Author: Melanie Sylvester
Dear ES Team, Today our Elementary Leadership team met to organize some professional learning opportunities and other projects. Our faculty is required to be available to our students and parents each morning from 9:00-11:00am– this practice will remain in place. If TA’s are available, I’d like to continue working on organizing the Dragon’s Belly– which will include discarding/donating some items. Ideally, I’d like to work with a small group each morning from 9-11:00am– tackling one section at a time. There are two PD opportunities for TA’s this week– one session on conferring with Evelyn and one on math problem solving...
Dear ES Team, As most of us have witnessed throughout our careers, school cultures either thrive or fail based on the quality of teamwork that occurs within the structure. We are grateful for the teamwork that is embedded in our daily lives at SSIS. The incredible Tết Fair that our TA’s planned is a great example of a well-functioning team’s ability to plan, execute, and support a rich and exceptional learning experience for our students by utilizing the power of the collective capacity. Our TA team demonstrated creativity, flexibility, passion, and joy– and our entire ES team supported, appreciated, and...
Dear ES Team, A short but busy week is on the horizon. Tuesday we will begin our Tet celebration immersing ourselves in cultural experiences. The day will be filled with opportunities to learn about and embrace the beautiful culture, country, and people that have graciously welcomed us. Our TA team has done an amazing job organizing a Tet Fair– here are the plans: Tet Fair 2020 The fair will be most successful if we all energetically and enthusiastically supervise our students as they participate in the planned activities– all hands will need to be on deck in order for...
Dear ES Team, Traditionally, SSIS has provided Lì xì (Lucky Money) to ALL staff during Tet. Teachers usually give lucky money and/or a more personal gift (plant, gift card, chocolate, etc) to their TA’s. In the past teachers also contributed money (50-200 vnd) for the cleaning, gardening, and maintenance staff. Ms. Thuy and Ms. Minh have envelopes for contributions. On January 21 after school we will gather in the staff room and present “Lucky Money” red envelopes to our valued support group! Next Wednesday is a Professional Growth Afternoon. The purpose of this day is to provide space and...
Dear ES Team, Happy New Year! Whether you’ve just walked through the greatest year of your life, or you experienced a year peppered with personal challenges, the new calendar year is a good time to reflect on warm memories, heal from hard times, and look forward to a year filled with joy, hope, and love and peace! Donna Useful Information: Our yearbook theme this year is Building our Future– framed in a construction site theme. As we think about grade level photos, we’d like to collect (borrow) some costumes and props. Please bring any items to Minh. Please remember to...
Dear ES Team, The holidays are getting closer and the weeks are getting busier. Life can get demanding and our energy can begin to wane during the days before a break–this is a good time to remember to breathe, smile, and appreciate the joy that surrounds us. Next Friday our Student Leaders have organized a Family Movie Night 5:00-8:00pm. We will be showing the movie, Santa Paws. The PTA is also sponsoring a Holiday Bazaar and tree lighting after school on Friday. We are hoping that all the classroom teachers can send this information home via SeeSaw. —...
Dear ES Team, This morning, I woke up compelled to share this personal story: In November 2012, a culture of complaining was beginning to develop at the Community School of Naples (where I was working)– and minor inconveniences were escalating the emotions of faculty, staff, and parents. During that time, Shea Maurer was a Grade 5 student—she was Maddie’s good friend, and Kate’s best friend’s sister. Shea’s family life was a bit complicated, but her joy was simple. She was a free spirit and loved singing and dancing—often on top of the picnic tables! Her smile was contagious and she...
Useful Information: Our yearbook theme this year is Building our Future– framed in a construction site theme. As we think about grade level photos, we’d like to collect (borrow) some costumes and props. Please bring any items to Minh. Please remember to book our school photographer if you have a special event. ENews: Link to ES ENews SSIS Wellness Blog: Wellness@SSIS Weekly Snapshot: Monday, November 18 Happy Birthday, Lisa JACOBS Happy Birthday, Hà DƯƠNG Tuesday, November 19 Wednesday, November 20 Happy Birthday, Megan VANDERVANTER PTA Teacher Appreciation Day Divisional Meeting Start in Auditorium (wellness) Then break-out to work on progress reports...
The most beautiful way to start and end the day is with a grateful heart! Dear ES Team, We all benefit from learning, working, and playing in a culture that is framed in support and encouragement. Thanks to everyone for enriching our students by supporting our ASA program these past few months— and a big congratulations to our ES sports teams and all of our ES coaches on a very successful fall season! I’d like to begin our formal evaluation process by asking the faculty to submit the 2019-20 Teacher to Teaching Assistant Feedback by December 14. If...
Dear ES Team, I hope everyone had a great week– I definitely missed being on campus these past few days! Thank you to everyone who has helped cover my duties– I will need coverage next Friday and the following Monday, too!:) Next week there are city championship games for some of our ES teams– here is the link to Shelley’s email with the details (students participating, departing times, etc.): Dragon Athletics email Enjoy the weekend! Looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday! Cheers, Donna Reminders: Please remind your students to wash their hands before snack time and lunch, and to...
