Dear all,
It is the end of our first week! Phew….time to celebrate with a 3 day weekend! Enjoy this extra day of relaxation together with your families and friends - looking forward to seeing you back on Tuesday for another action packed week in the ES!
Time and Schedules
Now that we have looked critically at the blocks of meeting time, Karen, Clayton and I encourage each of you to look at your weekly schedules and look at the scheduled blocks of homeroom time - and apply the same logic of flexibility and ‘permission’. This means you may not need to have each ‘subject’ rigidly exist within a 45 minute block. For example science one day may need an extended chunk of 75 mins, when the next time you visit that unit, it may be only 30 mins.
Your homeroom time is your own to use as you see fit with your class, you don’t have to mirror it exactly from week to week. The co-teaching arrangement allows perfectly for this flexibility if both parties agree to allow student learning needs and interests to come first before teacher scheduling.
"Once you break the shackles of time, you will find yourself imagining ways to improve teaching, learning, student motivation and course design that can make a real difference." - Lee Shulman (2008, It's About Time)
Back to School Evening
Please prepare your 15-20 curricular information sessions as a grade. You then can decide whether you’d like to present this as a grade or (ideally) individually.
Then you are asked to present your own class routines/expectations in your own classroom individually.
**Every homeroom teacher needs to make a specific Edmodo post with location information
*New for specialists - we will be asking each of you to visit each of the classes you teach to briefly say “hello” so parents can put a face to your name. If you need to plan this accordingly, please touch base with the homeroom teachers.
Nicole and Ilona - feel free to drop into each class as a team!
Nicole and Ilona - feel free to drop into each class as a team!
As in previous years, each presentation will be repeated so parents with more than one child can attend
4 - 4.30 - Session 1
4.30 - 4.40 transition
4.45 - 5.15 - Repeat session
All TAs should plan on staying until 5:20 on the 23rd. Next week, a TA roster will be sent out to provide playground supervision for students from 3.30 - 5.20pm.
If you would like a small snack - some will be available in the ES Principal’s office from 3.15 - please remember we are catering for 100 people and this is not dinner! :)
Counselors in your classrooms
Please look out for communication from your counselor about them coming in to deliver counseling programme sessions in your classes. The frequency of this and the topics will vary from grade to grade, however it is up to each of you to agree upon a suitable time block. As the year unfolds, it is highly likely that this counseling programme will also include specific child protection curriculum.
What can you expect?
KG - G2 (Meg)
Mindfulness is: "paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment." (Jon Kabat-Zinn).
Mindfulness is: "paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment." (Jon Kabat-Zinn).
In the course of our sessions, we will experience mindfulness in various ways and settings and explore how mindfulness can help us with our emotions, self-regulation and develop a more positive outlook on life.
Grades 3-5 (Ron)
AISC has adopted the International School Counselor Association Framework, which is a set of recommended student learning competencies directed toward aspects of friendship, conflict (incl. bullying), self-monitoring, organizational skills, and self-awareness etc. According to the framework, counselors craft this social/academic framework into age-appropriate lessons to be delivered in all classrooms.
For those interested, I have attached the framework appendix here that shows suggested learning indicators for K-12 students.
*Any G3-5 classes who would like an additional counselor slot & would like to take advantage of Meg’s expertise in Mindfulness - please communicate with Meg as she is more than happy to offer this.
Emergency Drill - August 18th, 1.45pm
EMERGENCY EVACUATION DRILL GUIDELINES:
1. Once we have an indication/alarm of an emergency situation, all students and staff should maintain silence at all times to ensure that directions can he heard. The indicator is a wailing alarm.
2. Once at the soccer field area, all classes/groups should form in straight lines under the respective Grade Signage and maintain the lines until further instruction.
3. The responsible teacher should be at the front of the class/group so that they are accessible to principals.
4. Groups should not sit unless instructed to do so.
5. Silence should be maintained until the drill is over and students are released.
6. Do not use elevators.
All Teachers: Please carry the emergency booklet and class roster with you when you leave the classroom. The RED and GREEN sign are inbuilt in the booklet.
Note: During an emergency situation the security staff - (QRT - Section Marshal) - on duty will pay attention to ensure safe evacuation process of student/staff using wheelchair through the available safe channel.
Transitions
As mentioned last week, we will continue to keep supervision of transitions as they were last year (with students being accompanied from class to class). Specialists teaching grades 3-5, please communicate with grade level teachers and TAs if your class ends at recess (11:00) or lunch (12:45); as with last year, we may need you to accompany students to recess and lunch if grade levels are in team meetings.
After school pick up
This message is reinforced in the principal's’ notes:
All ES students must be collected at the end of the day by a parent or an older sibling. If their parent/older sibling is late students MUST wait in the ES Reception with Ms Padma; Ms. Padma will remain in reception from 3:15-4:30 and will call parents, siblings and drivers as needed. Under no circumstances are any ES students allowed to ‘roam’ the soccer field, playground, cafeteria etc alone.
Please can all teachers be vigilant in ensuring handover of all students, and not leave the covered area until every student is picked up.
We have had several incidences already of unsupervised children playing and getting hurt.
*For the next two weeks, can ALL teachers please scan soccer pitch & playground around 3.40-3.45 and check that parents are within sight of their child and not waiting in cafeteria. Lori and I will be doing our best to be out everyday also.
Yearbook photos
From the Discovery Studio
If you have not already signed up your class for the orientation challenge in the Discovery Studios, please do so! Just sign up on Carl’s calendar. To ensure all students benefit from this orientation challenge, please make sure every homeroom has signed up by the end of the week!
From Kevin Hall
A PD opportunity @NIST (Thailand) that comes highly recommended!
Happy weekend everyone!
Keryn
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