Weekly Update: March 19 – 23

The amazing race is almost here.  It doesn’t seem to matter how proactive we would like to be in the field of education, the end of the year is a wild and hectic ride.  Our time with seniors is brief and not much longer for the rest of our kids.  We have a long week ahead, as we finalize grades, write comments and complete our parent/teacher conferences.  While spring break is in sight, the countdown starts when we return.

Enjoy your weekend,

Jacob

Friday, March 16
Day 5-CDAB
International Teachers Social at Pitchers from 4:00 – 6:00pm
HS StuCo Event. 6:30pm (Get Out)

Monday, March 19
Day 6- GHEF
Advisory Schedule
Report Card Comments Reviewed by a Peer Completed

Tuesday, March 20
Day 7- DABC
Grades Completed for Q3 by 9pm

Wednesday, March 21
Day 8- HEFG
Verification Reports Returned to HS Office by the End of Lunch
HCMC International School Admin Job A-like, 8:00am-2:30 (MPR)
HS Faculty Meeting, 3:15-4:30 (MPR) Grade Level Teams
Quarter 3 Report Cards sent to Families Around 4pm

Thursday, March 22
Day 9- ABCD
End of Quarter 3
Advisory Schedule
Pre-PTC Dinner, 3-4pm (HS Fitness Lab)
Parent Teacher Conferences, 4-8pm (HS Gym)
IBDP Core Night, 5-6:30pm (Plaza)

Friday, March 23
Non-student day
Parent Teacher Conferences, 8am-1pm (HS Gym)
PTC Lunch, 10am-12pm (HS Fitness Lab)
Spring Break Begins

On the Horizon

• Spring Break, March 24-April 1
• StuCo Campaign April 2-6
• StuCo Election, April 5 (1 hour assembly) Schedule Here
• April 4 – PSAT 8/9 (8:00-11:00 am Gr 9 off time table) in Gym
• April 12- Career Day (Special Schedule)
• Apr. 13-14 – 20th Anniversary Celebration Events
• Sunshine HS Beautification Project, Afternoon of April 14
• April 17th – HS Band and Jazz Band Concert at 6:00pm

Staff Action Needed

• Begin your report card comments for Q3 using the new template from our PD from the beginning of February.  Report Card Comments PD Presentation Report Card Comments Exemplars
• Complete Admin Surveys (Mark’s Email with Links)
• How to enter Mock Exam Grades in PowerSchool.  Here is a link to a Google Doc with the same text/screenshots to put in this week’s Dragon’s Lair.
• Sample Mock Exam Gradbook Entry and Publishing Instructions
• Finish your grading for Q3 by Tuesday, March 20 at 9pm
• Want to connect with an ISHMC teacher about SL/HL Schedules complete this form

District 7 Saigon International Teachers Social (Mar 16)– Come out and meet your international teaching colleagues from the district 7 area at Pitchers on March 16 from 4-6pm.  The school will provide some drinks (beer or soft drinks) for those who attend.  We hope the following schools will be in attendance:  CISS, SSIS, AmIS, RISS, ABCIS, BVIS, SIS.  This is a great opportunity to connect with other educators and expats in our community.  In the future, we are looking to bring the district 2 and 7 schools together.

Parent/Teacher Conference Information–  PTC’s are just around the corner.  They take place on Thursday, March 22 (4-8pm) and Friday, March 23 (8am-1pm) in the HS gym.  We will be serving dinner in the Fitness Lab (basement) from 3-4pm on Thursday.  Additionally, we will have the sandwich and salad bar set up on Friday from 10am-12pm for you during the day.  Make sure to bring your power cords for your laptops.

HCMC International Schools Administrator’s Job A-like (March 21)–  Administrators from across the entire city will be at SSIS to share challenges, experiences, best practices on Wednesday, March 21 from 8-2:30pm.  The secondary administrators will be in the MPR and the ES in the ES flex room for a majority of the day.  In the morning, we will be walking about campus on a tour.  Say hello if you see any of us.

PSAT 9 (Updated)– All grade 9 students will be taking the PSAT 9 on April 4th during blocks 1 and 2.  We have transitioned away from MAP testing and now will be using the PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10/11 in grades 9-11.  We feel that these tests will provide us with more relevant data and prepare our students more effectively for the SAT in the junior and senior years.  We will be on a regular schedule on April 4.  All grade 9 students will miss their 1st and 2nd block classes.  If you teach a grade 9 class, you will likely be asked to help proctor during blocks B and/or C that day.

Sunshine Committee Beautification Project, April 14–  Each year the HS Sunshine Committee has tried to organize a service related activity.  Last year, we worked at a local orphanage in D7.  This year we have decided to have our service directly impact our HS division and students.  Please save the date for April 14th in the afternoon (likely 12-3pm).  We will be doing some planting projects around campus.  Afterwards, we will walk across the street to Saigon Craft or Lac to have celebratory beverages.  More info to come from your Sunshine Committee members.

SSIS 20th Anniversary Events:  The ceremony for the 20th Anniversary on the 13th of April which will be open to teachers and families until the 250 available seats are filled. The ceremony will start at 4:30 pm and will not interfere with the school day. On the 14th of April, there will be a Gala dinner in D1 at the Reverie hotel, and families and teachers are welcome to purchase tickets to this. Ticket are on sale now in the PR Department. Cost is $100 US / person

Tours of New Students: This is the season of new student tours!  During a tour, we try to show parents and prospective students as much as possible, including classes in session.  If a family comes into your class, please make an effort to greet them if possible.  If you are in the middle of a lesson and can’t stop, please find a way to acknowledge them.  Thank you for providing such great experiences for prospective families to see!

Learning Walks Resume– Tim and I have finished our formal observations in January.  We have been a bit busy with the last minute counseling position, but will be returning to classes with Learning Walks next week.  We look forward to seeing more of the amazing work you do with students.  We will have our laptops for these visits.  In our conferencing with you in semester 1 some staff said they wanted continued feedback in the 2-3 components of focus on Danielson while other wanted to use our Learning Walk form we have used in the past that focuses on engagement, assessment and tech integration.