| |
|
The 2005-06 calendar is posted on our website
and is also available on the credenza in the front office. The 2006-07 calendar is being finalized now and will be available shortly.
|
|
Welcome to ISM's weekly newsletter for the week of
April 10 -14, 2006! 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.
A. KINDERGARTNER RECUPERATING AT HOME FOLLOWING FALL ON FRIDAY: Last Friday during the K-2 recess, Kindergartner Conor R. apparently fell from the monkey bars on the upper playground and broke his right arm. Thanks to the swift intervention of Julie Livingston's father, Chuck, and Barbara Okamura, Tanner's (Gr. 1) mom, both of whom are nurses, the severity of the injury was most likely minimized. Injuries of this nature can often be quite serious, typically involving nerve and blood vessel damage. Luckily, Conor was spared this outcome. Paramedics were called and he was transported to CHOMP where he underwent surgery that evening to reset his arm bones and place support pins. He is recuperating at home now, is expected to be fitted with a cast on Thursday, and possibly return to school on Friday. We send Conor many wonderful wishes for a speedy recovery and look forward to signing his cast once he comes back to school!
B. STUDENT TEACHER JESSICA BAXTER COMPLETES INTERNSHIP AT ISM: On a happier note, we congratulate Ms. Jessica Baxter for successfully completing her four-week student teacher internship this past Friday with Sally Burns and ISM's Grade 5 class! Prior to the Spring Recess, Jessica, who is aunt to 2nd grader Jessica H., assisted in the classroom, garnering further knowledge prior to leading curriculum instruction for 5th graders for the past two weeks. Expected to graduate this June 2006 from Chapman University with her CA Multiple Subject Credential (CLAD), Jessica is moving on this week to another student teaching assignment and we wish her the best of luck. Jessica is well positioned to be a grand addition to the teaching profession and we were happy to have her on campus since early March. Good luck, Jessica!
The 2005 Academic Performance Index (API) scores for area schools/school districts were published in the March 22nd edition of the Monterey County Herald. Listed under MPUSD schools, the International School of Monterey was notable for achieving an index score of 844 (out of 1000), the second highest score within the district behind La Mesa Elementary with an 855. To interpret this score, based on S.T.A.R. tests taken last Spring by ISM 2nd - 7th graders, we have to step back and consider the grade levels of the schools for last academic year. ISM was a K-7 school for 2004-05, while La Mesa was and still is a K-6. The next highest score of 829 belongs to Bay View Elementary, also a K-6 entity, while the lower index scores for the K-8 schools of Colton and King Middle Schools were 789 and 643, respectively. The score closest to that of ISM's is an 841 for Marshall Elementary, a K-5. What does all this mean? That ISM was uniquely situated as a K-7 school last year and a one-to-one evaluation with the index scores of the schools listed above is not feasible. Our statewide ranking of "9" reflects that our students are performing well above the state average and our score of 844 indicates that we have exceeded the statewide performance target of 800. Typically, other public schools spend an inordinate amount of time preparing their students for "success" on these standardized state tests, while ISM students are introduced to the process of test-taking (bubbling in answers, strategies of elimination, etc.) the week or so prior, but overall, students are able to continue "learning for understanding" within our international curriculum and still score strongly on these assessment tests. Congrats to our staff and students for this successful outcome!
:
A. THIRD GRADERS EXPLORE THE OUTER SPACE ABYSS : As Mr. D and Ms. Sigman's third grade classes dive into their last unit of the year, entitled "The Abyss", they will be participating in a number of relevant activities and fieldtrips and will be hosting a few guest speakers. The first "abyss" they will be exploring is outer space. Today (4/10/06), they will be taking a "space walk" along Yosemite Street to get a feel for how VAST outer space really is! On Friday, April 14th (correction), both classes will view the night sky through different types of telescopes at the Fremont Peak Observatory located in Fremont Peak State Park, San Juan Bautista. [Note: This observatory is open to the public for viewing and educational programs from April through October on Saturday evenings that do not include a full moon (usually three Saturdays each month). When the summer fog rolls in from Monterey Bay and covers the lights of Hollister and Gilroy, the skies above Fremont Peak are as dark and star-filled as any place to be found within 100 miles of the San Francisco Bay area.]
