Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• MAP - These are finally finished and all the data is available on the NWEA website. Yumemi has posted the family score reports to the portfolio section of each students' ManageBac account. If there is time Monday in LHR, you might have them review their report. Thank you to everyone for your help in administering the tests.

• End of year reports - Thank you for all of your work on this. Please let me and Stephen know if you need a bit more time. Please keep an eye on your SOISMail into July in case we notice problems with your reports that we need you to fix.

• Wednesday Meeting - This Wednesday we have the Sayanara gathering.

• Last Day of School - It is a half day and there are two main goals. One is to get lockers cleaned out, materials returned, and keys handed in. The other is to bring closure to the school year by handing out MYP certificates, awards and saying goodbye to those community members who are leaving. In pre-covid years, we also had parties where the students brought food. We still aren't at the point where we can do that but it would be a good to do something in homeroom to celebrate the year. This could be games, your own class awards, either silly or serious or something else.
  The general plan will be to have a normal short homeroom from 8:30. There is a possibility that there will be a two school-schools TV broadcast but that needs to be confirmed. Weather permitting, we will move to the courtyard after SHR for an assembly. If the weather doesn't permit, we'll go to the theater. Departing teachers get an opportunity to say goodbye so the length of the assembly depends a bit on them but it usually takes around an hour or so. After the assembly, we return to homeroom to clean out lockers, return locker keys and other materials. Students can help pack up if there are still a few things to box up. Then it would be the celebration with dismissals after 11:00. Look for final details to come out Wednesday.

• Discipline records - Here is the link to the spreadsheet. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• MAP - The stragglers are just about finished so once I confirm that, we will publish the student results to ManageBac. Teachers can already see results by logging into the NWEA website. Let me know if you need help with that.

• Awards Voting - Thank you for the discussion in last Wednesday's meeting. Here is the form to use to vote on the nominees.

• End of year reports - Please review the expectations shared previously and let me and Stephen know if you have questions about them or if you are struggling with the deadline.

• Wednesday Meeting - This Wednesday we are scheduled to meet as an MS/HS team. Stephen wants to follow up with the DP teachers now that the grade 11 exams are complete. Other agenda items to be announced.

• End of year meetings - Thank you to those who've meet with me. There were a few sign ups that came in this week for which I still need to make the appointment. Full details on what to prepare can be found in the professional growth protocol. The description of the reflection is on page 8 of the document while the teacher expectations self-assessment is on page 10.

• Discipline records - After a couple of weeks with a lot of additions, there is nothing new in the spreadsheet this week. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

From the MYP Coordinator...

• Personal Project - A draft for Criterion A is due on June 22nd and a comment goes in the Spring trimester report. Please check the email from Mel sent on June 14th.

• Subject group overviews - The preliminary export on June 14th shows we are on a good track to have complete overviews by the Fall. Most elements are complete; a follow up on content (topics, skills, knowledge) will occur in the Fall. Please check email with SGOs for more details. Thank you for all your work on this. It will be used to update curriculum overviews for (prospective) families published on our websites. Please add a comment for anything that seems out of order; we have already noticed some things that were in MB but did not export.

• MYP Survey - The will be sent to students via ManageBac and email. Please remind them to complete it by Friday next week.

• End-of-year reflections - Finding the spot to paste reflections isn't as straightforward as it used to be. Here is a Loom video that you can show students. I will also share it with students via ManageBac.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• MAP - Thank you for all of your work on the MAP. It largely went off without any issues. There are still a few students who need to finish and after that we will publish the student results to ManageBac. Teachers can already see results by logging into the NWEA website. Let me know if you need help with that.

• Grade 11 Exams - Thank you to Stephen and all of the DP teachers for your work creating and proctoring the exams. Hopefully, the results are as good as the organization and effort that went into preparing.

• Awards nominations - Last chance to use this form to make your nominations. We will discuss the nominees in Wednesday's meeting.

• End of year reports - Please be sure to read previous updates and the assessment handbook and let me and the appropriate coordinator know if you have any questions. Students should be working on their reflections, more info on that below.

• Wednesday Meeting - This Wednesday we are scheduled to meet as an MS/HS team. We will discuss the awards nominees to make sure those nominated qualify and then I will create a voting form. Kelly will follow with some discussions related to her new role as MYP coordinator next year.

