Friday, May 25, 2018

Dear Faculty,

The countdown is on - only one more week in our 2017-18 Academic year. The end is in sight. Please remember that next Saturday is a working day; read more below about check out timings and procedure.  

Thank yous….

• First grade would like to thank Carl, Amritha, Shannon, Rachael, Linda, and Hilary for their help with our Maker Days. The students loved learning from you!
• Elliot and Alex for all the thoughtful preparation, planning and hosting of the Responsive Classroom sessions
• Morgen and Hilary for leading our ‘what does rigour’ mean session at our faculty meeting
• Shannon for taking our photo yesterday, and everyone for bearing with the heat!
• Rachael for all you have done for the Elementary section over the past two years - travel safe and all the best for your upcoming wedding
• Grade 2 for the very child centered market place hosted earlier this week
• All the teachers/TAs who have been so flexible with cover for the Responsive Classroom training

 End of Year Checkout

Every teacher needs to have the items of this form checked off and signed by the appropriate person before leaving for the end of year. On Saturday 2nd June, the final step, the physical room sign off will also happen. This will happen in your physical space with the check out supervisor looking to see the room is packed and ready for summer cleaning. This will look different in different spaces!

• If you are moving spaces, or having your classroom renovated, EVERYTHING needs to be in boxes, labelled with your (new) room number, name, and grade/department.
• In all rooms, EVERYTHING must be removed from bulletin boards, walls
• All classroom resources remaining in the classrooms should be neatly stored in a manner that allows the shelves and classroom to be thoroughly cleaned.
• Remember we have Saturday 2nd June as a working day to complete any packing, as well as check out
• Sign out sheet can start to be filled out as items are completed (except room sign off which can only happen Saturday 2 June)

 Keryn -           EY3/4/5, LSS, counsellors, EAL Collab room, and CIC; (17) KD

Lori -               Grade 1, 2, Discovery Studio and PE; (16) LN

Dan -               Grade 4, 5 and WL; (14) DL

Sherriden -     Grade 3, Art, IS & Music; (14) SM

Expect this team to start walking through classroom spaces from 11am. If you see them and are not ready yet, know they will also come through again from 1-2pm. Once signed off you are welcome to join everyone for lunch, or you can depart on your summer break.

Differentiation and Communication commitments

As discussed at our faculty meeting, before you leave for the summer, please enter a draft idea into this form of what your triad will commit to doing differently to help achieve our goal of increasing challenge, differentiation and rigour in the elementary school. Also add your goal for how you may go about communicating differently to help change the parent narrative next year. We will keep these to revisit early next year during AFO.** One person per triad can enter this goal and include all names.

Yearbooks

The yearbooks will be distributed to classrooms on Monday, all currently enrolled students will get one. For students who left earlier, we will be giving one per family from the section of the oldest sibling in the family  (ES/MS/HS) .

Please hold Yearbooks - do not give out to children on this list with missing Library books.

Here is a current list of those of ES students and parents who still have books out.

 "The library team is sending each homeroom teacher an automated daily update at 7:00 a.m. to show what his or her students still have out for books (if any). This report also shows what the titles of the books are so you can remind students if needed. You should have already received two of these emails. If you have not, please contact Jet. Please note that students and parents are also receiving these daily reminders as well (to the primary email address listed in PowerSchool) and know that yearbooks are held until books come back or are paid for. In addition to the daily updates you are getting for your homerooms, starting Wednesday morning, this info will also be viewable as a Google Doc which can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pB6EqhTJhTGxPKJQybVxwEyYwbP-GpYLJF0rbO_3aVA/edit?usp=sharing. The library staff will continually update this Google Doc as books get returned/are paid for."

Gift of Time Read-aloud (repeat announcement - last chance to sign up!)

As we offered before winter break, optional times are available here if you would like a guest reader/teacher to come into your class and offer a read aloud or activity for up to 30 minutes. You can use this time for packing or completing other end-of-year tasks during the final week of school. Just sign your name up in the white box under the time you’d like.

Congratulations to Evelyn and her new son, Ezra J!

Congratulations also to Ms Gayathri who has signed a full time TA contract with us for next year!

Have a spectacular weekend everyone!

Warmly,
Keryn & Lori

Friday, May 18, 2018

Dear teachers,

Whilst we have been fortunate with the weather these last couple of weeks in that we have not had to call indoor recess due to temperatures being over 40C, please continue to be mindful of this and ensure children are drinking adequate water throughout the day.

In addition, please be aware we may need to do this in our last two weeks if we experience a temperature spike! Keep watching your mails.

Congrats to Preetika and Preethi; Preetika has accepted an EAL Co-Teaching position for next year and Preethi will be our Indian Studies Teacher! Congratulations to Sruthi and Sai too who have moved to a permanent TA contract.

Thank yous….

·         To all Grade 2-5 teachers for their flexibility with MAP testing and especially make ups, to Priya and the IT team for their continual support throughout testing, and to Amanda and Melissa for the use of their room during make ups

·         To Alex and Elliot for offering Responsive Classroom training and to the many people who have expressed interest in attending. Thanks, too to those who have been asked to pitch in and cover classes and duties for people who are in training sessions.

·         All teachers who will need to be flexible with many (Korean) students out next week - please note, there should be absolutely full-on continuity of instruction; no compromise with our teaching and learning process.

 

CAL Structure

This form here is to collect feedback on our CAL structure which we dedicated some of our ES faculty time to.

This should only take 5 minutes to reflect on.

Interest in Adopt-A-Garden project for 2018-19

If you have an interest in continuing or being part of this project next year, please let us know on this sheet  This will help us with our summer planning for building additional beds if necessary, as well as ordering seeds, preparing soil etc.

ES Faculty photo - next Thursday 24 May; 7:45am

Shannon will take our annual Elementary faculty group photo next Thursday before school. Please assemble in the ES plaza area, near the covered area and Shannon will organise the group. Thank you!

Year Mapping

Year Mapping is a powerful way to end the year with your class (and share with parents too!).  Edutopia pushed out this article this week and if you are looking for ways to wrap up your year, this could be it.  Definitely worth a read.

Packing up Classrooms & End of Year rituals (repeat announcement)

• A reminder that we do not visibly pack up classrooms whilst students are still with us.   
• Boxes have been ordered and will be delivered to you towards the end of next week.
• Any boxes packed before the last day - we ask that they are please packed and stored out of the sight of students (in cupboards)
• Student art, displays, notebooks and other work should not be sent home until the last week of school
• Remember we have Saturday 2nd June as a working day to complete any packing, as well as check out
• Sign out sheet can start to be filled out as items are completed (except room sign off which can only happen Saturday 2 June)

Kath Murdoch, Inquiry Extraordinaire, is coming to AISC for one day only! Friday August 17 (repeat announcement)

Kath Murdoch is a well known Australian educator who has taught, researched, lectured and published most notably in the field of inquiry based learning, for 30 years. A popular, down to earth consultant, she works with teachers in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and New Zealand while remaining committed to classroom teaching and professional development that is school and classroom based. Kath’s most recent book ‘The Power of Inquiry” has been described as  “a beautiful and sophisticated read that truly inspires quality teaching.”

 

Kath will be running a one day workshop at AISC 'Inquiry in the Elementary Classroom' as part of the Chapters International Workshops, which will also be advertised to outside educators.

Thank you to all of you who have already signed up - if you haven’t had the chance yet, but are interested in attending, please  indicate your interest via this form.

The cost of this workshop is US$300, and 50% of this will be supported by AISC programmatic funds.  Participants will need to contribute the other US$150 from their own personal PD.

