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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 shortened week of
January 9 - 13, 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.
Please join us in saying "goodbye and good luck" to departing siblings Sierra (Grade 3, Miss Sigman) and Julian (Grade 4, Mrs. St. Germain) Morales, whose last day was last Wednesday, January 4th as well as 8th grader Audrey Casey who transferred effective Tuesday, January 3rd. All of these students now attend other local public schools on the Monterey Peninsula. We wish all of these students the best of luck in their future endeavors and thank them for giving us the opportunity to contribute to their education!
Miss Karen Kushel in the admin office has been working the phones contacting waiting list members and we are pleased to say that we have three new students who joined us last week as well as today. Miss Basu's Grade 1 class now has a new classmate, Halie Johnson who started last Thursday, January 5th. Two new students have now joined Mr. Brandau's Grade 8; Alex Collier also started last Thursday, while Aaron Kitchen officially began today after "shadowing" the program for a full day last Friday. Welcome to all of you! We are pleased to have you at ISM.
We still have a strong need for SEM volunteers, especially parent and community members willing to share their passion with our students. The challenge is that the deadline can only be extended to Tuesday, January 10th at 9 a.m. (that's tomorrow!). If anyone would like to volunteer, please email me at scarber@ismonterey.org by that time, specifying course title, enrollment cap, and grade range. Thank you!
: Due to illness on the part of our critical Information Technology volunteer, Mr. Doug Rodda, report cards for Quarter 2 will be delayed until this coming Wednesday, January 11th. We are anticipating that the Q2 reports will be mailed out to parents no later than Thursday, following staff review. Once again, for those students whose parents reside in two locations, each parent will receive his/her own copy of the report card. We do ask that parents take a moment, once they receive the report card, to sign the backside by the "Quarter 2" signature line and return it to ISM. By doing so, we have a signed record of parent receipt. Thank you!
: The ISM SSC is accepting nominations for two parent spots on the council. In short, the SSC is an elected group of teachers, parents, and classified employees, who work with the Director to develop, review, evaluate, and allocate funds for school improvement programs. Except for the director, council members must be chosen by their peer group. To that end, we will be holding elections the week of January 16th. If you are interested in joining the SSC as a parent representative, throw your hat into the ring by writing or emailing Mrs. Jahn (cjahn@ismonterey.org) by this Wednesday, January 11th.
: Each year in advance of our first enrollment deadline, we open our "school room" doors to welcome families who are interested in ISM's unique internationally-oriented curriculum. This year we will be offering an annual Open House on Saturday, January 14th, 2006 from 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. following our January Saturday work day. This is an opportunity for folks to have a chance to visit our campus, find out more about our curriculum, meet faculty and staff, and consequently, decide whether to apply to ISM by the first application deadline of Tuesday, January 17th, 2006 by 5:00 p.m. for the 2006-07 academic year. All applications for Grades Kindergarten through Grade 8* applications received between November 1st, 2005 and January 17th, 2006. For applicants who forward Subsequent application deadlines are available on our calendar on our website.
*Please note that during the December 2005 ISM Board of Trustees meeting, the board members voted to maintain ISM as a K-8 school for the coming 2006-07 academic year. We will offer two classes per grade for grades Kindergarten - 5th** (**based on the rising 4th graders currently in two classes) and one class each for grades 6-8. Any questions regarding this board decision may be directed to Executive Director / Head of School Chrissie Jahn at cjahn@ismonterey.org .
: As mentioned briefly above, the January work day is slated for January 14th, 2006 and a goal of the day's activities will be to spruce up the classrooms and campus in preparation for the Open House being held later that afternoon from 2 - 4:30 p.m. We welcome all levels of enthusiasm, support, and help; stop on by!
: As we begin Quarter 3, we are pleased to say that Lisa Wichael-Loomis, our Program Coordinator for ISM's Fresh Lunch and Afterschool International (ASI) programs is back on campus following last month's emergency surgery. Due to her absence, monthly billing was delayed; she did issue January bills for the Afterschool International program last Wednesday (1/4/06). We remind parents again that with regard to any questions concerning December bills or payments for either the hot lunch or ASI programs, please contact Lisa directly. We ask for your flexibility as she reconciles her records with that of the payments made for both of these programs forwarded to the admin office in December 2005. Thank you for your flexibility in advance.
The following information is a newsletter continuation presented as researched and written by the authors from the Seven Strategies for Developing Capable Students (Glenn& Brock; 1998). From The Significant Seven; the Seven Resources of Exceptionally Capable Students, the first of the seven resources for students is: Strong Perceptions of Personal Capabilities.
