| |
|
The 2005-06 calendar is now posted on our website
and is also available on the credenza in the front office.
|
|
Welcome to ISM's weekly newsletter for the week of
December 12 - 16, 2005! Please note that the ISM news brief is now available
to ISM families during regular school weeks via our website no later than 7:30 p.m. each Monday (Tuesday, if Monday is a holiday), unless otherwise noted. To request hardcopy notification, please contact Business Administrator / news brief editor Lisa Griffin Burns
at lburns@ismonterey.org
or call at 583-2165.
Please note: Past newsletters can be found
here.
 : Once again, we wanted to remind parents and caregivers that Lisa Wichael-Loomis, our Program Coordinator for the Fresh Lunch and Afterschool International programs is still recuperating at home from appendix surgery. On her behalf, we thank all of you who have expressed your support, either by visiting her in the hospital, offering to help with childcare and food, or contributing financially. This gracious outpouring of support has so helped Lisa and her family through this difficult time!
Ms. Wichael-Loomis is not expected to return to work before the end of the quarter; however, we do anticipate that she will be well enough to be back on campus by Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006. Her responsibility areas are being well covered by an extremely supportive group of staff members, to include Miss Barbara Peters, the Instructional Aid for Grades 5 and 6, who is overseeing the meal program and contributing to the ASI program, as well as Miss Sarah Benbow, Drama instructor and Instructional Aide for Grade 4, who is taking the lead on ASI coordination. Robby Fabry, Miss Kristin Carlyle, and Richard Wagner are also stepping up to the plate to ensure that the afterschool program continues to run smoothly during this time. For those of you who have submitted ASI payments, we are tracking those payments and will be forwarding the paperwork to Ms. Wichael-Loomis upon her return. We would ask that questions regarding either the Fresh Lunch or ASI programs be directed to Business Administrator Lisa Griffin Burns at lburns@ismonterey.org
or call at 583-2165 during Lisa Wichael-Loomis' absence. Thank you!
Please note that due to a Manzanita special breakfast meal on Friday, December 15th, we will not be offering Snack bar that morning. Please remind your child and ensure that they come to school well nourished and have a snack available in their lunch box, if desired.
SPANISH PROGRAM: Additionally, due to a critical family issue, Spanish teacher Moises Santos returned to the Dominican Republic this weekend and he is unlikely to return prior to the end of the quarter. We are pleased that fellow staffers Senor Candia, Senorita Candia, and Miss Anna (Instructional Aide for Kindergarten) will cover his classes for today while we arrange for a Spanish substitute instructor through the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) for the balance of the week. Senor Santos, who provides Spanish instruction for students in Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, 5th/6th, and 7th/8th grades, was able to complete his grades prior to departing, so students in those classes will receive a report card grade for Spanish for this quarter.
: Recently, we were saddened by the passing of actor Pat Morita, who played the beloved character of Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid films and was the voice of the emperor in Mulan. He was a doting ISM grandparent, and his family (daughter Erin Morita Rodda, ISM Development Director and son-in-law Doug Buchanan Rodda, IT volunteer) thanks everyone for their kind wishes. Erin and Doug request that those wanting to help by making a gift or offering a remembrance may do so by making a gift to the ISM Foundation. So that we may notify the Morita / Rodda family, please note that your generous contribution is a gift in memory of Pat Morita. Thank you!
: In a display of unwavering support for ISM, parents Lynn and Don Richardson, parents of Conor (K) and Colby (Gr. 2, Diamond), were willing to serve as co-chairs for last Saturday's work day with just a short amount of advance notice (due to a last minute change). We greatly thank them for their flexibility, especially at this time of year. Joining them to complete six plus tasks on Saturday morning were work day stalwarts Edo Forsythe, Mark Miller, Roger Reed, and Dan Sakoda. Besides helping to beautify the campus through trash collection and sorting through overflowing "lost and found" baskets, this team of five men and one women accomplished the following: painting directional arrows on the monkey bars (to minimize accidents with youngsters traveling in different directions), securing wall panels being stored outside the portables (to avoid their use as skateboard ramps), rebuilding the Afterschool International cubbies, and fixing a broken table leg. Thank you so much! The next Saturday Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, January 14th, 2006 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
: A general election for student government officers was held in the multiuse room today during the lunch periods. 22 candidates were on the ballot for the office of K-4th grade President (open to 3rd & 4th graders only), and 7 upper grade students were competing for the role of student government President (open to 5th - 8th graders only). The position of Vice President will be granted to the student who receives the second highest number of votes for President. All students in grades K-4th had the opportunity to vote for 3rd and 4th grade candidates and only those students in the upper 5th-8th grades voted for the President and Vice President positions. If following today's election, a candidate does not garner 50% of the total vote, a run-off election between the top two candidates will be held on Wednesday, December 14th. We will update this document once the winning officers are determined. Congratulations to all the enthusiastic candidates for their willingness to be students leaders on the ISM campus!
