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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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The 2005-06 calendar is now posted on our website
and is also available on the credenza in the front office.
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Welcome to
ISM's weekly newsletter for the week of February 13 - 17, 2006! 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.
As written in previous news briefs, the
printing of Quarter 2 reports cards have been delayed for a variety of
factors. Given that we are halfway through Quarter 3 and additional
corrective measures are still needed, we have formally decided that we will
not be distributing hard-copy reports for Quarter 2 at this time. Written
as well as email notification as to this decision will be forwarded out
this evening and tomorrow. Quarter 2 scores will be available online
through PowerSchool (
http://ism-ps.monterey.k12.ca.us/public) using your guardian ID and
password. Please refer to the notification letter / email for more
instruction details. We are aiming to have Quarter 3 reports cards issued
on time following the Spring Break and they will include Quarter 2 scores.
Please do not hesitate to contact us directly at 583-2165 should you need
to access an ISM computer to go online or have trouble locating the
necessary passwords! Thank you!
We are thrilled to announce that we have hired
a wonderful team of Spanish instructors to fill the shoes of outgoing
Spanish instructors Alejandra Candia and Moises Santos. Teaming up with Senor
Candia to provide school-wide Spanish instruction are: Maria
Iglesias for Grades 5/6 Beginning and 7/8 Advanced, Anna
Martinez for Spanish 3A, 4B, and 7/8 Beginning, and Marilu
Ochoa for Spanish K (Miss Carrie), 1B, 2B, and 3A. I have
previously introduced Marilu to the ISM community via an earlier news
brief, but just last Monday was the first day of instruction for Senoritas
Iglesias and Martinez. All of these new staff members are part-time;
however Senrita Martinez has also been hired to serve as an Instructional
Aide for Miss Wharton's Grade 4 class. We applaud each new teacher's
willingness to commit sincere energy and effort into collaboratively
developing curriculum lessons, despite their part-time status!
Last Friday (2/10/06), we bid "adieu"
to departing students Emerald, a 2nd Grader in Miss Sweeney's class, and
her older sibling Jordan, in Mr. Brandau's 8th grade class. Together with
their mother, they relocated to Arizona. Both students, especially Jordan
who served as ISM's first-ever Student Body President, were popular with
their schoolmates and will be greatly missed. We wish their family well in
their new life in Arizona!
We have heard over the past week that many of you have taken the
time to logon and respond to our online annual parent survey. Thank you so
much for doing so. For those of you that have not yet had an opportunity,
we do invite you to follow the link below to: http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB224B5YADJS5
and fill out the Zoomerang survey. Please take a few moments to answer the
24 questions by Friday, February 17th. To ensure that all
responses are kept confidential and anonymous, we began using a web-based
survey tool. Another great advantage of this survey format, besides
guaranteeing anonymity, is that Mrs. Jahn is immediately able to see
tallied survey results with a mere button click. However, for those of you
that prefer hard copy surveys, we do have extra copies available on the
credenza in the front office for you to pick up and complete.
Please note that parent feedback provided to us throughout the year via a
variety of sources - to include this survey -- is extremely important to us
and is often taken into consideration when making school-wide decisions,
such as we have done in the past regarding the ISM school calendar. We
certainly rely on valuable parent communication to assist us in continually
improving our program. Thank you for your feedback!
Despite a technical glitch last week, the SSC
online ballot is now up and functioning well. Once again, we are happy to
report that three parents are running for the two open SSC spots: incumbent
Murali Tummala (mother of Neeli, 4th grade), Sally Stock (mother of Ellie
Beckett, 7th grade), and Kenley Butler (father of Simon, 2nd grade). To
read a brief description of each candidate and cast your vote, please
follow this Zoomerang link: http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB224ZE8RYF3D
and vote for two candidates by Friday, February 17th.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! These
enthusiastic words of thanks go out to Saturday Work Day Volunteer Chair,
Marco Poehner, and his team of amazingly productive parents who stopped by on
Saturday to accomplish a wide variety of tasks. Stalwart supporters joined
returning volunteers and "newbies" to put "check marks"
next to tasks ranging from painting to sorting "lost and found",
organizing storage spaces, and helping to preserve precious student
artwork. Impressive! The next Saturday work day is slated for Saturday,
March 11th although we may move that date until after our Spring
Break.