This fieldtrip follows a presentation on Thursday, April 13th (correction) by a docent from the Fremont Observatory discussing how telescopes work. Additionally, a docent from the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy will be visiting the class Thursday, April 27th to discuss the possibilities of landing a human on Mars and the types of tools that would allow this feat to be accomplished. To wind up this out-of-this-world unit, the students will be going to the Hartnell Planetarium in a few weeks time; more details to follow.
B. TOD SPEDDING, GRADE 6 INSTRUCTOR RETURNS FROM NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE: He writes: "I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the National Science Teachers' Association National Conference in Anaheim over the last four days (Thursday, April 6th - Sunday, April 9th). It was terrific! Over 1800 sessions were offered in three and a half days, held at the Anaheim Convention Center and four adjacent hotels. Jean Michel Cousteau, Jacques Cousteau's son, gave a keynote speech, and highlighted his new film series, currently airing on PBS (continuing this summer/fall with four more episodes). Have you seen the Discovery Channel series, MythBusters? The two hosts were wandering around the exhibiters' hall on Saturday, and presented a session on Saturday night. I attended a panel discussion focusing on the recent intelligent design-centered court case in Dover, PA. Several of the plaintiffs (three high school science teachers), their ACLU lawyer, and three of their experts providing testimony were present. Very interesting!
I also attended sessions ranging from nanotechnology, the use of catapults to teach physics, and the science of stinky socks, to discussions on the nature of inquiry (from the perspective of the National Science Education Standards), and science education in the 21st century. I chatted with the Chair of the Education Department at Brown, the Executive Directors of BSCS, and the California Chapter of NSTA. Cool, eh?
By Saturday morning, Day Three, however, many participants, including myself, were looking/feeling pretty wiped out, and glassy-eyed. It would take a full day just to meet all the exhibitors. Representatives from groups like NASA, NOAA, USGS, SETI, NSF, KQED, NIH, RSVP, etc., were all there in force, along with every science-related institute, publisher, and manufacturer in existence, or so it seemed. Even Seacamp (an oceanographic science camp in the Florida Keys) was represented. (I attended Seacamp for a couple of summers thirty-plus years ago!)
I was, truly, a kid in a candy store!"
As many of you noted in last Monday's meeting before the MPUSD board, it is just this type of hands-on, in-depth exposure to a theme, augmented by fieldtrips and knowledgeable speakers -- as mentioned in Item #3A above -- that contributes to ISM's success as a unique learning environment within a public school context. We wanted to express our sincere thanks to the more than 40 parents and staff who came out to attend this important milestone meeting before the MPUSD School Board and to the 20+ community members who enthusiastically and passionately voiced their support of our international curriculum and our ongoing operation for another five years. From a staff perspective, whether a new staff member joining us just this year or a veteran staffer from Year 1, it was heartwarming to hear the variety of reasons why our clientele, i.e., our students and parents, are so supportive of our efforts and were willing to share this feedback with School Board members. Monday's meeting was the public hearing for our renewal and it is not until the Monday, May 1st meeting that a decision is likely re: our charter renewal application for Grades K-8 for 2006-2011. Once again, that meeting will be at the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District's (MPUSD) Board of Trustees' Chambers at the Instructional Materials Center, located at 540 Canyon Del Rey. We will confirm details as time gets closer.
Last Tuesday (4/4/06) marked the deadline for completion of ISM's individual accreditation report sections. As of today, the ISM administration began compiling all of the report sections into a single document, as required by the joint agencies of the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Each report section consists of these major parts: a factual description of the given area of the school (supported by supplementary documents filed in an accompanying binder), a rubric in which the area of the school is weighed against accreditation standards, and a statement of conclusions consisting of strengths, areas in need of strengthening, and suggestions for improvement. Many thanks to all of the committees who have completed their report sections. We look forward to an accreditation team visit, scheduled for Saturday, September 30th through Friday, October 6th, 2006. We can expect a team of about 12 people to visit the school during these times, and now is a good time for any helpful community members to step forward and plan team lunches and such!
