Weekly Updates, Monday, 25 September, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

The transition from the hot and humid embrace of summer to the pleasant warmth of fall signals our entry into the sixth week of the academic year. This week promises a routine flow, allowing us to engage deeply with our schedules without significant distractions. However, the horizon holds a flurry of activities — from Bridges lab sites, school photos, health screenings, the Falcon futsal tournament to our sports day and the much-anticipated parent-teacher conferences. These events promise to add vibrant layers to our already bustling school life.

Here are a few important reminders for the week:

Fire Drill: Scheduled for Tuesday, we urge everyone to familiarize themselves with the emergency manual beforehand to ensure a smooth and safe drill.

Elementary School Presentation: On Wednesday, we invited our parents for an enlightening session. This will delve into our teaching and learning philosophy and shed light on the Elementary School practices and the intricacies of the IB PYP. The venue is our Library Presentation Space. As a highlight, we aim to allow parents a glimpse into some classrooms, showcasing inquiry-based learning in real time.

Accreditation Tankyuu Groups: Wednesday afternoon sees the inaugural gathering of the accreditation Tankyuu groups. This pivotal step will kickstart the self-evaluation process, paving the way for our scheduled visit in September 2024.

Lastly, the weekend presents a golden opportunity for professional development. Both the Inquiry Educator Summit by Toddle and the Bridges training are on the cards, steered by highly esteemed trainers.

Best wishes, Erin, Trevor, and Heikki.

This week’s duties:                     Duty Roster 23-24

Time	10:28 - 10:40	12:25-12:50	12:40-13:00	13:00-13:20	14:10-14:25
Duty Area (*Rainy day area)	Playscape Playscape Soccer fields (In classrooms)	Line G1-2 Tables G3-5 Tables	Shed (Gym) Playscape (Classroom) Soccer fields  (Classroom)	Shed (Gym) Playscape (Classroom) Soccer fields  (Classroom)	Playground (In classrooms) Note:  Shed kept closed
Who	Heather Nicole Kasumi	Heikki Trevor	Noriko Emi Kaho	Michelle Suki Kieran	Heather Nicole Kasumi

Wet break location rotation:

Venue / Date	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.
Classrooms and Commons	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4
Classrooms and Commons	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5
Library & Makers’ Space	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1
ELAC Gym	Gr 5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3

 This Week's Schedule:                                                                                                     Master Schedule 23-24 

Day	Morning	Afternoon
Mon Sep 25 Day 7
Tue Sep 26 Day 8	11:00 Fire Drill
Wed Sep 27 Day 9	8:45-10:00 Parent Workshop on Learning in the Elementary School and the IB PYP	Wednesday PD:  14:40 - 16:30 Tankyuu CIS/IB Accreditation launch
Thu Sep 28 Day 1
Fri Sep 29 Day 2
Sat Sept 30	The Inquiry Educator Summit - by Toddle	The Inquiry Educator Summit - by Toddle
Sun Oct 1	Bridges Workshop The Inquiry Educator Summit - by Toddle	Bridges Workshop  The Inquiry Educator Summit - by Toddle

Future Dates Bridges Math Workshop Oct 1st Sunday - Oct 4th Wednesday School Photos Oct 2nd Monday - Oct 6th Friday Days 3-7 Falcon Cup Futsal Tournament Oct 6th  Friday - Day 7 CA Sports Day Oct 9th  Monday - Day 8 October Assembly Oct 12th Thursday 9:30 - Day 2 ES Parent-Teacher Conferences Oct 19th & 20th Thursday and Friday - Day 7&8 Fall Break! Oct 21st Saturday - 29th Sunday Matt Glover - Writers Workshop Oct 30th Monday(PD Day) - Oct 4th Thursday

Provisional Wednesday Learning Plan Oct 4th A: Bridges Workshop (Classroom, LS, EAL, TAs) A: Differentiated TBD (MVPs, TLCs, Senseis) B: EL #2 Planning for Oct 10th (Everyone) Oct 11th PTC Guidance PTC Planning time Oct 18th A: Reflecting on our units of learning and linked units (Everyone) B: EAL Workshop Co-teaching (K-5 Classroom, LS, EAL, TAs) B: Differentiated TBD (PreK-KA, MVPs, TLCs, Senseis) Nov 1st A: Matt Glover  (Classroom, senseis, LS, EAL, TAs) A: Differentiated TBD (MVPs, TLCs) B: Data dialogue in preparation for Report Cards (Everyone)

Continuing Learning: 

For Professional development applications, please follow these steps:

1. Dialogue with your Learning Leader or Principal about your interest in the opportunity.

2. Apply through the PD Opportunity Request form found on KissFlow. (Applications must be submitted no later than 10 days before the registration deadline.) 

