WEEKLY NEWS BRIEF FOR
MONDAY, August 15, 2005

Welcome to ISM's first weekly newsletter of the 2005 - 06 academic year, covering the week of August 15 - 19, 2005. Please note that the ISM news brief is distributed to ISM families primarily via email, unless otherwise requested, thereby saving time and money. To request hardcopy notification, please contact Business Administrator / editor Lisa Griffin Burns at lburns@ismonterey.org or call at 583-2165.

1. WELCOME TO ISM!! We are proud to be entering our fifth year of operation, now offering our unique brand of inquiry-based and internationally-minded curriculum here at the scenic Manzanita campus to Kindergarten through Grade 8 families from throughout the greater Monterey Peninsula and Salinas! As a school community, we look quite different this year. We will have 304 students at full enrollment (ten spots are currently pending due to late parent notification), of which 125 are new to ISM! Additionally, 16 new staff members have been added to the roster to support our more than 35% growth this year. It is our primary goal of this initial parent communiqué for the 2005-06 school year to welcome both our returning and new families to ISM for what we promise will be an engaging and rewarding year. As many of you have often heard us say, the success that ISM staff and students are able to achieve correlates directly with the consistent efforts, feedback, suggestions, and positive attitudes of our wonderful parent base. We look forward to your continued support this year as well.

2. INTRODUCTION OF CLASSROOM AND ADMINISTRATIVE NEW STAFF Our 16 new staff members are a diverse and talented group, joining ISM from stateside and international assignments! We are excited to introduce each of them to the ISM community via a photo (courtesy of parent volunteer Richard Herbert) and brief bio. Today's news brief will highlight the fulltime classroom instructors and the new administrative additions, while next week, we will complete the introductions with the new Specialist teachers and the Instructional Aides. Despite our growth challenging our "small school" goals of knowing each student's names and each staffperson's name and position, we believe these goals are critical to creating strong community ties and want to continue to apply them this year. So our classroom and admin staff additions as follows:

A. GRADE 1 (ROOM 23) - MISS MARY BASU: Following up on a two year assignment at the Concordian International School in Bangkok, Thailand, Mary joins our staff ready to apply her International Baccalaureate (IB) and PYP experience with her first graders here at ISM. She holds a Masters of Arts in Elementary Education and her expertise is with K - 2 students. Welcome, Miss Basu!

B. GRADE 2 (ROOM 21) - MISS BRIDGET SWEENEY: Bridget, like her colleagues above, has also returned from overseas, specifically Germany, to join the ISM staff. For the previous two academic years, Bridget has taught Grade 2 at the International School Hannover Region. She, too, comes equipped with PYP experience plus previous teaching engagements in Rome and Turin, Italy. Like our Executive Director / Head of School, Mrs. Jahn, she shares a passion for swimming, having served as a Head Swim Coach in Virginia. Perhaps she will create a unique SEM (Schoolwide Enrichment Model - See item # 3 below) based on her swimming background. Welcome, Miss Sweeney!

C. GRADE 3 (ROOM 6) - MISS DEVON SIGMAN: A graduate of the rigorous Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, Devon also holds an Elementary Education certificate from her home state and is known to be a challenging "ultimate Frisbee" player. Another potential SEM class??? We will just have to wait and see! She has previous multi-age teaching experience at the Aurora School in Middlebury in which she created, implemented, and assessed curriculum for Grades 2 - 6. In addition to Japanese language study, she has also lived abroad for a year, gaining exposure to life abroad and furthering her appreciation of foreign cultures. Welcome, Mss Sigman!

D. GRADE 4 (PORTABLE 3) - MRS. CARYN ST. GERMAIN: In a coup of sorts, we successfully wooed Caryn, the former Miss Pogojeff, from her post as Grade 1 instructor at neighboring Ord Terrace Elementary School in Seaside where she has taught for several years. She holds a Multiple Subject teaching credential in California and is an accomplished linguist who speaks four languages, French, Japanese, Spanish, and Russian! Her career prior to becoming a classroom teacher was as an International Tour Coordinator and operator, which allowed her to pursue her passion for foreign travel. Caryn is pleased to be at ISM and excited to be back in an internationally centered environment. Welcome, Mrs. St. Germain!

E. GRADE 8 (PORTABLE 6) - MR. DAVID BRANDAU: David and his wife, Laetitia (bio to follow next week), relocated to Monterey this summer from the Sudan where they both were employed at the Khartoum American School (KAS), David as Math and Science teacher and Laeticia as an Instructional Aide. During David's three-year tenure at KAS, he taught calculus, algebra, pre-algebra, and general science for seventh through twelfth grade students. His professional experience also includes serving as an America READS coordinator and separately, as a Peace Corps volunteer/teacher in Ghana in the late 90's. We are pleased to have David on board and he is sure to dramatically strengthen math and science rigor at the Middle School level this academic year. Welcome, Mr. Brandau!

F. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT - MS. KAREN KUSHEL: After last year during which phenomenal parent volunteers manned the front office, we are thrilled to welcome Karen Kushel as our new fulltime Administrative Assistant. One of our goals was to hire someone with savvy computer and customer service skills who could "hit the ground running" which is exactly what Karen has achieved during her first week on the job! She has a wealth of administrative and coordination experience, most recently on behalf of the Sea Otter Classic special event, which she supported during her time as a stay-at-home mom. She is now a 3-time parent of ISM with a son, Cameron, in 3rd grade and twin daughters, Tara and Jenna, in Kindergarten. To quote Karen: "She is so happy to be working at ISM since she's a little too old to attend as a student!" Welcome, Ms. Kushel!

G. COUNSELOR - DR. NELI VOLANTE: Possessing an extensive professional resume in the field of academic counseling and private practice, Neli is a welcome addition to our ISM staff! In prior years, existing staff assessed the need for at least a part-time counselor to address the variety of student discipline and counseling issues we faced, so wishes really do come true as Dr. Volante is committed fulltime to proactively serving our school community. Prior to coming to Monterey, she operated a private practice in Arizona as a counselor / psychotherapist in which she worked with K-12 students referred to her by three area school districts. Historically, she has been drawn to "start up" operations and she excels at implementation of new programs within those start-ups. Sounds like a perfect organizational fit and based on her willingness during our orientation week to crawl around the MPUSD district warehouse helping to secure furniture for our new classrooms, she is a believer in "no job too big, no job too small! Welcome, Dr. Volante!

Stay tuned for more staff bios next week! At that time, we will focus on the remaining new staff members who teach other core classes as well as the essential team of Instructional Aides who assist classroom teachers and provide Early Morning Drop-off, playground, and recess care. Stay tuned for the following staff bios: SPANISH - Senôr Moses Santos, DRAMA & INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE, GRADE 4 - Miss Sarah Benbow, MUSIC - Mrs. Natalie Sarrazin, MATH (GRADES 5 & 7) - Mrs. Nichol Madden, INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE, GRADES 1 - Mrs. Laetitia Brandau, INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE, GRADES 3 - Ms. Cheri Sistek, INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE, GRADES 5 & 6 - Ms. Barbara Peters, and INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE, GRADES 7 & 8 - Mr. Robby Fabry.

3. CALL FOR SCHOOLWIDE ENRICHMENT MODEL (SEM) PARENT VOLUNTEERS: Excitement levels are rising as the kick-off for the first session of our SEM program gets underway beginning Friday, August 26 - September 30, 2005. SEM classes are offered to all of our students, Grades Kindergarten through 8, and are provided by staff, committed parent volunteers, and community members offering a full range of hands-on, experiential opportunities, such as Taiko Drumming, Hiking, Swimming, Jewelry Making, Spanish Dance, Kickball, Volleyball, Chocolate Making, just to name a few. In order to make this first session a success, we are requesting parent support to offer classes. We are specifically looking for a parent who is a certified lifeguard or rescue diver or water safety instructor to assist Mr. D with a surfing class. Sounds exciting? If so, step forward to offer a class. Contact Curriculum Coordinator Steve Carber at scarber@ismonterey.org

4. CURRICULUM MATTERS BY CURRICULUM COORDINATOR, DR. STEVE CARBER: Warm greetings to the 2005-06 school year! In my new role as full-time curriculum coordinator, I hope to offer regular newsletter articles to keep you abreast of curriculum developments. During staff development week prior to the start of school, teachers and I reviewed principles of teaching for understanding (a la Howard Gardner), as well as inquiry-based instruction. We also reviewed, and continue to review the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and the similarities and differences with our Middle School program. I have a great article here in my office about inquiry and understanding which I invite interested parents to come and peruse. This week I have prioritized, among other things, a vertical and horizontal chart of thematic units throughout the school for the 2005-06 academic year; our staff is going to be looking at these with a goal of further improving articulation between and within grade levels. On a final note, I would like to offer a "plug" for a generous parent who is donating a lot of time to bring a wonderful kinesthetic learning experience to many classes, Dr. Eric Shaffer, who is teaching exercises from the Chinese Martial art of Chi Gong, and would be keen to hear from you to organize further tutorials for interested parties. Oh, and on a final-final note, check out www.internationalprimarycurriculum.com if you have not already looked!