• End of year meetings - These are in full swing now and I appreciate the opportunity to talk about your year and the time you are taking to do that. The sign up sheet is still open if you haven't had a chance to make your appointment, yet. Full details on what to prepare can be found in the professional growth protocol. The description of the reflection is on page 8 of the document while the teacher expectations self-assessment is on page 10.

• Discipline records - There are several new reports noted in ManageBac for middle and high school this week which you can see in the spreadsheet. I used to get notifications whenever a new incident was added but I'm not receiving them now. Please let me know if you add something. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• MAP - These have been going well thanks to the efforts of the teachers. There were a few minor issues because of a typo or wrong room number so please be sure to look at the schedule in advance of your proctoring and let me know if you notice anything. Remember, for the time you would normally be teaching the students, you will need to proctor. Proctoring instructions are here.

• Awards nominations - There is still time to use this form. to make your nominations. We will discuss the nominees in the June 15 faculty meeting.

• End of year reports - Please be sure to read previous updates and the assessment handbook and let me and the appropriate coordinator know if you have any questions.

• Wednesday Meeting - This Wednesday we are scheduled to have a full faculty meeting to review and discuss the updated Academic Integrity Policy that a committee including Mel, Kendal, Trevor, David A. and Tara, have been working on for some time. Please review the policy here prior to the meeting.

• End of year meetings - I've made appointments with those who filled out the sign up sheet earlier this week. There is still time to fill it in and get your appointment. Full details on what to prepare can be found in the professional growth protocol. The description of the reflection is on page 8 of the document while the teacher expectations self-assessment is on page 10.

• Discipline records - There were a few different reports noted in ManageBac for middle and high school this week which you can see in the spreadsheet. A few of them still need follow up. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• MAP - These have started well without any major technical issues. I received a few comments about the schedule and made some minor changes based on the feedback. Please be sure to look at the schedule in advance of your proctoring and let me know if there is a problem with the room or anything else before the day of the test. Remember, for the time you would normally be teaching the students, you will need to proctor. Proctoring instructions are here.

• Grade 12 obligations - Next week is the last week grade 12 will be students. They will be coming in for the "Life Lessons" and rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday and graduation Friday. These days are the final opportunity to collect items from them. Please be sure to collect text books and other materials before leave us forever.

• Graduation - Next Friday evening at 7:00 is graduation. As has happened the last two year, it will be a bit more low key than in the past and it will occur in the gym. Teachers are invited but please let me and Stephen know if you are planning on attending.

• Awards nominations - There is still time to use this form. to make your nominations. We will discuss the nominees in the June 15 faculty meeting.

• End of year reports - If you have students who are missing work, please follow up now and let me know. It is really complicated to update report cards that have N/A after the school year ends so we need to avoid that, if possible. If you have questions or you have students you have concerns about, please let me know.

• Wednesday Meeting - This Wednesday there is a WASC group A meeting. Stephen, Stephanie and I will be attending an elementary meeting.

• End of year meetings - Thank you to those who filled out the sign up sheet for the meetings. I'm still a bit behind on setting appointments so if I haven't contacted you yet, I will shortly. For this meeting you write a one page reflection. Full details on what to prepare can be found in the professional growth protocol. The description of the reflection is on page 8 of the document while the teacher expectations self-assessment is on page 10.

• Discipline records - There were a few different reports noted in ManageBac for middle and high school this week which you can see in the spreadsheet. A few of them still need follow up. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• OIS Responsible Use Policy and Technology Integration Survey - Mel has put together this survey to get your feedback. This was linked last week but is here just in case you didn't have the chance to complete it.

• MAP - I didn't receive any questions last week about MAP tests so I'm assuming there aren't any issues. They are scheduled to begin next week. You can see the schedule here. There are a few minor changes from last week's version. Remember, for the time you would normally be teaching the students, you will need to proctor. Proctoring instructions are here.

• Festival - Thank you for all of your work preparing and the work you will be doing. If students need to stay until 6:00 next week to prepare, they can if they are supervised. Student council will be sending a duty roster soon for teachers to help supervise during the day.

