Technology and Learning Opportunities

Learning 2.0 - Shanghai; 2-4 Nov - Last Call

It would be great to have some ES representation from CA at this year's Learning2.0.  Please contact Stephen Taylor by Fri 29 Sept at the latest if interested.  Click here to find out more.

Apple Shinsaibashi Video Editing PD

Please email LizD if you would like to join the Apple PD video editing opportunity.  Wed 18 Oct, leaving CA at 2:30pm.

Weekly Updates, Monday 25 September, 2017

Dear colleagues,

Thank you to everyone for their flexibility in scheduling and taking different roles as well as for your positive spirit for making the Cognitive Coaching possible on Friday and Dr. Copley’s LabSites available for many this week. Despite the very busy weekend, both of these opportunities are incredibly powerful and helping us as a school to move forward. Kim, Trevor, and Rose had a full weekend, with no day off, so please treat them gently this week.

Dr. Copley’s workshop and her LabSites are excellent learning opportunities for anyone who is interested and passionate about learning how conceptual understanding is developed in mathematics and to understand the fundamentals of number sense and mathematical thinking.

This week the report card working group will finalize the new report card for everyone’s perusal by Wednesday.

We will be looking for immediate feedback from the faculty so that we can finalize the reporting cycle and begin the re-designing the format on the PowerSchool. Also, on Thursday this week we will organize a parent evening to help our new parents to understand the IB PYP program.

Bookroom: The leveled bookroom is ready to begin borrowing books. Please remember to not remove entire baskets and to have adults select and return books to ensure order and consistency. Other information is found in the protocol. A big thank you to Karen Terry, Gr 3-5 Literacy Leader, for all her hard work in getting the bookroom ready for us.

Running Records: Please, check out the blogger for spreadsheets and deadlines later this week as those are not quite ready yet. However, if you would like to begin taking running records on your students, please start with the fiction text and keep the data until a spreadsheet for recording and instructions for data are shared. Thanks all for your understanding.

Enjoy the week!

Supervision:                                          Links to: Supervision Schedule 17-18    Supervision Protocol

Time	12:15-12:40	12:25-12:55	12:25-12:55	12:15-12:40	12:25-12:55
Duty	Cafeteria Tables	Playground / Gym	Playground / Atrium	Cafeteria line	Indoor recess ELAC Gym
Sept 25	Kris	Karen Terry	Jessica	none	Maiko, Kaight

This week's schedule:

Day	Morning	Afternoon - After School
Mon 24	8:00 Mtg with Nita PreK-G5 Mtg Report Card Writing Committee	Report Card Writing Committee
Tue 25	8:40-10:00 Early Years Maths Coffee Morning Report Card Writing Committee	Report Card Writing Committee 13:30Student Support Department Meeting (venue: TBD)
Wed 26	Report Card Writing Committee	14:40 - 15:30 Report Card Review 15:30 - 16:30 Nita Copley PreK-G5 Maths PD
Thu 27		19:00-21:00 PYP Workshop for parents
Fri 28	School Leadership Team

Professional Learning:

How to apply for PD

Wednesday Professional Learning:

Oct 7&8 Foundations in Math Learning, EARCOS Weekend Workshop, Raumrudee Int'l School, Bangkok

Jan 27-28 HKIS Literacy Institute with Matt Glover, Kathy Collins and Peter Johnston **Sign-up info coming soon

Future Dates:

Oct 2-4 Pia Hansen Bridges Math Workshop

Oct 16 Progress Reports to parents

Oct 19-20 Parent-Teacher Conferences

Early Year's Math PD Schedule

Dear Colleagues,

After an inspirational PD session yesterday, we are really looking forward to the learning in the labsites, planning meetings, and workshops. Here is the updated schedule and here are some items of note:
1. Please allow learning support, learning support assistants and EAL teachers to join the labsites where possible.
2. G3-5 teachers feel free to join.
3. Monday at 8:00-8:20 is the launch to the workshop for PreK-G5 teachers.
4. The Wednesday Workshop is for PreK-G5, learning support, EAL, learning support assistants and anyone with an interest in great teaching ideas.

Have a great week of learning ahead!

Early Years Math PD

Dear Colleagues,

Everything is coming together for our maths PD with Nita next week. Thank you to everyone for your time and support to get the schedule sorted out. Homeroom teachers, please be aware that EAL and Learning Support teachers will need to adjust their schedules to sub for teachers and/or join PD sessions. Thank you for your understanding.

Here is a link to the full schedule and a condensed schedule will be sent out later. Although there is a list of attendees mentioned for each session, you are welcome to join any session if you are free. 

Nita's research into math learning trajectories, conceptual learning and use of manipulatives to move from the concrete to the abstract fit well with both, developmental learning and our new Bridges resource. This workshop is another step in our journey of how we best learn maths.

Wednesday PD Update

Dear Colleagues,

For today's meeting at 14:40, we will all gather in the ELAC Multi-purpose Room. Please bring your computer and your "Cultures of Thinking" book by Ron Ritchhart if you have one.

We have flipped the session, so please refer to the schedule below:

• 14:40-15:40: Language Shapes our Thinking (Everyone)

• 15:40- 16:30: Support for using the new Fountas and Pinnell Reading assessment Kits (homeroom, EAL, Learning support)

• 15:40-16:30: Specialist teachers check-in with Heikki

See you there!

