Week of 16 December-Week 15

Good Evening,

First, I must say thank you to the parent community. I have never seen so much food during last week's Teacher Appreciation Day. This was greatly appreciated and really provided a time for staff to take a few moments to come together. This created such a feeling of celebration...thank you.

I want to extend a "hats off" to Jill Hire, our Drama teacher. The Peter Pan production was a huge success and it was great to see so many students on stage participating with big smiles on their faces.

Last week we had many assemblies and interruptions to our usual schedule. As a result, students did not have their usual ZAP Advisory in order to communicate with you about missed assignments. We will have one ZAP day this week to get everyone pointed in the right direction prior to the break.

Lastly, I want to extend a sincere thank you to all of you for your patience and kindness to me as I have settled in this semester. Not to sound too much like a cliche..but I truly love being at ACS and love each day working with the students. You have wonderful kids and I feel quite fortunate in having the opportunity to work with your children. I learn from them each day, feel privileged to share in their joys, and stress with them over their sorrows. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the lives of your children.

Enjoy time with family and friends during this holiday season. And, safe travels. We will miss the students while they are away and will look forward to their return.

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 9 December Week #14

Good Afternoon,

I will make this posting brief as I am sitting at the airport in Bahrain and the connection is quite spotty at best.

1.     Please make note of the dates to the left as it will be a busy next couple of weeks.

2.     This week, during the school day, we will also have for students:

·      a matinee performance of Peter Pan

·      a presentation from Carl Wilken  http://worldoutsidemyshoes.org/

·      a presentation on personal security and safety

3.     If you are not returning for the second semester and have not notified us, please contact us as soon as possible. This allows us enough time to have transcripts and other necessary records ready for you by the time of your departure.

4.     A few reminders:

·      As we get closer to the holiday, please make note of our policy on student visitors. We require a minimum of a 24 hour advance notice for any student visitors to our campus. This allows time for teachers to be notified so as not to interrupt instruction and allows us to ensure a secure campus.

·      We publish our school calendar in advance so families may make travel arrangements accordingly. As a school, we place a high value on student attendance and participation within classes. Travel arrangements that require students to depart early or return late are discouraged. As with all absences, it is the student’s responsibility to make an effort to communicate with teachers during any absences.

5.     ES FYI: ES StuCo is sponsoring the Angel Tree Project again this year. Please contact the ES Office for details if you wish to participate.

Have a good evening,

Rhonda Isley

MS Principal

risley@acsamman.edu.jo 

Week of 2 December Week # 13

Good Evening,

Thank you for visiting the weekly MS Missives on a regular basis. We appreciate your efforts to keep up to date with what is going on in the Middle School.

A big thank you to those of you who were able to attend our first Family Connection Chat last Thursday. Our topic was "Hey What Happened To My GPA." This was an introductory conversation to begin a dialogue about what we...parents, teachers, students... want to see on student report cards.

To begin the discussion we viewed the first 8 mins. of the video clip below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKRZuSbACBw

We will continue to have discussions on this topic and will plan more evening Family Connection Chats in the future so all parents have a chance to participate in the discussion. 

I appreciated the honest, straightforward communication we were able to have regarding this topic. 

• Power School is now open to all students and parents with information relating to quarter 2.
• Tomorrow we will celebrate our MS students and their contributions to our MS hallways. All students are invited to share in a donut treat as we recognize  students and their contributions to our MS environment thus far this year--whether it be through academic achievement, participation in activities, random acts of kindness-we are all contributors!!
• Last week ACS MS students were fortunate to hear about an inspirational speaker, Nick Vujicic,  who will be in Amman next week.....see the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE

We encourage our students to attend this event at Prince Hamza Basketball Arena, Sports city on  Dec 13 @ 5:00. Ticket prices range from 10 JD-40 JD and can be purchased through karasi.com

Addition(s) to the following pages have been made. Please check out the postings and the added links.

Activities/Service/Athletics--

1. information about a hats/mittens/socks drive if you would like to donate
2. information about the ACS Food Drive for Jordanian and Syrian refugees
3. information about JV Girls and Boys Basketball Tryouts

1:1 Learning--

1. information designed for parents  from Common Sense Media relating to social media use and cyberbullying that is currently being discussed in Advisory sessions. 

Have a good evening,

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 25 November Week # 12

Good Evening,

After a wonderful, holiday-feeling long weekend, we are moving into the last few weeks before the Winter Holiday. These last few weeks, as with all weeks,  are important learning weeks for students so please help us encourage students to stay focused and persevere all the way through to the last day before the holiday.

We encourage everyone to attend the Wellness Fair on Wednesday this week. There will be many representatives to share their expertise about healthy eating habits and the importance of maintaining balance in life.

I would also like to encourage you to attend our Family Connection Chat this Thursday. We will be discussing report cards and the changes you may have noticed last week on your child's report card.

StuCo is working hard to organize the first dance for this year. Students are requested to dress smart casual within the requirements of the school dress code. The dance ends at 9:00 and all chaperons would greatly appreciate a timely pick up of your son/daughter.

