Week of 29 September

Good Evening,

Thank you to the MS StuCo for planning and organizing the "Peace in the Middle East" event last Thursday. There were a lot of students in attendance and everyone had a great time.  This was their first event of the year and they did a great job! Thanks also to the teachers who volunteered to chaperon.

We are spending these last three weeks before Eid to focus on instruction and routines in the MS so only a few tidbits tonight:

• Students are working on their SMART goals in advisory...please ask your son/daughter about their goals and what they are working on (you can also see the format in the Moodle All MS)

• The next Power School update is Oct 10. These updates are scheduled a few weeks apart to help the students to understand the importance of the learning that is taking place and not, solely, on "what their grade is." Learning is a reflective process that takes time and our goal is to help students understand learning is a lifelong process.

• IF your son/daughter says they are "bored" encourage them to practice their keyboarding skills. There are plenty of keyboarding sites on the internet.......a suggestion from the L. Arts teachers follows:

http://www.freetypinggame.net/free-typing-test.asp

Enjoy your evening and thank you for all of your support...it is greatly appreciated.

Rhonda Isley

MS Principal

risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 22 September

Good Evening,

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Today we recognized Peace One Day, a worldwide day of recognition for peace around the world,  during advisory...students wore white, decorated lockers, listened to music....we did our best to "...imagine all the people..."

A few reminders and tidbits of information:
Handbook Highlights:

• if your son/daughter is going to be absent from school, the person to contact is Ms. Rima Fanik, MS Assistant. ( rfanik@acsamman.edu.jo )
• it is best if you can schedule appointments after school hours. Students attend classes every other day...if your son/daughter misses a class on Sunday, for example, they will not have that class again until Tuesday. It is often difficult for students to find the time during the course of a day to make up a quiz or class activity. 

Family Connection Chats:

Next month we will begin monthly parent information sessions on topics related to middle school students and issues related to being a parent of a middle school student. Our first chat will take place Oct 9 in the MPR beginning at 8:00 a.m. The topic will be "Balancing Screen Time" --we will share ideas and discuss ways to manage the amount of time students spend in front of their computer screens. We look forward to seeing you there.

Reminders:

• Middle School Student Council (StuCo) will host their first event of the school year this Thursday. Their theme is "Peace in the Middle East" to extend our celebration of Peace One Day, a worldwide day of recognition.  StuCo reps ask your help in encouraging your son/daughter to attend. 

In an effort to continuously strive for good communication and keep parents informed of events, we are asking for your assistance in helping us develop a system for parents to acknowledge events taking place at ACS.  

We are striving  to utilize our online capacities, reduce our use of paper, and streamline the cumbersome task of collecting forms from students so we ask you to take a few moments to complete the  "acknowledgement of event" form listed below. 

StuCo Peace in the Middle East Parent Response Form 

Thank you for your help as we pilot ways of improving our communication systems. 

Request from Transportation:

Bus Pick-Up: Please have your children outside and ready to catch the bus no less than 5 minutes before their designated pick-up time.Buses will wait no more than 2 minutes from their designated pick-up time in order to keep to their schedule. If buses arrive early, they will wait until their designated pick-up times if your child is not ready.

This helps us keep the buses running on time. If each student is late even 2 minutes it is a total of 40 extra minutes. 

Thank you for your support.

Enjoy your evening, 

Rhonda Isley

MS Principal 

risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 15 September

Good Evening, 

Thanks to all those who attended the MS Back to School night last week. I hope everyone enjoyed the different format for the evening this year. It was nice to see everyone a bit more relaxed. 

Today wrapped up our last field trip for team building week. Team building week is designed to help us bring two attributes of our Student Profile to life....that of effective communicators and collaborators. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities I had to spend so much time with the students at each grade level.

Now that we have introduced those concepts to students, we will continue to create opportunities for those skills to be reinforced and developed. Thanks to all of the teachers who went on all the field trips to support students as they learn these skills. Below are a couple of photos from today's trip with Grade 6 students at the Noor Stables.

We had an incredible turnout for auditions of our MS production of Robin Hood last week. Rehearsals begin this week in preparation for the November performance. 

