Friday, February 10, 2017

Hi all,

We all know report card writing season is an exceptionally busy time, so let’s all have each others backs! Assume good intentions and try to be proactive with any situations you see ‘brewing’, whether they be on the playground, in a classroom, or in a corridor.  Thank you for all the coaches and assistants for pitching in at this busy time too!

Additionally with many teachers out, particularly in the older grades where we do not have 1:1 Assistants, any teacher in the triad may be asked to cover when a homeroom teacher is out.  Please know we are doing our best to arrange cover, as well as keeping continuity of instruction our main priority.

Report Card Narratives - due to admin proofers by Wednesday 16th

Weds 1 Feb	faculty meeting dedicated to reports; time could be used for entering proficiency levels (B, D, A, E) or for proofing a colleague’s narratives
By Tuesday 7 Feb	Narratives written on google doc and given to proofing buddy
Thursday 16 Feb 4pm	report card narratives (google doc) due to admin for final proofing
Friday 17- Tues 21 Feb	Admin proof reports  (will return as completed)
By Tuesday 21 Feb 4pm -	Reports returned to teachers, can begin entering narratives into skyward
By Thursday 23 Feb 8am	All report information entered into Skyward
Friday 24th 3pm	Reports go live to parents

Proof Readers (after a colleague has already proofed)

PK	Lori
KG	Lori
Grade 1	Rachael
Grade 2 A B	Rachael
Grade 2 C D	Karen
Grade 3	Karen
Grade 4	Keryn
Grade 5	Keryn

Thanks to

• Meg & KG, Grade 1 and Grade 2 teachers who guided their students through a fabulous learning celebration this morning.
• Allison and Amy for filling in as their grade level rep at this week’s Team Leader meeting.
• Rachael and the early years teachers for a productive session Wednesday afternoon.
• Grade 2-5 teachers and specialists for engaging with Tom Schimmer.
• Everyone for guidance and feedback regarding Thursday’s lock down drill.
• The K-2 Art Exhibition is open for visitors in the FAC Atrium. Thanks to the art team for creating such a colorful display of student work!

Faculty Meeting next Wednesday 15th - AFO in the FAC Theatre

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.

HoD and Team Leader Announcements

Congratulations to all the HoDs and Team Leaders for next year.

PK - 12 PE	Tommy Bohorquez
PK - 12 Visual Art	Ed Doherty
PK - 12 Performing Arts	Jason Kennedy
PK - 12 World Languages	Nicole Merletti
PK	Vigna
KG	Lily
Grade 1	Morgen
Grade 2	Deepa
Grade 3	Scott
Grade 4	Dee
Grade 5	Becky

Discovery Day:  last chance to sign up

Please let us know if you would like some high school volunteers to work with students on Friday, February 17th for our Semester 2 Discovery Day experience. All teachers are welcome to request volunteers in your classrooms, whether it is 3+, 5th grade, PE, Music or anywhere in between. Thanks so much for accommodating this type of experience for our high school students. I'll be in touch with those interested in the coming weeks to plan out the details. With questions, please email me at lcorrene@aischennai.org Thank you!   Correne Larsen Calling for Teacher Workshop Facilitators!    As we depend on our teaching assistants more and more as substitute teachers and as true instructional aides, we would like to elicit your ideas and facilitation skills to start offering some monthly TA trainings, which would take place monthly during sectional meeting times. Do you have an idea that you'd like to suggest for a session or one that you'd like to facilitate or co-facilitate? Contact Karen S. to discuss further.

Elementary Spirit Week Days!

Please support student council by dressing up on the following days...

Monday 20 February	Mismatch Day!  Wear clothes that do not go together
Tuesday 21 February	Multiples day!  Find friends and dress alike.
Wednesday 22 February	Crazy hair day - style up your hair in fun and crazy ways!
Thursday 23 February	Costume Day - wear a costume of your choice
Friday 24 February	Pyjama Day - wear your favorite pyjamas to school

Upcoming Dates For Your Calendar

Saturday 11 Feb   Feb Fling

Tuesday 14 Feb   ES Parent Coffee 8:45am - 9:45am

Mon 13 - Fri 24 Feb   Art Exhibition

20-24 Feb   Matt Holm author visit (Grades 2-5)

Saturday 25 Feb   Design Saturday

Monday 6 March   Grade 5 NESA Virtual Science Fair

Monday 13 - Friday 17 March Spring Break

Monday 20 March   Staff Professional Learning Day - No School for Students

Have a nice Weekend!

Keryn & Lori