Elementary School Communication: March 2018

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Weekly Update, Monday 19 March 2018

Dear colleagues

Although, the Sakura forecasts are sky-high everywhere and apparently it is hard to predict the dates as the temperatures are fluctuating, it
seems that the best time to spot the blossoming in Kobe area is during the spring break.
We hope that there is something left on the green belt after the break, as we are having the annual o-hanami
Wednesday afternoon on the 4th of April. The past week was busy with pineapple chart including Karen T’s,
Riana’s, Kris’ and Steve’s sessions. Also, as a natural progression from the Tech Workshop, the Grade 4 museum
walk was a great success. The week ended with the wonderful Dorothy in the Wonderland - play. Rose and
Toyoko’s successful directing and amazingly spot-on casting resulted in hilarious and memorable drama
experience for both the performing students and the audience. On Wednesday this week, we will be reflecting
upon collaborative planning as the ES faculty and the classroom teachers are asked to look into how we use time.
This is to help the program integration team to work on developing guidance and options to merge Literacy,
Mathematics, and PoI learning.
Finally, on Friday this week, CA is inviting the whole faculty for TGIF at Mikage Shinseido in Tori Bon Bon. We will enjoy great company seasoned with Yakitori and nomihodai. Please check out an email from Liz Andrews

for RSVP.

We wish everyone a successful week and restful and rejuvenating spring break

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
March 12	Kae	Kaho	Karen T		Maiko, Kaight

This week's schedule:

Day	Morning	Afternoon - After School
Mon 19 Day 2		12:00-16:00 ES Leadership Meeting
Tues 20 Day 3	10:20-11:15 G3 Ethnology Museum	13:30- 14:30 ES Student Support Team 14:30-15:30 ES Leadership Team
Wed 21 Day 1	9:00-9:45 G3 Ethnology Museum	14:40 - 15:30 Collaboration Reflection 15:30 - 15:45 Time survey for classroom teachers 15:45 - 16:30 Tankyuu time, committee/ workgroup meetings
Thu 22 Day 2
Fri 23 Day 3		5:30-7:30 pm TGIF at Mikage Shinseido Tori Bon Bon

Professional Learning:

March 25-27 Kim and Trevor at the IB Global Conference in Singapore
Mar 29-31 EARCOS Annual Conference
Fri April 20 EAL job-alike at YIS

How to apply for PD

Wednesday Professional Learning:

Future Dates:

26 - 30 March, Spring Break

4 April, Ohanami Wednesday Faculty Picnic on the Green belt

2 - 26 April, Artist in Residence DJ Monsta

9 - 27 April, CA Arts Festival

23 April, MAPS Data training

26 April, PYP Exhibition

27 April, Student-Led-Conferences

14-15 April, Cultures of Thinking Seminar

30 April - 18 May, IB Exams, Gr 12

3 - 4 May, Golden Week Holiday

21 - 15 May, Grades 3 - 5 MAPs

25 May, Grades 3 - 4 Concert

26 May, International Kids Festival (Rokko Island)

9 June, Faculty End of Year Party

14 June, Report Cards to Parents, 15 June, Last day of school

Order Protocols and ES Budgets for teaching materials and books

Dear colleagues,

It is time to work on purchasing supplies/books for the 2018-19 school year. Below you can find some general explanations as well as detailed steps for making orders. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either Remi-san, Heikki or Sachiko-san about the orders

Budget

Grade level and subject area budgets include funds for teaching material, consumables, and books.

It is recommended to use up to 60% of total grade level budgets for the orders in question. See the budgets below.

Overseas orders

Overseas orders should include teaching material and consumables that cannot be found in Japan. Please note that after adding tax and shipping the cost of overseas material is about twice (x1.8) compared to the list prices. Overseas orders are also time sensitive, so it is important to follow the timeline. Before the orders can leave, they need to be shared with and approved by Heikki.

Local orders

Local orders include consumables and teaching material available in Japan. These orders can be done throughout the school year. However, it is important that every classroom has a sufficient amount of consumables for the beginning of the year. The point person for local orders is Remi-san, who will receive your orders and get Heikki's approval against each budget.