This week also brings our first "Secret Scorpion" activity organized by Mr. Hathaway's Gr 8 advisory. As role models of our MS, each gr 8 advisory group is taking a turn throughout the year to organize an activity that will encourage a fun, positive, inclusive environment amongst our MS students. Thanks to the Gr 8 students for meeting the challenge of this leadership responsibility.

Enjoy your week and I look forward to seeing you either at the Wellness Fair or at the Family Connection Chat this week.

Have a good week,

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 18 November, Week # 11

Good Morning,

Glad I am finally able to get this post to go through!

I  hope everyone had a nice long weekend as we are getting ready to have another one this weekend! Wednesday is a Professional Development Day for all teachers and staff so there is No School for students. And, Thursday is Thanksgiving Day--I do hope everyone has the opportunity to spend time with family and offer thanks.

Highlights for this short week include:

• Report cards will be sent home this afternoon. PowerSchool will also be open at 3:00 today.
• After School Activities Session #2 begins today. Encourage your child to come talk to me if he/she forgot to sign up to see if we can make arrangements for participation.
• ACS Wellness Fair is coming up on November 28. It is a great time to be reminded of the importance of maintaining balance in life and healthy habits.

Enjoy your week.

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 11 November Week #10

Good Evening,

I hope everyone is staying warm and dry tonight.

This week is a short week with Islamic New Year on Thursday, however, still a busy week.

• After School Activity sign ups will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Students will receive an email through their Moodle account giving them directions of how to sign up. Activities will then begin Sunday, 18 November.
• Quarter 1 ended last Thursday so Power School is now closed while teachers complete their reports. Report cards will be sent home on 19 November. 
• Kudos go to our Gr 8 students...they collected 250 balls for children in the refugee camps. We are incredibly proud of our Gr 8 students who persevered through the organization process of making this happen....what a great contribution to our host country community. Thank you to all of the Gr 8 students...job well done!
• This week is Arabic Heritage Week. Thanks ahead of time to all those students and teachers who are planning and organizing programs for us so we can all share in the unique culture of the region. We look forward to seeing everyone for the program on Tuesday at 6:00. Tickets can be purchased all this week, no tickets will be sold at the door.

Have a nice evening,

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.vn

Week of 4 November (week 9)

Welcome Back....

I hope everyone had a restful, enjoyable holiday. It is nice to have everyone back and ready to return to the task of learning.

Thanks to everyone who came to the Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences prior to the holiday. It is a great opportunity to communicate and collaborate with each other as we all work towards helping our students experience success.

Teachers will be working with Erma Anderson, a math/science consultant, throughout this week to assist us in reflecting on quality assessment practices to use with students. Ms. Anderson has a good understanding of our ACS students as she has visited ACS previously.

This is the last week for the ball collection campaign our Gr 8 students have been spearheading. Please, please, please support this project by donating one, or more, soccer balls as they attempt to provide recreational equipment for the approximately 7,000 children in refugee camps here in Jordan. 

The last week of the first quarter is this week. On Thursday, Nov 8, Power School will close so teachers can complete comments for the student report cards. Power School will re-open on 19 Nov, the same day report cards will be sent home.

Students will receive Session 2 After School Activity information on 6 Nov. Students will have an opportunity to share the information with parents before the sign up process begins next week.

In Advisory, on Thursday,  students will learn how to read and understand their MAP tests results in order to establish learning goals for the rest of the school year. MAP scores are one of many measurements of progress teachers and students utilize in the learning process.

Lastly, please make note that Thursday, 15 Nov and Thursday, 22 Nov will both be school holidays for students.

Enjoy your evening,

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week #8

Good Evening,

Thank you for your patience today with this post. I have been attempting to make communication to you more efficient so I hope this blog works as I have envisioned! This is my first attempt at a blog of this nature--I promise I will eventually get the hang of it!

Each week I will send you an email with the link to this blog so you can receive the weekly MS newsletter, or "Missives" as they will be called. If anyone has a better idea of a name for this I would greatly appreciate it!

Many of the links are still under construction but I wanted to give you a preview of the type of information I am hoping to get out to you on a regular basis.

I have been away since last Tuesday at the NESA Fall Leadership Conference in Dubai. This is a conference for leaders within schools in our region to come together to collaborate, share, and stay updated with educational trends. It has been a valuable experience but I will admit I am anxious to get back to ACS and see the students in the hallways again. Unfortunately, I will not return until after school is out tomorrow.

I look forward to seeing all of you this week, however, for Parent/Teacher Conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday. ALL MS teachers will be in the gym beginning at 12:00 noon on Tuesday until 7:00 pm and then again on Wednesday morning from 7:40-12:00 noon to spend time with parents as you are able to come. Please drop by a teacher's table as you see them come available and plan for your conversations to be approximately 10 mins in length. This allows  time for everyone to have an opportunity to speak with their child's teachers.

After the holiday, on Nov 6, we will be sending out Session #2 After School Activity information. Students and parents will have an opportunity to see the schedule and see a description of each activity before signing up. Signing up will be a new process for the MS students as we attempt to establish an organized system to monitor attendance at activities more efficiently.

I hope your week has started off positively and I will see you upon my return.

Enjoy your evening,

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal