Dear everyone,
As we approach the end of another great week, please have a restful and refreshing weekend! There is a nasty viral bug going around that many teachers and students have displayed symptoms of. As we are a wonderful sharing and caring bunch, we ask that if you have any fever or other symptoms to please stay at home and get the rest you need. This also avoids us continuing to spread these germs.
Thank you’s (anyone to thank? Let Lori or Keryn know and we’ll include it here :) )
- Daphne and Jayasri; our wonderful 3 year old teachers; the counselors are SO impressed how quickly the children have settled and are all coming in with a smile.
- Hilary for lighting a twitter fire and getting the ES on board tweeting!
- Becky and the 5th Graders, Marianne, Keeley, Nicole, Marcus, Finny, Vasanth and Sarah for our wonderful learning celebration this morning.
- All teachers who did a very thorough job presenting at BTSN on Tuesday.
- All teachers and TAs who helped supervise the children.
FREE PD delivered right to your….twitter account!
Did you know all the leading experts of inquiry, of Teachers College readers and writers workshop, of conceptual math, of PE, of music etc etc are all major tweeters - posting articles and other amazing snippets of PD daily.
Did you know all the leading experts of inquiry, of Teachers College readers and writers workshop, of conceptual math, of PE, of music etc etc are all major tweeters - posting articles and other amazing snippets of PD daily.
Twitter Challenge coming soon to #aiscelementary
Watch this space next week! Our very own @AISC ES twitter challenge coming your way. What do you need to do between now and then? Sign up! www.twitter.com
All you need is a twitter account. Super easy to sign up. Have an account? Follow some of our own AISC tweeters:
@keryndowling @ula_kon @TeacherMegha
@hilbarron3 @tiffany_filter @ahoover6
@rachaelmoser @simplejackkkk1 @danielwlove
*Also a AISC tweeter? Add us on twitter and we’ll include your handle here next week too!
Meet AISC - Introducing Jack Bissonnette
Mr Jack is a new addition to our Elementary PE teaching team. He loves teaching kids how to work together to solve problems, come up with collaborative plans, and have fun with one another. Mr Jack thinks students should know that he loves to go snowboarding any opportunity that he gets. He is also trying to learn how to surf, now that he is living in Chennai! Before moving to Chennai, Mr Jack lived in Kuwait and worked at the American International School Kuwait. Prior to that, that he worked within the Special Education field back in the US, and he also coached American Football at William Jewell College. What Reality Show would you likely find Mr Jack on? Fear Factor, - and he would win as long as sharks were not involved!
Indoor Recess
It was the rainiest August in Chennai since 1966! Click here for all the information you need about indoor recess.
From the ES Coaches
Thinking about using our new teaching kitchen or gardens with your students? Here is a library aligned to standards for many different disciplines to use in your planning, or just use for inspiration!
Rethinking the purpose of reading levels
What's your reading level? Are you a "M", "O" or do you think you are a level "Z" reader? As adult readers we do not think of ourselves as having a specific level nor do we only pick books based on a level. Let's rethink the purpose of leveling - A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label
Emergency Drill
Please can everyone take the time to read through the emergency booklet hanging in your classroom before the emergency drill coming up on Thursday 14th September.
Please can everyone take the time to read through the emergency booklet hanging in your classroom before the emergency drill coming up on Thursday 14th September.
MAP Testing - Important Links and Documents
- Student instruction page While optional, it’s particularly helpful to review this prior to (at least) your first test. There is also a link, “MAP Growth Test Warm Up” from the main page (after you’ve logged in) with a video explaining MAP. It’s hokey but it’s clear; show it, if you like.
- MAP Test Exemption List - This year, we’re going to match the MS method for exempting learners new to English. Students who have been at AISC for less than 6 weeks and who have a composite score of less than 2.4 will be exempt. Those children can work with the EAL teacher or TA to further their language skills; they will take the test next spring. We’ll inform parents from the ES office. As always, any student who appears stressed or distressed during the testing should be stopped; simply inform Lori that the child was unable to continue.
This year, you’ll notice a new feature on the proctor page: an indicator of ‘disengaged students’. This feature will alert you if a child is selecting answers at a faster rate than he/she can likely read the questions. You can read more here.
Finally, teachers often ask what types of assistance we can offer to students during testing. At any point, it’s OK to clarify the instructions for taking the MAP test. It’s perfectly fine to encourage individual children to “make their best guess and move on” if they seem to be perseverating on questions; it’s also fine to encourage children to “slow down and show their best effort” if they are speeding through. If a child asks, it’s alright to pronounce words on the math and science test, as long as you don’t define words. We shouldn’t be providing help with reading on either the reading or language test, though.
Edmodo
Looks like everyone is getting settled into the routines of using Edmodo. I just want to make sure everyone is aware of the newest Edmodo update. Parents are now able to send messages to their teachers through the parent app. They cannot post to your group but can send a private message to any teacher who is connected to their student.
Gr1 and Gr2 teachers your blogs have been set up and your TA's have been trained on how to add the profiles to the individual iPads. I would like to have 15 minutes of your time in a team meeting to explain the interface and how the blogs work and how they will be shared with parents. Please schedule me in.
Room Parents - please fill out here who your room parent is. If parents in your class want to co-parent, that is fine, but one should take lead for communication and liaison purposes. If you happen to have more than one, please indicate the lead on the form.
UN International Day of Peace
Coming up on Friday September 22nd. Looking forward to seeing you all dressed in a country colours or national dress.
PG&E Sign ups
Look out for an email about scheduling 15 mins with your supervisor to talk about your goals for the year. The first group to be contacted are those on the PG pathway.
Teacher Appreciation Breakfast
Join us next Tuesday 5th for Indian National Teachers Day - breakfast will be served from 7:45am in the FAC Cafeteria. We appreciate you for all you do for our school and students.
Happy weekend everyone - enjoy the storms!
Warmly,
Keryn & Lori
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