SEPTEMBER 2022

Each month we will be sending out a brief update so you are informed of the happenings at RIS MS! We will feature a content area each month, starting with our Math Department. We just finished our Peace Week celebration. One of our events allowed our students to go be mentors to our Pre-K students - what a joy to see them working together! Enjoy!

NEWS 27/09/22

Parent-Teacher Conferences
As you know, conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 19, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Our conferences will be offered in a hybrid model to best meet your needs. You can choose to attend via Zoom OR in person.

The conference sign-up link will be emailed Friday, October 7, at approximately 2:30 p.m. and will close on Tuesday, October 18, at 12 p.m. Next week, a few of you may receive phone calls from the MS office asking you to schedule your conference early. You will receive a call if a teacher feels that they have specific concerns to discuss with you during conferences. The only parents who will be able to sign-up early are those requested by the teacher.

The MS Monthly!
Our students have developed a new publication called the MS Monthly that will cover all of our news, updates, stories of interest that are student driven.

They are publishing a hard copy and then a newscast each month - check them out!

MS Monthly Recorded Broadcast

MS Monthly newsletter

INTRODUCTIONS TO THE MS MATH TEAM

The middle school math team welcomes you and your student to the 2022-2023 school year! With October quickly approaching, we wanted to reflect on how well the students have adapted to their routines in and out of the classroom the past two months. The students have been engaging in inquiry, collaboration, and fun while being in math class. This is also occurring outside of the classroom during outdoor math activities. We are off to a wonderful start and are looking forward to a wonderful school year!

Who We Are & What We Teach

Harvey Cole: I teach Grade 8 Math and I am the current head of department. This is my second year at Ruamrudee. My family moved here from Thessaloniki, Greece but are originally from Washington State in the USA. I truly love living in Thailand. The culture and food are absolutely incredible. I have 3 children. My oldest son is in 2nd grade and my daughter is in PreK-4 here at RIS. My youngest son will be joining Ruamrudee next year. My wife is Ms. Amanda who teaches 6th grade math here at Ruamrudee.

Amanda Cole: I teach Grade 6 Math. I am originally from Washington State in the United States of America. My family and I moved to Bangkok from Thessaloniki, Greece. This is our second year at RIS and we love it here. Besides teaching Grade 6 Math, I have three young children at home that keep me very busy, I am teaching crochet during focus block times, and I am coaching Cross Country and Volleyball here at RIS this year. I hope to have some of our Middle Schoolers on my RIS volleyball teams!

Era Dawn Garretson: I teach Grade 7 Math and Math Workshop classes. I am originally from the Philippines. I have a Master’s of Education degree in Physics and I have been teaching for almost 23 years. My family and I moved from Baltimore, Maryland, USA to Beijing, China prior to coming here to Thailand.

Up & Coming

Grade 8: We started the year with a unit with a focus on solving linear equations. Our students have been building upon and refining their skills learned from solving equations last year. We are currently working in our first Geometry Unit in which students are working on transformations in the coordinate plane. They will have their first project in which they will create their own tessellations by using inspiration from the artist M.C. Escher!

Grade 7: To start with our integers unit, students investigated vertical motion by creating a parachute that will carry their team safely to the ground. The activity was guided by the essential question, “How can you use integers to represent the velocity and speed of an object?”

Link to videos: Grade 7 Math Parachutes

Grade 7: We launched our unit, Rational Numbers, with a new warm up activity called, Measure Your Height. Students have to measure their height in centimeters (in decimal form) and in inches (in fraction form) using a measuring tape and with the help of their friends. This activity will be held weekly and their data will be collected and recorded in their Math notebook until the Statistics and Probability unit for data analysis.

Link to videos: Measure Your Height (photos) and poster

Grade 6: We began with Numerical Expressions and Factors as our first unit. This unit is coming to a close. During the unit student enjoyed a team scavenger hunt as they creatively worked out answers to their math review questions. Our next unit is Fraction and Decimal Operations. Focusing on multiplication and division with fractions and decimals.

Math Competition

We are working closely with the high school math department to select a math competition for the year. There will be more information coming soon!

Resources

Our current math textbooks are offered digitally on your student's math google classroom. The google classroom is where students can access their homework and projects.

Parent Tips

If you are wanting to know what your student is currently doing in math, we suggest the following:

• Ask to see your students' math notebook. It is filled with notes, activities, and homework assignments.

• Login to your parent portal for powerschool. Here you can see their current marks on standards that are assessed throughout the year.

• Ask your student to show you their DeltaMath or Desmos accounts. Here you can see their participation on homework assignments and activities throughout each unit.

If you are looking for ways to support your child we suggest the following websites:

• Math by Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/math

• University of Cambridge’s NRich Math Activities for students: https://nrich.maths.org/primary or https://nrich.maths.org/secondary

• Stanford University’s YouCubed Student Resources: https://www.youcubed.org/resource/student-resources/

• Math extensions through Parallel: https://parallel.org.uk/

COUNSELOR'S CORNER

Hello families!

Family Survey

In order to serve you and your students best we can, we want to hear from you. Please take a moment to fill out this survey to provide us with more information about your student, their goals, and their needs.

Student Survey

Students completed a survey at the beginning of the year. This survey is meant to gauge their needs and hear from them about how school is going. Here are some of the highlights from their responses:

• Students report feeling safe at school

• Our students are confident in their abilities to succeed in school.

• They believe we are preparing them for their future

• Students report they are better able to balance their school/home/interests/extracurriculars (compared to last year)

• They feel they are part of the community

• Less concerned about COVID (compared to last year)

Advisory

In Advisory, students have been working on developing habits and setting goals. They each have written a learning practices goal that will be reviewed at the end of each quarter. Students created a one page document for their teachers that describes their interests, their academic strengths, and what teachers can do to help them be successful. Ask your child to see it!

Additionally, each grade level has focused on grade level specific topics seen here:

Grade 6: Middle School Success: Executive Functions (Organization, Time Management, Planning, Impulse Control, etc.)

Grade 7: Students are planning presentations on one of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. These are based on Sean Covey’s Book.

Grade 8: Students are exploring traits of successful students. These include: Optimism, Self-Control, Motivation, Conscientiousness, Grit, and a Sense of Identity. They are taking surveys to determine their level in each area, and identifying strategies for improvement.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about your student, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Andy Krauthoefer
MS Counselor
andrewk@rism.ac.th