End-of-year Assembly

Good Morning Everyone,

Our End-of-year Assembly will start this morning at 9:00 sharp and last until 10:05. Please be on time as we have a lot of great items to reflect on the year and to lead into the spirit of summer. As such, our time to share everything needs to be precise. Here is the seating plan for the auditorium.

Overview & Time

9:00 Welcome from Trevor and Kim (3-5 min)

9:05-9:20 G5 certificate presentation (10-15 min)

9:20-9:25 End-of-year video (5 min )

9:25-9:30 Brain Break (5 min)

9:30-9:45 Leaving teacher's recognition(10-15 min)

9:45-9:52 Japanese PYPX action video (7 min)

9:52-9:55 Xavier on piano (3 min)

9:55-10:00 Birthday video (5-7 minutes)

10:00-10:05 Mr Soini's end-of-year remarks  (3-5 min)

ES Faculty List 16-17 & ES Schedule 16-17

Dear colleagues,

We are happy to inform you that we have completed recruitment for this year and that we have the full ES team ready to start in August 2016. Please, find the faculty list here.

Additionally, the final ES Schedule can be found here and it is also linked to the sidebar of the blogger page. Recess duties will be confirmed in August.

Balanced Literacy in the Elementary School

Dear Colleagues,

Before heading into summer, I would like to congratulate us all for reaching the final stage of the decision-making process for common literacy resources. We can start the new school year with some new resources but most importantly with a shared understanding what and how to facilitate balanced literacy learning in the Elementary School.

Thank-you to all the focus groups and teachers who have volunteered to pilot resources to support our balanced literacy model. Your feedback and contributions along with the guiding document created in semester one formed a strong foundation for the final decisions. You will notice some of the current resources used will continue, and some new resources will be introduced. 

Writing	Reading
Writing Units of Study    (Lucy Calkins)	Reading Units of Study  (Lucy Calkins)
Fountas and Pinnell Phonics and Word Study Continuum (PK-5) Continuum used to determine skills and strategies taught in each year level Binders and kit are available as a resource for teachers PK- G3
Words Their Way  Spelling inventory used K-5 Word Sorts used K-3 (4,5 to explore further resources)	Fountas and Pinnell  Benchmark Reading Assessment System (K-5) Used to assess reading levels and miscue analysis
Handwriting Without Tears  PK and KB 2016/17 (G1 following year, then G2 etc)
Pathways Continuums (K-5) Provide anchor continuums for all 3 writing types	Continue with CA reading continuum for 16/17

We will be placing an order over the summer in order to have materials ready for each grade level starting in August. In the meantime overviews of The Fountas and Pinnell Word Study Continuums and Words Their Way stages can be found in this google folder. 

Kim will be sharing more details on how to use these resources to support teaching and learning in the new year.  She will also be explaining these resources to the new teachers during orientation in August. 

Happy Holidays!

Thank you all for the school year 15-16! Wishing you all a rejuvenating holidays, all the best in the future to those leaving CA; and see you in August to those who will return!
Kim, Trevor and Heikki

Stipended Roles in 16-17

Dear colleagues,

The following stipended roles will be available for interested faculty members including the new faculty members already accessing this blog.

Math Leader positions are new and they follow the idea we had with literacy leaders this year. Those teachers are asked work closely with the coordinator (Trevor in mathematics, Kim in literacy) and to adopt, develop and design their practice so that it is aligned with the desired approach in teaching mathematics. Additionally, they are asked to model the teaching practice for others, share ideas and resources with colleagues, and lead the piloting process with the coordinator.

As we have many new faculty members joining us next year, all the positions will be decided upon and communicated in August 2016.

Positions and stipends
Leadership Club 200,000 JPY (Similar to student council and can be split between two teachers)
Literacy Leader 100,000 JPY (Preferably K - 1)
Literacy Leader 100,000 JPY (Preferably 2 - 5)
Math Leader 100,000 JPY (Preferably K - 2)
Math Leader 100,000 JPY (Preferably 3 - 5)


Please email Heikki between now and August 22nd, if you were interested in taking any of these exciting roles.

Please welcome Ms. Remi Yamaguchi

Dear colleagues,

Ms. Remi Yamaguchi, Yuko's maternity leave substitute will be visiting the ES Office on Tuesday the 7th of June between 1:00 and 4:30.

Yuko's maternity leave officially starts in the 2nd week of August and Remi will be working in the ES office the school year 2016-2017. If you have a chance, please stop by the Elementary School office to welcome Remi to CA.

Weekly Update, Monday 6 June, 2016

Dear colleagues,

This is the last weekly update of the school year 2015-2016. Congratulations for getting through the year successfully! The hunch is that this week is going to swing by as fast as all the others this year so be prepared to launch your summer holiday within few days. Highlights of the week include the revelation of the schedule for 16-17 on Tuesday morning, whole school town hall meeting on Wednesday and Elementary School assembly in the main theatre on Friday. Enjoy the children, colleagues and the last week of the school!

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
6/6/2016	Keesha	Lynette	Joy	Not applicable at the moment

The Last Week 6-10 June 2016

Monday, 6 June: One happy Monday!

Tuesday, 7 June: Master Schedule for 16-17

Wednesday, 8 June: Town Hall Meeting (Whole School)

Thursday, 9 June: Student Data Base Updated

Friday, 10 June: ES Assembly 9:00 - 10:15 in the Auditorium

Report Cards open to parents

Handover to New Teacher ready

Final Checkout List Completed and signed

Summer Holiday Starts!

Future Dates:

Coordinator's Meetings:

Link to ES Team Planning Meeting Schedule

• Literacy Meetings as scheduled (Unit of study 6 resources)
• UOI Meetings: Last unit reflections
• Tuesday KB 10:00-11:00, G3 2:10-3:30, Thurs. G5 9:30-10:10 G1 10:20-10:50 PK3-KA TBA
• Please have the majority of the reflections completed before the meeting

Building Professional Capital:

In preparation for Matt Glover next year: The Teacher You Want to Be - sample

In preparation for Ron Ritchhart next year: Creating Cultures of Thinking - sample

In preparation for John Joseph next year: Focus Education site

TGIF - ELAC backyard

Dear colleagues,

Come and join us for the last TGIF before the summer break this Friday afternoon in the ELAC - backyard. Nice sunny afternoon, drinks food, and a great atmosphere to enjoy the end of the week.