Weekly Updates, Tuesday, 19 September, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

The weekend break provided a wonderful opportunity to rest and recover from the busy first four weeks of the school year. These weeks have been marked by the hectic process of launching the new school year, which included welcoming new teams, settling into new spaces, integrating new units and resources, and, most importantly, getting to know all our new students.

Despite this being a short week, it marks the commencement of an important phase. During this time, we'll continue collecting learning data and start making instructional decisions based on the interpretations of the data. Our goal is to create a holistic understanding of our learners, which we will then share with parents during the conferences in five weeks.

On Wednesday, we'll begin with an update on our emergency procedures from Jonathan Calvert in the main theater. Following that, we'll move to the Library to further clarify our expectations for parent communication through Toddle and to discuss writing the unit-related overview with our respective teams.

Let's make the most of this short week!

Warm regards, Erin, Trevor, and Heikki

This week’s duties:                     Duty Roster 23-24

Time	10:28 - 10:40	12:25-12:50	12:40-13:00	13:00-13:20	14:10-14:25
Duty Area (*Rainy day area)	Playscape Playscape Soccer fields (In classrooms)	Line G1-2 Tables G3-5 Tables	Shed (Gym) Playscape (Classroom) Soccer fields  (Classroom)	Shed (Gym) Playscape (Classroom) Soccer fields  (Classroom)	Playground (In classrooms) Note:  Shed kept closed
Who	Seth Rose Yoshiko	Heikki Erin	Mayu Caterina Patrick	Liam Jen Kae	Seth Rose Yoshiko

Wet break location rotation:

Venue / Date	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.
Classrooms and Commons	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4
Classrooms and Commons	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5
Library & Makers’ Space	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1
ELAC Gym	Gr 5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3	Gr 1	Gr  5	Gr 4	Gr 2-3

 This Week's Schedule:                                                                                                     Master Schedule 23-24 

Day	Morning	Afternoon
Mon Sep 17 Day	Respected for the Aged - National Holiday
Tue Sep 18 Day 3
Wed Sep 19 Day 4		Wednesday PD:  Emergency Drill review (Main Theater) Toddle communication (Library)
Thu Sep 20 Day 5
Fri Sep 21 Day 6

Future Dates Bridges Math Workshop Oct 1st Sunday - Oct 4th Wednesday School Photos Oct 2nd Monday - Oct 6th Friday Days 3-7 Falcon Cup Futsal Tournament Oct 6th  Friday - Day 7 CA Sports Day Oct 9th  Monday - Day 8 October Assembly Oct 13th, Thursday 9:30 - Day 2 ES Parent-Teacher Conferences Oct 19th & 20th Thursday and Friday - Day 7&8 Fall Break! Oct 21st Saturday - 29th Sunday Matt Glover - Writers Workshop Oct 30th Monday(PD Day) - Oct 4th Thursday

Wednesday Learning Sept 27th 14:40-16:30 Tankyuu Whole school  Under construction…

Continuing Learning: 

For Professional development applications, please follow these steps:

1. Dialogue with your Learning Leader or Principal about your interest in the opportunity.

2. Apply through the PD Opportunity Request form found on KissFlow. (Applications must be submitted no later than 10 days before the registration deadline.) 

For further information on PD, Travel, categories & application processes ' click here'.

• IB PD: Here is the IB PD Booklet 22-23. Here is their search to find the workshops.

• Check emails from Clover Hicks for other online PD opportunities

• N.B. All PD information posted on Blogger is by default 'Personal PD' unless otherwise noted.