The 2005 -2006 yearbook is in process of being created! As it is a parent-driven enterprise, volunteers are definitely needed to help with the creation of the yearbook, especially informal page layouts per each grade. We currently have a layout matrix and the formal pages have been completed. The total number of pages for this year's yearbook has doubled, which consequently influences the cost / purchase price of the book. At this writing, the cost is approximately $30/book; however, the final cost will be determined shortly.
The schedule / due dates for the yearbook is as follows:
Friday, 4/28/06: Artwork from Classes are due (memo going out to staff)
Friday, 5/5/06: Final layout pages due to Editor, Richard Herbert (yearbook box)
Friday, 5/5/06: Ads and dedications due to Co-Editor, Janice Barker (in her mailbox)
Monday, 5/22/06: Final layout due to Printer (still to be determined)
Wednesday, 5/24/06: Final Proof due to ISM from Printer
Friday, 6/2/06: Final yearbooks due to ISM from printer
Week of 6/5/06: Anticipated Yearbook Distribution
Anyone interested in yearbook production, please attend our next meeting on Wednesday, April 12th at 2:00 p.m. in the multi use room and/or contact yearbook staff members (Janice Barker at 384-5524 or barkerjf1@sbcglobal.net , Richard Herbert at 392-1024 or richard@fathomsdeep.com , or Leora Sanchez at 444-8979 or lr.sanchez@sbcglobal.net ) as soon as possible.
As per last year, Dedication pages will be available for sale. Parents will once again have the opportunity to send a special dedication to their child(ren) and students may send a dedication to a fellow classmate or teacher. Likewise, teachers may also reserve dedication space for their students or colleagues, or local businesses might want to place an ad in our yearbook. Order forms and ad costs will be available later this week. Thank you! The Talented Yearbook Staff
Karen Kushel, ISM's Administrative Assistant, wrote an email on this topic last week and it's worth repeating here: Please by aware that the Seaside Police have been actively coming on campus recently and issuing parking tickets for illegally parked cars. They are especially concerned with improper parking in handicap spots, which carry a hefty fine, if caught. Additionally, they are targeting cars parked along the red curb, a habit frequently displayed by Manzanita parents. Do not follow their lead or your pocketbook could pay the price. Please pay special attention to the parking spot you choose when coming to the campus or it may be an expensive trip!
: Increasing our roster by four, last Tuesday (4/4/06) the Dolphins resurfaced on the Monterey Sports Center court with a team comprised of Robby Fabry, Diane Gsell, Chrissie Jahn, Tod Jones, Nikki Madden, Craig Novak, Bob Oliver, Bridget Sweeney, Chantel Touryan, and Peter Yan. Although improved, the team battled out two games against the "CHOMP Disorderlies" team with set scores of: 16:25 and 15:25. This week's game again takes place Tuesday, April 11th at 7:15 p.m. at the Monterey Sports Center against the "CHOMP Biohazards". Cheerleaders are definitely welcome!
:
A. GRADE 3 / DVORAK & SIGMAN: FIELDTRIP TO FREMONT PEAK OBSERVATORY: FRIDAY, APRIL 10th - Nighttime outing
B. GRADE K / REIMER & TURNER: FIELDTRIP TO SEASIDE FIRE DEPT: THURSDAY , APRIL 20th - 9:05 a.m. until TBD.
:
A. YEARBOOK PLANNING MEETING - Wednesday, April 12th, 2:00 p.m., Multiuse room
A. APRIL SATURDAY WORK DAY - Saturday, April 15th, 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
B. EARTH DAY CELEBRATION AT ISM - Friday, April 21st Instructional Aides Miss Barbara and Miss Anna have arranged a day-long celebration of Earth Day for this Friday. Students throughout the school will take part in a series of four environmentally related stations according to the following schedule: Grades K-2 in the morning from 9:45 to 11 a.m., while Grades 3-8 will participate from 12:25 - 2 p.m. Both groups will enjoy a Schoolwide potluck picnic lunch on the lower playground and blacktop. We would love to have parent volunteer help with the day's events. As per our regular schedule, SEM classes will convene from 2 - 3:20 p.m. Contact either Miss Barbara or Miss Anna for more information or to volunteer to help.