Hello Parents & Teachers! Only two more
segments left as we continue with passages from authors Glenn and Brocks' 7
Strategies for Developing Capable Students!
Systemic Skills are highly important in our quest to
develop capable students. While many of us journey through life on
autopilot, we are often unaware of how systematic our lives have become.
Systems are all around us each and every day. Ponder our society, the
environment, traffic, family, workplace, and schools. Within each system,
elements are interrelated which establish consequences for every action taken.
The skills for understanding and working with systems are:
* Responsibility : the ability to respond to limits and
consequences
* Adaptability: the ability to adopt different behaviors
in different settings and situations
* Flexibility : the ability to accommodate others' needs
and unexpected changes in one's plans
There are five essential elements for teaching systemic skills:
1) Unqualified positive regard: Teaching children to
honestly acknowledge mistakes and errors without fear and without talking
down to or thinking less of them, provides an experience and safe climate
for learning.
2) Clear feedback: Separate the act from the actor,
eliciting specifics without creating defensiveness or resistance.
3) Experiencing results or consequences: Allowing children
to experience cause and effect and working to help them see that what is
being required is related, respectful, reasonable, and revealed, so that
they can adapt the information for future decision making and begin
accepting responsibility for what they experience. Outcome follows results
- cause and effect.
4) Firmness following through: Stick to the
rules/contracts that are made! Respect the natural consequences or results
of a child's' actions and choices. Refrain from temptations to renegotiate,
manipulate, or change the outcome of established consequences.
5) Teaching with Dignity and Respect: Place emphasis on
what was learned from an experience, rather than on the event. Harness all
responses, which lead towards insult, blaming, lecturing, or passing
judgments. Once emotions are calmed, patiently assist children explore what
was learned from the experience.
As we reviewed last week, ask questions that elicit constructive dialogue
and opportunities for learning, such as: "What did you experience in
the situation? What action(s) or choice(s) on your part contributed to (or
caused) the outcome? How will knowing this influence what you do in the
future?" Remember to react in a calm and considerate manner when
children make poor decisions.
 :
A. GRADE 8 / BRANDAU: WHALE WATCHING TRIP: WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 15th - 10:15 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. - CANCELLED DUE TO STRONG WINDS AND SEA CONDITIONS; RESCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 22ND!
B. GRADES K,1 & 5: FIELDTRIP TO FORMER FORT ORD RE: NATIVE
PLANTS RESTORATION PROJECT: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16th - 9:00 a.m. to
11:30 a.m. Bus transportation to be provided. Students are to
bring a bag lunch.
C. GRADE 2 / AUGUSTINE: FIELDTRIP TO HERALD NEWSPAPER: THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY 16th - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Parent carpool trip.
D. GRADE 2 / SWEENEY: FIELDTRIP TO DENNIS THE MENACE PARK: FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 17th - 11:00 to 1:00 a.m. In celebration of reaching 333
marbles in their classroom marble jar (marbles collected for great
behavior!), Miss Sweeney's class voted to celebrate by going for a luncheon
outing to Dennis The Menace park. What fun!
E. GRADE 8 / BRANDAU: RESCHEDULED WHALE WATCHING TRIP: WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 22nd - 10:15 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. (Rescheduled from 2/15/06!)
F. GRADE 1 / BASU / TOURYAN: SCIENCE CAMP: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND
- FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH Students from both Grade 1 classes will be
participating in a 2.5 day overnight science camp experience at the Web
of Life Field School located in Aptos, CA. ISM first graders have
attended this particular camp for several years now and we have always been
pleased with the accommodations, staffing, food, and, of course, the
opportunities offered to participating students and chaperones.
G. GRADE 2 / SWEENEY: FIELDTRIP TO HERALD NEWSPAPER: THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY 23rd - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Parent carpool trip.
H. GRADE 5 / BURNS: FIELDTRIP TO MONTEREY MUSEUM OF ART: WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 1ST Parent carpool trip.
:
A. PRESIDENTS DAY HOLIDAY: Monday, February 20th: ISM will
be closed this day in recognition of Presidents Day!
