Dear Parents,

We’ve been busy at ISD, with the faculty attending professional development courses on campus. The French department spent time looking at the best current practice in writing and presenting curriculum with Danielle Doussaud, while the majority of the faculty attended Tim Burns’ workshop on enhancing the brain’s capacity. Among other things, it was fascinating learning the latest research about brain functions and how techniques involving basic quick exercises can help rejuvenate tired minds. He also spoke about issues involving excess “screen time”, healthy eating, play, sleep and many other areas we need to focus on in the Elementary School regarding wellness. You can learn more at: www.timburnseducare.com.

Also, from Monday, Grades 2-8 will be taking the MAP tests. Please see the separate Jag Journal article for more on this.

With regard to our main event next week, we are preparing for our Open House on Wednesday, September 22. This is an opportunity for you to meet your child’s class teacher, see their homeroom, hear about the curriculum and speak to other class parents. Open House is for parents only.

You will be able to pick up a brochure on the evening, but the running order is as follows:

17:30-17:50: Welcome and Introduction – Gym

17:55-18:15: Session 1 – Homeroom

18:20-19:05: Specialist sessions: opportunity to visit Art, Music, French, PE, Technology, ELL teachers

19:10-19:30: Session 2 – Homeroom: this session is for parents who cannot make it to session 1

19:30-20:00: Refreshments

There will also be help available with Focus, in the tech lab, if you would like to update your contact information, etc.

In order to help make your evening run more smoothly, I have listed the homeroom, special and assistant teachers below. You may wish to check with your child as to which of the specialist teachers they visit during the week.

Marjorie Miller	Pre K3/Learning Support
Dede Kongo	Pre K3 Assistant
Linda Bocharie	Pre K4
Mamadou Traore	Pre K4 Assistant
Gina Barker	Kindergarten B
Mercy Hoffman	Kindergarten B Assistant
Karen Sheaffer	Kindergarten S
Sedi Atiase	Kindergarten S Assistant
Jennifer Te Huki	Grade 1T
Asiya Mashori	Grade 1T Assistant
Noah Balazs	Grade 1B
Kim Rochette	Grade 1B Assistant
Shelly Stein	Grade 2S
Crystal Thomas	Grade 2T
Marieme Mullie Mbaye	Grade 2 Assistant
Sarah Clark	Grade 3C
Darren Donauer	Grade 3D
Niassa Harris Henry	Grade 3 Assistant
Jasmeen Philen	Grade 4P
Celeste Mason	Grade 4M
Jenn Kellett	Grade 5K
Patrick Ramsay	Grade 5R
Abdoulaye Ndione	Grades 4 – 5 Assistant
Nathalie Audibert	French:
Rebecca Desvaux	French
Maryelle Faye	French
Audrey Stavrevitch Keita	French
Els Sueters	E.L.L
Amelia Drummond	E.L.L Assistant
Lisa Emborsky	Learning Support/Curriculum
Dominique Diaby	Grades 2, 4 & 5 Art
Kelly Valdmanis	Grades K, 1 & 3
Rebecca Brink	Grades 4 – 5 Music
Nathan Fuhr	Grades K – 3 Music
Gaucher Kadam	Pre 3, Pre 4, 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 P.E
Jodie Roderick	Pre 4 & Kindergarten P.E
Chantal Gesland	Tech Integration
Roxann Siegel	Library
Jacqueline Dieye	Library Assistant
Rebecca Amin	Library Assistant
Stephanie Mbengue	Nurse

We look forward to seeing you at Open House, as this gives us a great opportunity to talk about the work of the year and outline our goals for the class. It is of so much value to your children to continue to build these home/school connections.