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The tentative 2006-07 calendar is now available on our ISM website at website. Click the link to view. Our school year will begin Monday, August 14th, 2006 and conclude Friday, June 15th, 2007.
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Welcome to ISM's weekly newsletter for the week of
April 17 - 21, 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.
We had the opportunity to host Mr. John Lamb, who serves as MPUSD's Superintendent, for several hours this morning. In preparation for his staff recommendation to the MPUSD Board of Trustees regarding ISM's charter renewal petition as well as the use of the Manzanita campus for 2006-07, Superintendent Lamb toured the entire ISM campus with Business Administrator Lisa Griffin Burns, seeing first-hand all of our classrooms, offices, storage spaces, and multiuse room. He commented that we really are "using every square inch" of space allocated to us, which bodes well for our request of four additional classrooms for the coming academic year. He mentioned that in the coming weeks it is likely that individual Trustee members - of which there are seven representing three Trustee Areas (1: Marina and part of unincorporated former Fort Ord, 2: Del Rey Oaks, Seaside, Sand City, and small part of Monterey, and 3: most of Monterey and remainder of MPUSD) -- will also by stopping by to tour the campus and see our classrooms in action. Their visits would be to augment our renewal application packet, staff reports and recommendations, not to mention parent feedback presented at the April 3rd Board meeting. Please mark your calendars for the Monday, May 1st MPUSD meeting to hear the formal decision from the district regarding 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.
: As part of the annual evaluation of the Executive Director/Head of School, the ISM Board of Trustees welcomes input from parents and students on the following two items:
A. PARENTS: The Executive Director should:
* create opportunities for parents to become actively involved with the
education of their children;
* arrange regular meetings with parents in order to communicate the
goals, curriculum and progress of students.
B. STUDENTS: The Executive Director should:
* develop an effective rapport with the student body, yet maintain
order and discipline:
* provide adequate services to the students in the area of testing;
* encourage the involvement of students in the operations of the school
where matters are of direct relationship to students;
* develop student discipline policies in conjunction with the school's
faculty and communicate them to students, faculty and parents;
· suspend students within school guidelines;
· promote student success and achievements in arts, academics, community
services and other areas;
· develop, implement, and execute effective processes and procedures
related to safety. S/he has conducted periodic tests to assure adequacy.
Please email your responses by this Friday, April 21st to ISM Board of Trustees member, Chris Hasegawa,
at chris_hasegawa@csumb.edu
A. THANK YOU TO SATURDAY WORK DAY VOLUNTEERS: Under the leadership of Workday Coordinator Steve Moore, father to 1st grader Kyle, a highly efficient team of 12 parent volunteers whipped through their list of "to do's" this past Saturday. To quote Steve, "We had a very productive day!" All items on the list of chores were completed, and then some! The top priority for the day was further organizing the audio-visual closet in the main admin building, which had become a "collection point" for miscellaneous items and it definitely needed a willing and patient team to reestablish order. Secondarily, due to an outbreak of pink eye (conjunctivitis) on the campus, all the table and door knobs throughout the campus were cleaned with disinfectant to try and minimize the transmission of viral and bacterial conjunctivitis, both of which can easily be spread to others. A regular Saturday Work Day task has become the management of "lost-and-found" items that accumulate during the course of the month (between work days). Those items with names on the labels were returned to homeroom classrooms to be distributed to students, while those without names were taken home by a willing volunteer to launder, sort by sizes, and be returned to ISM. These articles will be forwarded to either the nurse's or Lisa Griffin Burns' office for storing. Additionally, the PE & Drama office / storage room as well as the Custodial closet were tidied - tasks like those mentioned above which are difficult to target during the regular busy school day. Thank you to Steve for his willingness to take on the Coordinator role this month AND the 12 other wonderful parents who took time from their busy Easter holiday weekend to support ISM.
