March 4, 2010

Talent Show Friday 26th February
Thank you to all the children who took part in the Talent Show last Friday. It takes a great deal of courage and confidence to perform in front of people and your performances were really enjoyed by everyone.

Student Council: Pop Rock Music Day
Pop Rock Music Day is happening tomorrow. DAIS Student Council has planned a dress up day in which you dress up like your favorite pop or rock star, or create your own rock star image. In the morning we will meet in the lobby at 8:05a.m. for pictures. Students will have the chance to show off their cool looks on the catwalk. Also, during the Friday Brown Bag lunch, there will be some rockin’ music, so we hope you can come.

Report Cards
Today students will bring home their latest report card. If you did not receive a report please contact the appropriate teacher. Please send the envelope back to school as we try to use the envelope several times during the year.

Parent –Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held during the week of 8th-12th March.
Parents should have received a written invitation to attend a conference with teachers. If you cannot make this appointment with your child’s teacher(s) please let them know. If a parent is out of town it will of course be possible to re-schedule meetings.

IOWA Test of Basic Skills: Grades 3-8
March 12th - Practice Paper.
March 15th -19th Assessment Papers

Children in Grades 3-8 will be taking the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). These are standardized achievement tests taken by many students in international schools and in the United States. The main purpose of the ITBS is to provide the school with information that can be used to improve instruction and to help teachers make decisions about each student’s learning.

The ITBS covers many of the core skills your child is learning in school in the areas of reading, language, mathematics, social studies, science and sources of information. The results from the ITBS are not used to determine report card grades but do assist teachers to monitor student learning.

Students should be encouraged to do their best on the ITBS, as they should for all their school activities. However, it is unnecessary to place too much emphasis on the importance of the tests so that students feel anxious or stressed about the outcomes. Simply ensuring that your child has sufficient sleep during the period the ITBS is administered is an excellent way to help them.

DAIS Memory Book Pages
Please remember to turn in the Memory Book pages that were recently handed out by next Friday, March 12th.  If you have any questions, please call Laura Godard at 209185.

Naruyz Holiday
We have a “floating” day in the school calendar to be used for the Naruyz holiday. Information we have received sets the Naruyz holiday as Monday March 22nd and so school will be closed on that day.

World Maths Day
The computer lab was buzzing with activity on Wednesday, March 3 as students from Kg to Grade 8 participated in the third annual World Maths Day.  In this activity children play live against others at their age level from all over the world in mental arithmetic games. The goal is to set a new world record in answering mental arithmetic questions. In 2009 more than two million students from 204 countries combined to correctly answer 452,681,681 questions. We think that record will be broken this year. We were glad to be a part of the experience and look forward to participating again next year.

PSG Meeting: Tuesday March 10th
Agenda

1. Talent Show
2. World Maths Day
3. New Teacher Update
4. Rob Ambrogi: ISS Contract Executive Visit
5. AOB

Brown Bag Lunch: Parent Supervision

Please Mark Your Calendar

• March 5th        Pop Rock Music Day
• Parent-Teacher Conferences: 8-12th March
• IOWA Practice Paper: 12th March
• IOWA Assessment Papers: 15-19th March
• March 19th      Student Council Film
• Naruyz Holiday: 22nd March, School Closed
• Spring Break: 26th March - Return to school on Monday 12th April