Dear Parents,
Thank you to all the
families who came to our student-led conferences yesterday afternoon and today.
Conferences offer authentic opportunities for students to share their learning
with their parents, and they empower children to take ownership of their goals.
We hope you had a chance to see your child through a new lens – in action in
their classroom environment – and gain insight into their thinking and
behavior.
Occasionally, a
parent feels a need to discuss their child’s achievements, behavior and/or social
issues directly and privately with the teacher. If this is the case, I
encourage the parent to make an appointment to discuss these issues directly
with the teacher.
Thank you for coming.
Together we inspire a love of learning!
India Month activities
Here are some
pictures of elementary students, who have been enjoying various activities
showcasing our host country this month.
Remember that there are many more exciting events on the way, including:
K-2 Assembly on Wednesday, October 21st at 8:45
3-5 Assembly
on Wednesday, October 28th at 8:45
(Students
are encouraged to wear Indian clothes on the day of their performance.)
Indian lunch on Thursday, October 29th
October Parent Coffee
Thanks to
the parents who were able to join us this past Tuesday to learn about our new
Next Generation Science Standards and hear how we’re using our brand new
Science and Discovery Studios. If you missed the session, you can access the
presentation here.
Parents also
had the opportunity to participate in the same engineering design challenge
that our K-2 students did. Parents were given 20 pieces of spaghetti, one
marshmallow and tape. They had to create the tallest structure they could with
the marshmallow on top. Surprisingly, having the marshmallow on top creates all
kinds of balance problems that need to be solved. Happily, parents did just as
well as their children!
So what else
have your children been doing in the Science and Discovery Studios so far this
school year? In addition to the K-2 Marshmallow and Spaghetti challenge, grades
3-5 were given a water challenge to solve. They had to move water from the top
corner of a work table into a bucket sitting on the floor about half a table
length away. They had to use 3 different plastic containers and tape, and spill
as little water as possible. Needless to say we had a great variety of
solutions to the challenge and also a lot of water on the floor!
Currently,
most of the grades are about to start or have started their first Science
Engineering challenge.
Kindergarteners
are learning about forces (pushes and pulls) in their classrooms. When they
come to the studios, children will be tasked with creating a marble track that
has hills and turns in it. This will be made using cardboard, cardboard tubing,
paper and tape. We should have quite a variety of solutions in this activity.
Grade 1 will
be working on an activity about the sun, moon, and stars. In class they will
make observations of objects in the sky to describe patterns that can be
predicted. The students will draw out the sun, moon and stars and then
demonstrate these patterns through the use of a Zoetrope - a machine that was
used to create the earliest form of animation.
Grade 2 will
given the challenge of creating a building that can withstand the Big Bad Wolf
as he tries to blow their buildings down. The students have already tested a
variety of building materials and recorded data related to strength and
flexibility. Now the task will be to build the strongest structure they can
with those materials.
Grade 3 will
be tackling a challenge called the Die of Doom in which the students roll one
die with six different weather related hazards on it. Students will have to
research and make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the
impacts of that weather-related hazard. The students will then make a structure
that helps reduce the impact of a severe weather hazard. All the structures
will be made out of recycled junk.
Grade 4 will
be looking at different ways to mitigate the impacts of an earthquake. We have
created the scenario of having the students make lookout towers that are on an
island called Danger Island. The towers are used to look for tsunamis. The
students will then have to build their towers using a very limited amount of
materials. Once the towers are built, they will be tested on an earthquake
machine to see how much shaking they can take.
Grade 5 have
been looking at the properties of matter. Specifically, that some properties of
matter are too small to be seen. To help illustrate that, the students created
kites. The kites they made were either a 2-stick or 3-stick kite. The kites
will be used to illustrate that something invisible like air is actually there
and can be “seen” by flying something like a kite.
Please ask
your children about their experiences in our Science and Discovery Studios.
We’re very proud of the fact that our engineering design challenges are tied to
the content of our science units, and we’re thrilled with great work children
are doing!
Director of Teaching & Learning
Search
Parents,
please join us on Tuesday morning, Oct. 20, 8:30-10:00 in the BBT to meet our
three finalist candidates for the position of Director of Teaching &
Learning.
Parents will
have the opportunity to listen to each candidate answer the same pre-selected
questions following this schedule:
8:30 to 9:00
- Dan Love
9:00 to 9:30
- Jerry Maraia
9:30 to
10:00 - Rebecca Caudill
Feel free to
check their dossiers on Moodle in the DTL folder.
Please come,
listen, and share your feedback!
Halloween - October 30
Halloween
celebrations will take place on October 30th. Your child's classroom teacher
will share with you activities that are specific to the class. In general,
there are class parties and students will parade around the school at a
pre-determined time to receive a small candy at various points along the parade
route. We do ask that costumes not be too scary and that any weapons that are
accessories to a costume stay at home.
November Lunch Menu and Order
links
You can
access the November lunch menu here.
You may use
either the Payonline or the Lunch Pre-order system to order lunch for your
child(ren).
The Payonline System
Payonline
allows parents to charge their child’s smart cards online, order and pay for
lunches, and register and pay for after school activities. Payment is completed
online using a credit or debit card. You need a username and password to access
this system. Please see the user guide
here for help using the system.
Access
Payonline here.
Lunch Pre-Order System for Cash
Payments
This system
allows parents to pre-order lunches for the month and pay with cash at the cash
counter. Login using just the email address we have on file at AISC. Please see
the user guide here.
Access the
Lunch Pre-Order System here.
If you have
any difficulties logging in or ordering, please notify itsupport@aisch.org by
email and we will resolve it immediately.
Have a great
week!
Kevin Hall
Elementary
School Principal