The Owl Weekly Parent Newsletter 10/28/19
TOMORROW: Virtual Education Town Hall!
Education Town Halls allow you to pose your questions or comments about any part of the academic program of International School of Portland. We make them virtual so you can join from home or office. Listen in during bedtime prep, etc! The ISP Education Leadership Team (ELT) consists of: Robert Woods, Head of School; Maria Abad, Head of Early Childhood; Bodo Heiliger, Head of Elementary; Kelly Rogers, International Baccalaureate PYP Coordinator; and TimiSue Abbott, Student Support Services Coordinator. October 29, 2019 Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos at ISP!
Día de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated in different ways by citizens of several Latin American countries. It is a time to joyfully remember friends and family members who have died and celebrate their memory. The traditions most well-known to Americans are unique to Mexico, where they originated thousands of years ago. Join us in celebrating this beautiful holiday! Día de los Muertos exhibit Stop by the entrance to Learner’s Hall next week to see the beautiful and vibrant ofrenda set up by several of our Mexican teachers. View artwork and writing created by ISP students. Contribute to the exhibit by adding a name or copy of a photo of one of your ancestors or family members who has died to our ofrenda. Thanks to ISP teacher Celina Gutierrez for organizing! Pan de Muerto, Atole, and Champurrado For an authentic Mexican treat, visit the exhibit on Friday, November 1, from 3:00-4:30pm to sample pan de muerto and some delicious traditional corn-based drinks. Courtesy of the ISP Parent Network! Class Parties and Food During School Hours
As we plan class parties, please remember that we have many students with food allergies. Food that is brought in to share should be free of any nuts or nut products (nut flour or meal, nut oil, nut butter, etc.) Please check all ingredient labels carefully. Your classroom teacher can let you know if there are any other allergies to watch out for in your class. All food that is brought to a PreK or LowK class must be store bought. State law forbids the serving of food that is not prepared in a licensed commercial kitchen to children in this age group at school. We strongly encourage you not to bring candy for classroom parties. Please choose healthier alternatives whenever possible. ISP Family Bingo Night – Please RSVP!
The ISP Parent Network is very excited to host our 3rd Annual Fall Bingo Night! Date: Friday, November 8th This event is open to all PreK to 5th grade students and parents. There will be multiple games of Bingo, prizes and a pizza dinner with salad and drinks. If you are planning to eat with us, we are asking for $10 per adult, $5 per kid, with a $25 max per family for the catered food. Thank you and we hope you can join us and help build a stronger, closer ISP community! We can’t wait to play Bingo with you! Please RSVP by November 6th to parentnetwork@intlschool.org Fall Costume Parade
Get ready for the annual Fall Costume Parade! It will be held this Thursday from 8:45-9:45am. Students, Families, and Staff are encouraged to dress up! Please, no weapons of any kind (light sabers are weapons), no bloody wounds or very scary masks, and no costumes that drag on the ground or otherwise interfere with walking. Students can put on masks or long capes ONLY for the parade and must take them off again after the parade. No candy, please (most kids will get enough of that Halloween night)! What is a “Provocation?” by Kelly Rogers, PYP Coordinator
One Tuesday morning, about a month ago, 4th grade students entered their classrooms just like they always do. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A few minutes later, though, Bodo showed up, and called the names of many kids in class, asking them to go with him. Confused, they followed him to the next class, where he picked up some more kids. As he called kids from each of the 4th grade classrooms, he also dropped some off in each one. The only problem was that they weren’t normally in that homeroom, or even that language track. As morning meeting began, the confusion started to grow. You see, morning meetings were still happening in the target language, but now only 2 or 3 of the kids were normally in that homeroom, and most of the kids couldn’t understand what the teacher was saying. You could see them looking around, trying to figure out what was happening, but the only direction they had been given was that they weren’t allowed to speak English, which is a shared language among the tracks. Pretty soon, however, the kids started to adapt. Those who understood tried using gestures to describe a story, or pointed to objects as they spoke. When a student told a funny story in Japanese, she tried miming it so that the others could understand the joke. Some classes played games, others listened to stories. At the end of morning meeting, the students went back to their homerooms, and they certainly had some questions! What was the point of this activity? This was the first provocation in the 4th grade Unit of Inquiry, Where We Are in Place and Time, which is all about human migration. A provocation can be an image, a video, or an experience of some kind, and we often use multiple provocations to start a new unit. We want to get kids thinking about these big ideas! This particular provocation was designed so that the kids could experience some of the emotions that are often associated with migrating to a new place. Excitement and curiosity about a new environment. Confusion about what’s happening around you. Fear that someone will say something to you that you don’t understand. Frustration with not being able to express yourself. And what about those who stayed? How did it feel to have others come in to your environment? Knowing they didn’t understand, how did you try to help them? Kids are encouraged to ask questions and have discussions. Other examples of provocations here at ISP:
After experiences like this, students have a new perspective and they have a lot of questions that will lead us onward in their Units! Mark Your Calendar: Parent Fall Social!
