MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
FROM THE MS INTERIM PRINCIPAL – March 20, 2009
Our next Parent Advisory Council meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 25. It will be held in the Middle School Attic from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. It’s important that we have this opportunity to discuss issues pertinent to our Middle School. In addition, Ms. Nancy Holodak, our curriculum coordinator, will make a short presentation and answer questions on curriculum and assessment. All Middle School parents are welcome to join us for coffee, cookies, and conversation!
Please be reminded that students who received a 70 or below at midquarter are required to attend their scheduled Parallel Recuperation class during Conference Period after lunch. Skipping PR is considered skipping a class and the student will be assigned Academic Extension.
The Middle School hosted the annual Brazilian MathCounts Competition again! This is a challenging math problem-solving tournament with the participation of several international schools in Brazil. Thanks to all parents who offered to house our visiting “mathletes”!
March 13
Our next Parent Advisory meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 25. It will be held in the Middle School Attic from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. It’s important that we have this opportunity to ask and answer questions and to discuss issues pertinent to our Middle School. In addition, Ms. Nancy Holodak, Curriculum Coordinator, will make a short presentation and answer questions on curriculum and assessment. All Middle School parents are welcome to join us for coffee, cookies, and conversation.
One of the topics we discussed at our last Parent Advisory meeting was the possibility of posting suggestions for cultural activities available in the community. If you have any suggestions, please send them to me so I can post them in the Extra Edition for all parents.
7th grade attended a very interesting talk in the MuseOn today, by guest speaker Carlos André Ferreira, who talked about his life-altering adventure of riding a bicycle across the North American continent. Please ask your 7th grader all about it!
At the end of the school year, the Middle School usually hosts an end-of-year party for all Middle School students. We need parent volunteers to begin organizing this event now so that we can make any necessary reservations. If you are interested in helping with this, please contact Ms. Sonja (sonia.curruthers@earj.com.br). Your assistance is always greatly appreciated!
We are halfway through the third quarter and teachers have posted current averages on PowerSchool. As we discussed at the last Parent Advisory meeting, we have moved to a paperless system and will not be sending home a paper copy of the midquarter grades; instead, we ask that you access your child’s grade on-line through PowerSchool for Parents. If your child’s average is 70 or below, teachers have also included important comments suggesting strategies for improvement, including the need to for your child to attend parallel recuperation sessions during conference period, which is when extra help offered. I will email you instructions today, March 12, on how to access the grades and teacher comments. Your feedback on this new paperless system is very welcome!
The Middle School will be hosting the annual Brazilian MathCounts Competition again! This is a challenging math problem-solving tournament with the participation of several international schools in Brazil and will take place on Friday, March 20, 2009. Thanks to all parents who offered to house our visiting “mathletes.” You will soon be receiving a letter with the name of the student who you will be housing.
In closing, I urge you to join us at the Walk Against Cancer on March 22. See the homepage for more information. Don’t forget to send the form and your contribution to this worthy cause to Ms. Annette Dam, Student Activities Director.
March 6
I hope you all had a great Carnaval Break and you and your children are well-rested. Our next Parent Advisory meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 25. It will be held in the Middle School Attic from 8:30 to 10:00 AM. It’s important that we have this opportunity to ask and answer questions and to discuss issues pertinent to our Middle School. In addition, Ms. Nancy Holodak, our curriculum coordinator, will make a short presentation and answer questions on curriculum and assessment. All Middle School parents are welcome to join us for coffee, cookies, and conversation!
One of the topics we discussed at our last Parent Advisory meeting was the possibility of posting suggestions for cultural activities available in the community. One teacher has recommended the VIK Muniz art exhibit at MAM as a “must-see.” If you have any suggestions, please send them to me so I can post them in the Extra Edition for all parents.
At the end of the school year, the Middle School usually hosts an end-of-year party for all Middle School students. We need parent volunteers to begin organizing this event now so that we can make any necessary reservations. If you are interested in helping with this, please contact me or Ms. Annette Dam (Annette.dam@earj.com.br). Your assistance is always greatly appreciated!
The 3rd midquarter officially ends today, March 6. As we discussed at the last Parent Advisory meeting, we are moving to a paperless system. Midquarter averages will be updated and posted on PowerSchool by March 12. If your child’s average is 70 or below, teachers will also include important comments suggesting strategies for improvement, and your child will be assigned to parallel recuperation during conference period, which is when extra help offered. I will soon email you with the instructions on how to access the grades and teacher comments. Your feedback on this new paperless system is welcome!
Once again, I want to remind you that applications should be sent soon if your child is interested in attending an overseas program in July. Please see Ms. Penny if you would like some help choosing the right program for your child.
The Middle School is excited to host the annual Brazilian MathCounts Competition again! This is a challenging math problem-solving tournament with the participation of several international schools in Brazil and will take place on Friday, March 20, 2009. We need to ask for the help of Middle School families to house one or more participants on Thursday night prior to the tournament. The host family will need to provide transportation from school to their home and dinner, and then breakfast and transportation back to school on Friday morning. We hope you will see this as an opportunity for your child to meet children of his or age from other international schools around Brazil and to build new friendships. Please contact our Activities Director, Ms. Annette Dam, (annette.dam@earj.com.br or 2125-9024) if you are willing to help us house these “mathletes”!
Thank you so much!
