Sunday, March 17, 2013

Week of 17 March

Good Evening,

Happy St. Patrick's Day !

I was away at a conference this past weekend, but I hear the Celebration of Cultures was a great success. Thank you, once again, PTG. 

Yesterday's celebration is a nice reminder of how lucky we all are to be able to be surrounded by such diversity AND to be able to pass on, to our children, the value of such an opportunity for our global community. 

Notes for this week:

Invitations:

  • Parent session with the Visiting Accreditation Team is Tuesday, 19 March @ 8:15
  • Student Led Conferences are Wednesday/Thursday, 24-25 April. Your son/daughter is working diligently on their e-portfolios to share with you at the conferences. A special invite will come from your son/daughter as the time approaches
Updates:

  • Course selection sign up information to be given this week:

             Gr 7 on Monday

             Gr 6 on Wednesday

Once students have received the information I will send an electronic copy of the 2013-2014 Program of Studies to students and parents on Thursday



  • Online course sign ups will take place during Advisory next week:

              Gr 6 on 26 March
              Gr 7 on 27 March


Next week, 28 March, is the end of the 3rd quarter. Power School will remain open until 27 March. This is a change from past practice but teachers feel it is important students are able to monitor missing assignments, etc. all the way through the quarter. 


As a result, please be aware Power School information will be fluctuating daily as teachers update            their gradebooks. The first priority of the teachers will be to complete updating gradebooks so final reports can be sent by 3 April. 

We ask that if you have questions, please wait until the final reports have been completed so you can then have conversations with teachers based upon the most up to date,  pertinent information available.

  • My apologies, make note of the schedule change indicated below for the Adventure Jordan information meeting. In continuing to explore our 1:1 program, we will also be live streaming the meeting for those who are unable to attend. More information on how to write in live questions will be forthcoming.


Reminders:
  • Adventure Jordan is quickly approaching. An information meeting for Gr 7 will take place on Monday, 25 March @ 10:00 and for Gr 6 @ 10:40. *Gr 8 information will be posted as we approach their May trip.
Gr 6 Preliminary Itinerary is as follows:

Wednesday
o   Depart ACS for Azraq: 8:00
o   Lunch 12-1
o   Activities 1-6
          Hiking
          Nature/Geology lessons
o   Clean-up/Free time 6-7
o   Dinner 7-8
o   Evening Activities
o   Sleep
Thursday
o   Rise and Shine 7-8
o   Morning nature hunt
o   Visit Qasr Al-Asraq
o   Arrive back in at ACS before 2:30 PM

Gr 7 Preliminary Itinerary is as follows:
Tuesday Wadi Dana
o   Depart ACS for Wadi Dana: 8:00
o   Lunch 12-1
o   Activities 1-6
          Hiking
         “Viewing Life Through Different Lenses” lessons and work
          Team-Building
o   Clean-up/Free time 6-7
o   Dinner 7-8
o   Evening Activities
          Camp fire
o   Sleep (All students will need a sleeping bag)

Wednesday Wadi Dana to Feynan Ecolodge
o   Rise and Shine 7-8
o   Leave Camp 8:00 Shuttle to Dana Guesthouse to begin hike
o   Begin five hour hike from Dana to Feynan
            Hike
            Lunch
            Hike
o   Arrive Feynan Ecolodge 3:00-4:00
            Snack
            Rest and Clean-up
            Tour of Feynan
            Review of hike
           Work time
o   Dinner
           Evening activities (short students will be tired)
o   Sleep
Thursday Feynan Ecolodge to ACS
o   Rise and shine 7:00
o   Visit and work with local school 9:00
o   Lunch at destination to be announced
o   Arrive ACS- 3-4:00

Enjoy your evening, 

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Week of 10 March

Good Evening,

Once again, I hope you enjoyed the weekend...it would seem as though Winter is over, yes?

