just to teach digital citizenship but to model and allow students to practice. Will they make mistakes? Yes, and we hope that they make them here in our community. We want them to learn from their mistakes in our protected environment first so when they go out on their own they are equipped with the tools and critical eye they need to stay safe, responsible, and respectful.
High School Discovery Day -Friday, October 6th.
Discovery Day is an opportunity for HS students to learn something outside of the normal class schedule and structure. One option in the past involved high school students working with elementary school. This is a great opportunity for high school students to gain experience in a classroom setting and to learn skills that encourage empathy, confidence and compassion. For elementary students, it provides a fun opportunity to interact with older students, and for teachers, it could be a great opportunity to try something new! Please complete this Google Form to indicate your interest in participating. Please contact Josiah Laposky a ljosiah@aischennai.org if you have any questions. Thank you for your consideration!
ES Discovery Studios needs your help!
We are running low on some items and were hoping that you could recycle them by bringing them into the Discovery Studios. We are in need of the following items:
plastic containers - any size or shape and washed
plastic lids from all kinds of containers
scrap fabric from old clothes or material if you sew
broken down small appliances
old tools that are no longer wanted
Items can be dropped off in 2602/2603 - Thank you!
Adaptive Schools
As you know, we are hosting the Adaptive Schools foundation seminar in November. This is a 4 day course from 20 - 23 November. If you are interested in attending this training, please let me know by Friday 29 September.
Happy weekend everyone!
Warmly,
Keryn & Lori