Book the babysitter and come join fellow ISP parents for a little fun and chat! This casual mixer will be a nice way to catch up with old friends and get to know new ones. Organized by the ISP Parent Network! Parent Fall Social Credit or Cash Bar. Dinner and Appetizers also available. Parent Network Monthly Meeting
Ever wonder what this ISP Parent Network is all about, or how can you be involved at the school? Join us for the Monthly Meeting next Thursday, Nov 7. All meetings are at 8:30am at the Arthur Administration Building (up the hill from the Main Campus, at Water & Corbett). The meetings are open to all current ISP parents. Yes, you get volunteer hours just for attending! Our staff and teachers make this school effective, our kids make this school worth it and our parents make this school great! This year, resolve to be an active part of this amazing community. There are so many new friends and parents who are working hard and looking forward to getting to know you. We hope to see you at the meeting! Upcoming Events
TUESDAY, OCT 29 Virtual Education Town Hall Education Town Halls allow you to pose your questions or comments about any part of the academic program of International School of Portland. The ISP Education Leadership Team (ELT) consists of: Robert Woods, Head of School; Maria Abad, Head of Early Childhood; Bodo Heiliger, Head of Elementary; Kelly Rogers, International Baccalaureate PYP Coordinator; and TimiSue Abbott, Student Support Services Coordinator. 6:00-7:30pm, Learners Hall ——————— TUESDAY, OCT 29 – MONDAY, NOV 4 Dia de los Muertos – Ofrenda. Stop by the entrance to Learner’s Hall this week to see the beautiful and vibrant ofrenda set up by several of our Mexican teachers in the Spanish track. View artwork and writing created by ISP students. Contribute to the exhibit by adding a name or copy of a photo of one of your ancestors or family members who has died to our ofrenda. ——————— THURSDAY, OCT 31 Fall Costume Parade! Students, Families, and Staff are encouraged to dress up! Please, no weapons of any kind (light sabers are weapons), no bloody wounds or very scary masks, and no costumes that drag on the ground or otherwise interfere with walking. Students can put on masks or long capes ONLY for the parade and must take them off again after the parade. 8:45-9:45am, Campuswide. ——————— FRIDAY, NOV 1 Pan de Muerto, Atole, and Champurrado. For an authentic Mexican treat, visit the Courtyard of Learners’ Hall after school to sample pan de muerto and some delicious traditional corn-based drinks. 3:00-4:30pm, Entrance to Learner’s Hall ——————— THURSDAY, NOV 7 Parent Network Monthly Meeting. The meetings are open to all current ISP parents. Yes, you get volunteer hours just for attending! 8:15-9:30am, Arthur Building ——————— FRIDAY, NOV 8 Parent Network Bingo Night! This event is open to all PreK to 5th grade students and parents. There will be multiple games of Bingo, prizes and a pizza dinner available for purchase. RSVP to parentnetwork@intlschool.org 5 to 8pm, Learners Hall. Build and maintain an athletic lifestyle. Run Club Mondays or Wednesdays or (serious runners) Thursdays through 1/23/20 After School Run Club with Coach Rob
As fall sports wind down, start up or keep up fitness with a weekly run. Run Club has openings on Mondays and Wednesdays I have two cross country coaches on staff those days, one a national and world champ duathlon athlete, and an outdoor school teacher/athlete joining me to keep young runners engaging themselves while building an affinity for outdoor activities. Join in now and start building endurance ahead of the seasons changing, seamless transition to exercising through the winter. Class continues Term 1 through 1/23/20. My Tuesday Run Club class is full. Contact Coach Robert to join: OurSportingLives@gmail.com phone 503-348-0799 Looking for the right middle school?
Join Gilkey Middle School (of the French American International School) for an Open House on November 7th at 6:30 PM. Tour their new middle school building, and get an inside look at how their immersion/IB program builds upon the foundation of lifelong skills developed at ISP. Students have the opportunity to continue with Mandarin or Spanish (and begin a third language), or choose an English-focused track with a beginning language in French, German, Mandarin, or Spanish. Can’t make it? Save the date for December 6th at 9 AM for a special tour exclusively for ISP families! Learn more |
