Week Ahead: Mar. 5-9

Congratulations to all of our teams for a great day full of SISAC tournaments, travels and cheering fans!  Let’s be sure to pat our coaches and athletes on the back for their great efforts.  Girls A team (coached by Vaughan) finished 3rd; Boys A (coached by Brent Chesterman) finished 5th; Boys B (coached by Jay Johnson) finished 6th; Girls B (coached by Sanny Tran) finished 4th.

Here is what’s up next week:

Monday, Mar. 5
Day 6, GHEF (Adv)
1:30-3 Sr Admin Mtg

Tuesday, Mar. 6
Day 7, DABC (DEAR)
*Happy Birthday Helen Thompson
11:00-11:30 Gr 6 Course Registration during B block (library)
12:00 Release SISAC C Team Boys (games at 1:35 and 2:10)
1:15-1:30ish Gr 7 Course Registration during DEAR (library)

Wednesday, Mar. 7
Day 8, HEFG (DEAR)
*18-19 Curriculum Director on campus
3:15-4:30 School wide committee mtgs

Thursday, Mar. 8
Day 9, ABCD (Adv)
*18-19 Curriculum Director on campus
7:30-8 Meet the new Curriculum Director, David Chadwell, in the MS Faculty Lounge (snacks provided
8:15-9:15 Principal Coffee (Talking with your teen about sex)
11:30-7ish C Pool SISAC, Girls @ EIS
1:45-2:15 SRT

Friday, Mar. 9
Day 10, FGHE (DEAR)
8-12:30 Learning Support Job Alike

Upcoming (on the radar)

• Mar. 15-18 – MRISA Tournament at UNIS
• Mar. 16 – PTA MS Blast!; District 7 Faculty Social (4-6pm)
• Mar. 21-24 – MRISA Arts Exchange (@ ISHCMC)
• Mar. 23-24 – MRISA STEAM (@ ISHCMC)
• Mar. 22-23 –  Student Led Conferences
• April 4 – PSAT 8/9 (9:30-12:30 Gr 8 off time table)
• Apr. 13-14 – 20th Anniv. Celebration Events

Library – Ray Ayache:  Ray will be with us for the remainder of the school year.  Please talk with her about any library support needs.  She is available to help prepare materials, co-teach lessons, and basically support us through the end of the year.  She can also sub during single block needs.  We are so thankful to have her join us!

Student Unexcused Absences:  To ensure that we are all on the same page regarding student unexcused absences.  The most common reason for an unexcused absence is family vacation.  SSIS guidelines for this (across all divisions) is that a student with an unexcused absence must turn in all work on time (upon return from the unexcused absence) without extensions being granted.  When parents notify us of vacation ahead of time, we remind them of this policy.  When we have a student with extended unexcused absences, we need to talk as a team to make the best decision regarding the student as we follow policy.

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!

Session 3 ASA:  Sign ups for ASA Session 3 will be Monday May 12th during 1st block.  Please plan on reviewing the slideshow (will be sent by Shelley) during 1st block (A Block).

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 sales will begin on Monday.  I am not sure the cost.  Please expect an email with additional information from Katie Zimmerman.

District 7 Saigon International Teachers Social on 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.

Repeat- Teacher Evaluations:  I will be starting teacher evaluations next week.  My goal is to have them all completed by the end of April.  The Evaluation and Supervision program is detailed in this document.   The form used for documenting evaluation is titled SSIS Faculty Annual Evaluation Form.  I’ll be sending each of you your own form.  For those who have completed their first contract year, I will also be asking which area you want your evaluation to focus on – based on that, we will plan out your eval process.  For those in your first contract year, we will be using all areas and include a traditional observation in the process.  I’m looking forward to the process – it’s such a great opportunity to talk about practice!