Happy Holidays!

Dear colleagues,

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, Eid-al-Adha, 正月 Shōgatsu, 元日 Ganjitsu, or any of the rest, - or maybe all or none of them, please enjoy, rest and rejuvanate.

The Winter Holiday Assembly!

Dear colleagues,

This is just a friendly reminder that the Winter Holiday Assembly will be on Thursday at 14:45-15:20 in the BBT. Please note we are starting 15 minutes later than originally planned. We will be celebrating the end of first term and the beginning of our holiday.

Our Agenda:

1. PK3-KA(W) & G2M musical performance
2. G2M Yuki guitar performance
3. High School Student Announcement
4. Holiday Go Noodle
5. Highlights of year video -Thanks to Kae-san for preparing it!
6. Principal's holiday message

Seating:
We will pull out the seating from the side and back walls. Classes will be divided into three big groups. There will be no chairs and students will sit on the steps. PK3-KA and KB classes will sit on the right side (facing the screen). G3-5 will sit at the back. G1 and 2 will sit on the left side.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Shed lock videos

Please find the videos for how to use the lock on the shed

Open

Lock

Combination is: 3914

Weekly Uplate, Monday 14 December

Dear colleagues,

Please make to most of the last school week of the calendar year. Past week was busy with Matt Glover. Big thank you and appreciation go to all the faculty for your flexibility, effort and willingness to learn together with your students how to best use the workshop model to nurture writers at their different developmental phases. Another huge thank you goes to Kim who organized it all including TGIF. The detailed and collaborative planning of Mr Glover’s visit ensured smooth transitions and optimal use of Matt’s time for planning, modeling and presenting. Thank you Kim!

Enjoy the week!

Supervision:                                                                Link to Master schedule

Time	12:15-12:40	12:25-12:55	12:25-12:55	12:15-12:40
Week	Cafeteria Tables	Playground	Playground	Healthy lunch guide in the cafeteria line
12/14/2015	Saiko	Karen	Jerome	Trevor

Matt Glover

Matt Glover provided many exciting opportunities for us all to learn about teaching in general, and specifically teaching of writing explicitly. Matt’s common sense approach, useful reminders about the zone of proximal development and his student-centered modeling helped us to enjoy learning. Here are some of his messages noted and interpreted by Heikki:

“ Nudging vs. Pushing: teach the most appropriate and helpful thing from the student point of view at a time instead of many.”

“Approximation: Make sure that your expectations are aligned with the student age and each student’s place in their unique journey of learning.

“ Telling, reminding and correcting are not teaching. They are only applicable and appropriate strategies when students have been explicitly taught and successfully learned the skills they are expected to apply.”

“ In order to design engaging and appropriate writers' workshops, start with developing the stack of texts; then develop a plan for mini lessons and conferring, and only then go and check how well the plans are aligned with the standards and benchmarks”

“Writers’ Workshop is the most effective model for differentiating writing instruction, that we currently have available for responding to the needs of ESOL and Learning Support students.”

Secret Santa!

This is just a reminder to spread the holiday cheer if you've joined Secret Santa. The finale is this Wednesday at the Town Hall meeting, bring a final gift adding your real name!

Coordinator's Meetings

Link to ES Team Planning Meeting Schedule

• KB-G5 will wrap-up reflections for UOI#2. Please make sure to reflect with your teaching partner in advance.
• Literacy meetings this week will focus on reflections from time with Matt Glover and continuing to resource unit folders.  

Wednesday PD and Faculty meeting time                    Link to Wednesday PD Schedule

• Town Hall Meeting and Tankyuu: Sharing Learning so far in the BBTAround the school this week:

• Thursday: Last ES Assembly of the Year! 14:30-15:20 in the BBT.
• Patomime in the main theatre on Wednesday 16th December at 6.30pm

Future Dates

There will be another blog on report writing and report cards this week. Keep on checking.

Winter Holiday Assembly, Thursday 17 December

Dear colleagues,

Winter Holiday Assembly celebrating the end of first term and the beginning of our holiday will take place on Thursday 17 December, at 14:30-15:20 in the Black Box Theatre.