This section is for news from the ISM Foundation.

1. FAMILY FAIR SHARE PROGRAM: The ISM Foundation congratulates everyone on a smooth start-up to the school year! Welcome to new families, and thank you to all families who have already contributed to the ISM Family Fair Share Program. Family Fair Share is ISM's way to share the added costs of the exceptional curriculum offered at our school. This year and every year, our aim is for 100% participation from families. You can imagine how powerful it is to state to our prospective funders (foundations and businesses) that we receive financial support from every single family at our school. Please help ISM to achieve that goal. Make your checks payable to ISM Foundation, and deposit them in the black drop box in the front office this week. Every dollar helps our school!

This section is for non-ISM activities and events of interest to our school community. If you have an activity that you are supporting and wish to share with the ISM Community, please submit details on the news item to Erin by the Thursday prior to the week when you would like to see the item appear. You can bring your items into the office in hard copy, or you can email them to Erin at emorita@ismonterey.org.

1. ALBA ORGANICS AT ISM: A Great Deal, and Healthy, Too! Community Service Agriculture Program Offers Organic Produce Subscriptions to ISM Families

ISM is beginning a cooperative relationship with a local organization called ALBA Organics, which is a program of the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association based out of Watsonville. For more information on this great local agency, please see their website at www.albafarmers.org.

As an immediate benefit of this new association, ISM is becoming a drop-off point for ALBA's community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, where small organic farmers sell their produce directly to individuals through a subscription service. ALBA will make a delivery of fresh produce to ISM every Thursday. Subscribers receive a box every week, marked with their name, containing nine or more different kinds of vegetables and fruits in season, all organically grown (without pesticides, antibiotics or hormones). Seasonal selections means you get everything at their greatest abundance (which keeps the subscription prices down) and the height of flavor.

ISM community members, neighbors and friends are all invited to participate in this program. All ALBA produce is organic, and proceeds support the ALBA training program and farm, and participating local small organic farmers. The subscription rates are as follows (Note: There is a reduced rate for families with annual incomes of $30,000 or less.):

Here is how you join:

1. You call ALBA directly, at 831/758-5958, and ask for Dina, to subscribe at the level of your preference. They will bill you.
2. Notify them that you are a member of the ISM community, and will wish to receive your box as a part of the ISM delivery. Any unclaimed boxes left at the school are donated to ISM, as they are perishables. If you do not wish to have your box delivered to school, there are additional drop-off points in Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel Valley, Salinas, Boulder Creek, Stanford University and the East Bay.

During the school year, ALBA Organics will help ISM in the following ways: 1) work with teachers and ISM volunteer gardeners to develop a year-round food garden on campus that aids in teachings the natural sciences and the life of seasons; 2) work with our amazing food service provider, Lisa Wichael-Loomis, to develop a nutritious menu that includes items from the garden, giving the students the opportunity to eat what they have grown; 3) provide presenters from ALBA to talk about nutrition, how food is grown and how it finds its way to your table; 4) offer age- and curriculum- appropriate tours of their farms and greenhouses for classes of all ages; 5) come to speak to parents about the importance of nutrition and how to pack more nutrition into our diets without inconvenience or added cost; and more.

ISM is excited about this new cooperative relationship. We encourage you to call today and sign up to eat healthy tasty organic fruits and vegetables from ALBA Organics. For more information, call ALBA at 831-758-9598, or ask Erin Morita-Rodda in the front office for a pamphlet. So if you are interested in having fresh, seasonal, locally-grown organic produce, call right away!

2. MATH*ABILITY: MATH*Ability is a self-paced program focusing on arithmetic fundamentals. Lessons consist of 7-14 sheets of exercises. Your child completes these exercises, then comes in each weekend to take a short test and receive the next set of materials. MATH*Ability is offered at ISM on Saturday mornings, 10AM-11AM in the library. The fee for the program is $50. For more information, please call 888-848-1414.