April 26th, 2013

Up and Coming.....

1. School Play " Jaya: Mythic Images from the Mahabharata": April 25th and 26th
2. "May Day" holiday: May 1st- no students
3. 5th grade Student Orientation to Middle School: May 20th 2:00pm
4. 5th grade Parent Orientation to Middle School: May 22nd 9:00am BBT


Time Management

"There is never enough time! When will I ever get it done? I can't do it! "
These are the frustrations that many adults and students have when things get really busy and overwhelming. This is an exceptionally busy time of year, when it's nearing the end of the year and things are wrapping up. There are many things going on in the students' world some of which may be... play practice, portfolio presentation, projects, homework, end of year parties, some students are leaving early and are trying to finish everything before they leave...and the list is endless. How do we cope and manage all these things that are coming together at once?

One of the best strategies to use is to break things down in little chunks. Write down all the things that are pending and then prioritize them. Once you know what is most important, plan out a daily chart of when you are going to do what. Only think if what you are going to accomplish each day and nothing more. Go day by day, and follow your plan. Things will get better!

Additional information about time management can be found:
http://www.wikihow.com/Manage-Your-Time

April 19th, 2013

Up  coming....

• Student Led Portfolios: Afternoon of April 25th 
• Parent Teacher Conferences: 4:00-7:00pm April 25th and 8:00-4:00pm  April 26th
• Make up MAP testing is Monday, April 22nd and Tuesday, April 23rd.

Congratulations to all Student Ambassadors!

Mystery Guest Activity: The culminating activity for the Student Ambassadors for refining their interpersonal and communicative skills was the Mystery Guest Meeting.Some faculty members of AISC, who were unknown to the student Ambassadors were invited to our meeting, Wednesday, April 17th after school. The Student Ambassadors were divided into small groups and they were then asked to introduce themselves to a  new and unknown adult and to get to know them by asking them open ended questions, active listening and engaging conversations. After these conversations, each Ambassador introduced their mystery guest to the larger group. Our mystery guests offered positive and helpful feedback and  suggestions for our Ambassadors. Everyone had an informal time after, enjoying pizza and a drink.

New Ambassadors for next year.
If there are any current 6th or 7th grade students who wish to be a Student Ambassador for next school year, please contact Ms. Trish or Mr. Gregg Phillips. It is a wonderful learning opportunity for leadership and developing interpersonal and communicative skills.

April 12, 2013

A warm welcome to.....

Welcome to Aya  Kamio who has joined 6th grade on Friday, April 12! Student Ambassador for Aya is Katie Foulger, thank you!
 Welcome to Amisha Datta who has joined 8th grade on Friday, April 12! Student Ambassador for Amisha is Nikita Shankar, thank you!

Advisory Update......
We are well into our Caring theme at this time.

         What does "Caring" mean?

•  Giving help and attention to people
• Treating people and things gently and respectfully
• Giving your best effort in all that you do

As we move into our driest and hottest months, we appreciate  more and more the value of water. In Advisory classes we are doing a unit on "Walking for Water". In this unit, the students first learn aboutand discuss the importance of water and how scarce water is around the world: http://www.slideshare.net/jbrennan/thirst, www.water.org.


Students will then experience how difficult it is for some people who have to rely on carrying water for their consumption. Students will carry 4 filled water bottles for 1/2 or 1 1/2 times around our large playing field. The students will then reflect on this experience and the daily living conditions of women who have to rely on this method for their family's water supply.

Caring in our own Community
Caring for ourselves and others is an on going process. We need to continuously remind ourselves to be gentle with ourselves and others around us. It is easy to take those whom we are the  closest for granted and sometimes over step our boundaries with them. An easy way to remind yourself of this is to first "assume the best of intentions" from others. Sometimes what seems like a negative situation can be averted easily if the first interaction is  with positive questions and active listening. Conflicts can easily be diverted by talking directly to those involved to let them know that you are not happy/comfortable with what has happened. More often than not, we think the other person(s) "should know", when in fact this is rarely the case. Most often difficulties and misunderstandings can be easily cleared up this way.

                      Try something new...

• Share something of yours
• Offer to help someone with something they are struggling with
• Listen
• Encourage someone
• Take time out for yourself 
• Change the way you approach a tricky discussion with someone
• Let go of something that has been troubling you
• Be honest and kind to yourself and others