Week of February 16

Good Evening,

I hope everyone has enjoyed their long weekend.

Reminder--tomorrow, Monday, is a half day for students. Dismissal will be at 12:00 noon. As a result....

• there are NO after school activities as all teachers will be in meetings until 4:30
• students should not remain on campus after school tomorrow
• all buses will be full with regularly assigned riders so there will not be room on buses for students to ride home with other students.

 After School Activities.......

• thus far over 60 sign ups have taken place, sign ups close tonight at 10:00 pm
• once sign ups have closed, we will know which activities have enough student interest for the activity to take place
• students will receive confirmation emails of participation in activities

Once again, please notify us if you know you will not be returning to ACS next school year. This helps us know how many seats we have available for new families.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Week of 9 February

Good Morning,

First, my apologies for the late Missives this week. I was also "hit" with the bug that has been going around and today is my first day to be up and around since last week. I had forgotten what it felt like to feel good!

As a result, it is going to take me awhile to get through all of the waiting emails. As I begin to get caught up on emails, etc. IF you sent me an email last week that needs an immediate response please let me know. I will be getting to each email as quickly as I can.

Of most importance....Second Semester After School Activity Sign Ups......

We have spent time rearranging the gym usage schedule to accommodate more MS activities. Below represents the most recent listing of activities. Students will be able to sign up through Moodle beginning tonight, after 6 pm. If you have any questions regarding the activities, please contact Mr. Tate (ttate@acsamman.edu.jo)

Ping Pong begins 18 Feb
Volleyball begins 27 Feb
Basketball begins 22 April
Badminton begins 23 April
(specific dates for each practice will be posted on Moodle as we work around already scheduled HS games, etc.)

Adventure Club dates:
22 Feb
15 March
3 May
31 May
(students do not have to sign up for ALL 4 dates...students will be able to sign up for the trips they are interested in)

All of these activities begin next week:
Chess Club-Mondays
Mural Club-Tuesdays
Spanish/Latin Cooking, Conversation, Culture-Tuesdays
Homework Club-Mondays
Math Lab-Mondays
MUN Club-Wednesdays

If you know you will not be returning to ACS next school year, please let us know so we can respond appropriately to new families who are applying to ACS and so we can have your necessary documents ready for you. If you son/daughter will require any recommendations for their new school, please allow a minimum of 1 week for those requests to be processed.

Thanks for your patience this week and once again my apologies for being late this week.

Have a good day,

Week of February 2

Good Evening,

Just a few updates and reminders tonight:

• Sign ups for After School Activities will begin next week. Students will sign up through Moodle and will be receiving information in Advisory next week. 
• GRADE 8 ONLY--JV Track and Field begins on Tuesday of this week. All medical forms need to be turned in prior to participation.  Any questions can be directed to Mr. Tate (ttate@acsamman.edu.jo)

• It is that time of year.....if you know you are not returning for next school year, please let us know so we can ensure all necessary documents are in order at the end of the year. This also allows us to make decisions concerning new families applying to the school for next year. Please allow a minimum of 1 week for any needed recommendations from teachers.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!

Adventure Jordan Dates

Grade 6       Azraq

April 29-30        

Grade 7       Wadi Dana and Feynan

Group 1      May 12-14

Group 2      May 13-15

Grade 8      Petra and Aqaba

May 13-15

Teachers are in the process of finalizing trip itineraries so more information will be forthcoming. Please see Student Handbook for information explaining what Adventure Jordan is (see link above).

Have a nice evening....stay warm!

Week of January 26

Good Evening,

A few "thank yous" to start with....

• Thanks to all those who attended our Family Chat Session last week. It is nice to have a regular turnout along with all of the great discussions and I do look forward to seeing everyone each month. Our next session is scheduled for 25 February.
• Thanks to the StuCo and all the volunteer chaperons for the dance this past Thursday. There was plenty of excitement in the air that was for sure!

