Friday, 28th October, 2016

Congratulations

Megha and Lauren for publishing their article on translanguaging!
Click here to read it - just got published in TIE Online.

Thanks to

• Hannah and Angel in IT for all of their work to reformat the aesthetic look of our report cards.

Updated Duty Schedule

With Sheena’s departure, we’ve had to make some adjustments to the duty schedule. Impacted teachers are: Ron, Amritha, John, Hilary, Priya, Nushrath, Nichelle/Roshna and Chaitanya. Thanks to each of you for your flexibility and willingness to help out. The updated schedule can be viewed here.

Sheena’s departure also complicates our transition schedule as she is responsible for 13 weekly transitions. As we are unable to cover each of these, we are going to try having our older students transition from class to class unsupervised. The following classes and specialist teachers are impacted: 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5B, 5C, music, art, PE and World Language. View the impacted transitions here.

Planned absences on the day of your duty

Teachers, if you know you are going to be absent for a personal day, field trip or professional learning trip, please plan to arrange a trade with a colleague ahead of time if you know you have a duty that day. Let Cheryl know about your arrangements; she will continue to call on teachers and TAs to fill spots due to illness.

Ordering

FYI - Orders for Fountis and Pinnell reading kits, the new TC reading units and preschool’s access to GOLD assessment will be coordinated through the ES office - no need to put those items on your grade level orders.

Calley has created a spreadsheet to centrally inventory and order Bridges supplies; this will be sent to team leaders.

Report Timeline

By Tuesday 1 Nov 4pm -	Reports returned to teachers, can begin entering narratives into skyward
By Thursday 3 Nov 8am	All report information entered into Skyward
Friday 4th 3pm	Reports go live to parents

As you go to enter your grades and comments, the following step-by-step guide may be helpful. It also shows you how to generate the reports as parents see them.

Wednesday’s Early Release Day

Time on Wednesday afternoon will be spent debriefing, consolidating and continuing professional learning from our most recent consultants: Gini Rojas, Jodi O’Meara, Tania Lattanzio, Christy Curran and Adaptive Schools. We’ll gather in Shireen’s room at 2:30, then break out to the 5th grade classrooms for small group sessions.

Yearbook Photo orders

You can now view and order your yearbook Individual photo in the All School Moodle page using this form Please order by November 7th; prints will be ready for collection at the Elementary School Office after December 11th.  Pay at the cash counter and submit the form at the Elementary Principal’s office.

Missoula Children's Theatre

Parents are signing up their children for the return of MCT.  On Monday 14 Nov, all children signed up will take part in an audition that will last for at least 2 hours.  This schedule will be shared as soon as we have it.  Not all kids will get a part - only 60 cast members and 4 assistant directors.
Two performances for your calendars;  Friday 18th 1.30pm for ES kids / 4pm for parents/community

Upcoming Dates For Your Calendar

Monday October 31 Diwali Holiday
Wednesday 2 November Early Release Wednesday (2.00pm dismissal)
Thursday 3 November Grade PK - 2 India Month Assembly (8.45am - 9.30am)
Thursday 3 November Inspiration Conversation: Unity in Diversity
Friday 4 November Grade 3 - 5 India Month Assembly (*Time changed 2:15pm - 3:15pm)
Friday 4 November India Month Lunch
Friday 4 November Report cards going home
Saturday 5 November Diwali Mela
Friday 8 November ES Parent Coffee with Bernajean Porter
Wednesday 9 November Middle Eastern Food Festival with guest chefs in the main cafeteria
Mon 14 - Fri 18 Nov Missoula Children’s Theatre;
Friday 18 Nov Missoula Children’s Theatre performances; 1.30pm for ES/4pm Parents

Happy Diwali!

Warmly,

Keryn & Lori

Friday, 21st October, 2016

Dear all,

Keeping it short and sweet this week!