Invitations:

  • Parent session with the Visiting Accreditation Team is Tuesday, 19 March @ 8:15
  • Student Led Conferences are Wednesday/Thursday, 24-25 April. Your son/daughter is working diligently on their e-portfolios to share with you at the conferences. A special invite will come from your son/daughter as the time approaches
  • Celebration of Cultures tickets are on sale now. We look forward to seeing you as we celebrate one of our ACS strengths---diversity of cultures  :)
Reminders:

  • Students send weekly emails to you on our ZAP days to let you know how their academic week went. You can also check Power School for updates on your son/daughter learning
  • Adventure Jordan is quickly approaching. An information meeting for Gr 7 will take place on Wednesday, 27 March @ 10:00 and for Gr 6 @ 10:40. *Gr 8 information will be posted as we approach their May trip.
Gr 6 Preliminary Itinerary is as follows:

Wednesday
o   Depart ACS for Azraq: 8:00
o   Lunch 12-1
o   Activities 1-6
          Hiking
          Nature/Geology lessons
o   Clean-up/Free time 6-7
o   Dinner 7-8
o   Evening Activities
o   Sleep
Thursday
o   Rise and Shine 7-8
o   Morning nature hunt
o   Visit Qasr Al-Asraq
o   Arrive back in at ACS before 2:30 PM

Gr 7 Preliminary Itinerary is as follows:
Tuesday Wadi Dana
o   Depart ACS for Wadi Dana: 8:00
o   Lunch 12-1
o   Activities 1-6
          Hiking
         “Viewing Life Through Different Lenses” lessons and work
          Team-Building
o   Clean-up/Free time 6-7
o   Dinner 7-8
o   Evening Activities
          Camp fire
o   Sleep (All students will need a sleeping bag)

Wednesday Wadi Dana to Feynan Ecolodge
o   Rise and Shine 7-8
o   Leave Camp 8:00 Shuttle to Dana Guesthouse to begin hike
o   Begin five hour hike from Dana to Feynan
            Hike
            Lunch
            Hike
o   Arrive Feynan Ecolodge 3:00-4:00
            Snack
            Rest and Clean-up
            Tour of Feynan
            Review of hike
           Work time
o   Dinner
           Evening activities (short students will be tired)
o   Sleep
Thursday Feynan Ecolodge to ACS
o   Rise and shine 7:00
o   Visit and work with local school 9:00
o   Lunch at destination to be announced
o   Arrive ACS- 3-4:00

Enjoy your evening, 

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal











Sunday, March 3, 2013

Week of 3 March

Good Evening,

I trust everyone had a nice weekend.

Thank yous:
  • to the NJHS students for organizing the Lock-In for the MS students. There were approximately 120 students in attendance for an extremely active night! 
  • to you, parents, for not only your prompt pick ups on Friday morning but also for your kind words of appreciation of the activity.....with students organizing the event, other students attending the event, teachers volunteering their time and parents being appreciative.....simply makes it all worthwhile.
Reminders:
  • We have begun the admissions process for next year and are on track for having a record number of applications this year. The deadline for payment to secure your child's seat has passed. If you have not secured your seat it is imperative you do so as we have begun the acceptance process.
  • The MSA Accreditation visit will take place in two weeks. Accreditation is an important mechanism for us to continue building quality school programs and is an important piece of documentation for our Seniors as they apply to various universities around the world. 
Updates:
  • Students received information over the weekend through their Moodle accounts to sign up for our intramural clubs that will take place throughout the rest of the semester. Students have the option to sign up for basketball, tennis, badminton, or flag football. 
  • Students will begin developing an understanding of their upcoming Adventure Jordan trips throughout this week during advisory. We had hoped to have the detailed itineraries finalized by the weekend but a few adjustments still need to be made. However, the dates and locations for each trip remain the same as in last week's posting--Grades 6 and 7 will depart the first week after returning from Spring Break in April. Grade 8 students will depart the week of 20 May.
Have a good week this week.

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Week of 24 February

Good Evening,

What a beautiful day it was today to get our week started off. Reminders and updates for this week are as follows:

Reminders:
  • We have begun accepting applications for next year. If you have not secured your child's seat for next year, please do so as soon as possible. This is the time of year we determine the number of seats available as we accept new applicants. 
  • For those families who will be leaving Jordan and ACS at the end of this year, please communicate with our MS Counselor, Ms. Ismail (mismail@acsamman.edu.jo) of your plans. This will allow us to support your child in their transition process and plan closure activities for your child.
  • NJHS Lock-In---a message from NJHS is below:
The NJHS is once again hosting its Annual Middle School Lock-In, an exciting overnight event for all Middle Schoolers.  The Lock-In will begin on Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 p.m. and end on Friday, March 1 at 8:00 a.m.. Dinner and breakfast will be served, and there will be games, activities and a movie throughout the evening. The cost of this event is 8 JD per student, which will cover the cost of food and drinks and which will help raise money for charities which NJHS supports. 
  •  School photos will be on Tuesday of this week
Updates:
  • We have now confirmed the Adventure Jordan dates for each grade level:
Grade 6 -April 17-18 to Azraq
Grade 7 -April 16-18 to  Wadi Dana and Feynan
Grade 8 -May 20-23 to Wadi Rum, Petra, Aqaba

