The Owl 9/7/22
Our annual Founder’s Day is this Friday!
Founders Day is a beautiful ISP tradition that we hold every September. We are BACK to doing it in person this year! Part of Founders Day is the Handshaking Ceremony, where all teachers/staff members line up like a receiving line in the playground and shake hands with every student. ISP founders Doug and Frey Stearns will be joining us for the Handshaking Ceremony as we begin our 33rd year of operation.
Parent participation is NOT required, though it is a sweet event if you can come by to watch. Please have your child wear his/her ISP t shirt!
WHAT: Founder’s Day
WHEN: Friday, September 9 from 8:30-9:00
WHERE: Lower Playground
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We do need a few parent volunteers for each class – please let your teacher know if you can help.
ISP Celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival at Lan Su Chinese Garden
Lan Su Chinese Garden hosted the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrate this past weekend, and reached out to the International School of Portland to join in! A group of ISP students (primarily from the Chinese track) went to the garden to join in their Mid-Autumn Story Time, followed by the Moon Rabbit Lantern Parade!
It was a fun experience for all. Thanks to all who went and celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival – and ISP’s relationship with Lan Su Chinese Garden!
Meet Monica, Angel and Paula!
Please say buenos dias to Monica Gutierrez Dorantes, our new LowK Spanish Teacher!
- From Mexico
- MA in Humanistic Education with Specialty in Gestalt therapy, Instituto Humanista de Psicoterapia Gestalt, Mexico City
- BA in Preschool Education, Instituto Oriente Arboledas, Mexico City
- Certificate in Philosophical practice with children and adolescents, CECAPFI, Mexico
- Certificate in Play and games in Early childhood, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City
- Teaching and working in education since 2005
Monica comes to us from the Mexico City area, where she spent time as a preschool teacher, a curriculum consultant, and a teacher trainer and evaluator.
Monica says: I’ve been working as a teacher for more than fifteen years, I’m effective in fostering teamwork with parents to help them during the school experience. In class, I promote interactive activities with differentiated styles of learning and access to technological resources. I like to plan challenging lessons that increase kids’ abilities, creativity and innovation. I have always been involved in schools with high academic standards, and for me working with little kids is about offering a caring and safe environment which they can learn through playing and exploring.
Bienvenidos, Monica!
——————
Another bienvenidos to Angel Perez, our new PreK Spanish Teacher!
- From Mexico
- Certificate Program, Montessori Children’s House (age 3-6 years), Montessori Honduras and University of San Miguel Arcángel in Honduras (ongoing).
- BA in Preschool Education, Distinguished Teachers’ College Manuel Avila Camacho, Zacatecas, Mexico.
- Certificate in Teaching Yoga for Children, YACEP (The Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider)
- Teaching since 2017
Angel comes to us from his home state of Zacateca, Mexico, where he taught preschool for five years. In addition to his degrees in Early Childhood and child yoga instruction, Angel also holds certificates in TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) modules for teaching English as a second language. Angel says: I am pleased to share my language, culture and history in our full immersion environment to our little ones. I am excited about being part of such an amazing school full of diversity and that embraces its different cultures and languages. International school of Portland is a great place to keep growing as an educator and as part of a global community.
Thank you for joining ISP, Angel!
——————
For some ISP staff and families, Paula Cano needs no introduction. After a several year hiatus, Paul has rejoined ISP as our PYP Coordinator!
- From Colombia
- MA in Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
- BA in Literature (Cum Laude), Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
- Certificate in Early Childhood Education, Portland State University
- Primary Years Program, Middle Years Program, and Diploma Program Workshops, International Baccalaureate Organization.
Paula was a Spanish track teacher and PYP Coordinator at ISP before leaving for a few years to focus on raising her young family. During this time, however, Paula continued to study and learn about Early Childhood Education, served as active member of the Board at an IB School in Colombia, and co-founded the NGO Families for Climate in Portland.
