Friday, May 23

Dear Parents,

Summer reading is an important part of our teacher toolkit. This is backed up by research by Harvard professor Jimmy Kim. In his research that shows “promising yet preliminary findings,” Kim states: “I found that the volume of summer book reading was positively related to fall reading achievement independent of prior reading and writing skills and student background characteristics…. In particular, reading four to five books had significantly larger effects than reading three or fewer books.” (2004)

Interestingly, other research shows that if English is not your first language, reading in your first language will have tremendous positive benefits for reading in English. Beyond fostering a simple love of books, reading skills such as understanding the plot, making predictions, or empathizing with the characters transfer across the task of reading. So no matter what the language, reading this summer, and reading a lot, will put our students in a great place for the start of the school year! 

Parents may also wish to take advantage of our subscription to TumbleBooks. TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they will love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you. All you need is the Flash plug-in which is preloaded on most computers and reading tablets. Happy summer reading!

AISC carries thousands of electronic books (e-Books).  In fact, we have over 4,000!  There are three different platforms we use for our e-Books. Click here to learn more about these platforms and to obtain the username and password for each. If you need any help logging in or want more assistance in using the e-Books, please stop into the CIC  before Friday and ask our staff.

End of School Year Notice

As we are approaching the end of the school year, there are a few things parents need to keep in mind. Students will need to return all textbooks, library books, musical instruments and any other items issued by the school. All payables, such as lunch fees, must be cleared before we can release report cards. Report cards will be handed out on 29th May in the classrooms for returning students. Spring Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test results will be inside the report card envelope. If you are leaving early for your summer vacation, you can collect your child’s report from the Elementary Principal’s office when you return in August.

For students who are leaving AISC, report cards and school leaving documents will be given to parents on May 30th. Parents are asked to collect these documents at the Admissions Office. School ID cards (issued to parents, drivers and house-help) and car decals must be returned to the Admissions Office at this time. 

Elementary School Yearbook

Today each student received the 2013-14 elementary school yearbook. Unlike previous years, this is a yearbook that is truly dedicated to the elementary school! I hope you enjoy the 100 colorful pages that capture this school year.

A Message from Elementary Roots and Shoots

School is almost over!  And for many of us we go home over the summer and buy all new school supplies for next year.  Most of us get new backpacks.  But what do we do with our old ones?  

On the last day of school, the Elementary School Roots and Shoots club will be putting large collection boxes near the entrances.  If you are not going to be using your backpack next year, we ask you to kindly donate it to the children of our support staff (the people who take care of our school).  Just take out your folders and papers and put the empty backpack in the box.  

Thank you for being compassionate and thinking of others.  “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” - Maya Angelou

Finally, this is just a reminder that students are dismissed next Friday at 12:00 and there is no lunch service.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal