Wow! Semester One has come and gone. Â My father told me when I was a teenager that time goes faster as you get older and he was right.
I hope that everyone has a safe and happy winter break and some special moments with family and friends.
I look forward to working with all of you in 2017!
Tim
Friday, December 16th  Half-Day 12:15 dismissal
HS Assembly at 8:00am in the Auditorium
HS House Activities from 9:30 – 12:00pm
Ice-Cream in the Plaza at 12:00pm
All School Social, 1:30-2:30 (Garden)
December 17 – January 8, 2017
SSIS Winter Break
Monday, January 9  No Classes
Curriculum / Department Working day for Teachers
Tuesday, January 10
Day 2 –Â EFGH
Senior Sport Photos – S2 Â 11:00am – 6:00pm
HSLT Meeting, HS Counseling Conference Room, 3:15-4:45
Wednesday, January 11
Day 3-Â BCDA
MRISA Team Photo 3:00 – 4:00pm
HS Divisional Meeting 3:15 – 4:30pm
Thursday, January 12
Day 4 –Â FGHE
Advisory Schedule
HS SISAC for Var: B@SSIS (in MS gym) and G@ISHCMC 12:00 – 6:00pm
Friday, January 13
Day 5 – CDAB
On the Horizon:
Professional Development Day, January 9
Students Return and Third Quarter Begins, January 10
Thao will be sending you a Google Calendar invite for a Tripod Survey reflection meeting that will take place after winter break. Some more info to follow, but we will be chatting about the themes from your results during the meeting. We just wanted to give you some context about this invite as it shows up in your inboxes.  Jacob and Tim
Staff Action Needed:
- Complete this assessment group preference form by the January 9 at 3pm
- Contact Mark M or Chris B if you are interested  in joining the Peer Collaboration group in semester two
Assessment Policy Groups Coming for January 11– The HSLT met this week to discuss the next steps in our process of developing common HS Assessment Guidelines for next year. We decided that the creation of policy for the items below would be best handled at the department level with Tina and Jacob or Tim:
- The high school division should utilize departmental moderation and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration with assessments/student work.
- PowerSchool grade books should be set up similarly within departments.
The remaining FIVE items will be tackled as a HS staff. The HSLT will take lead in this process. Our goal is to create common HS policies that benefit all stakeholders. As a teacher, you will pick one of the five policy groups to join from thisÂ
Google Form. Â Designate your top two choices of topics to ensure we adequate coverage in each area.
- A late work policy.
- AÂ retake policy for assessments.
- An extra credit policy.
- A grading policy addressing the inclusion/exclusion of behaviors (tardies, following classroom rules, participation, etc) in a student’s grade.
- An assessment policy that allows for students to be graded independently as well as collectively within group tasks.
At our January 11th faculty meeting, you will provided a brief article(s) and policies from other schools for the chosen topic. You will meet briefly with your group to clarify the work and process. This faculty meeting will be short, so you will have time to start reviewing the materials immediately afterwards. You will have the entire January 25th meeting to discuss the article(s) and policy examples with your group. Ultimately, your group will recommend a divisional policy. More information about subsequent steps will be shared on January 11th.
Peer Collaboration– Special thank you to Mark M and Chris Byck with their leadership with the Peer Collaboration Group.  If you are interested in joining in for the professional fun for semester two please contact Mark or Chris.
Vietnam Tech Conference– The next tech conference we host is just around the corner after Tet.  It’s a great conference that brings together teachers from all over Vietnam and SE Asia.  Please consider attending this conference.  It’s here and only $100.  You can access the
PD form here.
ELLSA Conference– The English Language Learning Specialists in Asia Conference is coming to SSIS on April 22-23. Â The theme of the conference is: English Proficiency: Moving Beyond the Plateau with a focus on Academic Language, Fossilized Errors and Assessment. Early Bird registration has been extended to Dec. 16; cost $230 (and as always SSIS PD funds can be used for this conference). Â If you have questions or are interested please contact Melissa Martin or Stacy Crowell for more information.
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