C. SPRING SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR - Friday, April 24th through Friday, April 28th In conjunction with our first 2006 Spring Arts Concert (see below), we will holding our Scholastic Book Fair from 4/21 - 28/06 in the ISM library. According to Coordinator Janice Barker, the fair will be open at the following days and times: Monday, 4/24 from 8 to 8:45 a.m. and 3 - 5:45 p.m.; Tuesday, 4/25 8 to 8:45 a.m., 11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and 3 - 5:45 p.m.; Wednesday, 4/26 from 8 to 8:45 a.m. and 3 - 5:45 p.m.; Thursday, 4/27 from 8 to 8:45 a.m., 3 - 5:45 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. until the end of the Concert; and Friday 4/28 from 8 to 8:45 a.m., 11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and 3 - 5:45 p.m. followed by the packing up of the fair. Thank you, Janice for coordinating this event again as the Book Fair always benefits ISM classrooms and the library itself with an influx of donated books!
D. REVISED DATES FOR SPRING ARTS CONCERTS - Thursday, April 27th, 6:30 p.m. for Grades 5-8 AND (revised) Thursday, May 11th, 6:30 p.m. for Grades K-4: (originally scheduled for Thursday, April 20th) Given that we have over 300 students attending ISM this year, we will be hosting two Spring concerts this year, with the earlier date highlighting the student drama and music performances by 5th - 8th grade students, while the REVISED later date will feature Kindergarten - 4th graders in addition to an Instrumental music program performance. The evenings' entertainment is being coordinated by staffers Miss Sarah Benbow (Drama) and Miss Natalie Sarrazin (Music) who have whipped up an array of musical pieces and drama skits unlike what we have seen to date. Please mark your calendars for one or both of these concert dates, depending on the grade of your child or children. We apologize for any inconvenience related to the schedule change for the K-4 concert. It was needed based on a recent schedule conflict that could not be amended.
E. BIG SUR SCHOOLS 5K - Race Date: Sunday, April 30th & Race Time: Promptly at 7:40 a.m.: ISM students and parent / community supporters have participated in this event since our first year (2001-2002) and we have received prize money based on our participation level each year. This year we have put together another impressive team of 192 participants! What a track record, literally! This event is co-sponsored by KION News 46 and presented by CHOMP, the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. The 5K Walk is an untimed, non-competitive event designed to promote fitness, build school community partnership, and serve as a potential fundraiser for school groups. The starting place for the "race" is Highway 1 at Rio Road adjacent to the Crossroads Shopping Center, Carmel. Plan on arriving at this location by 7:15 a.m. to find parking, which is generally available in the Crossroads itself. REMINDER: NO WHEELS, PETS, OR CHILDREN UNDER FIVE ALLOWED ON THE COURSE. Awards will be given in youth and adult age divisions as well as three cash awards ranging from $1000 to $500 for (1) Highest Number of Participants (for 250 students or more) or (2) Highest Number of Participants as a Percentage of Enrollment (250 students or more). This is the first time that ISM will be competing at this larger enrollment level. Following Sunday's event, plan on staying to view the post-5K show for students and the announcing of the participation awards. We are planning on distributing a "goodie bag" with a t-shirt and event pinney prior to the 30th; however, details are still being finalized as to the exact date. Additionally, all participants will receive a medallion and refreshments following the race. See Lisa Griffin Burns for more information.
F. ISM STAR TESTING SCHEDULE (GRADES 2 - 8): Monday, May 1st - Friday, May 5th: Please mark your calendars for this week and do not, if possible, plan family vacations, medical appointments, and the like, wherein students will be absent from school, increasing the need to follow-up with make-up testing. Youngsters also have a better chance at performing to their highest potential on standardized testing when they are well nourished and have adequate sleep, so we highly encourage stable home and extracurricular schedules during this time. Thank you!
