Week Ahead: April 26-30

Three 4 day weeks in a row! This particular 4 day week ends with the first middle school dance. I am sure the excitement will be high and pretty sure that there might be a bit of drama involved 🙂 The more proactive we can be about redirection and early intervention the more smooth the week (and the event) will go. In and amongst the excitement of the dance, our students are engaging in really meaningful work. From G8’s inquiry into poverty, G7s focus on force and motion in science, and G6 exploring classification, there is so much great learning going on!

One general reminder: soil testing was set up on April 24 and will finished on April 27.

Here is what’s up this week:

Monday, April 26
Day 1, ABCD
*CTP make ups

Tuesday, April 27
Day 2, EFGH
9-10:00 Initial STAR 360 training
Lunch/Recess/Dragon Time: Advisory Team Mtg

Wednesday, April 28
Day 3, BCDA
*Happy Birthday Rebecca Jardin!
11:00-11:45 SST
3:15-4:30 Full Faculty, Code of Conduct (auditorium)

Thursday, April 29
Day 4, FGHE
*Poem in Your Pocket Day
1-1:45ish G8 with G1 Buddies (will be a bit late to E block)
5-7:30pm MS Dance (auditorium)

Friday, April 30
No School – Reunification Day

Upcoming (on the radar)

• May 3 – No School, International Labor Day
• May 4 – MS Band Concert, evening parent performance (possible disruption for G8 music students to have a combined G8 rehearsal)
• May 5 – STAR Reading Screener during Dragon Time
• May 7 – MS Band Concert during Dragon Time
• May 11 – Advisory Team Lead mtg
• May 12 – STAR Math Screener during Dragon Time
• May 13 and 14 – MS Art Exhibition (day show; class visitation sign ups)
• May 21 – G5 Step Up Day, StuCo Executive Council Election; special schedule
• May 25 – HS Theory of Knowledge collaboration / fair
• May 25 – Advisory Team Lead mtg
• May 26 – Talent Show during Dragon Time
• May 27 – Sr. Graduation Walk, 1:15ish
• June 1 – G8 Promotion rehearsal (G8 off time table for last block)
• June 3 and 4 – MS Drama Productions (time to be determined)
• June 7 – G8 Promotion rehearsal (G8 off time table for last block)
• June 7 – Grades and Comments for Q4 / S2 due
• June 8 – Library Book Bingo Reward Field Trip
• June 8 – G8 Step Up Day, 10:35-11:45
• June 9 – G8 Promotion in AM (all grades attend – hopefully); Splash Day 1-3:00

Travel Questionnaire: If you travel outside of HCMC (even on a weekend trip), you must fill this in before you travel. Thanks!

TO DO From ICT: To keep track of the room configurations and the technology equipment needs we have created the following spreadsheet: ICT Equipment List by Location 2021-2022. Please check and let me (David Perkin) know if there are any errors. Thank you.

PD Opportunity:  A possible intervention in writing has been identified. thinksrsd.com It uses an approach called Self Regulated Strategy Development to teach the executive skills of writing. This approach has now come up for me in multiple school neuro psych reviews as having great evidence-based results. If you are interested in taking this training, please let me know.

eSports Coach Needed:  There is an opportunity for Middle School to play in an international schools eSports League and we are need of an eCoach.  You will be supported by IT office and Daniel Mendes. For more information please contact Daniel or David Perkin.

About: 3 age groups – Years 5&6, Year 7&8, Years 9&10

• 3 competitions a year – plus an APAC Masters Finals (if your school qualifies)
• Online and Live Competitions – Currently online for all international schools
• Online competitions are coordinated by educators and supervised by teachers from both schools
• Age appropriate gaming – no violent content
• Player Code of Conduct Policy– documentation for players and families
• Behaviour Management Policy – clear outlines behavioural expectations of players
• Aligned to Australian Curriculum Social and Emotional Outcomes
• Focused on positive gaming behaviours
• Esports in Education – Digital Wellbeing coursework available
• Console based – low set up cost – plug and play

Games for Year 5&6 and Year 7&8 Online Competition

• Mario Kart Deluxe 8 
• Rocket League
• FIFA22

Setting Up 2 Factor Authentication: From David Perkins –
If you have not done so already it is now time to turn on Two-factor Authentication (2FA) on your accounts. So much of what we do today is in the digital space and hackers are lurking around every corner ready to steal our identities, drain our bank accounts, and lock us out of our accounts.

Turning on 2FA not only makes your accounts more difficult to attack, but it also makes your accounts less attractive targets.

It is simple to do and only takes a few minutes to set up.

To set up 2FA on your Google account
Click here to get started. Click here to view a step by step video

How does two-factor authentication work?
Two-factor authentication works by adding an extra layer of security to your account — an additional login step — to prevent someone from logging in even if they have access to your password.

When you sign into any of your online accounts, the basic level of authentication requires only your password to log in — that’s one step to verify your identity. 2FA adds a second piece of info (or a second layer) that you need to provide before you can get access to your account.

Resources
Google 2-Step Verification?What Is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)