Gift of Time Read-aloud (repeat announcement)

As we offered before winter break, optional times are available here if you would like a guest reader/teacher to come into your class and offer a read aloud or activity for up to 30 minutes. You can use this time for packing or completing other end-of-year tasks during the final week of school. Just sign your name up in the white box under the time you’d like. **PLease only sign up for one block so everyone gets an opportunity first to select a block that suits them!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Keryn and Lori

Friday, May 11, 2018

Dear Faculty,

Happy Friday! A lot of information below…please read carefully as many of your year-end questions can be answered here!

Thank yous! (don’t forget to send us thank yous!)

• Carl, Jet, Kristina, John, Barabara, Leontheen, Jack, Ron and Jane for the ongoing extra lunchtime events
• Dee and Nicole for wrapping up a successful year with student council
• Fer and Vanessa for accommodating visiting potential students
• Amanda, Amritha and Keeley for thorough and detailed observation of a visiting student
• Everyone who welcomed Mary Kelly Bello (new Instructional Coach) during her visit today
• Megha and third grade team for hosting the last Learning Celebration today, and all of the fabulous performers from classes and subjects across the school - wonderful!
• To Seema and Dee for training me in WIDA testing - from Uma

Kath Murdoch, Inquiry Extraordinaire, is coming to AISC for one day only! Friday August 17.

Kath Murdoch is a well known Australian educator who has taught, researched, lectured and published most notably in the field of inquiry based learning, for 30 years. A popular, down to earth consultant, she works with teachers in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and New Zealand while remaining committed to classroom teaching and professional development that is school and classroom based. Kath’s most recent book ‘The Power of Inquiry” has been described as  “a beautiful and sophisticated read that truly inspires quality teaching.” 

Kath will be running a one day workshop at AISC 'Inquiry in the Elementary Classroom' as part of the Chapters International Workshops, which will also be advertised to outside educators.

We have several places reserved for AISC teachers, so if you are interested in attending, please indicate your interest via this form.

The cost of this workshop is US$300, and 50% of this will be supported by AISC programmatic funds.  Participants will need to contribute the other US$150 from their own personal PD.

There will be many opportunities for school supported PD at AISC next year, including Adaptive Schools, Responsive Classroom and also Reading Workshop PD.  Please think this through to plan your year carefully!

MAP Test Make Ups

All make up testing will be done Monday and Tuesday of next week:

Monday from 8:30-10:00 or 10:15-11:30

Tuesday from 8:30-10:00 or  10:15-11:30

This will take place in the learning support room (2136 by the third grade classrooms). Here is the list of students who need to complete make ups. Please decide which day/time you would like students to test, then send them to 2136 with a device; we will have back up devices if a child does not have one. At the very end of the list is a group of students who have missed two or more tests - Lori will email those teachers separately to make decisions about how to proceed.

Responsive Classroom Training
We are offering inhouse training for all TAs and any interested teachers who did not take part in the Responsive Classroom training in February. This allows our whole community to benefit from the Advanced training happening in September.

These dates have been scheduled and we thank homeroom teachers for being accommodating releasing your TA to attend this training, as well as any TA or teacher offering coverage for these blocks. The training will take place in the SHED, dates and times are:

• Friday May 18: 2-4pm  
• Friday May 25: 2-4pm  
• Wednesday May 30: 2-4pm

Faculty involved:

Teachers: Dee, Scott, Megha, Melissa, Jayashree, Sharon

TAs:  Preetika, Preethi, Uma, Adithya, Esther, Sai, Sruthi, Padma, Anitha, Geetha, Za, Steffi, Hannah, Jenisha, Mona, Clinton, Dillip, Radha, Valar

Discovery Studio - Upcoming Challenges

The task for the Challenge Blocks over the next 2 weeks will be to create designer shoes using only newspaper and tape. I have included an example for you to look at.

 

Next, as the DS is very busy at this time of the year I have been noticing people booking the studios over top of other teacher's booking.When booking please double check the time you want to make sure it is free on my calendar or contact me to see if I can fit an extra class in at that the time you want. I will do my best to get anybody in the lab who wants to be there.

