INCLUSION SHARE OUT

Each grade level at ISY collaborates and develops learning experiences that are teeming with inclusive, innovative, and interesting activities. The activities are designed in a manner that appropriately challenges each student so they can reach their highest academic and social/emotional potential. Within each lesson, there are built-in scaffolds to help students move forward more independently and efficiently.

Caitlin Tegenfeldt, as a member of the Grade 6 Team, shared an idea to add a “live” weekly calendar within their team’s slides. The team agreed. This allows students to preview what to expect for the week and what has been completed as a class any particular day (strikethrough). This visual assists students in planning, organizing, and using a weekly calendar as a strategy for success. This strategy is particularly helpful for students with executive functioning challenges.

This is an example of the weekly calendar the G6 team added to their daily presentation to keep their students engaged and on track Example: Weekly Activity Calendar  

Thank you for sharing out your inclusive idea!

Please contact Lynn Shoemaker at lshoemaker@isyedu.org to “share out” your inclusive practices. 

TRANSITION DAYS & COVID SAFETY

The Transition Days this week have been excellent. Below are links to schedules and guidelines that we are using to guide us. These are all available on the Elementary Faculty Pages

Grades 1-5 will continue on the same schedule next week. From next Wednesday, January 27, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten will begin daily Transition Days from 8:30am to 11:45pm. The change of time is to ensure that traffic runs smoothly.

We need to make that the traffic runs smoothly at the end of the day so please have your students on the Front Steps right on 12:30pm.

• Transitional Safety Guidelines

• Staff Sickness Guidelines

• When to send a student to the clinic?

• Can my child go to school today?

• Q2 Dec 14 – Jan 29: ES Specialists Schedule: ALL STUDENTS ONLINE (plus Transitional Days from Jan 11)
• Transitional Day Recess Schedule

No Longer Offering Chromebooks

As new students join our classes, our existing students arrive back into the country, we will no longer be offering Chromebooks as a matter of course. We initially offered Chromebooks to get everyone up and running quickly but it is not our policy to provide laptops or Chromebooks for elementary school students. Patty and I will make this clear to these students as they prepare to join us. This is just a heads up for teachers not to offer them to students. Teachers may still be asked to provide supplies as we have been doing.

MAP Testing

Our Grade 2-5 students will sit MAP tests online from the week beginning February 1. Students will be tested in Reading, Language, and Mathematics.

MAP Testing Schedule (Grades 2-5): February 1-5. This only applies to Grades 2-5. This quarter is 9 weeks. If we get all of our MAP testing out of the way in the first week then we will not be interrupted. It also allows for an even 4 weeks of Music and 4 weeks of Art (I have scheduled MAP testing instead of those classes) for Grades 2-5. 

We appreciate that this year does not exactly lend itself to MAP testing and we will provide more details soon about how it will work online. We will not be using Transition Days to MAP test. Students will be able to test online from home. As always, MAP testing will be considered just one data point used to fairly and accurately assess a student’s academic achievement and progress. We will be able to use our professional judgement to decide how much weight we place on the data given the circumstances.

Here is a reflection on MAP Mindsets from a couple of years ago.

International Week: February 1-5

We are unable to have our regular International Day this year. 

During the week of February 1-5, the Middle School is running a ‘Students Without Borders’ program that has a strong cultural focus.

To coincide with what is happening in the Middle School, we will encourage students to come to school on their Transition Day wearing something that represents their culture or country. Students online can do the same. This will be an easy way to celebrate our students’ culture and countries without adding something complicated to our very full plates.

Quarter 3 Schedules

Q3 Feb 1 – Mar 5: ES Specialists Schedule (plus Transitional Days)

Q3 Mar 8 – Apr 2: ES Specialists Schedule (plus Transitional Days)

Q3 Transitional Day Recess Schedule (Feb 1 – Mar 5) – PLEASE SIGN UP

Instructional Orders

Instructional Orders are to be completed by January 31. Here are the ordering instructions. The teams leaders spoke about this today in their meeting and will be able to support you.

Report Writing

Report Writing Instructions:

• PK/KG Instructions
• Grades 1-5 Instructions

Timeline:

January 29: Semester Ends

February 5: Reports Completed for Checking (a spreadsheet will be created for this and shared with you next week).

February 12: Reports to Parents

There will be no conferences for this reporting period. As always, if you have any students who are struggling or may be disappointed with their projected mark, please reach out to their families before they receive the report.

2 column design

Here’s a row with two columns.  One has text and the other one has images.  You don’t need both images, you could jsut have one, OR you could replace the images with another row of text.

Click somewhere in the text to see the black editing menu and then click on the cog to edit the text.  Command A (mac) or Control ‘A’ (pc) will select all the text for you to then delete and type over.

2 column text

In October, 2009 ISY Alum Kyaw Thiha Tun visited campus to present and share his experience and knowledge in the Renewable Energy sector. In an assembly for all secondary students, he highlighted how solar energy is a viable source for Myanmar, relating it to the Sustainable Development Goals of Affordable and Clean Energy and Sustainable Cities and Communities. After the presentation he shared, “It was great to see the enthusiasm of ISY high school students for Renewable Energy. I hope we can help and participate in ISY’s green and eco-friendly journey!”