B. KINDERGARTNERS THRIVE IN "LETTERLAND": Letterland....what is it? It's a fabulous place where all the letters of the alphabet live! Lucky Kindergarteners, they get to go there or have a visitor come every week! Each character has a name and special personality traits that help children remember their special sound. Last week, we were honored by a visit from Quarrelsome Queen(Miss Lisa W.L.), but we had to be on our best behavior, because she argues about everything! She had to cut her visit short though, because her husband, Kicking King, called and needed her back at the castle! We often get phone calls from Talking Tess, who is the telecommunications person in Letterland. She will often call just before a visitor arrives to let us know someone is coming. One day, Firefighter Fred (Mr. Robby) dropped by in his uniform, but had to rush off to put out a fire. Annie Apple (Miss Anna) was one of our first visitors. Bouncy Ben, a stuffed bear, came back to visit us a second time when we were building bridges. We are always excited when we have these special visitors visit our Kindergartners to help make reading come alive!
B. CELEBRATING ARRIVAL OF ISM SCHOOL NEWSPAPER: The Ace Reporters SEM would like to announce the arrival of the new school newspaper, The International Grapevine. This paper is being created by the students, for the students. The newspaper will contain many exciting features such as Sports, Upcoming Events, Entertainment News, Current Events, and Human Interest stories. The International Grapevine will also have an advice column and a classified section. For any student wanting to forward questions to our advice columnist or would like to put a classified ad in the paper, please write down your information and drop it in the special drop box soon to be located in the multi-use room. It's important to know that: advice column submittals may be anonymous; and classified ads may include items for sale, work needed, items to buy, etc. Please refer additional questions to Chief Editors Mrs. St. Germain and Miss Sarah Benbow.
A. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / HEAD OF SCHOOL TO ATTEND ECIS CONFERENCE: The April Administrators' Conference of the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) will be held this year in Barcelona from the 20th - 23rd of April and Executive Chrissie Jahn will be representing ISM. She will therefore be out of the "office" from Wednesday, April 19th through Wednesday, April 26th. To quote the ECIS website, "The April Administrators' Conference attracts some 500 heads of schools, their deputies, senior teachers, board trustees, development officers, and business managers. The focus of this conference is an in-depth look at current educational issues. The conference design is flexible with workshops, seminars, debates and panel presentations. Experts in residence are available for individual appointments." Ms. Jahn traditionally attends the two annual conferences offered by ECIS, which ensures that our "unique public international charter school" is truly a part of the worldwide international school community.
B. CURRICULUM COORDINATOR PARTICIPATES IN ACCREDITATION TEAM VISIT TO COLUMBIA, MONDAY, APRIL 24TH - FRIDAY, APRIL 28TH: More details to following in next week's newsbrief.
We are pleased to host the Monterey Museum of Wheels' mobile exhibits in our ISM library today through Wednesday, during which time ISM classes will have a chance to visit the library and experience first-hand the displays and speak to Museum staff. As such, the ASI Afterschool program will be operating out of the center of the south classroom building through Wednesday. This will also be the case next week when the Scholastic Book Fair (see item #11C ) takes residence in the library. We always have to maintain an element of flexibility, especially when it comes to offering enrichment opportunities to our students.
Chrissie announced at both of last week's assemblies that we are encouraging registration in the MBParent.Com website and that we will be holding a competition to generate excitement to do so. For every ISM student that gets their parents to register for the e-newsletter at www.mbparent.com ), s/he will receives one entry into the contest drawing. What is MBParent.Com, you ask? It is an online guide that centralizes resources for families living on the Monterey Bay. For example, if you had been searching for Easter Egg Hunt options this weekend, this website would have been a great resource for parents, grandparents, teachers, and visitors. So, register now for the free Monterey Bay Parent newsletter and stay informed. The contest Grand Prize is a $75 gift certificate at the Three Wise Wives Toy Store at the Crossroads Shopping Center, the three second places prizes are $20 gift certificates, and five third place certificates valued at $10 each. To be eligible for a class Pizza Party at Allegros Pizzeria in the Barnyard, each class must get every parent to register to be eligible for this drawing. When completing the website registration, be sure to put the name of the student and his/her grade and teacher. Information will not be shared with anyone other than mbparent.com. The drawing date will be Monday, May 1st.