• KG IB Teacher Training program visitors - From May 23 to June 3, Hisashi (SIS social studies teacher) will have a student teacher from this program. His student will be using that time to visit other classes so he may ask to see yours. You will recall that this program was founded by and is being administered by our former DP coordinator, Miyuki Endo. On June 2, one of her colleagues will also be visiting and he would like to "see as many IB classes as possible." An announcement will be made in the bulletin, but you are likely to have a visitor drop into your class that day. Thank you for your support.

• Awards nominations - Awards season is upon us. We normally give awards based on the Student Learning Results (essentially the IB Learner Profile plus "creative") to students in each grade level. We break down the result into three categories, Academics, Values, and Qualities and there is an award for each of those. We also give the JCIS award to a student or group to "recognize their contributions to Japanese culture." We need nominations now so we can vote on winners in a future meeting. More information and a place to make nominations can be found on this form.

• End of year reports - If you have questions or you have students you have concerns about, please let me know.

• Wednesday Meeting - This Wednesday we are scheduled to have a check in on our progress with the MYP and DP self-studies.

• End of year meetings - It is time to start thinking about End of Year meetings. Here is the sign up sheet. Use the form to let me know your available times and I will set an appointment. For this meeting you write a one page reflection. Full details on what to prepare can be found in the professional growth protocol. The description of the reflection is on page 8 of the document while the teacher expectations self-assessment is on page 10.

• Discipline records - There were no new reports noted in ManageBac for middle and high school this week so there are no additions to the spreadsheet. You can still see previous records. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

Some notes from the DP coordinator...

Thanks again to everyone for your help with the DP exams.

• A few reminders about the next couple of weeks:

• DP teachers are asked to give feedback on their subject's exam papers. All responses remain confidential and are analyzed at an aggregated level. The information provided is used by the IB when they are considering grade boundaries for this session, and for preparing future assessment material. Please click this link to access the survey.

• A reminder that the G12 students have been directed to return class textbooks to you before graduation. They were told to give them directly to the teacher, not just drop them off anonymously, so that we know whose books might be outstanding. Please let me know about anyone who hasn't returned class copies by June 1, which is when they will all be on campus for graduation rehearsal.

• Next up for the DP:

• the HS graduation ceremony on June 3, from 7pm in the gym. Teachers are welcome to attend, although as last year it will mean watching from the balcony.

• G11 mock exams from June 8-10 (schedule is available here).

Thank you.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• OIS Responsible Use Policy and Technology Integration Survey - Mel has put together this survey to get your feedback. Please take a moment to fill it in.

• MAP - MAP season is coming up again soon. We will start in the last week of May. You can see the draft schedule here. There is still a bit of work to do on room numbers and a few other logistics. See me with any concerns but you should expect to lose one class of each subject at a grade level.

• End of year reports - A lot was written about this in the last Update, please review it and let me know if you have any questions.

• Wednesday Meeting - This Wednesday the WASC Category A self study group is scheduled to meet. A personal project supervisor meeting is also scheduled.

• End of year meetings - It is time to start thinking about End of Year meetings. I'll put a sign up sheet in next week. Full details on what to prepare can be found in the professional growth protocol. The description of the reflection is on page 8 of the document while the teacher expectations self-assessment is on page 10.

• Discipline records - There are no additions to the spreadsheet this week. You can still see previous records. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• WASC Visit - Next week, I will be doing a virtual WASC visit of a school in Beijing. I will be in school Monday but for most of the afternoon, I will be in meetings online.

• Life lessons - If you'd like to help prepare the G12s for life after high school, reach to out Margot to see how you can get involved in the "Life Lessons" that are set for June 1 and 2.

• End of year reports - Everything is due on June 24 and you can find all of the documents regarding reporting expectations and deadlines in the Academic Affairs shared folder which is always linked at the top of this page. It is explained in the reporting handbook, but as a reminder, there are two reports at the end of the year for MYP. The third trimester report that has criteria achievement levels and the end of year report has the final 1 to 7 grade which goes on transcripts. See me with any questions.
  Here are a few reminders and other things to consider as we start getting closer to the deadlines.

