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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 January 30 - February 3, 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. NEW STUDENTS JOIN ISM: With the exception of two open spots in Grades 5 and 8, we are once again approaching full enrollment following student departures at the end of quarter 2. We have successfully added four new students since the previous 1/17/06 newsbrief. Assist me in welcoming: (1) a new 5th grader, Misha Polovneff who was excited to join Mrs. Sally Burns' class on January 18th. His younger sibling Sasha also attends ISM, having transferred earlier this year into Mrs. St. Germain's fourth grade. We are always pleased when we are able to "reunite" siblings from one family, which happened not once, nor twice, but three times over the past several weeks! (2) Mika Kogawa, a new Kindergartner in Miss Carrie's class, started on January 25th and she, too, joins older sibling Emi Kogawa who is a first grader in Miss Touryan's class. (3) Jared Clark and his family were thrilled to receive our "would you like to join us" call last week, following a vacancy in Grade 6. After shadowing on Friday, he enthusiastically joined his brother Brian, a fourth grader in Miss Wharton's class, as an ISM student as of yesterday! Lastly, (4) a new 3rd grader Sunny Yan started on January 23rd joining Miss Sigman's class. Sunny and his dad, Peter, are golf enthusiasts and are currently pursuing the possibility of an afterschool ISM golf program at a local golf course; more details to follow. Welcome to all of our new students and their families who collectively bring phenomenal energy and support to our ISM community!
: We apologize for the delay, but continued illness on the part of our critical Information Technology volunteer, Mr. Doug Rodda, has dramatically delayed production of Qtr 2 report cards. However, we are encouraging parents to access the PowerSchool website using assigned guardian passwords to view student grades and teacher comments for quarter 2. For those parents/guardians who may have lost or misplaced their guardian passwords, please contact your child's teacher who will assist you with locating your individual password. We indeed apologize for this ongoing report card delay and continue to earnestly work towards a resolution.
: Lasting for over an hour and a half last evening at 5:00 p.m.(1/30/05), the admin team of Executive Director Chrissie Jahn, Business Administrator Lisa Griffin Burns, and Administrative Assistant Karen Kushel conducted in the multiuse room the first public lottery for the 2006-07 academic year which included over 400 first-time and renewing applicants. The lottery process ensures fair and open access to our program as these applicants are randomly processed within each preference category, beginning with the highest grade and highest preference group. It was somewhat discouraging for the primarily Kindergarten parents assembled at the lottery to hear that we had been able to pre-place 26 Kindergartners (in the higher preference categories of P2, charter parent, P3 SIB, for students with siblings already enrolled in our program, and P3WL, for members of the 2005-06 waiting list), which greatly reduced the number of Kindergarten placements for which we would be drawing. Only three other openings throughout the school were available in the 1st - 8th grades for next year further decreasing the odds of a placement versus waiting list outcome. As staffers and community members, this low number of departing students equates to satisfied returning students for which we can be pleased, yet it is frustrating for potential families so desiring to become a part of our unique public charter school. We are currently accepting further applications for the second enrollment window until 5:00 p.m. on March 9th, with the ensuing lottery to be held on March 29th. Please note that following Monday's lottery the waiting list for Kindergarten is already 80+ long, so be sure to mention that status to friends and family if and when they inquire about our K-program for the coming year.
This week our continuing focus on Developing Capable Students shifts to the valuable "skills" required for children to become capable adults. The next few newsletters will share information for developing:
1) Intrapersonal skills, 2) Interpersonal skills, 3) Systemic Skills, and 4) Judgment Skills.
Authors Glenn and Brock have noted that Intrapersonal Skills help to build the foundation for emotional health and well-being. These skills include self-assessment, self-control, and self-discipline. Individuals, who lack intrapersonal skills have difficulty setting limits for themselves, have little or no control over their actions and are impulsive with respect to their emotions. Additionally, they believe that events, feelings and even other people cause their actions and experiences.
Self-assessment: is the ability to recognize and describe one's feelings using "I" statements. Teach children to use statements such as "I am feeling angry," I am upset about..." or "I feel frustrated when," rather than "She makes me angry (upset, etc.)". Validate children to experience and acknowledge their feelings without judgment.
Self-control: is the ability to "act" rather than "react" when responding to feelings. By asking questions that focus on responses and results, children learn that feelings do not make people do things - people do things in response to feelings. For example: "What did you do in response to the feeling? or "What were the results of that?"
Self-discipline: is the ability to recognize one's feelings, identify a desired outcome, and then adjust one's behavior appropriately. Self- discipline is developed once individuals learn to own their feelings and to accept responsibility for acting on them."
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A. GRADE 8 / BRANDAU: FIELDTRIP TO POINT PINOS: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1st - 10:15 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
B. GRADE K / REIMER & TURNER: FIELDTRIP TO FROG POND (CORNER OF DEL REY OAKS): WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8th - 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Students will meet with a naturalist to further their understanding of flowers and insects.
C. 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.
D. GRADE 8 / BRANDAU: CARPOOL AND BOAT FIELDTRIP: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15th - 10:15 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
E. GRADE K / REIMER & TURNER: 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.
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A. 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!
B. 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!
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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) CIRQUE DU SOLEIL - CORTEO TICKETS AVAILABLE?: Mr. Spedding has available at a reduced price two tickets to see Cirque's du Soleil performance of Corteo in San Jose on Friday afternoon, February 17th, at 4:00 PM. If interested, please contact Mr. Spedding at tspedding@ismonterey.org .
3) TEACHER NEEDS ANATOMICAL MODEL: Mr. Spedding is interested in borrowing an anatomical model (a torso, the kind with removable organs) for his 5th grade science class (the current unit being the physiology of plants and animals). Any pointers are appreciated. Please contact Mr. Spedding at tspedding@ismonterey.org if able to help.
4) 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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