Week of 16 June

Good Evening,

Our last MS Missives for this year I am sorry to say. Thank you for your efforts to read this blog each week. I know I sometimes like to ramble.....I will work on that along with "tweaking" the blog a bit to make information more readily accessible.

Thank Yous:

• to Gr 8 students who organized the Memory Night. Emcees, DJs, and Slide Show folks...well done. 
• to MS students who helped out with the ES Field Days. It was a proud moment when so many of the ES teachers were commenting how impressed they were with the MS students. I wanted to say, "well of course they are impressive, they are MS students!" 

Updates:

• Today's Dead Sea trip was quite the success. I understand the food was plentiful and tasty. I also understand our students represented ACS quite well! 
• MAP information was sent home with students last week. If you did not receive it, check the bottom of the backpack....if still missing, let us know. 
• Students are completing their check out forms today and tomorrow. If you see any library books or textbooks around your house, please remind your son/daughter to return them. 
• Reminder: report cards will be sent via email on Wednesday morning. The format will be a bit different as we focused on providing summer suggestions for each class in preparation for next school year.
• At our Awards assembly this week, along with recognizing Presidential Physical Fitness awards and Honor Roll awards, we will introduce some new awards. They are described as follows:

1. Sadiqi/Sadiqti Award:

One boy and one girl from each grade level who demonstrates kindness, compassion, willingness to help others, is a good group member, friendly to others. This would be voted on by the students.

2. Recognition of Student Profile Traits: 

Respect/Integrity

• Students who act with integrity and respect the dignity of individuals and groups. Who take responsibility for their own actions and are aware of how their actions impact others

Global Awareness 

• Students who appreciate their own culture and the values and traditions of others. Who are committed to acting in ways that make a difference in the lives of others and to the environment

Reflective Thinker

• Students who give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experiences. Who proactively address problems, set goals, and take intellectual risks

Critical/Analytical Thinker 

• Students who exercise initiative in applying thinking skills to recognize and approach complex problems and make reasoned, ethical decisions.

Creator/Innovator 

• Students who possess intellectual curiosity that enables them to demonstrate innovation. Who face new situations with openness and flexibility.

Communicator/Collaborator 

• Students who confidently express ideas in a variety of ways, often in more than one language. Who work effectively with others to solve problems and achieve common goals.

3. Bridge Award

Two students, from different nationalities, who bring others together in a positive way. These are students who welcome diversity, are accepting of others, acts as a bridge builder or uniter of different groups.

Heads Up on Purchases for Next Year

In an effort to "tidy up" our classrooms AND prevent back pain of our students, next year we will not allow backpacks to be carried around all day from class to class. Students will still be able to use a backpack to and from school but not carry them packed full all day. 

For example, we are trying to avoid:

this creates too many obstacles in the classroom 
                                                                                                         

too many bags for one back! 

 
     laptops on floors scare us-they are easily stepped on 


And are trying to encourage:

stylish, manageable, and better for the back! 

Thank you again for all of your support this year. I cannot wait for next year to start!

Please have safe travels this summer and we will see you on the first day of school:

MONDAY, 26 August

Rhonda Isley

MS Principal

risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 9 June

Good Evening,

Before things get lost in the end of year "hub bub" let me take this opportunity to thank you as the MS parent community. You have been incredibly patient and kind to me this year as I transitioned into ACS  and I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed my first year here. You have been a welcoming community and it has been thoroughly enjoyable working with your sons/daughters each day. I am thankful for the opportunity to be at ACS.

Thank You:

• to our Gr 6 Student Panel who spent time with the Gr 5 students on their Fly Up day. The Gr 6 students were patient and informative with all questions the Gr 5 students had for them. 
• to all those who put themselves out there for Student Council office. Elections were held last week and our new StuCo Officers for 2013-2014 are:

President-Marwan Abdelhamid

Vice President-Amin Al Khaleel

Secretary-Nasser Alami

Treasurer-Hamzeh Zubi

Updates:

• A message from two Gr 8 students:

Dear Parents,

My friend and I are hosting a movie night in the hopes to cut down on obesity rates. We will be hosting it on Tuesday free of charge. It will last past the 4:30 bus so if your children wish to stay longer they will need a ride home. I hope to see as many kids as possible.

Sincerely, Travis and Declan

• Dead Sea end of year trips to the Holiday Inn Resort payments  are due on June 12 to the Business Office. This is to facilitate an accurate number of participants for the buffet lunch. A reminder, trip dates are as follows:
• June 16-Grade 6
• June 17-Grade 7
• June 18-Grade 8
• June 12 students will receive their check out forms. These forms are necessary for each student to complete an official check out process of returning books, etc. so we can ensure e-report cards are sent in a timely manner. Forms are due no later than 17 June. 
• Grade 8 Memory Night is June 12 from 6:00-8:00. Gr 8 students have organized their evening and have voted to have a casual picnic style atmosphere. Students will emcee the evening, organize the music and pizza. Each student will take a moment to share their thoughts, memories of their time in middle school. 
• e-Report cards for quarter 4 will be sent on June 19. The format of the reports will focus on providing you with information on summer suggestions to help your son/daughter prepare for classes they will take next year. It is our hope these suggestions will help the learning process continue throughout the summer. 

Next week will be the last blog posting for this school year. I will be sending a survey requesting feedback on various areas of our MS program to give me food for thought throughout the summer. This will help with making plans for next school year. Your time for feedback will be greatly appreciated. 

I will also post any relevant information for the following school year to help you with summer "to do" lists. 

Enjoy your evening, 

Rhonda Isley

risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of June 2

Good Evening,

Again, I cannot believe it is now officially June! We will do our best to maintain a sane amount of balance for you and your children as we bring this school year to a close.

Thank Yous:

• to students and teachers who participated in all of the evening events last week. Lots of confident smiles as students had an opportunity to demonstrate their learning progress this year. 
• to all the Gr 8 students who are finishing up their GBD projects in these last couple of weeks. They are doing a good job of raising awareness levels among their peers on a variety of issues. 
• to the MS students who are responding to our requests for making our day to day environment a positive, kind environment. We are all doing our best to keep each other mindful.

Updates:

• Grade 8 students received their Naviance account information on Thursday. Please ask them about accounts and we encourage you to look at the site with your sons/daughters during the summer. This is a helpful site as our Gr 8 students look towards college planning.
• Grade 8 students are in the process of organizing and planning their Memory Night activities. Parents are invited to this evening event. Please check within the text of this email to find the time and location of the event. 
• ALL students will receive check out forms on 12 June. Students are required to seek signatures from each teacher to indicate all resources have been returned. All resources must be returned in order for students to receive end of year report cards through Power School.
• MAP results will be shared with students during advisory next week so they may reflect on their own learning progress. Once that reflection has taken place, students will bring home their results. 
• Report Cards will contain suggested websites and activities from each teacher for students to peruse during the summer in preparation for next school year. 
• End of Year grade level day trips. This is the time of year when many students are making transitions to far away places and many students are going through the need to say good bye to friends. We are working to provide a day for each grade level to have an opportunity to say their good byes and facilitate the emotions of transition through an end of year field trip. As the information becomes available I will send the details. As of now, the plans are in the tentative planning phase. 

Of Special Note:

Let the construction begin!Over the weekend safety walls went up in the back parking lot around the construction site for this summer's big project. There will be 6 classrooms added above the PK1 and Pk2 classrooms.  Support pillars will be placed  in what is now the bus parking lot. In order to complete the work over the summer holidays, the first steps must be taken now. 

For the final weeks of school, bus riders will be dropped at the back of the current bus lot.   Students will walk a bit further to get into the main building and the path will lead along the school wall. There will not be any cars or buses in this area.  The wall that is being built will shield children from the construction area. Please let your son/daughter know about this change, and encourage them to help our younger students find their way.

Thank you for your patience with my rather lengthy blogs of late. It all seems to be important information, but I know it can be overwhelming and easy to miss the details. We will all get through these last few weeks in one piece........let's all just hang in there!

Enjoy your evening, 

Rhonda Isley

MS Principal

risley@acsamman.edu.jo