  • For students who are new and it isn't possible to assess all four criteria, you can leave them as N/A on the spring trimester report and include an explanation of why it is N/A in your comment. They should get a mark for criteria that have at least one assessment. While N/A is okay on the spring trimester report, they do need a 1 to 7 grade for the final overview summary of achievement, as that is how they will get credit for their coursework during the time they were here. Since you don't have all the criteria you'll have to do a best fit based on the grade descriptors and the work you have seen. Here is a link to the grade descriptors.

  • We cannot have incomplete coursework carried over the summer with the intention of printing a revised report in the Fall when the work is received. The way ManageBac works these days, it’s almost impossible to go back and make a report from a previous academic year. If you have students who are likely to "earn" an N/A, please discuss them with me.

  • A reminder that the Spring trimester reports will include attendance summaries, so make sure the attendance on ManageBac is up to date and complete.

  • If you anticipate some difficulty in meeting reporting expectations, please discuss them with me well in advance of the deadline.

• Evacuation Drill - If you have feedback on the drill, please use this form before Monday morning when it will be reviewed.

• Wednesday Meeting - Next week is Golden so there is no meeting Wednesday. The following Wednesday is scheduled for MYP/DP.

• Visitation Day - SIS had a good turnout today, they will have more parents coming on Monday.

• Discipline records - There are two additions to the spreadsheet this week. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Skip - I learned a new word this week. To me, skip is a verb which describes what many of you probably do on your way home from school on Friday afternoon. I found out this week that at least to some of you from the Commonwealth a skip is what I would call a dumpster. The original question was whether there would be a skip where teachers on the third floor could get rid of materials and books they don't need. At the moment there isn't a plan for one but we should hear from facilities in the coming weeks about what we need to do to prepare the rooms for remodeling. However, if you want to get a head start on disposing of books or printed material, there are two options you can do now. Bring it down, or have a student bring it down to the area off of the courtyard between the swimming pool and the former senior lounge where there is a gate out to the parking lot. Stack it there along with the cardboard and other materials. The other option is to tie it up and place it in the hallway with a "ごみ" sign on it. I'm told it will eventually be picked up.

• School Festival - Thank you for your work on school festival. As a reminder, it is on Saturday, May 28 and counts as one of our school days. As we've done in previous years, periods 6 & 7 on May 27 will be canceled so that students can set up for Saturday.

• Department Budgets - We started a new fiscal year with the beginning of this trimester. The business office is still working on allocating the budgets for individual departments. If your department needs to make an extra-ordinary purchase of consumable items this year (eg. a new set of textbooks) please come discuss it with me.

• Evacuation Drill - Just a reminder that this is coming up Tuesday. Please review the email that came from Yusuke Yamada at 2:42 pm today and let me know if you have any questions.

• Wednesday Meeting - The WASC Category A committee will meet this Wednesday. There is nothing scheduled for the others. Please use the time to work on other tasks.

• Visitation Day - On the calendar, April 29 is noted as SOIS MS/HS Class visitation day. I wrote about this last week but just be aware that while we aren't participating on the OIS side, teachers with SIS students in their classes might have a visitor or two. We'll have a better idea when the parent sign ups are complete. They are also talking about possibly carrying it over to the following Monday.

• EARCOS Award and Governor's Award Nominations - Thank you to those who have nominated. If you have someone in mind but haven't had a chance to nominate, there is still time. Criteria for each award can be found in this nomination form.

• Discipline records - There was one addition to the spreadsheet this week. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

From the MYP Coordinator...

• Self-study: Units - Thank you for the work you are doing to update units in ManageBac. There are a lot of boxes to fill that change every time. The requirements for an IB subject group overview are in bold. Items not highlighted are not required by the IB, but are helpful for our own curriculum documentation.

  • Summary (Unit title, timing)

  • Key and related concepts

  • Global context and global context exploration

  • SOI

  • Inquiry questions

  • Subject group objectives

  • Content (topics, knowledge, skills)

  • ATL Skills

  • Summative assessments

We will do a preliminary export on June 13th for a quick check. Reminders will be sent out, if needed. Final export will be at the end of the school year. Please let Kurt or me know if you need any help.

• Self-study: Sample of student work - The requirements are (and our IB representative confirms they are intentionally vague to allow flexibility):

  • One sample of student work from each subject group for different grades/year levels.

