Weekly Updates, Monday, 7 September, 2026

Dear colleagues,

Thank you for navigating an exceptionally busy week. Between Tuesday’s morning briefing, Wednesday’s professional learning, new recess protocols, collaboration, and the new format for Back-to-School Night, it was a full and important week for our Elementary School community.

Throughout it all, you maintained a sense of calm and ensured that meaningful learning continued in our classrooms each day. Your professionalism, flexibility, and care for our students were evident throughout the week. Thank you for continuing to create the conditions in which children feel known, supported, and ready to learn.

This week, we will focus on the launch of SEEDS with Clover. The second part of Wednesday’s professional learning time will be dedicated to reflecting on the start of the school year, including our in-service week, New Family Orientation, Listening Conferences, Back-to-School Night, and the new recess protocols. This will be an opportunity to celebrate what has worked well, identify what we have learned, and consider the adjustments that will strengthen our systems and practices.

Assembly: Thursday, September 10, 10:45–11:15 a.m.

Come ready to learn the CA song, play a game, hear a few updates, and discover what all the excitement about dots is!

Duties

Please review the September 7 tab in the duty schedule for this week’s updated duties. Search for your name to ensure that you do not miss an assigned duty.

The weather forecast is looking slightly cooler. If recess can take place outside, please refer to the regular duty schedule for your assigned location.

As you experience the new recess arrangements, please keep track of what is working well and where challenges remain. We will discuss both during Wednesday afternoon’s broader reflection on the start of the school year.

PE Equipment During Indoor Recess

To ensure consistent indoor-recess routines across all grade levels, please refer to the photo below for the standard gym setup and available equipment.

Please use the green divider to separate the gym into two areas. From the designated supervision point, you should be able to monitor both sides.

• Red door: Keep it closed and locked throughout recess.

• Nets: Badminton and volleyball nets will be available, complementing our current Net Games unit.

• Balls and hula hoops: Return them to the cart.

• Giant volleyball: Return it to the yellow basket.

• Badminton rackets and birdies: Return them to the blue plastic container.

Thank you for helping students use the equipment safely and return everything to its proper place. These shared routines help recess run smoothly and allow students to enjoy active play—even when the weather keeps us indoors.

Please contact Trevor or Kikoy if you have any questions about the gym setup.

As we enter another full week, let us continue building on the calm, care, and sense of belonging that you have already established. The start of a school year asks a great deal of everyone, but it also gives us the opportunity to learn, adjust, and grow together.

Let’s have another excellent week of learning!

Katie, Jill, and Heikki

Soccer rotation (if playing outside this week)

Grades 1, 2 & 3	Grades 4 & 5	Grades 1, 2 & 3	Grades 4 & 5	No Soccer
Mondays	Tuesdays	Wednesday	Thursdays	Fridays

Day	Morning	Afternoon
Mon, Sept 7 Day 7
Tue, Sept 8  Day 8
Wed, Sept 9 Day 9		14:40 - 15:30 SEEDS 15:30 - 16:30 Reflection Session
Thu, Sept 10 Day 1	10:45 Assembly
Fri, Sept 11 Day 2

Future Dates: September 14-17, Gr 3 - 5 MAP testing September 18, Whole School PD Day: Restorative Justice September 18- 21, Long weekend, Respect for the Aged September 22-23, Gr 3 - 5 MAP testing continued October 12, Sports Day (No school, community event; all families invited;  all faculty and staff joining for organization and supervision)

Weekly Updates, Monday, 31 September, 2026

Dear colleagues,

This week brings us into September and an exciting milestone: our newly redesigned Back-to-School Night. Thank you for the thought and care you are putting into completing the grade-level information packages and preparing to welcome our families. This new format gives us an important opportunity to strengthen connections, share our Elementary School vision, and help families understand how we create the conditions for high-quality learning throughout the year.

We will also hold our first monthly morning briefing on Tuesday, beginning at 7:50 a.m. in the Library Presentation Space. During the briefing, we will share information about upcoming events and important dates. It will also provide an opportunity for teaching teams to share relevant updates with colleagues.

On Wednesday, we will briefly revisit our Adaptive Schools learning and continue thinking about how we organize and facilitate meetings to support collaboration, collegiality, and productive team dialogue. Teams will also have time to continue developing and finalizing their team norms.

Please also take some time to review the Toddle Portfolio Guidelines with your team.

As we discussed last Wednesday, the Heat Recess Locations for this week can be found here. We are trying two lunch rotations this week, which will slightly alter some duty times. Please check the duty schedule carefully so that you know where you need to be. Thank you for informing your students of their play locations each morning and helping them adjust smoothly to the lunchtime changes. Your consistency and support will make this new approach much easier for everyone.

Soap dispensers in the bathrooms

Some soap dispensers have been unscrewed, resulting in unnecessary waste. Please remind students to use them properly and to show respect for our shared spaces and the work of our cleaning staff.

We have another full and important week ahead. Thank you for continuing to support one another, for remaining flexible as we refine our systems, and for bringing positive energy to our students and families. Let’s make our first Back-to-School Night in this new format a welcoming, informative, and joyful evening for our community.

Let’s have a wonderful, and hopefully slightly cooler, week ahead!

Katie, Jill, and Heikki

Soccer rotation (if playing outside this week)

Grades 1, 2 & 3	Grades 4 & 5	Grades 1, 2 & 3	Grades 4 & 5	No Soccer
Mondays	Tuesdays	Wednesday	Thursdays	Fridays

Day	Morning	Afternoon
Mon, Aug 31 Day 2
Tue, Sept 1  Day 3	7:50 - 8:25 am ES Faculty Briefing  in the Library
Wed, Sept 2 Day 4		Adaptive Schools: Team Norms BTSN information package
Thu, Sept 3 Day 5		Dinner at school ES Back to School Night
Fri, Sept 4 Day 6

Future Dates: September 14-17, Gr 3 - 5 MAP testing September 18, Whole School PD Day: Restorative Justice September 18- 21, Long weekend, Respect for the Aged September 22-23, Gr 3 - 5 MAP testing continued October 12, Sports Day (No school, community event; all families invited;  all faculty and staff joining for organization and supervision)

Weekly Updates, Monday, 24 August, 2026

Dear colleagues,

We are excited to enter our first full week of learning, following our regular schedule and putting into practice all the community-building routines and expectations we introduced last week.

We recognize that last week was hectic and, at times, felt a little like jumping into the deep end for all of us. Many of our start-of-year protocols were brand new, and we were learning together as we went. It is fair to say that some of our plans will need to be carefully revised to ensure everyone is fully energized and prepared for the actual work of teaching and learning, with more time (there is never quite enough, but still) for individual and collaborative planning.

We will gather important feedback and information from this new start and do our best to learn from it. Our goal is not simply to get through a new process, but to understand what worked, what created unnecessary pressure, and what we want to remember when we plan the start of the next school year. Thank you for your flexibility, professionalism, and willingness to problem-solve together.

This week brings us to the heart of our Back-to-School Night preparation. The plan is to send pertinent grade-level information to parents in advance and to use the actual evening primarily for relationship-building and connection. There will be no formal grade-level or subject-area presentations this year. Instead, we hope to bring parents onto campus to meet one another, strengthen their sense of belonging to our community, connect with teachers, and explore our facilities. This will also provide an opportunity for families to better understand the purpose of the flexible learning spaces we are currently using to personalize learning and create different conditions for students to learn, collaborate, and grow.

Our Wednesday professional learning time will focus on clarifying expectations for the content and format of the information we will share with families, while also protecting time for teams to plan for learning.

On Friday, we launch our assembly season, facilitated by Jill. This first assembly will give us an opportunity to

welcome our new students, get to know our new teachers, and reconnect around some important CA Way reminders.

Please follow this seating chart for the assembly in the Main Theatre and be ready for a 9:30 AM start.

The plan for the assembly is to:

• introduce our new teachers;

• welcome our new students, who will be invited to stand;

• revisit a few important CA Way expectations and reminders.

New teachers, please edit your introduction slide in this Canva slide deck by the end of the day on Wednesday.

CA Way Posters

If you need a CA Way poster for your classroom or learning space, please stop by the ES Office to pick one up.

Acadience – Reading Assessment

Acadience assessments can begin during WIN time starting in Cycle 2. Resources will be distributed to teams during the coming week.

Training will also be provided for teachers who are new to Acadience. More information regarding training dates and times will follow shortly.

Hot Weather Update

We will continue to follow the Japanese government's guidance on heat safety. This means that morning and afternoon recesses will continue to take place in classrooms for the time being.

During lunch recess, we will follow our rainy-day rotations. If you are on duty, please make sure you know where you are expected to be during each recess period.

In the meantime, we are exploring ways to use available indoor spaces to provide students with more opportunities for movement, play, and connection while the hot weather continues. Thank you for your flexibility as we work to keep students safe while still creating opportunities for them to enjoy their breaks.

As we move into the rhythm of the school year, I hope we can keep our attention on what matters most: creating the conditions in which students and adults can do their best learning. The beginning of a year is never perfectly tidy—and perhaps it should not be. We are building routines, relationships, systems, and trust at the same time. Thank you for the energy, patience, humor, and professional care you have already brought to this work.

Let’s have an amazing week of learning and getting to know our wonderful students!

Katie, Jill, and Heikki

Anticipated Indoor Lunch Recess Plan 

Rainy Day/ Heat Day	Classrooms & Commons  (Location A)	Classrooms & Commons (Location B)	Library	ELAC Gym
Mon, Day 6	Grades 2&3	Grade 4	Grade 5	Grade 1
Tue, Day 7	Grade 4	Grade 5	Grade 1	Grades 2&3
Wed, Day 8	Grade 5	Grade 1	Grades 2&3	Grades 4
Thu, Day 9	Grade 1	Grades 2&3	Grade 4	Grade 5
Fri, Day 10	Grades 2&3	Grade 4	Grade 5	Grade 1

Soccer rotation (if playing outside this week)

Grades 1, 2 & 3	Grades 4 & 5	Grades 1, 2 & 3	Grades 4 & 5	No Soccer
Mondays	Tuesdays	Wednesday	Thursdays	Fridays

Day	Morning	Afternoon
Mon, Aug 24 Day 6	First full week of learning
Tue, Aug 25  Day 7
Wed, Aug 26 Day 8		14:40 Wednesday Learning: BBT BTSN preparation/Team time
Thu, Aug 28 Day 9
Fri, Aug 29 Day 1	9:30 Assembly in the Main Theater

Future Dates: September 3, ES Back to School Night September 14-17, Gr 3 - 5 MAP testing September 18, Whole School PD Day: Restorative Justice September 18- 21, Long weekend, Respect for the Aged September 22-23, Gr 3 - 5 MAP testing continued October 12, Sports Day (No school, community event; all families invited; all faculty and staff joining for organization and supervision)