After School Activities begin 17 September. If your son/daughter has not yet signed up, they must do so by tomorrow. 

The first Power School update of the year is scheduled for 19 September. Please contact your son/daughter's teacher directly, after 19 Sept., if you have questions about the update. 

If your daughter is interested in participating in Girl Scouts, there is a link below for contact information.

Girl Scout Information

Please continue to remind your son/daughter to charge up their laptop each night before coming to school and please ensure their laptop remains in good working order.

Enjoy your evening,

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo 

Week of 8 September

Good Evening,

I hope everyone had a enjoyable, relaxing weekend.

An important thank you to the students.....the level of maturity and attention during our evacuation drill last week was remarkable. I have never experienced a more attentive group of students during such an activity. We all shared in an ice cream treat on Thursday to celebrate their success.

This will be a busy week for us in the Middle School so.....

This week begins Team Building Week. Our first group of Gr 8 students went to the High Ropes Course today while the rest stayed on campus to participate in different teamwork activities. See below for some pics on how they spent their day.

Gr 7 will have their trips on Wednesday and Thursday this week and Gr 6 on Sunday. Please ask your son/daughter to log into their Moodle for more information.

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT is Wednesday. Please join us in the gym for an opening presentation and then spend 30-40 mins. visiting your son/daughter's classrooms. Teachers will be available for informal "meet-n-greets" and answer questions, however, the evening will not be conducive to individual parent/teacher conferences.  We look forward to seeing you.

After School Activity information and sign ups have been posted on student Moodle accounts. Sign ups will be available through the week. Please encourage your son/daughter to participate. Questions about the activities can be sent to Mr. Tate (ttate@acsamman.edu.jo)

We will have a "Mock Online Learning Day" on Tuesday of this week. This day is designed to help students troubleshoot  problems they may have if they are absent, or we have snow days again this year, and have to complete assignments online.

The MS production of Robin Hood will kick off this week with auditions beginning tomorrow. Ms. Hire is the director for the play if you have any questions. (jhire@acsamman.edu.jo)

LAPTOPS-a few ways you can support your son/daughter's use of their laptops while at school are:

1. ensure there is a word processing program on their laptops while at school. We recommend using MS Word. 
2. ensure their laptops have a good battery installed
3. ensure any parental safety controls/passwords, etc you have still allow students to use their laptops while at school

As usual, thank you again for your support and we look forward to seeing you Wednesday.

Have a good evening, 

Rhonda Isley

MS Principal

risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Week of 1 September

Good Evening,

Thank you for your support as we completed our first week of school last week. All of the students seemed to have settled in a bit by the end of the week and we saw lots of smiles each day. I am sure those smiles were to demonstrate their eagerness to be back with their teachers and had nothing to do with seeing their friends...ha ha!

Notes for this week:

Last Thursday we sat with each student to ensure they could log onto their email, Power School, and Moodle accounts. All students were able to have functioning accounts as of Thursday. Today we worked out one last tweak to their Moodle accounts so each student can have access to school wide information in the ALL MS (Middle School) group on Moodle.

As parents, you should also have access to Power School and Moodle. Please contact us if you have questions about these accounts.

ACS Swim Team information:
Practices are Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays
4:30-5:30 or 5:30-6:30
@ Cambridge School
Starting Sept 3 thru December
Fees: 350 JD

website: acspiranhasswimteam.shutterfly.com

Questions, please contact the receptionist at ACS.

Back to School Night is next week. This is a time for you to meet your son/daughter's teacher and receive a brief understanding of the course contents for the school year. The evening will begin at 6:00 pm and should end at approximately 8:00.

Team Building Week

MS students will spend time learning about working together as a team and how to collaborate with each other during Team Building Week. Each grade level will experience a variety of games and activities that provide them with experience in these areas. Grade 7 and 8 will be divided into 2 groups with one group participating in the activities while the other group remains on campus.

On the designated grade level day, students will depart campus at 8:15 and return approximately 2:45. Students will be informed at the end of this week which group they are in for the activities. Activity locations are as follows:

Gr 8 students will go to the High Ropes course at Seilgarten in Amman on Sept 8 and 9.
Gr 7 students will go to Noor Stables in Amman on Sept 11 and 12
All Gr 6 students will go to Noor Stables in Amman on Sept 15

Students will need a sack lunch on their designated day. We also recommend a hat and sunscreen. We must have up-to-date parent contact information on file in order for students to be able to participate. The cost of this activity (35 JD) will be included in your school invoice. If you have any questions, please contact us: risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Enjoy your evening and thank you again for helping to make the first week a positive week.

Week of 26 August--First Week! :)

Good Evening,

I hope you are all looking forward to tomorrow as much as I am.

The teachers have done an incredible job getting the classrooms ready and meeting with each other to plan high interest, challenging lessons for the students. In a nutshell, WE ARE READY TO GET STARTED!

It was great to see all of the new families today...thanks to all of you for attending our orientation. Our lines of communication are important and today was the first step in that process.

Notes are brief this week as the goal is to get the students settled and organized into a new school year. We will spend this week getting to know each other, ensuring various accounts are working properly, and establishing some basic routines.

The two most important items to bring tomorrow....

Please send your son/daughter to school tomorrow with their laptop--charged up and ready to go along with a positive, hopeful outlook.

Please send money with them so they can purchase food!

Students will report to Advisory straight away in the morning where they will receive updated schedules, locker assignments, and enjoy catching up with friends.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. In the above links you will find information on the daily student schedule, important dates for this school year, and important contact information.

Enjoy your evening and we look forward to seeing your son/daughter at school. Thank you again for sending your child to ACS....we consider it a privilege to be a part of their young lives.

Rhonda Isley
MS Principal
risley@acsamman.edu.jo

Welcome to the 2013-2014 School Year

Welcome to another new school year at ACS. I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing summer and enjoyed time spent with family and friends.

I would especially like to welcome all of our new families, our Grade 6 families, and all of our new MS teachers. This year marks a year of transition for all of you and we will do our best to ensure the transition for your son/daughter is a positive experience.

Throughout the school year I will post to this blog every Sunday evening. This blog is designed to help keep you, as parents, informed of the "happenings" in middle school during the school year. I welcome any requests for other types of information you would find helpful to be posted on a regular basis.

I attempt to keep the postings brief and user friendly but I do sometimes get a bit long-winded.....as I recognize I am beginning to do now! So.......to the important info to help everyone get started this year:

• New Family Registration is Thursday, 22 August from 9-12 and 1-4.
• New Student/Parent Orientation is Sunday, 25 August from 8:30-10:30
• First day of school is August 26. School begins at 8:00, students should arrive by 7:50.

Day 1

Students should bring their laptops(fully charged) with them and report to their advisory teacher upon arrival. Advisory lists will be posted at the front gate, at the bus drop off area in the back of the school, and on the 4th floor. Once attendance has been taken, students will receive their lockers and locks, check to see that their laptops are able to log onto the school network and have a brief welcome prior to starting their regular school day. 

Teachers will be sharing with students course content for the year and providing information on any necessary/specialty supplies (beyond traditional paper/pencil, etc.) that will be needed. 

Special Notes of Interest:

• Students will NOT be allowed to carry their backpacks all day. We recommend a sleeve or some type of computer case, possibly a messenger bag, but backpacks must be stored in lockers throughout the school day. (this is a change from past practice)
• Schedule change requests will begin on September 1. Schedules for all new students will be completed prior to addressing change requests for returning students. Students will receive more information regarding this on the first day of school.
• After School Activities will begin in mid-September. Students will receive information regarding the sign up process and offerings in early September.
• Methods of communication in order to stay informed about your son/daughter's progress include:

1. Emailing teacher (first initial last name@acsamman.edu.jo) *a teacher contact list will be included in this blog on the Contact page once all teacher email accounts have been established.
2. Power School (dates for required teacher updates will be posted throughout the school year)
3. Moodle (teachers will update information about assignments and class work on a weekly basis)
4. Contacting the MS office @ 06 581 3944

Enjoy your evening and I am looking forward to communicating with you this year. 

Rhonda Isley

MS Principal

risley@acsamman.edu.jo