  • MYP criteria

  • Task-specific clarifications

  • Teacher marks and feedback
    The aim of the sample is to ensure that our assessment practices are in line with MYP objectives and criteria; thus, this is qualitative rather than quantitative evidence. To answer some of the questions asked:

  • They do not need to be associated with the units we submitted to BQC

  • They do not need to be summative assessments.

  • "Different grade/year levels" is intentionally vague, but we should use this spreadsheet to ensure we are sending a good range of work across the grade levels.

The samples will be sent to the IB in December, so we have some time to collect them. Again, please let Kurt or me know if you need any help or have questions.

Have a restful weekend.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Morning Meeting Returns - Teachers who were here before the pandemic started will remember that MS/HS teachers from both schools used to start every day together. We would meet in the faculty room for announcements, to share information, introduce visitors or new faculty members, etc. While not everyone loved having the meeting everyday, quite a few people have commented that we've lost some of the connection in our community by not having it. Beyond the announcements, people often arrived early or lingered afterwards to chat. Starting Monday, we will bring the meeting back on a weekly basis. This Monday, it will be in the library at 8:10.

• Evacuation Drill - Yamada sensei recently sent an email announcing there will be a drill on April 26 at 10:10. Please don't share this with students but plan to miss about 20 minutes of period 2 on that day. Weather permitting this drill will include an earthquake followed by a fire and evacuation to the field. More details will be forthcoming.

• Visitation Day - On the calendar, April 29 is noted as SOIS MS/HS Class visitation day. Because of the pandemic and numbers, OIS is not going to participate this year. However, SIS will have it which means you can expect a number of parents on campus that day and shared teachers are likely to have a couple visit their classes. On visitation days, it isn't uncommon to find a parent clutching a map, turning in circles looking for room numbers by the computer labs or the 3rd floor conference room. If you see someone like that, please help direct them to the correct place.

• EARCOS Award and Governor's Award Nominations - These are two external awards that we give to our students. The first step is to collect nominations. The EARCOS Award is for an 11th grade student while the Governor's Award is for a student in grade 12. Criteria for each award can be found in this nomination form.

• Discipline records - There was one addition to the spreadsheet this week. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

From the MYP Coordinator...

• Personal Project - The 9th graders are beginning to form their ideas for their projects. Mel and I have been trying to emphasize its importance in lifelong learning. Even adults have their own personal projects in order to grow in many areas of their lives. Please consider sharing a 2-minute video about your own personal projects. It doesn't take very long at all and is a great way for the community to connect. And many thanks to those who have already posted!

• Updates from Pastoral team - This trimester, the team is reflecting on how well we meet the goal of using advisory to ensure that each student has at least one adult on campus who builds rapport with them and checks in on them throughout the year.

• Your feedback is important; we would appreciate your completing this Google Form before next Friday. It also includes questions about your preference for grade level advisory.

• We would also like to collect some data that might allow us to visualize balance between supportive relationships and students of concern from Grades 6 to 10. Please find time to contribute to this Relationship Map. Each grade level has its own map in the sheet. We can talk more about them during upcoming SOC meetings.

• Service as action - Thank you to the homeroom teachers of Grades 8 to 10 for giving me time to remind students about Service during SHR. Looking at the students' documentation on ManageBac, it is particularly helpful to read comments that advisors have added whenever they have spoken with a student. Here is a 2-minute video tutorial on how to do that (Password: myp).
  
  Students and advisors have asked questions and volunteered helpful information during these sessions:

• Students should be encouraged to write the academic year at the beginning of the SA activity, e.g. 2019-2020 Rainbow Week Committee.

• In the past, we have experimented with different ways of getting supervisors (e.g. coaches, club leaders) to approve activities, but none have worked well. For now, let's focus on helping students participate in SA activities and engaging them in dialogue in order to help them reflect on their growth and what they have learned. If you are concerned that a student may be misrepresenting their Service progress, please let me know.

• When a student asks me if an activity "counts", I ask them a few simple questions: Did you serve the needs of someone other than yourself? If so, how did you find out what those needs were and what were they? What did you learn while serving others? If they can answer these questions in detail, it "counts".

• Here is the SA guide for homeroom advisors sent earlier this year. Please let me know if you would like any information added in the next edition.