Getting Started with Maths Learning - Tips #5

Dear Colleagues,

Next week, we will have the Nita Copley workshop. Here is the schedule, which still needs a few items firmed up. Grades four to six are welcome to join so please check the schedule where you have planning time in case you can attend.

Math Meetings and Bridges PD:
Would the Math points person for each grade level please check the following. What module and which unit will your group be teaching? Is there something in particular you would like to see demonstrated. Pia needs to know this by this Friday in order to plan for the workshop. Please send Trevor the information.

Module Three Manipulatives
These will be arriving later today or tomorrow. If you need anything urgently for today, please let Trevor know.

Weekly Update, Tuesday, 19 September 2017

Dear colleagues,

Welcome to a beautiful Tuesday after the somewhat stormy long weekend. Luckily, the typhoon was quite a bit milder version of what was advertised.

Congratulations for completing the busy past week. We were able to take photos, MAPs test the grade 3 - 5 students, launch the planning of our professional learning goals and still keep the routines up and running in the classrooms. Thank you to Ellen and Jeff for sharing their learning on Bridges. Please, find the Math Presentation by following the link.

This week’s highlights include ES assembly on Thursday 21 September at 11:00 am in the theater, cognitive coaching workshop for a group of teachers and leaders at CA, and Nita Copley’s Math workshop starting on Sunday 24 September. If your students would like to (and have practiced already) present something in the assembly on Thursday, please advise them to meet Heikki in front of the theater today at 12:30.

Enjoy the short week!

Supervision:                                          Links to: Supervision Schedule 17-18    Supervision Protocol

Time	12:15-12:40	12:25-12:55	12:25-12:55	12:15-12:40	12:25-12:55
Duty	Cafeteria Tables	Playground / Gym	Playground / Atrium	Cafeteria line	Indoor recess ELAC Gym
Sept 19	Jay	Jennifer W	Colleen	Saiko	Maiko, Kaight

This week's schedule:

Day	Morning	Afternoon - After School
Mon	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 19	MAP session for parents in the ELAC multipurpose room by Stephen Taylor	13:30 Student Support Team meets 14:30 ES Leadership Team meets
Wed 20	8:00 Report Card Writing Committee	14:40 - 15:40 Language Shapes Our Thinking 15:40 - 16:30 Fountas Pinnell training 15:40 - 16:30 Specialists Check-in w/ Heikki
Thu 21	ES Assembly 11:00 am
Fri 22	School Leadership Team Meets Cognitive Coaching PD	Cognitive Coaching PD

Professional Learning:

How to apply for PD

Wednesday Professional Learning:

Sept 24 'Nita Copley Early Years Math Weekend Workshop

• EY Teachers, assistants and all others who are interested. Please sign-up using this form.

Oct 7&8 Foundations in Math Learning, EARCOS Weekend Workshop, Raumrudee Int'l School, Bangkok

Jan 27-28 HKIS Literacy Institute with Matt Glover, Kathy Collins and Peter Johnston **Sign-up info coming soon

Future Dates:

Sept 22-23 Cognitive Coaching training

Sept 24 'Nita Copley Early Years Math Weekend Workshop

Sept 25-27 'Nita Copley Early Years Math In-school Workshop

Oct 2-4 Pia Hansen Bridges Math Workshop

Oct 16 Progress Reports to parents

Oct 19-20 Parent-Teacher Conferences

Global Collaboration Day, Thursday Sept 21, 2017

Dear colleagues

Similar in some ways to International Dot Day that Riana pointed out, Global Collaboration Day is an opportunity for students to meet and collaborate with students from around the world.  Some events aimed at elementary students include:

Share a Song

Play with Me

One Day in Our Lives

One World - Where are You

What Global Mindedness means to me

SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)

Many of the events are using flipgrid so students can easily share and view short video clips.  If you like, you or your students can create your own event and advertise it on the site.

The events can be organized by anyone, which means it is very grass roots and direct from classroom to classroom, although as a result, the quality may vary between events. It is still very much worth a try because collaborating across the world can be a powerful learning experience. This experience may lead you to delve deeper into the world of international online collaboration.

Enjoy!

Liz Durkin

ES Parent Coffee Wed 13 September, 2017

Student Support Services in the Elementary School

Saiko, Rose, Yoshiko, Derrick and Joe gave wonderful interactive presentations to parents about Student Support Services at CA and explained how the services benefit all students.

Joe: "The four levels of services give you an overview how we support all students at CA."

Derrick: "Those little brains are busy all the time with ongoing sensory input, and here at school, we are asking them to focus on tasks at hand. We can help them with tools and strategies to shut down some of that overload and continue learning."

Rose: "In case of learning concern, we apply a thorough process of evaluating student needs and deciding upon level of support services, action plan, or individual educational plan. We make sure that parents are always aware of every step and contributing members of the process."

Saiko: "Co-teaching happens in many forms and groupings in the class. If you were to walk in the classroom you wouldn't necessary know who is the classroom teacher and who is the EAL teacher."

Yoshiko: "Parenting sessions are part of counseling services and provide great opportunities to share challenges and successes as a parent with other parents and learn new strategies."

Please check the slides by following the link below.
Slideshow