G. TAIKO DRUMMING DEMONSTRATION: ISM / MANZANITA: Tuesday, May 9th, 1:00 p.m.: Again this year, we have been invited to join King students to view a demonstration by the Shinsho Mugen Deiko, a Monterey Taiko group, which also offers Taiko drumming at ISM on Monday afternoons (see 11D below). ISM students, together with Upper King Kindergarten and 1st graders, will be viewing the drummers in the King Multiuse room at 1:00 p.m. A later performance at 1:45 p.m. will be available for interested King Middle schoolers and their teachers.
H. 4th ANNUAL FIELD DAY - Wednesday, June 7th: The last day of school this year is scheduled for Wednesday, 6/7/06, which means - yahoo, Field Day! Once again, over 35 different activities will take place on the fields and blacktops surrounding ISM for a fun-filled last hoorah of the school year! Of course, to make this day a success, we rely on the active participation of our family base to host the day's activities as well as the newly added lunch/potluck for our students and helpers. If you can help with this event, please refer to the flyer sent home with students today (3/27/06) and complete the bottom section of this form and return it to Ms. Livingston, ISM P.E. instructor, no later than Friday, May 5th. Event set-up will be from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m., Field Activities (including clean-up) from 9:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., Water Activities (including clean-up) from 10:30 - 3:00 p.m. If you have a special request for a particular station, please notate that on the form or email Julie directly at jlivingston@ismonterey.org. We certainly appreciate the amazing help we receive from many of you each year to make this day one that our students will never forget!
:
A. CHESS FOR KIDS : The second Winter/Spring session of Chess began on March 1st and is scheduled to conclude April 19th. Instructor Lev Frenklakh is happy to take on new students at any time and will prorate any late registrations received mid-session. The third and final session for this school year is slated for Wednesday, April 26th through Wednesday, May 31st. Session fees are $60 per session and the class is held in Mr. Brandau's Grade 8 portable on Wednesday afternoons from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. Registration forms are available in the front office and checks can be made payable to "ISM" with 15% of the fees donated to ISM, following contractor payment.
B. MANDARIN CHINESE LANGUAGE LESSONS AT ISM : For the Winter/Spring sessions, instructor Yu Chuen has added an additional day of class afterschool; this program is now offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. The cost is $8.00 per class, per student, payable per session. The April session runs from Monday, April 3rd through the 27th and the total cost is $96 per student. Please return registration and fees directly to the ISM office. Questions can be directed to Yu Chuen at 224-6470.
C. TAEKWONDO PROGRAM : This is an ongoing program offered Tuesdays through Fridays during the school year in ISM's multi-purpose room. Classes start after school and run until 4:45 p.m. Registration flyers are available at the front office. Additional information can be obtained by calling or e-mailing the Instructor, Master Daniel Rogers, at: 641-220-5503 (cell) at MasterR@mac.com
or via his website at www.geocities.com/koryotkd99/> .
D. TAIKO DRUMMING : The next session of taiko starts today, Monday, March 27th. The costs for the remaining sessions are as follows:
Session 6 ($50) : March 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24 (5 weeks)
Session 7 ($40) : May 1, 8, 15, 22 (4 weeks)
Please also let Denise Hasegawa know if you are planning to sign yourself or your child up for these sessions... or if you would like to be off of her mailing list. Anyone who has previously been in the class is on the list. Also, is anyone interested in buying a practice drum? The taiko instructor may have one for sale.
: Listed below are a few things desired by community members:
1) Recycling of Printer Cartridges Yields Payoff: We continue to generate a steady stream of revenue from the printer cartridge recycling program with nearly $160.00 in checks awaiting us in today's mail from the Empties4Cash program. Please keep them those cartridges coming!! We are enthusiastic to continue this program, so please spread the word to family members, colleagues, etc and forward your used cartridges to the admin office. The empty cartridges that we - as a community - typically throw away can be recycled and remanufactured. ISM will then benefit 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!
|