Today we began the second semester of the school year. With the start of the new semester comes:

1. e-reports for Quarter 2. Teachers are completing comments and inputting final grades now. Reports will be sent 29 Jan.  
2. Some students began new semester or quarter classes. Students can check on Power School for second semester courses they are registered for. Any requests for course changes can be made through Moodle. 
3. New students to our middle school and I will say I am quite proud of our ACS students....they are welcoming, encouraging, and helpful to the new students who have joined us. 

There is a nice feel to the hallways these days......students seem to be confident with what they are doing at school and, more importantly, seem quite happy. We frequently hear "good noise" in the hallways.......students speaking nicely to others, being positive, lots of laughter.....it is nice to hear.

Have a good evening.
Rhonda

Week of January 19

Good Evening,

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. I am anxious to return to ACS and get back into my own routine. I will be honest, I miss being in the hallways seeing the students and teachers!

Reminders:
Tuesday morning we will have our next Family Chat Session. The topic will be addressing Social Media.....what are the kids doing and how to handle the impact of social media use.

StuCo is sponsoring their "Winter" dance on Thursday. Please be reminded many adults volunteer their time to chaperon so prompt pick up is appreciated.

FYI:
Semester 1 ends on 23 January.

• Reports will be emailed to parents on 29 January.
• Students will receive information about schedule change requests for the second semester at the end of this week through an assembly and through their Moodle. Requests can be submitted through 29 January. 

An opportunity for students in Grade 6 ONLY to participate in an evening basketball activity will begin soon.

Grade 6 ONLY Basketball Evening Activity

I look forward to seeing everyone upon my return. 

Have a good evening.

Week of January 12

Good Evening,

I hope everyone has enjoyed the long weekend. I know we all like a nice holiday, but.....I must say I am glad we can now get back into a routine and just focus on students and their learning for a bit!

I will be away all this week attending workshops on creating Standards Based Report Cards and a workshop on the Common Core Standards that have been adopted. And, as I said, we are really wanting to get everyone back into their routines so....only a few upcoming dates to be aware of:

• Mark your calendar.... Jan 21 will be our next Family Connection Chat. The topic will be: Social Media....what are the kids using and the impact (good and bad) social media can have.  
• We have been encouraging students to speak with their teachers if they are behind on any of their assignments....the end of the quarter is quickly approaching--23 Jan. Please help us remind students of this important responsibility in the communication process.
• The StuCo has rescheduled their "Santa's Blizzard" dance that was previously scheduled for before the holiday to 23 Jan. StuCo is also working on rearranging Spirit Week--more info on that will come out as they complete their plans.

In honor of the upcoming PTG Book Fair, I came across this short article summarizing a recent study about the value of reading fiction on long term brain activity and development. I thought you might be interested so please see link below:

Article on reading and brain activity 

Enjoy your evening.

Week of January 5

Good Evening,

Welcome back from your holiday. I hope everyone had a nice time spent with family/friends. I will say it has certainly been lonely around school without students....it seems like forever since we have seen them!

Tomorrow classes will begin. 

It will be a Day 4

Bus Riders....it is a week 1 pick up schedule

There has been an incredible amount of clean up work completed on campus leftover from the snowfall. In addition, the outdoor bleachers have been installed, an additional enclosure for outdoor eating, and a redesign of computer labs, just to name a few. It was not a restful break for a support staff as they worked hard to have everything ready for tomorrow. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated support staff who care about ACS so much. A big THANK YOU to them for all of their hard work.

Student Council will be making decisions about rescheduling their Spirit Week...information will be forthcoming once they have finished their conversations. 

JV Basketball Tryouts will take place this week. Contact Mr. Tate (ttate@acsamman.edu.jo) for additional information or go to the athletics/activities website @Athletics/Activities Website

A big CONGRATULATIONS to our own ACS MS Teacher, Ms. Hall. She has been accepted as a presenter at the Spring NESA Teacher's Conference in Bangkok. The NESA Conference is a meeting of all international school teachers and administrators to share their ideas on their art of teaching and ways to promote student learning. It is an honor to be accepted as a presenter from the many applications NESA receives each year. When you see her, please congratulate her for this accomplishment.