Our Adventure Jordan expands learning outside the school walls to take advantage of the wonderful educational opportunities Jordan has to offer. The goal is to make learning more relevant, authentic, hands-on, and, of course, fun! Each trip integrates reading, writing, and specific curricula areas of each grade level. 

Specific itineraries for each trip will be sent home at the end of the week along with a date and time of a parent information night for each trip.
  • Our MUN students will be returning tomorrow night. A few quotes from the messages the teacher sponsors have been sending throughout the past few days probably sum up their time in Singapore the best.........
"...Be proud of them. They did GREAT!!!

Our students did a GREAT job today. Virtually all of them overcame a good case of nerves, and were asking questions and even taking the floor to speak on resolutions. Beth and I are very proud of them, and expect tomorrow to be even better.

Between the food courts, the swimming in the evening, the conference, some new friends etc, I think they are enjoying themselves thoroughly."

  Enjoy your evening,

Rhonda Isley
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Week of 17 February

Good Evening,

I hope you have enjoyed the long weekend with your families...especially with it being such a beautiful weekend.

Thanks to the Student Council and their sponsorship of the Valentine's Dance. Lots of dancing and lots of smiles all around. And, thanks to you, parents, for supporting their efforts by dropping off and picking up you son/daughter in a timely manner.

Recently confirmed dates:
  • School photos have now been confirmed for Monday, 25 February
  • NJHS will sponsor a Lock-in on Thursday, 28 February. The students will send additional information as they finalize their plans. 

Reminder.....students do not have classes tomorrow. Teachers will be in meetings preparing for the upcoming accreditation visit.

The MSA Accreditation visit will take place during the week of 17 March. A team of educators will be sent to ACS to observe us "in action" and discuss our Schoolwide Action plans. The visiting team will be spending time talking with students, teachers, administrators, and parents in order to gain an understanding of our school programs and areas of growth.

Enjoy your evening...

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Week of 10 February

Chuc Mung Nam Moi (Happy Chinese New Year)

Lots of thank yous to start off with today.....THANK YOU TO:
  • PTG for donating books to our MS classroom libraries
  • Students who shared their digital projects during our Digital Learning Day
  • Ms. Khoury's Advisory group for planning, organizing, and distributing flowers to EVERY MS student last week. This was part of our "pay it forward" initiative this year to create a sharing, positive middle school environment for students and teachers. 
  • Our Fine Arts department for sponsoring the Band-Choir Festival this past weekend--great afternoon of music was provided yesterday
If I may....a selfish moment on my part.....last Thursday, as I wandered around the hallways, I had the privilege of witnessing students learn about and understand:
  • the Enlightenment
  • Lowest Common Denominators
  • Amoebas..and other such tiny creatures...
  • Think their way through what 13 S on the AF might mean
  • Analyze literary texts
  • and......personally experience a student being a self-advocate for herself...
...it was a good day indeed!

Enjoy your evening,

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Week of 3 February

Good Evening,

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend.

A few upcoming highlights:
  • Students have received information about Session #3 After School Activity Sign ups. Sign ups will be open thru the end of this week with activities beginning next week. 
  • Next month will bring our MSA Accreditation Visit. This will involve educators from the US and other schools within our region visiting ACS to analyze our strengths and areas for continued development.
  • ACS is fortunate to have many students who are willing to step outside themselves and give their time and attention to others within our host country community. Below is an example of such an effort for your information.
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Coats
for Kids
 
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There are hundreds of kids at the zaartari/syrian refugee camps with no protection from the cold and the rain.

Bring in a coat that has been outgrown or not used anymore and help the children get warm.

all sizes needed, from baby to adult.

Boxes distributed at the front desk, Mrs. Hire’s class and Near the elementary office!