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The 2006-07 calendar is now available on our ISM website at website. Click the link to view. Our school year began Monday, August 14th, 2006 and will conclude Friday, June 15th, 2007.
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Welcome to ISM's FIRST 2006-07 bi-monthly newsletter covering Monday, August 14 - Friday, August 25, 2006! This is a change from previous years' communications, which were available each Monday. The ISM news brief will now be updated twice a month and available to ISM families on our website no later than 7:30 p.m. each newsbrief 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 are off and running with another smooth start to the new school year. With our newly renewed charter in hand, we are set for the next five years (yes, until 2011), giving our school the opportunity to grow and build upon an already excellent foundation. And the many smiling faces of staff, parents and students today attest to the positive environment we have created here at ISM.
Our student body of approximately 335 brings many returning faces as well as new ones to our program, and the ISM faculty and staff welcome all students and their families for what we believe to be an incredible year ahead. You will notice some changes to the scheduling, including a move from a quarter to a trimester calendar. This allows each school section (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) to investigate in more depth each of the three Arts (Art, Drama, Music) with each discipline meeting three times a week for a trimester and then switching to the next subject. For example, K-2 begins with Music in Trimester 1, then switches to Art in Trimester 2, and finally Drama in Trimester 3.
Assemblies have also been divided between the school sections. The K-2 assembly will remain on Tuesday mornings at 9:05, the 3-5 assembly will take place on Wednesday mornings at 9:05 and our leading edge middle schoolers (6-8) will have their assembly on Thursday afternoons at 2:40. Parents and community members are always welcome to attend.
Once again, kudos go to our community for the collaborative help to start the year, from building cubbies for classrooms, to cleaning the library, and our Tech Committee who has worked throughout the summer to get us updated and upgraded. We look forward to all of your continued support and contributions throughout the 2006-07 school year!
A. EARLY DROP-OFF PROGRAM: ISM is unique among area schools for offering a before school care program, which is free to ISM families! Staffed on a rotational basis each morning by two ISM Instructional Aides, this program begins at 7:35 a.m. and concludes at 8:15 a.m. PLEASE DO NOT DROP YOUR CHILDREN OFF EARLIER THAN THIS TIME AS THERE WILL NOT BE ANY SUPERVISION FOR THEM PRIOR TO 7:35 a.m. Parents are asked to sign in their children with the Instructional Aide located adjacent to the yellow gate (a third of the way up the curved driveway in front of the school) each morning. Youngsters will then proceed up the driveway to the lower blacktop area where a second ISM staffer will supervise them. In inclement weather, students will be in the multiuse room for early drop-off. Please note that homeroom teachers will be opening their classrooms at 8:15 a.m. this year; a change from the 8:10 a.m. "open door" time of last year. We are pleased to be able to offer this important service to our parents and look forward to cooperation and support from all who utilize the benefit. Thank you!
B. SCHOOL DAY START & END TIMES Our school day officially starts at 8:20 a.m. (doors open at 8:15 a.m. as mentioned above) and ends at 2:50 p.m. for Kindergartners and 3:20 p.m. for Grades 1 - 8. We do expect students to be in their classrooms promptly for the start of school. Beginning on Wednesday, August 16th, those arriving past this time will be asked to sign in first at the admin office to receive a tardy slip, before proceeding to class. At the end of the school day, Kindergarten parents will have until 3:00 p.m. to collect their children at which time any remaining youngsters will be forwarded to the Afterschool program on a fee basis, while 1st through 8th graders will have until 3:45 p.m. to be picked up (see information below) before they too are forwarded to ASI at a rate of $10 per hour. This policy will apply without exception for those students remaining on campus after the times listed above. This ensures student safety on those occasions when parents are running late.
C. END OF DAY PICK UP PROCESS Beginning at 3:20 p.m. each afternoon, we will begin to release students from our front grass area. Parents are asked to approach the pick up area via the lower parking lot first; so take a right after turning into our school driveway, follow the arrows around the parking lot, take a right out of parking lot, and proceed to the grass area. This process allows for parents to line up behind one another without backing up traffic on Yosemite Street. Before reaching the student release area, an administrator will ask which child or children you are picking up. This information will then be relayed per walkie-talkie to administrators positioned directly in front of the grass area. Your child will be then be waiting for you in front on a specified cone for pick up. For this reason, we also ask that the four parking spaces directly in front of the grass area not be used at the end of the day for routine parent parking as this clearly interferes with the above process. Thank you for your cooperation. As mentioned in item B above, any children not yet picked up by 3:45 p.m. will be forwarded to the Afterschool program and parents will be responsible for paying the ASI hourly fee of $10.
Join us in welcoming five new staff members to ISM this school year! They are as follows:
* Jessica Baxter, Grade 2 instructor;
* Laura Allen, Instructional Aide for Grade 2 (Baxter)/ Music instruction;
* Benedikte Milling, Instructional Aide for Grade 3 (both classes);
* Maria Emilia Gatica, Instructional Aide for Grade 4 (Wharton) / Spanish instruction;
* Ricardo Riquelme, Grade 5 instructor;
* Carol Evans, Curriculum Coordinator; and
* Marilu Ochoa-Lichtlen, now a fulltime Spanish instructor this year.