Lastly, the DS will be closed on Thursday, May 31st and Friday, June 1st for cleanup. Any free blocks early that week I will be offering a newspaper Designer Hat challenge.

Gift of Time Read-aloud

As we offered before winter break, optional times are available here if you would like a guest reader/teacher to come into your class and offer a read aloud or activity for up to 30 minutes. You can use this time for packing or completing other end-of-year tasks during the final week of school. Just sign your name up in the white box under the time you’d like.

Faculty Meeting - Wednesday 16
For this designated sectional meeting time we will not be coming together as a faculty - please consider this a gift of time to write report cards. A reminder of deadlines for these as well as proofreaders can be found below.  Here is the report card writing style guide for your easy access. If you would prefer to send a sample report card to your proof reader for helpful feedback, please do so well in advance of the deadline!

Wed 16 May	Faculty meeting dedicated to reports (and finishing the IRC survey if need be) ; time could be used for entering proficiency levels or writing narrative comments
By Mon 21  May - 8am	ALL comments complete on google doc and given to proofing buddy **vital step
By Wed 23 May 4pm	Comments  (google doc) due to admin for final proofing
Wed 23 - Mon 28 May	Admin proof reports  (will return as completed)
By Mon 28 May 4pm	All edited comments returned to teachers, can begin entering narratives into PowerSchool
By Wed 30 May 4pm	All report information entered into PowerSchool
Fri 1 June	Reports go live to parents

Proof Readers will remain the same (** specialist teachers please share comments with all proofers listed below)

LSS - Lori

EY3, 4 & 5- Lori

Grade 1 - Sherriden *** Please note a change of proof readers

Grade 2 - Hilary

Grade 3 - Keryn

Grade 4 - Dan

Grade 5 - Alex

Packing up Classrooms & End of Year rituals

• A reminder that we do not visibly pack up classrooms whilst students are still with us.   
• Boxes have been ordered and will be delivered to you towards the end of next week.
• Any boxes packed before the last day - we ask that they are please packed and stored out of the sight of students (in cupboards)
• Student art, displays, notebooks and other work should not be sent home until the last week of school
• Remember we have Saturday 2nd June as a working day to complete any packing, as well as check out
• End of Year check out form can start to be filled out as items are completed (except room sign off which can only happen Saturday 2 June)

Leave Requests

Please note we cannot grant personal leave (or permission) in the last two weeks of school unless in an absolute emergency. Please also be aware that this ‘permission’ leave is to be used sparingly, maximum asks for this should be only once or twice per year. If you are requesting this more than that, please know that personal leave will be applied.

Attending Children's Events

If you are a faculty member with children at AISC and wish to attend events that your child is participating in, please remember to request this well in advance of the event. We understand parents like to support their children, and we will endeavour to accommodate this as much as we can.  

Instructional Time - End of year

Remember be mindful of end of year celebrations to avoid further instructional loss. Instruction should be happening right until the Friday of the last week, and not replaced with screening movies or other non-instructional based activities, including ‘free time’ as we wrap up the year.  

Please know that it is not appropriate to take your class to another grade/classes event.

Graduation 2018

A reminder that the survey to indicate your interest to attend the graduation ceremony is still open. If you plan to attend, please take a moment to indicate how you would like to participate so we can set aside the right number of seats. Thanks! Joelle and Mike.

Hot Weather Policy

Please know that as the weather starts to heat up, we keep an eye on the temperature daily. If at any point it hits 40C we will call to have indoor recess. We try to do this before lunch recess begins, but often the temperature conveniently spikes around lunchtime. Please remember to check emails frequently as it gets hotter, and also share updates you hear with your colleagues.

Marketplace (repeat announcement)

Most of you have met with coaches about this, but here is the presentation as a refresher. If you have any questions about the process, feel free to check in with Rachael.