Often, children's perceptions of themselves are based on what they think adults think of them. Perceptions are acquired through analyzing experiences and attaching personal meaning to them. So, how do we assist children to perceive themselves as capable students? Avoid communicating to [children] that their acceptability and worthiness of love is conditional, or in an way affected by their performance or grades. Teach children to set learning goals for themselves and allow them to take the initiative to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to "follow through" with goals. Encourage them with empathy and confidence to succeed through difficult task. Speak positively.
To enhance Personal Capabilities, encourage students to learn through their own experiences, challenges, and their own perceptions, rather than providing explanations first.
Remember to treat students as though they are capable. Students will then begin to see themselves as capable, thus, gaining positive self-perception.
Parenting tips:
* Teach children to associate learning with life and experience, not only with school.
* Validate effort, initiative, and persistence, rather than ability.
:
A. GRADE 8 / BRANDAU: FIELDTRIP TO MONTEREY HIGH SCHOOL (MAOS) Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Sciences ROBOTICS DEMONSTRATION: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11th - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
B. GRADE 6 / SPEDDING: GEOLOGY FIELDTRIP TO CAPITOLA BEACH: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11th
C. GRADE 4 / WHARTON: FIELDTRIP TO USGS MENLO PARK: THURSDAY, JANUARY 19th - 8:00 a.m. to 3:20 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.
D. GRADES 2 & 8: FIELDTRIP TO FORMER FORT ORD RE: NATIVE PLANTS RESTORATION PROJECT: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9th - 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Bus transportation to be provided.
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A. ISM FAMILY ASSOCIATION MEETING - Thursday, January 26th: The next ISM Family Association meeting, chaired by Volunteer Coordinator Ellen Gaucher, will be on the 26th at 6:30 p.m. in the ISM library. This organization serves a critical support role at ISM by coordinating volunteer help for special events such as this weekend's Open House, evening parent meetings, and special school-wide events, like the Winter Holiday program. Plan on attending to see how you can become more involved.
We would like to take a moment to especially recognize parent coordinators for the Winter Holiday program held on Thursday, December 15th, without whose help that event would have been lacking decorations, food, and manpower. Join us in extending special heartfelt thanks to: (1) Parents Christine Colon (refreshments), and Barbara Okamura & Karen Monahan (co-chairs on overall event support coordination), as well as (2) staffers Miss Anna, Miss Sarah, and Mr. D for serving as the creative force behind the evening's well-received format. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
B. ISM MIDDLE SCHOOL (GR. 5 - 8) SNOWBOARD AND SKIING ADVENTURE - Friday, January 27th - Sunday, January 29th: Miss Livingston, ISM's courageous Physical Education instructor, has organized ISM's first ever weekend ski adventure for students - in good academic standing - in Grades 5 through 8. The costs for the trip are as follows: $175 per student / $225 per adult (without ski equipment rentals), $200 per student / $250 per adult (needing ski or snowboard rentals), $30 extra for lessons, and family discounts are available (contact Julie Livingston for details). These prices include: transportation by buses and vans, two days of skiing / snowboarding at the Lake Tahoe ski resorts of Sierra Summit (day 1) and Kirkwood (day 2), two nights lodging at Viking Motor Lodge, Lake Tahoe (4 students per room), and breakfast and dinner meals; lunch meals on the ski slopes are the responsibility of participating student. Please note that rental "try-on" will be Monday, January 23rd.
Event flyers are available in the admin office, from Ms. Livingston, and were distributed to 5th - 8th graders last week. The deadline to sign up for this sure-to-be fun-filled trip is Friday, January 20th!. Please complete a registration form, attach payment to "ISM" with the form, and forward to either Miss Livingston or Business Administrator Lisa Griffin Burns. For more information on this trip, please contact Miss Livingston directly at jlivingston@ismonterey.org.
: Listed below are a few things desired by community members:
1) IMMEDIATE NEED FOR HOST FAMILY: A 16 year old Thai student currently attending Monterey High School is in need of a new host family placement. His current placement is jeopardized by a serious medical situation and he needs to be transferred to a new home as soon as possible. This exchange student has a good command of English, loves nature and sports, including soccer, is polite and reserved, and is the eldest brother in his family. ISM community members interested in helping to host him temporarily for a week or several weeks, or permanently are asked to contact Patricia Jones, AFS Hosting Coordinator at the following telephone numbers: home - 663-3498 or cell - 419-5818. She will be happy to set up an opportunity to meet this youngster before hand, to help ease the decision to host or not host. Thank you!
2) Recycling of Printer Cartridges Yields Payoff: 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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