Book orders

We have been able to establish a good classroom library through the book orders already.

There will be some needs to continue to build the stacks and to ensure that all genres and units of study have sufficient resources. For book orders, we recommend Baker & Taylor for lower cost (longer delivery time, though) and, of course, Amazon. Please consult Kim for further information.

Important dates and steps to follow:

Overseas orders (FBC) to Heikki and Remi-san by Wednesday, 11 April 2018

Book orders to Heikki (via Remi-san) by Wednesday, 11 April 2018

Local orders for the beginning of the new school year to Remi-san between April 19 and May 25, 2018

Material and supplies that are not available in Japan are usually ordered via the Foreign

Buyers Club (FBC) and they have only one surface freight in a month. Please note that if we miss the July freight, your material will arrive in mid-August.

Please, find the excel forms attached to an additional email from Sachiko-san including

FBC Form and book order form

The catalogs are already available in the ELAC lounge and ES office.

Further procedures for placing overseas orders for the 2018-19 school year:

A) Ordering less than 5 items per supplier:

please use the CA Purchase Order form in Final Site as usual.

B) Ordering more than 5 items per supplier:

1. Open the Purchase Order request form template (See Sachiko's email)

2. Place orders by the company and also by categories (of textbooks or

supplies/materials). Please use the correct form either for materials/supplies or for books.

This template calculates the total amount of your PO request at the bottom

3. Go to CA Purchase Order (PO) form in Final site and give the supplier name and the total

amount.

It is an important step for a budget control system.

In the description, please mention "see attached" and submit it to the Principal.

4. Please send the original PO which was saved for your reference to

Heikki, Remi, and Sachiko-san

Notes:

a. Please try to use as few companies as necessary to save on handling & shipping charges.

b. It is recommended that materials/supplies not be ordered from the UK or other countries. Unfortunately, final costs become triple as much of the list price due to high customs clearance/shipping charges so your budget wouldn't go as far.

c. The average rate of total expenses including shipping/handling charge for overseas orders is:

1.40 for materials/supplies from FBC (by boat)

1.15 - 1.30 for books

For further information please contact Sachiko Takihara at the reception as she is the CA Overseas Purchasing Agent.

Finally, below you can find the grade level budgets for 2018-2019. These budgets do not include field trips or technology. Grade 2* budget anticipates the possible opening of the 3rd section. However, this will be decided later in the year as the enrollment development is a bit clearer. If you have any questions about the budgets, please contact Heikki.

PreK3/KA	580,000
KA
KB	580,000
Grade 1	580,000
Grade 2	700,000*
Grade 3	580,000
Grade 4	580,000
Grade 5	580,000
Art	300,000
Music	300,000
PE	500,000
Japanese	300,000
EAL	200,000
Learning Support	200,000
Guidance	50,000
Technology	500,000

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Weekly Update, Monday 12 March, 2018

Dear colleagues,
Have a go with the Pineapple Chart on Monday before or after school. Check out the faculty lounge!

We have two full weeks to design the most exciting learning experiences for our students and colleagues before the
spring break. Temperatures are warming up again so life should look sunny and bright.
Congratulations to Satsuki and Grade 1 and 2 classes for yet another wonderful concert on Thursday past week.
Also, thank you to Student Support Team and all the contributors for running the Student of Concern meetings in order to gather
student data of our more vulnerable learners.
This week, we’ll continue with Tankyuu meetings. The depth and passion for professional learning are incredibly
strong in our community. On Wednesday, we have a tech workshop run by Liz Durkin. Please, bring your devices
and ideas to the meeting from 14:40 to 16:00. In preparation, please check out the following two articles in support
of the use of technology in supporting student learning: Early Childhood & Upper Elementary. You can read both
or just the one pertinent to your current learning. Finally, like last week, we would like to designate time for
Cognitive Coaching as the last half an hour. Lastly, this week will end with the ES Play extravaganza!

Let’s have a great week!