By Friday, May 18th - Have your closet and classroom cleaned and sorted

May 21st-23rd ONLY - You can take things to the designated spaces.
May 24th-25th - ALL SPACES CLOSED FOR ACCEPTING ITEMS FOR SORTING
May 28th-30th - Come shop the marketplace in the ES CIC!
May 31st - ES CIC Marketplace Closes. Remaining items will be donated.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Keryn and Lori

Firday, May 05, 2018

Dear Faculty,

A short week, but another busy one! If we can pass on one message it is that for the remainder of the next four weeks together, we all need to work together. Please see below regarding bubbling behavior and be ready to intervene or help any student out with reminders, regardless if they are in your class or grade or not.  It really takes a village, and most especially at the end of the year!

Thank yous! (don’t forget to send us thank yous!)

·         Dee and Nicole would like to thank teachers and students for supporting the Toy Drive organized by the ES Student Council. We were able to fill 7 boxes with donated toys, games, and books for the children at The Hope House in Nungambakkam

·         (From Dee) Thank you to the EY 3 and 4 teachers and TAs for helping me out with kitchen logistics this week

·         Thank you to Sweety and Seema (and the Grade 1 team) for being available to administer WIDA for our EY5 EAL students

·         Ron, Linda and teams for working on class placements for next year

·         To third and fourth grade teachers for being flexible with the last minute change of MAP testing

·         All the teachers who participated in #adoptagarden - amazing produce and growth - Amy, Kay, Kristina, Morgen, Ula, Fer, Megha, John, Ross, Janna, Julia

ASIAC Basketball and Swimming will take place here at AISC on Friday and Saturday. Friday morning will be a parade and brief opening ceremony in the courtyard. The parade will begin at 8:30 in the gym and process past the pool on the field side, then go past the library toward the elementary cafeteria, up the staircase near the sand play area to the top floor, then down the central staircase to the courtyard. All are welcome to line the path of the parade to cheer on the athletes and observe the opening remarks at the courtyard. Apologies if this is a disturbance -- the noise should be done by 8:45.

ES teachers - feel free to have your classes line the corridor to cheer on these athletes before assembling in the FAC Theatre for the Learning Celebration.  

Duty Supervision

It is that time of year where the heat and the approaching year-end allows some children to forget our expected code of behaviour.

Let’s work together on this and ensure our section looks, feels and behaves well right up to the last day school!

Please can every Teacher and Teacher Assistant make a concerted effort to enforce our expected behaviours, and be particularly vigilant on duty. Remember, If you are assigned a duty, it is imperative that:

- you are on time

- you are not on your phone, or chatting with other faculty members

- you move around the whole area to be proactively visible for children

- you directly interact with any child who is behaving inappropriately

- you remind children to only walk in corridors or in the cafeterias

Thank you for your vigilant attention to this over the last few weeks of school and for reminding each other to follow these at all times!

Please can every homeroom teacher have a conversation or morning meeting about our expected behaviours in corridors, cafeterias and recess spaces. Thank you!

Responsive Classroom - Part One Training
Watch the space! We have recently purchased the Responsive Teaching discipline in the classroom kit and will be offering a second group training for all returning teacher assistants (and teachers who missed this opportunity!) Teachers; please email Alex directly if you are interested. More information including dates will be shared next week.

Marketplace

Most of you have met with coaches about this, but here is the presentation as a refresher. If you have any questions about the process, feel free to check in with Rachael.

By Friday, May 18th- Have your closet and classroom cleaned and sorted
May 21st-23rd ONLY- You can take things to the designated spaces.
May 24th-25th- ALL SPACES CLOSED FOR ACCEPTING ITEMS FOR SORTING
May 28th-30th- Come shop the marketplace in the ES CIC!
May 31st- ES CIC Marketplace Closes.  Remaining items will be donated.

Have a great weekend!

Keryn & Lori