We are pleased to have the infusion of talent that these individuals bring to ISM and we invite you to meet them personally on Back to School night scheduled for August 31st (see item 7B below). For more information on returning staff, visit our website and refer to the August 15th and 22nd, 2005 newsletters.
This space in the newsbrief will be devoted to celebrating student and/or staff success. We welcome parent contributions to this section; please let us know if your child has done something of interest to the community at large, i.e., won an award, pursued a unique hobby, volunteered with a non-profit on a noteworthy project, etc. Email text and photo contributions to editor Lisa Griffin Burns at least 4-5 days prior to an updated newsbrief document.
A. FRESH MEAL PROGRAM: ISM is pleased to have its own meal program prepared daily - and freshly - onsite by Program Coordinator Miss Lisa Wichael-Loomis. Menus are designed a month-at-a-glance and are available in our front office. To allow for adequate planning and shopping time, those families opting to take part in the program on either a monthly or a week-by-week basis are required to submit their forms and payment on Wednesdays prior to the menu week. As we are now a school of 330+ students, we simply cannot accommodate last minute submittals. Please bear this in mind when planning your child(ren)'s school meals. In addition, all lunch forms and ASI forms should be put in Lisa's mailbox at the back of the Administrative Offices.
B. SNACK BAR: Also know that students may be hungry prior to their scheduled lunch period and can satisfy their hunger pangs by either: bringing a snack from home to eat safely at recess time -- at adjacent picnic tables or by sitting on the lawn -- OR beginning this Friday, August 18th by visiting the SNACK BAR offered at ISM's multiuse room during morning recess. All items are priced at $1.00 and students may choose from items such as: bottled water, smoothie drinks, apple juice, croissants, trail mix, corn nuts, fruit snacks, and more!
C. AFTERSCHOOL INTERNATIONAL (ASI): Program Coordinator Lisa Wichael-Loomis joins forces with staffers Sarah Benbow (ISM Drama Instructor / Instructional Aide - Grade 4), Robby Fabry (ISM Instructional Aide - Grades 6, 7, & 8), Barbara Peters (ISM Instructional Aide - Grade 5) and Kristen Carlyle (returning ASI leader) to provide a daily Afterschool Program from 2:50 p.m. (for Kindergartners) and 3:20 p.m. (for Grades 1 - 8) until 6:00 p.m. daily. The fees to participate in this program depend on the number of hours per day and the number of days per week. For those meeting financial criteria, reduced fees are available. Participation in the program is on a pre-registration basis (preferably) and paperwork is available on the information credenza in the front admin office. As this is our busiest registration time, please be patient as the program is launched for the 2006-07 school year!
Should you have any questions or need any type of information at all about the Fresh Lunch program or the Afterschool International (ASI) program, it is important that you email Ms. Lisa Wichael-Loomis directly at lwloomis@ismonterey.org
or stop and see her in the library (located at the rear of the admin building). For more efficient handling of your inquiries, we request that parents do not email lunch or ASI questions to the front office via kkushel@ismonterey.org . Thank you so much!
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A. GRADE 4 CLASSES / ST. GERMAIN & WHARTON: CARPOOL FIELDTRIP TO PFEIFFER BIG SUR STATE PARK: FRIDAY, AUGUST 25th, 8:20 a.m. - 3:20 p.m. This fieldtrip is designed to be a wonderful bonding opportunity for our 4th graders. They will take part in a nature hike, swimming, go on a scavenger hike, and have a picnic.
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A. FREE DRESS DAY: Friday, August 25th, All day! Each month on the last Friday of the month, we "host" a Free Dress Friday in which all students are free to wear their own, non-uniform clothing. They are encouraged to express their unique "fashion statements", while still adhering to our Uniform policy with regard to appropriate length of shorts and skirts, accessories, hair color (no colored hair except by pre-approval (due to a project) or Halloween holiday), no bared midriffs, and the like.
B. FREE SATURDAY RUN GROUP HOSTED BY "MR. ROBBY": Saturday, August 26th, 8:00 a.m., Lover's Point Join the "ever fit" Mr. Robby, ISM's Instructional Aide for Grades 6-8 and an ASI leader, this coming Saturday at Lover's Point for the inaugural meeting of the "Saturday Run Group". This group, under Robby's leadership, will meet every other Saturday throughout the school year and is open to all ISM families, staff, and friends interested in supporting one another's fitness goals through running. Come and help him build a tradition for our wonderful school!
C. BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT - Thursday, August 31st, 6:30 - 8 p.m.: Join us in ISM's multiuse room for a brief presentation & welcome by ISM's Executive Director / Head of School Chrissie Jahn. Following her statements, parents and students will be invited to further tour the campus and visit their respective classrooms to "meet and greet" with staff. We look forward to seeing many of you there!
D. FAMILY ASSOCIATION MEETING - Thursday, August 24th and Thursday, September 28th, 6:30 - 8 p.m.: This organization, headed by parent Ellen Gaucher, assists ISM administrators and staff in coordinating all volunteer efforts on campus as well as ISM special events, ranging from the Welcome Coffees (as hosted on the first day of school), to the Back to School night listed above, to holiday celebrations, to Schoolwide evening concert events, and more! Those of you who are new to our school have already seen an example of this group's efforts when you recently completed the "Volunteer Opportunities" form at registration. This group of parents will be reviewing these forms to see how best your individual skills and talents can best serve our campus-wide needs for volunteer support. The Family Association members are always looking for more parents to get involved in volunteer coordination at this level. Reminder, all ISM families are required to contribute three hours (plus one additional hour for each additional child) per month, so plan on stopping by this monthly meeting to contribute your talents!
E. LABOR DAY HOLIDAY - Monday, September 4th: Whew! After three weeks of school, we are rewarded with a long three-day weekend! Enjoy yourselves!
F. SEPT SAT WORK DAY - Saturday, September 9th, 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.: The second Saturday of each month is an official "work party" to tackle a few campus-related projects that we simply cannot successfully accomplish during the busy school week. It is also an excellent opportunity for working families to donate volunteer hours to ISM on a monthly basis. For those interested, please come next month, bring your wonderful attitude as well as essential tools, such as a hand drill, hammer, screws, nails, a level, sponges, buckets, and similar items. Chairpersons for this event rotate throughout the months; however, Business Administrator Lisa Griffin Burns is the primary contact for Saturday Work Days. To register interest to serve as chairperson one month or to see how you can help, contact her at lburns@ismonterey.org.
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A. TAIKO DRUMMING : This exciting program will be returning on Monday afternoons for the 06-07 school year. Please stay tuned here for details.
B. CHESS FOR KIDS : Instructor Lev Frenklakh is excited to restart ISM's Chess program for the fifth consecutive year! Fliers for his program are available in the front office and detail the six session dates slated for this school year. The program will resume with Session #1 on Wednesday, August 23rd through September 20th. Students must be pre-registered to attend. Session fees are $60 per 5-week session and classes will be held in Mr. Brandau's Grade 8 portable each Wednesday afternoon from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. Please make checks payable to "ISM" and submit to Business Administrator Lisa Griffin Burns. Fifteen percent of each session's fees are donated to ISM. This is a great program and we are happy to once again offer it this year.
C. MANDARIN CHINESE LANGUAGE LESSONS AT ISM : For the 2006-07 sessions, instructor Yu Chuen has added a Level 2 class for second year students on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. Beginning students may register for class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, also at the same time. The cost is either $10.00 per class, per student, payable per session or $60 per session. The August sessions start this week, so register now! Fliers are also available on the credenza in the front admin office; please return registration and fees directly to the ISM office. Questions can be directed to Yu Chuen at 224-6470.
D. JEWELRY CLASSES OFFERED BY NICK TRACHSEL : Library Chairperson and SEM provider (Jewelry-making classes), Nick Trachsel is now providing an Afterschool jewelry class for students (age 9 and up) and adults on Tuesday afternoons from 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. There are four sessions slated for this school year; please refer to the registration form located in the front office for all dates. The first session will kick-off on Tuesday, August 29th through October 3rd and participants will need to be pre-registered for class. Nick will also generously donate fifteen percent of collected registration fees to ISM. We have already received numerous registrations for this new class, so sign up now! Fees for the 6-week session are $70, while the 8-week sessions are $90. Please note, a $10 materials fee is included in the price for each session. For further information, contact Nick at 372-7865 or by email at njtrachsel@sbcglobal.net.
: Listed below are a few things desired by community members:
1) Wish List Items per each classroom: Please take a moment to check with your child(ren)'s classroom teacher(s) to see if they have any beginning-of-school year "wish list" item requests for their classrooms. These items are not related to the supply list materials distributed to parents this summer. They may be any range of requests, from colored cardstock to an electric pencil sharpener to an item particular to an International Primary Curriculum (IPC) unit of study. If you choose to purchase one of these "wish list" items and donate it to ISM, we would be more than happy to provide you with a Donation Value Form for tax purposes.
2) Host Families Needed - Updated:
A. AFS: Barbara Bannan, mother of 5th grader Ian andf 7th grader Haley, writes: "I would like to inform ISM families about opportunities for sponsoring some great high school students through AFS. The contact person is Patrician Jones (email: Patricia_Jones@AFSOnline.org ) and her phone number is 419-5818. More information regarding the AFS organization is available online at , they can find it on line at www.usa.afs.org
B. Youth for Understanding (YFU): 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) Recycling of Printer Cartridges Yields Payoff: This program was extremely successful for us last year, so we are most definitely interested in continuing it again this year. Monthly contributions checks averaged $125+ most months! The monies we receive can then help to offset office products purchasing, which directly supports student learning through availability of photocopy paper, toner, etc. 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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