Those who chanced through the ISM multipurpose room last Friday were rewarded with a wonderful learning experience! Under the direction of instructor Sally Burns, her fifth and eighth graders collaborated to sponsor the Colonial Living Museum, which included push buttons to activate each character. Among the characters encountered were a very knowledgeable town crier, Judge John Smith from Salem, a female revolutionary named Deborah Simpson, and a host of artisans with looms, melted wax, flour, and more! The museum was trans-disciplinary, inquiry-based, centered on student choice, and it nicely integrated a service-learning component by educating and engaging younger classes! Many thanks to the fifth and eighth graders for providing this school-wide enrichment experience!
Coordinator Janice Barker and her team of supportive volunteers have now completed assembling the first-ever ISM cookbook....and it looks fabulous! It not only includes 114 sensational recipes, but it also features the beautiful and colorful artwork of eleven ISM students on the front and back covers as well as the divider pages. The cookbook is on sale for $20 which makes it one of the most affordable and useful gifts to buy for friends and loved ones this holiday season. They are available for sale at the Scholastic Book Faire located all this week in the library. Please make checks payable to ISM for this one-of-a-kind recipe book.
:
A. SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIRE - WEEK OF MONDAY, DECEMBER 12TH: Attention, Fair Ladies, Lords, Young Maidens and Knights! Ye Scholastic Book Faire opened its doors today and will be open all week long in our very own ISM library. Prepare thy reading wishes. If great books of wisdom, craft, adventure and entertainment are what you seek, come tarry at the Faire! The Book Faire is a great way to fulfill some holiday wishes for young and old, student and teacher, so plan on stopping by! For more information or to help volunteer, please contact coordinators Janice Barker at 384-552 or Yvette Satchell at 372-7063.
Just a reminder that the library will be closed for the remainder of the quarter! Any students still holding onto outstanding library books needs to return them as soon as possible and no later than Friday, December 16th.
B. WINTER HOLIDAY SHOWCASE - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 6:00 p.m.: This Thursday evening, the ISM campus will be transformed into a holiday wonderland complete with multiple performing venues -- a Main Stage, Garden Stage, and classrooms -- and a wide variety of student entertainment. Staff coordinators Miss Anna, Mr. Dvorak, and Miss Sarah have yet again "thought out of the box" to create this year's show, especially needed due to our larger size and inability to fit as a whole school community in the multiuse room.
Students will have a chance to take part in pre-show rehearsals at this week's assemblies (Tuesday and Thursday mornings); Kindergarten through 5th graders on Tuesday and 6th - 8th graders on Thursday morning. Prior to the show, Miss Anna will be distributing the holiday program to students who are expected to bring the program with them on Thursday evening.
We look forward to seeing our ever-supportive ISM community members on Thursday for what promises to be an evening filled with song, skits, and laughter! Please also plan on visiting the Scholastic Book Fair as well as the "open mike" activity in the classroom pod while on campus. Happy Holidays!
The Volunteer Refreshment Coordinator for our winter program is Christine Colón and together with the other parent event coordinators, Barbara Okamura and Karen Monahan, they are working diligently to facilitate and arrange the myriad behind-the-scenes tasks to ensure a successful event. Christine is requesting donations of finger foods as well as paper napkins for this event. ISM will provide hot beverages, but class donations as listed are much appreciated:
* Kindergarten: Ginger-based contributions, such as gingerbread, ginger cookies, ginger cake, etc.;
* Grade 1: Paper napkins, eggnog, or boxed apple juice;
* Grades 2 - 8: Any holiday favorite, which can be eaten with one's fingers!
We plan on having a lovely selection of food items; however, we highly recommend eating a light meal before coming to the concert, especially as little stomachs will be growling otherwise during the evening's performances.
 :
A. GRADE 4 / WHARTON: FIELDTRIP TO USGS MENLO PARK: MONDAY, JANUARY 19th - 8:20 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The tour of this United States Geological Society will include presentations tailored for a 4th grade audience from a USGS seismologist, volcanologist, and geographer. The students will also be gaining information on the Parkfield, CA earthquake experiment and the San Andreas Fault Observatory.
: Listed below are a few things desired by community members:
1) Halloween Photos: Janice Barker requests that any community members who took photos during our Halloween Festival submit copies of these photos to her for use in the Yearbook. Please submit copies on disk (preferred) or hard copy to Janice's box in the Admin office. Thank you!
2) Printer Cartridges: ISM is now participating in an inkjet cartridge recycling program with the help of a company called Empties4Cash. The empty cartridges that we - as a community - typically throw away can be recycled and remanufactured. We ask that you bring your empty cartridges to school and put them in the collection box in the front office. ISM benefits by getting paid up to $4.00 for each empty inkjet cartridge that has a print head. Acceptable brands include HP, Lexmark, Xerox, Compaq, Brother, Dell, Canon, and Apple; however, Epson print cartridges cannot be accepted as they are produced without a print head. If possible, please submit cartridges either in their original packaging or a Ziploc bag to keep it safe from damages and spills. Thank you! If anyone is interested in heading this project as the volunteer coordinator, please contact Lisa Griffin Burns.
|