B. PIZZA FUNDRAISER LUNCHEON: Friday, February 24th, all ISM lunch
periods: Many new families who joined us this year may be unaware
that the Pizza hot lunch offered on the last Friday of each month (same day
as Free Dress Friday) serves as a fundraiser luncheon for ISM and the
Family Association. Monies raised are used to support school-wide special
events such as the Halloween Festivities, the Winter Holiday and Spring
Arts concert evenings, school dances, etc. Additionally, proceeds from this
monthly luncheon have also supported professional development opportunities
as well as the music and drama programs. Under consideration currently is a
request for science materials for the middle school program. 100% of the
profit goes back into ISM. Parent volunteer Janice Barker conscientiously
oversees this program and reports to both Business Administrator Lisa
Griffin Burns as well as organizers of the Family Association following
each month's lunch. We thank her for her diligence and being one of the
original creators of this program. We thank all of you for your support as
well for making this a successful, ongoing fundraising activity during the
school day.
C. WORLD BOOK DAY: Thursday, March 2nd, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.:
Held for the second consecutive year here at ISM, organizers, specifically
parent volunteer Janice Barker, are feverishly searching out relevant
individuals to participate by coming to ISM and sharing with students their
love for books in a variety of ways: by reading to students, sharing their
favorite books, discussing how reading has impacted them, e.g., in their
personal lives and careers, etc. We would love to hear from interested ISM
or greater Peninsula community members who would want to contribute to this
event. Please forward any recommendations directly to Janice Barker at
384-5524 or via email at barkerjf1@sbcglobal.net.
Thank you!
D. KINDERGARTEN - GRADE 2 MOVIE NIGHT: Revised date: Friday, March 3rd,
6 - 8 p.m.: The Student Council will be hosting its second annual
movie night for Kindergartners through 2nd graders in the multiuse room.
Register by Wednesday, March 1st for this popular
after-hours event!
E. 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 the following week. 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! 
:
A. TAIKO DRUMMING: New Spring classes now being offered! Monday
afternoons, 3:30 - 4:15 p.m. (K-2) and 4:15 - 5:00 (Gr. 3 - adults)
* Session 5 ($40): February 6th through March 6th:
* Session 6 ($50): March 27th through April 24th;
* Session 7 ($40): May 1st through May 22nd.
QUESTIONS? Please contact Denise Hasegawa, ISM parent, at 384-4651 or dthasegawa@aol.com .
B. MANDARIN CHINESE LANGUAGE LESSONS AT ISM: Monday and Thursday
afternoons, 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. (K-8) Have fun learning Mandarin
Chinese through this innovative Chinese immersion program, which is open to
all youngsters, not just ISM students. The cost is $80 per month and checks
are made payable to "ISM". Students may enroll at any time and
receive a pro-rated fee based upon start time. New Saturday session also
begins this Saturday, February 4th at the ISM campus.
Contact instructor Yu Chuen at his website http://www.mandarinorange.org/index.htm
or via email at dayuchuen@gmail.com.
C. CHESS FOR FUN AND SUCCESS: Wednesday afternoons, 3:45 - 4:45
p.m. Students are invited to join long-time instructor and professional
chess coach Lev Frenklakh on Wednesday afternoons to explore the creative
and intellectual world of chess. The next session will resume on March
1st through April 19th with the exception of the Spring Break
dates of March 15th and 22nd. Registration forms are in the front office
and checks are payable to "ISM" at $60 per session.
: Listed below are a few things desired by
community members:
1) INTERESTED IN A TIMESHARE?: Just in Time for Spring
Vacation and Summer! For sale, flexible points program Timeshare. With the
flexible points program you can stay all over the world, as well as use the
points for Airline Tickets, Rental Cars, and at Restaurants. The timeshare
is not set in one location, which allows for more flexibility to travel
wherever and whenever you want. Points continue to accumulate every year,
which means the value of your time-share continues to increase! Call Drama
instructor Sarah Benbow at 240-5054 for more information.
2) RECYLING OF PRINTER CARTRIDGES: In a fairly short
amount of time, community member contributions of inkjet printer cartridges
for recycling have yielded a $165.00 payoff from Empties4Cash. 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! If anyone is interested in heading this project as
the volunteer coordinator, please contact Lisa Griffin Burns.
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