Dear ISD Families, Open House - September 1, 2016 This coming Thursday! Start in the gym at 5:30 PM. We have lots of exciting things happening on campus! Hooray for swimming! Mr. Bowler & 5th grade! PTO The next PTO meeting is scheduled for September 7th at 8:30 AM in the conference room. Typically, this will be the regular time for Coffee with Ms. Kelly and so I will bring coffee for the PTO meeting. I am hopefully we will have a good turnout since our co-chairs are stepping down. We need organize new leadership. We have lots of important work to do and it takes a village! Recess Our students are doing a great job getting along on the playground. They are being respectful, responsible, and safety. Thanks Ms. Pam and all of our teachers and teacher assistants for helping our kids so we can practice strong SEL skills on the playground before, during, and after school! Parent Book Group Parent Book Group: Parents are invited to participate in a book group that meets 3 times over three months at 8:30 am on Tuesday mornings. The first book we will be reading is, UnSelfie-Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All About Me World, by Michelle Borba, Ed.D If you are interested in participating in the book group please use this link, CLICK HERE to learn more about the book and to also provide your name and email address. We hope to have our first meeting in late September. ASA After School Activities for the Elementary School will begin on September 5, 2016 and finish on November 4, 2016. Registration will be ONLINE beginning on Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 9:00am. Yes, that’s tomorrow! To register, go to the ASA page through Jag Journal. If you have any questions regarding sports or after school activities, please contact Eric Rodine at ericr@faculty.isd.sn Tabaski ISD’s Elementary School will be supporting our support staff workers by collecting donations of food for Tabaski. Please know that this is optional on your part, but we hope that many of our families will assist us by providing at least some of the food items. Please send the food items to your child’s homeroom teacher no later than Monday, September 5th. Thanks for your generosity!
Music Group for 4th and 5th Graders This year, we have a unique opportunity to invite some of our 4th and 5th grade students to participate in Band. ISD’s music department will be organizing music after school on Wednesdays. There are instruments available to rent (rental fees will cover yearly maintenance). If your child would like to learn to play an instrument or would like to better his or her skills, please join Ms. Janel for a meeting in the elementary music room at 5:00 pm prior to Open House on September 1, 2016. Janel will provide you with detailed information about our new after school music program. The program is geared towards 4th to 8th grade students. This program will be offered as an ASA. If you have any questions, please contact me, Ms. Kelly, at: kellych@faculty.isd.sn
I really enjoyed meeting with so many of you last Wednesday and I hope you will return this Wednesday and bring your friends! This is an opportunity for us to get to know one another and to talk about things happening in and around the school. There is no formal agenda. Coffee will be provided! Fire drill Next week, your child will participate in this year’s first fire drill. Students will practice moving to a safe place in case of an emergency. The teachers will explain the procedures to the students ahead of time so that they are prepared but in the future, some drills will not be announced so that the experience is more like a real emergency. MAP Assessments MAP Assessments for our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will be held September 19th through the 21st. MAP stands for Measured Academic Performance and it is a great tool for us to evaluate your child’s math and literacy abilities. The test is “computer adaptive”, which means that the test is designed to meet the child at his/her ability and progress from there. So, if a child is struggling, the questions become easier and if the child is doing well, the questions become more difficult. This allows us to get a true measure. We use the tests to inform our instruction. Mid year, we will take the test again and evaluate progress. The final test at year’s end provides an excellent summative evaluation of your child’s growth on a variety of skills. Please talk to your children about the importance of doing their best. In the past, second graders also took this test but we have found that second graders could benefit from a few practice assessments before the actual test. For many of them, this is the first computer adaptive test they have ever taken. It is important for them to learn how to actually maneuver on the keyboard and to utilize the many tools and resources within the test itself. This year, second grade will take two practice assessments that are actually designed by the MAP Organization to teach children how to take the assessment. At the end of the year, 2nd graders will join their older peers so that we can have one evaluation at the end of 2nd grade to give us a baseline and comparative data for use in September when the students return. Healthy Snacks! Thank you for improving your child’s engagement by providing only healthy snacks! Your kids do so much better when their brains are ready to learn. Let’s avoid those sugary snacks - they only make your child tired and less engaged. Let’s avoid the chips and sodas too. I encourage you to send healthy foods and water to support your child’s learning! Library Parents - Come to the library and sign up for your own library membership (we have books for adults as well as magazines & educational videos AND come to the library with your children -- before or after school and especially on Saturdays when we are open 11am-3 pm. Check out these amazing first graders, Divna and Ian, as they read responsibly! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding ISD Elementary School. I am always happy to help! Up Coming Events Aug 31: 8:30 Coffee with Ms. Kelly - Conference Room 8:30 AM Sept 1: Open House 5:30 - 8PM Sept 14: Coffee with Ms. Kelly - Conference Room 8:30 AM Kelly Chumrau Elementary School Principal- International School of Dakar, Senegal, DAKAR +221 - 33 825 0871 Ex 103 |
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