Re: It has recently come to our attention that a boycott (locally and nationally) is planned for Monday, May 1st by immigrants and their supporters to protest the immigration bill currently before the U. S. House of Representatives. May Day has long been regarded as a day to commemorate the struggles facing workers around the world, so it is not surprising that a boycott of this nature would be planned for this day in the United States. Although several members of our community have expressed an intention to participate in planned events on May 1, we will not be amending our slated S.T.A.R. testing schedule in any way. Those students in Grades 2 - 8 who miss any standardized testing, on May 1st or otherwise, will be notated and scheduled for make-up testing during the following week of Monday, May 8th - Wednesday, May 10th. Once again, we are hoping to have a minimal number of students participating in make-up testing, so we ask that absences during the first week of May be kept to a minimum, with the exception of health or family reasons. Thank you for your understanding!
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 19th 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
: Supported by a group of young and "young at heart" cheerleaders, the ISM Dolphin volleyball team continued to improve their teamwork skills this past Tuesday at the Monterey Sports Center. The team comprised of Sarah Benbow, J.R. deVera, Robby Fabry, Diane Gsell, Chrissie Jahn, Tod Jones, Nikki Madden, Bob Oliver, Bridget Sweeney, Chantel Touryan and Peter Yan played two very competitive games ultimately coming up short with set scores of: 26:28, 16:25. This week's game takes place Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. at the Monterey Sports Center against the "TDA's".
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A. GRADE 2 / AUGUSTINE & SWEENEY: CARMEL MIDDLE SCHOOL - H.A.B.I.T.A.T.: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19th, 12 Noon - 2:00 p.m. Students will travel to the HABITAT to visit the nursery, learn about the various plants available, and bring back plants for use in Earth Day Celebration!
B. GRADE K / REIMER & TURNER: FIELDTRIP TO SEASIDE FIRE DEPT: THURSDAY , APRIL 20th, 9:05 - 10:15 a.m. Students will also be stopping by a home remodel during their way to the Fire Station to discuss fire resistant building materials with the firemen, as part of their IPC unit on structures.
C. GRADE 1 / BASU & TOURYAN: FIELDTRIP TO SAN FRANCISCO ZOO: THURSDAY , MAY 4th, 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. All 1st graders will be carpooling with chaperones up to the S.F. zoo as a culminating activity to their habitats unit. The classes will be hosting a bake sale to raise funds for the trip (see below).
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A. YEARBOOK PLANNING MEETING - Wednesday, April 19th, 2:00 p.m., Multiuse room
B. EARTH DAY CELEBRATION AT ISM! - Friday, April 21st Instructional Aides Miss Barbara and Miss Anna have arranged a daylong 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 volunteers 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. Also planned for the day is a planting activity thanks to the generous donation of materials, labor, and time by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District (MPRPD) and parent Tim Jensen. Many of you may have noticed that the junipers are missing from alongside the admin building. Tim coordinated their removal to ready the bed for planting - by our students on Friday -- of natives donated by the MPRPD. We gratefully thank him and his organization for their combined commitment to ISM and our Earth Day Celebration.
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. BAKE SALE DURING REGULARLY SCHEDULED MORNING SNACK BAR -- TO SUPPORT GRADE 1 FIELDTRIP TO S.F. ZOO - Friday, April 28th
F. 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.
G. 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!
H. 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.
I. 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!
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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 cost for the remaining session is as follows:
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) Kindergarten Instructor Miss Carrie Desiring One Bedroom Apt.: Miss Carrie writes, "I am looking for a one bedroom apartment in Monterey for $900 or less available at the end of June with laundry facilities. I would prefer something with a deck or balcony and fully or partially furnished." Contact Miss Carrie at cturner @ismonterey.org re: any leads. Thank you!
2) Host Families Needed: Once again, the local representative for Youth for Understanding International Exchange, Ms. Pat Dege, has contacted ISM to let us know that they are looking for families to host an international high school student. If interested, call 1-800-872-0200, ext. 284, call Pat directly at 375-6143, or visit the YFU website at ( www.YouthForUnderstanding.org .
3) Heavy Duty Vacuum Cleaner: Now that many of us have children, homes, pets, and the like, our wish list changes from a nice stereo system to a vacuum cleaner that REALLY works! So, if anyone has upgraded their vacuum and wonders what to do with their less expensive cast-off vacuum, consider donating it to ISM. Contact Lisa Griffin Burns to discuss further.
4) Recycling of Printer Cartridges Yields Payoff: Contribution checks continue to roll in! Keep up the phenomenal effort! We are super 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!
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