The Owl 1/18/23
Lunar New Year Celebrations
新年快乐! Next week marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year! The ISP Parent Network and Chinese Track Teachers have created some very special ways to mark the holiday.
On Monday, January 23rd, students will be visited by the White Lotus Lion Dancers, and participate in some Lunar New Year activities! Students will learn songs and phrases, as well as receive hongbao (a red envelope) that includes activities and chocolate coins.
The Chinese track teachers will also lead gallery walks for all tracks and grades as they learn about different ways teachers and classes have marked the occasion as a means to share the Chinese and Taiwanese traditions with the overall community.
Chinese drummers will also be arriving on on Tuesday, January 24th to perform for the students and educate us all about this ancient tradition.
All Lunar New Year activities will take place during the school day and are aimed for students and teachers. If your preschool child is half day only and would like to participate in the festivities, parents are welcome to bring them! The PreK/LowK Lion Dance and activities will be on Monday, January 23 between 1:45-2:45 at the Lower Playground. You are welcome to join your half day child as they celebrate in the fun!
A big thank you the parent Janice Chow Ng, the ISP Parent Network and the Chinese track teachers for coordinating the Lunar New Year celebrations!
ELT Education Town Hall
The ISP Educational Leadership Team (ELT) would like to invite you to its first Education Town Hall of the year. Education Town Halls allow you to pose your questions or comments about any part of the academic program of the International School of Portland. The Town Hall will be held in-person, with an option to Zoom in.
Education Town Hall
Tuesday, January 31, 5:30 – 6:30pm
Learners’ Hall
In preparation for the Town Hall, we invite you to complete a quick 4-question survey that will allow you to let our Educational Leadership Team know what you want to talk about!! We will then sort and group your questions to identify priorities and allow the ELT to respond most effectively and efficiently during the meeting. Please click here to complete the survey by January 24th: https://tinyurl.com/bdhnkcwb
The ISP ELT team consists of: Bodo Heiliger, Head of School; Maria Abad, Head of Early Childhood; Jason Johnston, Head of Elementary; Paula Cano, International Baccalaureate PYP Coordinator; and Erin Porter, Student Support Services Coordinator.
Equity Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
You are invited to join us on our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee as we continue our current work, establish new goals, and determine concrete actions. This committee is composed of various stakeholders in our community to work together to move ISP forward on these and future initiatives.
If you would like to participate, please fill out this form: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee Sign Ups. All are welcome.
Our next meeting will be on February 22 via Zoom.
ISP Student-Led Donation Drive in the News!
Our ISP Second and Third Graders made the local news! As you may recall, last month ISP 3rd Graders demonstrated December’s Learner Profile Trait of “Caring” by organizing a Clothing and Supply Drive! In addition, based upon the ideas and leadership of our Japanese track 2nd and 3rd graders, the students created bookmarks and origami filled with messages of kindness, hope, and belonging.
Local news media heard about the drive, and thought is was a wonderful story! Check out the news coverage here:
Portland Tribune:
https://www.portlandtribune.com/news/students-lend-help-hope-to-safe-rest-village-residents-ahead-of-holidays/article_33564070-7f11-11ed-8ff9-ffaa507714ae.html
KOIN News (pardon the quality, it’s a phone video of a broadcast!):
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pFRxJt5z14vCMfGo7
Overall, the drive was a great success, and our students were able to donate A LOT of clothing and supplies! The students learned a lot about how they can be responsible and take action to help their communities, even from a young age. All excess supplies were donated to All Good NW, the operator for the Safe Rest Villages and other local shelters.
Sibling Applications to ISP Due February 13th
If you plan to have a new student start at ISP in the 2023-24 academic year, we do need you to please submit an application. Applications received by Monday, February 13th will have sibling priority for enrollment, even in classes with waitlists. Any application submitted after February 13 will join the waitlist for any classes that have them.
**You do NOT need to submit an application for a currently enrolled student.**
You can find our application online through your MySchool App account.
Log into your MySchool App account: https://intlschool.myschoolapp.com/
Click on “Resources” at the Top of the Page
Scroll down the page, find the “Apply” square, and click on “Begin Application”
Choose “Current Family / Sibling Application” for a discounted application fee.
Belle Pomme: Now Delivering on TUESDAYS and FRIDAYS!
Belle Pomme will be adding Tuesday deliveries starting Tuesday, January 24, 2023 to the student community! There are 9 lunch deliveries on Tuesdays and Fridays for the rest of quarter until Spring Break.:
TUESDAYS (order Saturday on or before noon):
JANUARY: 24 & 31
FEBRUARY: 7, 14, 21 & 28
MARCH: 7, 14 & 21
FRIDAYS (order Wednesday on or before noon):
JANUARY: 20 & 27
FEBRUARY: 3, 10, 24
MARCH: 3, 10, 17, 24
Unfortunately we are unable to honor orders placed after the deadlines.
NEW! You may choose different items for each week! For example: week 1 Fried Brown Rice w/soup, week 2 Hummus Sandwich w/ Smoothie, or the same meal each week, etc. Email us your 10 meal choices and we sum up the total and invoice you via Square directly
and you pay on line.
MENU: CLICK HERE for menu and more details.
Dorian Photo Packages for Retake Day
Did your child participate in Photo Retake Day on November 15? You can access and order your photos through the Dorian company website. All photo package orders that included physical prints have already been delivered to the school and distributed.
Go to https://www.dorianstudio.com
Type “International School of Portland” into the search bar and select the school
It will prompt you to enter an access code, which is located on your order form; if you don’t have it, you can call Dorian at 1-800-826-3535 or message them here: https://www.dorianstudio.com/contact/ All you need to do is give the name of your child and school and they will provide the code
Select the November 15 retake option and order!