Week Ahead: Nov. 30 – Dec. 4

This is what all the planning and hard work was for!

Thank you all for making these 2 days so very special for the students. This is probably truly a highlight of the entire year (2020) for our students. The focus on positive emotions, relationships, and health was evident, and we all witnessed students experience positive accomplishment as they had new experiences and learned new skills.

Here is what’s up next week:

Monday, Nov. 30
Day 2, EFGH
8-1:30 Data in a Day
1:30-3:00 Admin mtg (Molly attends)

Tuesday, Dec. 1
Day 3, BCDA
*Happy Birthday Hillary Banks!
10:40-11:20 SST
6pm G8 Drama Production

Wednesday, Dec. 2
Day 4, FGHE
9:30-10:30 LS Plan Mtg (VL)
3:15-4:30 Divisional Mtg (Grading and Comment Writing; various locations)

Thursday, Dec. 3
Day 5, CDAB
8:30-9:30 FYI Parent Ed Series: Managing Tech at Home
9:30-11 Admin Mtg (Molly attends)

Friday, Dec. 4
Day 6, GHEF
7:30 Breakfast Club sponsored by G6
2:00-5:00 Tree Lighting Event and Winter Bazaar

Upcoming (on the radar)

• Dec. 1, 6pm G8 Drama Production
• Dec. 10, 6pm MS Music Concert
• Dec. 11, 1-1:40 MS Music Concert during Dragon Time
• Dec. 14 and 16, G8 Drama production for students during G block
• Dec. 14, Grade/Comments due 3:00
• Dec. 15, Verification reports due 3:00
• Dec. 15 and 16, G7 Science Field Trips
• Dec. 17, Winter Celebration

Data in a Day:  On Monday, a team of 60 students, alumni, parents, and faculty will be observing all around the school looking for how students experience development of a purposeful life as a global citizen. This is always such a positive experience that assists us in celebrating our strengths and identifying areas where we can continue to grow. The following students will be participating: G6: Han-BeeWoo, Ryan Tsujimoto; G7: Noah Cannell; G8: Yuki Ando, Shannon Nguyen, and Davy Ada

Supervisory Needs:  We are in need of some more supervisors for evening events. I have created the “regular” signup sheet for the events we have had and the events that are coming. All middle school faculty are expected to assist throughout the year under the philosophy that many hands make light work. Please sign up for 1 event on the Supervising/Chaperoning Schedule. If you supported the PE dance celebration you have already “signed up.” Additional events may be added later as conditions permit. If that is the case, we will ask faculty to perform additional supervision and chaperoning. Of immediate need are 2 supervisors to support the drama production next Tuesday.

Opportunity to help plan Winter Celebration: We are so excited to have the 8th annual Winter Celebration on our final day of Semester 1. This fun extravaganza features a gingerbread house mystery box challenge and cookie decorating contest as well as holiday fun and games. Molly is looking for a few holiday fun-havers to help brainstorm the plan for this year. Please let Molly know if you are interested.

Visitor and Parent Registration: As you know, we are now allowed to have parents and some visitors on campus as invited guests. There are steps to follow to ensure the health and safety of all. Please review the “Parents on Campus” document to ensure you follow all parts of the procedure.

All parents and visitors to the SSIS campus must be pre-registered. To streamline the pre-registration process, IT has developed a digital registration process. Here is the Visitor Registration Procedures. The hosts pre-loaded in the Visitor Pre-Registration Form are Hang, Molly, Roxanne, Hillary, Abby, Alis, Lili, and Ryan Pool. All other teachers are welcome to ask any of those people to help pre-register parent visitors.

For large groups (such as whole class, or grade level) such as a concert, please work with Molly or Roxanne to ensure all steps are followed in the “Parents on Campus” process. These groups will now also be loaded into the new digital registration process.

PD Opportunity:  Checking for interest in who would like to attend a virtual PD: Creating a Culture of Thinking By Ron Ritchhart; January 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th OR February 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
*If you are interested, please email Molly by this Friday.

Budget / Ordering:  An update from the business office on vendors that are available: Due to the effect of Covid-19 pandemic, we would like to draw your attention to the consolidation process and shipment lead time. Items bought in the U.S will possibly be more difficult to sort and send to Vietnam. Therefore, please be aware of potential shipment delays and reserve additional 4-6 weeks lead time compared to our normal ordering process, the shipping time may extend to 26 weeks from door to door, following our ordering timeline, 26 weeks lead time will bring us to mid September.

Alternatively, some Australian brands (MTA, Zart Arts, Hart Sport) are recommended by our consolidator to replace School Speciality, Dick Blick, Gopher during this period. It is encouraged that your Divisional order be split between U.S and Australian brands to save the processing time, we estimate shipping from Australia will be here before the school year.  Timeline & Vendor list Please really check prices when looking at vendors.