Weekly Update March 9 – 16th

District 7 International Teachers’ Event March 16th at 4:00pm

All international teachers in District 7 are invited to the Pitchers Bar (Riverside Residence) on Friday, March 16th from 4:00 – 6:00pm.  There will be drink coupons provided free of charge by the international schools helping to host this event (SSIS, CIS, BCIS, SIS, AIS, Renaissance, AMIS, BVIS, ABCIS).

There appears to be a flu bug going around the staff in the MS and HS today (Thursday, March8th).  Both Divisions are doing internal coverage.  Hopefully no one will feel ill tomorrow as the MS and HS have already have 9 substitutes booked.

Tim

Friday, March 9
Day 10 –  FGHE
Meet David Chadwell (new CD) and Amy Coquillard (New HS Librarian), 7:30-8am (HS Faculty Room)

Monday, March 12
Day 1- ABC Adv D
Advisory Schedule

Tuesday, March 13
Day 2- EFGH
HSLT Meeting, 3:15-4:45 (HS Counseling Office Conference Room) Agenda Here

Wednesday, March 14. Early Dismissal Day
Day 3- BCDA
IBDP Year 1 EE Supervisors and Student Lunch Meeting from 12:15 – 1:10pm in the MPR (lunch provided)
HS Faculty Meeting, 1:15-4:30 (MPR)

Thursday, March 15
Day 4- FGH Adv E
Advisory Schedule

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

On the Horizon

• District 7 Saigon International Teacher’s Social, March 16 4-6pm (Pitchers)
• PTC’s, March 22 (4-8pm) and March 23 (8am-1pm)
• VLMC International School Middle/Upper Administrators Meeting in MPR
• Mar. 21-24 – MRISA Arts Exchange (@ ISHCMC)
• Mar. 23-24 – MRISA STEAM (@ ISHCMC)
• IBDP Core Night, March 22 during PTC (Plaza) 5:00 – 6:30pm
•  End of Quarter 3, March 22
• Spring Break, March 24-April 1
• April 4 – PSAT 8/9 (9:30-12:30 Gr 9 off time table) in Gym
• 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
• 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
• What’s in your grade book?  There’s only two weeks left in the quarter.

March 14 Early Release Day– We will be meeting as a HS faculty at 1:15 briefly to collect feedback on your observations in regards to Project X and sharing a few timely items.  The remainder of the time we would like you to devote to comment writing using our new division wide approach.

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.

PSAT 9– All grade 9 students will be taking the PSAT 9 on April 4th during blocks 2 and 3.  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 2nd and 3rd block classes.  If you teach a grade 9 class, you will likely be asked to help proctor during blocks C and/or D 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.