This was a long update and a reminder that advisors play a key role in students' growth. Thank you for all that you do. Have a restful weekend.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• EARCOS Award and Governor's Award Nominations - These are two external awards that we give to our students. The first step is to collect nominations. The EARCOS Award is for an 11th grade student while the Governor's Award is for a student in grade 12. Criteria for each award can be found in this nomination form.

• Nurse Procedures - Natsuko recently sent an email regarding procedures, please look for it. Remember, when sending a student to the health center during class time, please inform them of the student's name, the time you sent the student and the teacher's name by e-mail/chat/phone call/note/yellow pass (under the TV in the staff room). This will help them to confirm the student's whereabouts.

• Joint Assembly - As noted on the school calendar, there is a joint assembly Monday. We will meet on the field weather permitting. New teachers will be introduced so this is an opportunity to get to know the new faces on campus. More details will be coming from student council who is organizing the event.

• Student of Concerns (SOC) Meetings - Margot has shared calendar appointments with you to discuss student concerns with the grade level teams. These are an opportunity to share both concerns and strategies about individual students. If you have scheduling issues, please discuss these with us before the meeting.

• ROC Log - Linked near the top right of this page is the ROC Log. When the support team meets on Friday mornings, we will update the log with any decisions that were made. Following up on the RoCs can take some time but if you want to know what has been happening with the ROC you've added to, check the log.

• PD Form - The PD application form linked in the middle column at the top of this page has been updated. If you have PD requests for this fiscal year, please use this latest version. Note that with the WASC and IB visits coming up, we will be prioritizing PD that ensures we are meeting the expectations of the programs.

• Enhancing the MYP - The MYP is embarking on a multi-year program to make "enhancements to both the guidance and the structure of the program". If you are interested in taking part, more details can be found here and you can discuss it with me or Stephanie.

• Discipline records - There was one addition to the spreadsheet this week. If you are looking to check on a particular student, you can filter or search with ctrl-F (Windows) or cmd-F (Mac).

From the MYP Coordinator...

I hope you've had a restful break and a strong start to the final trimester. A few notes and reminders.

• Personal Project - Thank you to all the Personal Project supervisors for guiding Class of 2024 through the new guide. Mel will be sending out a survey to ask for feedback so we can improve the experience for students and supervisors next year. Grade 9 is now beginning to explore ideas for their Personal Project with the aim of writing Criterion A by the end of June.

• Preliminary Review documents for the IB Visit will be submitted in December 2022. Please continue updating MB units in preparation for exporting Subject Group Overviews at the end of the year. I will send another note next week clarifying the expectations for student work.

• Advisors - In the following weeks, I will be following up with individual students regarding their Service requirements and documentation on MB, prioritizing Grades 9 and 10. I'll make sure to cc advisors in emails. Kendal has also kindly created a checklist for MYP Portfolios, clarifying expectations for each grade level, which should help us in following up with advisees.

Have a great weekend!

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Grade 10 MUN - With the Marist MUN canceled again this year, grade 10 will be doing an in-house MUN all day on Thursday. Thank you to Tara for organizing this. She sent an email a few weeks ago where you can find more details.

• Reports - We hope to start publishing reports soon after everything is uploaded on Wednesday. Thank you for all of your work on this.

• Summer Orders - I wrote about this last week where there is a link to the form but this is a reminder to get your orders in by March 25.

• Camps - Thank you for your flexibility on camps as I've worked through different scenarios and to everyone who has worked on developing a camp or other activity for the students.

  • Grade 12 - DP review sessions

  • Grade 11 - Group 4 project

  • Grades 9&10 - choice of different options

  • Grades 6 to 8 - creativity challenge based on multi-grade houses

• EARCOS Award Nomination - Just a reminder that you can make nominations. See last week's update for more details.

• Faculty Meetings - This Wednesday there is a meeting for Personal Project supervisors.

• Discipline records - Thank you to those who are continuing to add incidents to the behavior tab of ManageBac, it helps us keep track of things. There have been some additions and changes to the spreadsheet. It is sorted a bit differently but you can filter or find a student quickly with ctrl-F.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Reports - Thank you for all of your work on reports. As a reminder, we aren't using the ATL checkboxes anymore in MYP, we are trying to make our comments more reflective of the skills being taught. We haven't discussed this for some time so if you have any questions please see me or Stephanie. Please remember to do personal project, EE and advisory comments. Advisory comments should reflect progress on the portfolio and service as action (see the email Kelly sent earlier today).
  While ideally you would be giving comments to your partner for proof reading today, they aren't due back until March 7 so you can work with your partner to adjust the timing as needed. Look for a separate email on how to address students with special circumstances. We appreciate all of your efforts.