Paula is inspired by ISP’s mission and the diverse backgrounds of its teachers and staff. Paula says: Because I have worked both as administrator and teacher in multiple grade levels, I have a clear idea of the (IB) learning continuums. Together with my deep understanding of the IB philosophy, these skills will allow me to support teacher teams in enhancing the Program of Inquiry and aligning the multiple learning goals with Units of Inquiry. Moreover, I am convinced that it is through PLAY that both children (and adults) can engage in meaningful, lasting learning experiences. I love to be part of a team of teachers working together in the process of designing provocations and classroom environments that invite students to grapple with ideas, make connections and build concepts while they foster relationships and socioemotional skills.
Welcome back, Paula!
Curriculum Night is Coming Up!
All parents are encouraged to attend ISP Curriculum Night, when teachers meet with parents as a group to share information about our academic program, homework and expectations for the year. Speak with homeroom and English teachers.
WHAT: ISP Curriculum Night
WHEN: Wednesday, September 21, 5-7pm (precise session schedule will be sent next week)
This year will be virtual. Zoom links to be sent soon!
Picture Day is Sept 26!
Picture Day is Monday, September 26th!
Order forms should have gone home with your child. Please check backpacks! Pre-orders for picture packages may also be placed online by visiting dorianstudio.com and searching for “International School of Portland.” Your online order can be placed before and up to four (4) days after picture day. For order accuracy, please return your completed envelope on picture day for all payment types.
You are not required to purchase a photo package. However, we will be photographing every student for internal record-keeping purposes.
Subscribe to the ISP calendar through MySchool App
Our 2022-23 school calendar is on our website, but did you know that you can subscribe to it to get updates on your phone and personal calendar? The calendar gets fed through MySchool App, so log in to subscribe!
BONUS: You will now see several calendars available, including general school calendars and ones for your children. Pick and choose which ones to subscribe to!
About the MySchool App Calendar
You can access the school calendars by logging into MySchool App (https://intlschool.myschoolapp.com/) and clicking on “Calendar” on your navigation bar.
The calendar defaults to display an aggregate of your school’s events; however, you can use the date options on top and the filter options on the left to find and filter to your desired view.
Use the option buttons in the upper right corner to switch calendar type, expand calendar descriptions, export calendar feed to your personal calendar, and print.
How to subscribe to the School Calendar
1. Click on the little “feed” icon in the top right hand corner of the calendar (thats the one that looks like a partial rainbow):
2.Options for managing feeds from each of the user’s calendar section will appear.
3. Select whether to use a feed for the entire calendar or for individual calendars within a section (NOTE: There isn’t much else on those calendars yet!). Add to your calendar by clicking on whichever feed you want.
Is your spouse/partner not getting schoolwide emails?
Is your spouse or partner not receiving The Owl, or community emails from Bodo Heiliger or other admins? Please have them check their spam!
We want to make sure that you aren’t missing any important communications from us. Please have your spouse/partner check their “spam” email folder for emails from:
intlschool@myschoolapp.com
intlschool@myschoolemails.com
If you see them in there, please click “not spam” to move them to your inbox.
In addition, please add the above email addresses to your contact list or your safe sender list (whitelist) to further prevent them from going to your spam or junk inboxes.
Gmail Users:
In addition, Gmail has a “Promotions” folder. Gmail users, if you aren’t getting emails but also don’t see anything in Spam, please check your “Promotions” folder. Please move to inbox and add the above email addresses to your contact list or your safe sender list (whitelist) to further prevent them from going to your promotion or junk inboxes.
Opting out:
Please note that opting out of our weekly eNews may prevent you from receiving important all-school communications that are sent out. Please consider this before you opt out of our mass emails.
Thank you!
Load up on ISP Gear at the Spirit Store
The ISP Spirit store features high quality items with our adorable owl logo! You can order online and the items will be shipped directly to your home. Check out our super hip student models!
Click here to visit the store! https://intlschool.org/shop/