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