Thanks to

• Megha and Lauren for offering Tuesday’s co-teaching professional learning on translanguaging
• Shireen, Finny and Vasanth for hosting visiting music teachers from a local school
• Babs, Jana, Kristina, Lorna and Rachael for working on social studies review
• Cheryl and Hazel for individually uploading MAP results for all of our grade 2-5 students
• All teachers for their ongoing work on assessment and reporting. We realize it’s a busy time - thanks for all that you do!

Report Cards

A couple of informational items have come up this week. The comment box for the introductory comments has a maximum of 1000 characters (including spaces). There are two boxes for academics - one for literacy and the other for math/science/social studies. Each of these two boxes has a maximum of 2000 characters including spaces.

The new formatting of the front page will have the students’ personal comment next to a box with the mission (listing the 4Cs) and the Vision for an AISC Learner (At AISC, successful learners are... Leaders, Collaborators, Innovators, Explorers, Thinkers, Ethical, Versatile, Empathetic, Resilient, Reflective). If you like, you may use the language of the 4C or the vision, but it’s not required; your comments can reflect the nature of one or more of the descriptors.

Goodbye to Sheena

Sheena, our World Language and Indian Studies TA, will be leaving AISC at the end of next week; she will be joining her husband in Dubai. Please wish her well on this next phase of her life!

As Sheena’s position will not be replaced, this will necessitate multiple changes in the duty schedule. Affected teachers will be contacted by the end of next week.

Missoula Children’s Theatre

A message about sign ups went home to parents today. Practices will be the week of November 13th and the performance will be at 4pm on November 18th.

Halloween

See last week’s post for the parade schedule next Friday. The only change will be that preschool 3+ classes will parade at 9:15 am.

Yearbook Photo orders

You can now view and order your yearbook Individual photo in the All School Moodle page using this form Please order by November 7th; prints will be ready for collection at the Elementary School Office after December 11th.  Pay at the cash counter and submit the form at the Elementary Principal’s office.

Upcoming Dates For Your Calendar

Tuesday 25 October Reports to proof reading buddy
Thursday 27 October Reports due to admin for final proofing
Friday 28 October ES Halloween Parties and Parade (1.30pm - 3.30pm)
Monday October 31 Diwali Holiday
Wednesday 2 November Early Release Wednesday (2.00pm dismissal)
Thursday 3 November Grade PK - 2 India Month Assembly (8.45am - 9.30am)
Friday 4 November Grade 3 - 5 India Month Assembly (*Time changed 2:15pm - 3:15pm)
Friday 4 November Indian Month Lunch
Friday 4 November Report cards going home
Saturday 5 November Diwali Mela
Friday 8 November ES Parent Coffee
Wednesday 9 November Middle Eastern Food Festival with guest chefs in the main cafeteria
Mon 14 - Fri 18 Nov Missoula Children’s Theatre

Have a great weekend!

Warmly,
Keryn & Lori

Friday, 14th October, 2016

Dear all,

Welcome back - hearing everyone’s holiday stories have been great - teachers vacation well!  It’s been a busy week with PGE conversations, and has been excellent to catch up with everyone.

Congratulations
Uma for his article on libraries being published

Thank you

• Rachael, Amy, Fer, Jana and Jet for leading the presentation on Early Reading at this week’s parent coffee
• Karen for co-leading our Workshop PD faculty meeting
• Anu and BIndu for arranging such a cultural treat for us with the opening assembly dancers

Halloween Celebrations on October 28

Please remind students that they will have the opportunity to change into costumes during the school day; there is no need to wear them to school in the morning.

Class parties and the parade are listed on the calendar from 1:30-3:00. We’ll follow a similar parade schedule as last year, so feel free to work out your party details with parents. Second and Fifth grade have specials Friday afternoon; please communicate clearly if students will/will not attend those classes.

9:15     PS 3 (change to 2:15 now that it’s a full day program?)

9:30     PS 4 (change to 2:15 now that it’s a full day program?)

2:30     Kindergarten

2:40     1st grade

2:50     2nd grade

3:00     3rd grade

3:05     4th grade

3:10     5th grade

Route (Adults will be handing out candy at each station):

1. Head west from the hallway in front of the grade 2 classrooms (go up by KG/3+ or down by grade 5) toward the ES Office

2. Pass the ES Office

3. Go down the stairs just past the ES Office.

4. Cafeteria

5. ES CIC

6. Head of School’s Office

7. Main Reception

8. Nurse’s Office (to be confirmed)

9. Return to class (please try to go via a route that is not on the parade route if possible).

Kids can change out of costumes or go home wearing them.

Report Cards
A reminder that we now have a style guide in place to inform report card writing.  Please refer to it and ensure you check your comments are aligned before asking a colleague to proof them.

Some changes are being made to the layout and formatting of the report cards, but Skyward should now be up to date with any wording tweaks for indicators.

Report Timeline

By Tuesday 25 Oct 4pm	Narratives written on google doc and given to proofing buddy
Weds 26 Oct	faculty meeting dedicated to reports; time could be used for entering proficiency levels (B, D, A, E) or for proofing a colleague’s narratives
Thursday 27 Oct 4pm	report card narratives (google doc) due to admin for final proofing
Friday 28 - Tues 1 Oct	Admin proof reports  (will return as completed)
By Tuesday 1 Nov 4pm -	Reports returned to teachers, can begin entering narratives into skyward
By Thursday 3 Nov 8am	All report information entered into Skyward
Friday 4th 3pm	Reports go live to parents

Teacher Signatures for the Report Card: New homeroom and EAL teachers, please write your signature on a piece of white paper with a black pen, take a picture of it or scan it, and then email to Hannah in IT. This is the signature that will appear on the report card.

Preparation for Continuity of Instruction

Crisis readiness has been an important part of our preparations for the 2016-17 school year, and as we enter October it bears reminding that we must all be prepared to plan and run Virtual Learning Days (VLDs) should the situation present itself.

As communicated during our crisis readiness workshop in August, we will engage a VLD with at least 24 hours notice and will do our best to avoid one-off virtual learning days and running these days when the communications infrastructure has been compromised. This means the most likely scenario for a VLD is when there is a higher likelihood of multi-day closures. That said, we can't always know how long closures will last, or how severe the consequences of an event or situation may be. Our responsibilities as a faculty at this time are to be highly comfortable with the Continuity of Instruction Plan and know how to engage our digital tools to deliver instruction, communicate with learners, and assess learning remotely.  

Social Media Guidelines

Please note the warning laid out in our Social Media Guidelines that reminds us to always avoid negative, sarcastic,political or otherwise unproductive comments about our host country on social networks.

MAP Results

Rather than printing MAP results for students in grades 2-5, a pdf version of the reports will be available on Skyward from Friday, October 21st.  This will be uploaded and parents notified along with a cover letter, in a similar process as MS.

Personnel Handbook

If you haven’t already done so, please check your mailboxes to pick the new booklet.

Upcoming Dates For Your Calendar

Monday 10 October Contract meetings after school
Tuesday 18 October Keryn leaves for NESA
Wednesday 19 October Early Release Wednesday (2.00pm dismissal)
Thurs 20 - Sat 22 October AISC hosts SAISA boys volleyball
Tuesday 25 October Reports to proof reading buddy
Thursday 27 October Reports due to admin for final proofing
Friday 28 October ES Halloween Parties and Parade (1.30pm - 3.30pm)
Monday October 31 Diwali Holiday
Wednesday 2 November Early Release Wednesday (2.00pm dismissal)
Thursday 3 November Grade PK - 2 India Month Assembly (8.45am - 9.30am)
Friday 4 November Grade 3 - 5 India Month Assembly (*Time changed 2:15pm - 3:15pm)
Friday 4 November Indian Month Lunch
Friday 4 November Report cards going home
Friday 8 November ES Parent Coffee
Mon 14 - Fri 18 Nov Missoula Children’s Theatre

Have a great weekend!

Warmly,
Keryn & Lori