Sunday, May 17, 2015

May 17, 2015

Dear Middle School Parents,

Hope you enjoyed the weekend. We are eagerly awaiting the return of our two volleyball teams who were in Moscow for the CEESA Volleyball tournament over the weekend. This represents our last CEESA event of the school year. Once we get highlights and some pictures, we will add them to the blog for everyone to see.

There are a number of events happening this week in the Middle school: 
  • Parent Informational Meeting about Standards-Based Reporting and Grading at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, May 20th (Curriculum Room)
  • 5th Grade Transition Night in MS Lobby at 6:00, then Grade 8 to 9 Transition starting at 7:00 pm in theater on Wednesday, May 20th
This coming weekend we have our last DVAC tournament for MS and HS track teams. There will be more information coming soon about the time and exact location for these events. 

Students in the MS have now completed the MAP testing season. We only have the students who were absent, sick or otherwise out of school to finish up. The results from this spring’s MAP testing will be sent home with students on June 10th in a sealed envelope. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or Nora Fleming.

To view more upcoming dates, click here.

Road Construction Announcement & Starting Time at School:

Due to road construction on the road to the school, there are significant delays in the morning. The construction will continue for the duration of the academic year. 

We ask for your help to ensure that students are arriving on time.  We suggest the following items for you to consider:
1. Car pools to reduce overall traffic coming to the school
2. Arriving at school at 8:15. The traffic jam is significantly less at that time.

Thank you for your help on this.

Transition Night: Wednesday,May 20th 
5th Grade to 6th Grade  
8th Grade to 9th Grade 

Our Transition Night for parents of 5th Graders and 8th Graders is on Wednesday, May 20th. We begin at 6:00 pm for 5 Grade parents and at 7:00 pm for 8th Grade parents. This 5th Grade Transition event is designed for parents, but all are welcome.

During the day on May 20th, 5th Grade students will come to the 6th Grade classrooms to visit. During the visit, 5th Graders will get answers to the questions they created with their current homeroom teachers. 

Programs and Meetings to assist in the transition to Middle School:
  • 5th Grade Students participated in the Celebration of Learning this fall
  • 5th Grade classroom visited 6th Grade Humanities classes to read students' digital books
  • 5th Grade and 6th Grade teachers plan together for transition (Ongoing)
  • ES PSA held a meeting on April 20th with the MS Principal and MS Counselor
  • 5th Grade Student Visit: May 20th during the school day
  • Parent Transition Night: May 20th @6:00pm
  • Parent Survey and Student Survey: Sent out week of  May 11th
  • Transition Night Survey will be sent out after May 20th
  • Last Day "Walk Across the Birdge" on the last day of school 
  • Back to School Night: Next August
Standards-Based Grading and Reporting at AISB: Informational Meetings

We invite you to an introductory presentation about Standards-Based Grading and Reporting at AISB. We have been working hard over the last three years to move toward a SBG/R environment. This is a direction that schools around the world have also adopted and implemented over the last five years.

During these meetings, we will share a presentation about SBG/R, followed by time for questions and answers. In preparing for the meeting(s), please view the following resources to learn more:

Video: Standards-Based Grading and Reporting in a Middle School

Resources and People who have influenced our work

Each of the meetings will also be translated from English to a second language.

Here are the meeting dates:

May 20: Wednesday at 5:00pm (Curriculum Room, English & Hungarian)
May 21: Thursday at 8:45-9:30 (Curriculum Room, English & Chinese)
May 29: Friday at 5:30-6:15 (Curriculum Room, English and other language TBA)

We look forward to sharing this exciting development with you.

MS PSA: Looking for Reps for Next School Year! 

We are looking for new MS PSA reps for next school year. The reign of our current reps, Deb Christian and Nikki Smith, is coming to a close. I thank them for their outstanding leadership and committment to working with the MS teachers. They have truly made the MS a better place for teachers and students. We will miss them next year! We are looking for two parents to step into their places for next year. If you are interested, please send an email to me, Deb, or Nikki. Thank you again to Deb and Nikki for their outstanding contributions to the MS over the last two years!

MS PSA Meeting: Monday, May 11 @9:00 a.m.  

Thank you to the MS parents at our meeting on Monday. 
Click on link for the information that was shared during the meeting by Mr. Ducharme. There were also announcements from the Counseling Office and Student Life. The minutes from the meeting will be posted later if you are interested.


MS Spring Co-Curricular Celebration: May 27th at 4:00 p.m. 

On Wednesday, May 27 we will celebrate the accomplishments of our students involved in AISB sports and activities from this final trimester. Parents, please join us for big thank you to our coaches and sponsors of clubs and activities during the second term and to celebrate our student achievements and accomplishments.

Our celebration of student achievement for the co-curricular events on May 27 is for students and parents. The students had an exciting third term with loads of highlights on a team and individual basis. Well done everyone and congratulations on a fine season of sport, activities, and clubs. We look forward to celebrating this term's round of activities, which are already in full swing.
  
Draft schedule: 
4:00 Teams meet in cafeteria for pizza and music
4:25 Opening of Celebration in cafeteria
4:35-5:15 Teams go to classrooms for team celebrations and recognitions
5:15-5:30 Teams return to cafeteria for a Celebration Cake
5:35 Students take late bus or go home with parents.
Parents are welcome to join breakout sessions and take pictures.

Counselor's Corner:

LOTS of activity in the Middle School these days!

In addition to the regular pace of classes, athletics, after school activities, and new student admissions, there are many "end of year" events springing up!

* Farewell groups (at each grade level) are meeting weekly in the Counseling office.
* Transitional programs are happening this week for both students and parents.
* Job Shadowing Day is coming up for eighth graders on May 28.
* MS eighth grade girls are learning from HS girls what to expect as freshman in the HS.

Please contact me if your family is leaving AISB at the end of June.  We know that sometimes these decisions get made last minute!

Enjoy the Spring!

Nancy Seibel
MS Counselor
nseibel@aisb.hu


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