As of now, we have on display:
PreK/ KA performance
Musical instrument performance of a 2nd grade student
High School Student Announcement
Principal's holiday message

If you have something that would be a good match to the the event please do not hesitate to contact
Yuko-san and Heikki.

Ms Conlin and Mr Rehel have cordially agreed to be the MCs for the event.

Matt Glover

Hello Colleagues,

Matt Glover has arrived in Japan and we look forward to welcoming him to CA tomorrow.  Please grab your morning latte and join us in the MPR to meet Matt and to hear a few announcements from him to make the most of his time with us.

Also, I am sending a friendly reminder to check the schedule over the next few days and arrive on time for your sessions.  It is a tight schedule and we will start all meetings and sessions on time.

I will be working with Matt to ensure he has all the teaching materials he needs.  For those classrooms he will teach in (labsite), please ensure there is a spot for students to sit on the floor and for him to sit, an easel if you have one,  and a space for a group of teachers to sit to observe. Thank-you so much for offering your rooms and your students:)  Please let me know if any questions or situations arise that need attention.

Weekly update, Monday 7 December

Dear colleagues,

As we enter the penultimate school week of this calendar year we hope that everyone feels well prepared for the last week and so. In many classrooms, there may be plans to celebrate the season and we encourage you to do so. However, just a friendly reminder, please respect the diversity in religion, traditions and celebrations as you go ahead with your plans. Thank you for your feedback on the Draft Elementary School Action Plan. We will get back to you with a revised plan before the holiday. Finally, we are very excited about the inspiration and learning around teaching literacy that will be available through Matt Glover this week. What a rare opportunity to learn on the job. Enjoy!

Supervision:                                                                Link to Master schedule

Time	12:15-12:40	12:25-12:55	12:25-12:55	12:15-12:40
Week	Cafeteria Tables	Playground	Playground	Healthy lunch guide in the cafeteria line
11/30/2015	Suki	Jay	Resham	Shunsuke

Matt Glover

Tuesday-Friday 8-11 December, Matt Glover will be visiting ES.  Please refer to the schedule to check for any updates. Planning sessions and labsites (him teaching a class) are open to anyone that can attend.  We haven’t had a chance to explain his visit to students, so we ask that teachers, explain to students who he is and why he will be here teaching classes. Students should also be aware that a number of teachers will be in some classes watching and taking notes.

Sign-up to spread a holiday spirit!

Secret Santa is back by popular demand!  Put your name down to take part in a week of small treats with a colleague. Monday at 4 pm is the deadline to add your name. Names will be shared Tuesday or Wednesday this week. Finale is next Wednesday at the Town Hall meeting. Here is the link to sign up.

Coordinator's Meetings

Link to ES Team Planning Meeting Schedule

• There will be no PYP meetings with Trevor this week to give more flexibility to visit labsites and get the most out of Matt's visit. Next week, KB-G5 will wrap-up reflections for UOI#2. Please make sure to reflect with your teaching partner in advance so we can complete it next week.
• Kim will not attend Literacy meetings this week. Please continue to reflect in teams and document unit resources for Units of Study #2.

Wednesday PD and Faculty meeting time                    

Link to Wednesday PD Schedule

• 2-hour block: Matt Glover (This will be in the auditorium.)

Around the school this week:

• Elementary TGIF from 3:30-5pm in the faculty lounge (beside cafeteria). Come by to say farewell to Matt and to have a cup of cheer!
• Secondary Art exhibition in the Atrium all week. Check out our budding artists!
• Secondary students (and PK/KA) are taking part in Creativity sessions (time and space for students to create something) last period Friday

Future Dates

There will be another blog on report writing and report cards this week. Keep coming back here.

Mindshift in Math Article

Check out an interesting article upon Mindset and Math: "Not a Math Person": How to Remove Obstacles to Learning Math

Matt Glover Schedule

Dear colleagues,

Please review the tentative schedule for Matt Glover and use the comment box to raise any questions or concerns. This will be finalized by Friday this week.Kim has spoken with at least one homeroom teacher per grade level already to check for conflicts. Please have a look to ensure that it all works out. Thank you.

Friday Recess - No soccer fields available

Dear all,

Please note that soccer fields are not available at recess times on Friday, 4 December due to MS Girls Soccer Tournament.

We will keep you posted regarding any alternative spaces.