• Summer Orders - It seems strange typing summer when we still have over a third of the year to go. However, shipping has been a lot more complicated in the pandemic and things take more time to arrive. If you plan on ordering something from overseas vendors like School Specialty, Gopher or US Amazon, and you want them to arrive by the start of school next year, then you will need to use this form and get your orders in by March 25. However, you should always look to see if the item you need is available locally first as it will likely be cheaper and arrive in a more timely manner. If you have any questions, please see me.

• EARCOS Award Nomination - Just a reminder that you can make nominations. See last week's update for more details.

• Mid-Year Meeting - I'm trying to wrap these up this week. If for some reason you haven't signed up, please do so on this form.

• Faculty Meetings - We have a full faculty meeting this week to look at Task 2 for WASC, data.

• Discipline records - There have been a couple of changes to the discipline spreadsheet this week. Please continue to put any discipline issues in ManageBac so they can be exported.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• COVID Cases - You will have seen that two elementary classes were shut down recently for a COVID case and that grade 6 was shut today. In all the incidents so far, there was not a confirmed close contact on campus. However, because of the age of the students and the difficulty in ensuring accurate information, we decided it was prudent to allow parents to pick up their their grade 6 students today and do class online on Monday.

• Senri email address - Just a reminder to check the emails from Masui san and Stephen about the closure of the Senri domain. Several of your school based accounts such as MyIB and ManageBac may be using your Senri address so please change them. Let us know if you are having problems doing that.

• Differences Conference - Living on the Edge 2022 has issued a call for papers. This was meant to be an annual conference started by Yoshi Grote. The pandemic has caused interruptions but this will be the third time the conference is held. You might remember Yoshi as a guest speaker at Rainbow Week in years past. Tara ran a session at the first conference and Fred and Karni ran a workshop at the last one. This year's conference is scheduled for May 21 and 22. You can find more information here.

• ROC Log - Last week I mentioned that the support team was working on ways to streamline the process for tracking student concerns and making records more available. One step in that is a ROC Log. This is where we keep track of what is happening with a ROC that was submitted.
  As a reminder, the general process is that a teacher submits a ROC when they have a concern. In many cases they may discuss their concern with a member of the student support team first (Margot, Maricar, or me). The ROC Template is linked at the top right of this website and after completion should be shared with the three members of the team. The team meets (currently on Friday mornings) and decides whether to ask for feedback from other teachers. Once the feedback is collected, the team discusses the next steps at their weekly meeting. This may include continuing as is, having a member of the team observe the student, etc. Depending on the result, that could be followed by interventions, parent meetings, request for ed-psych testing or something else. The log shows where we are in that process for each ROC submitted this year. You can always find the log at the top right of this page.

• EARCOS Award Nomination - Awards season is already upon us. There is still a bit of time but please let me know if you have a nomination for the EARCOS Global Citizen Award. This award goes to an 11th grader:
  ... who embraces the qualities of a global citizen. This student is a proud representative of his/her nation while respectful of the diversity of other nations, has an open mind, is well informed, aware and empathetic, concerned and caring for others encouraging a sense of community and strongly committed to engagement and action to make the world a better place. Finally, this student is able to interact and communicate effectively with people from all walks of life while having a sense of collective responsibility for all who inhabit the globe.
  If you have a nominee please share their name along with a brief description of why that person fits.

• Mid-Year Meeting - I had some good conversations this week. There are a few people who've signed up that I have yet to set appointments with. I will soon. If you haven't signed up, please use this form.

• Faculty Meetings - We have a full faculty meeting this week to continue working on Task 1 for WASC.

• Discipline records - There were two additions to the discipline spreadsheet this week. Please continue to put any discipline issues in ManageBac so they can be exported.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Valentines Day - Monday is Valentines Day and students are likely to bring treats and snacks. Please remind them that treats should be individually wrapped and only eaten during lunch or after school.

• Book Week - This is happening next week. The plan is continually being adapted due to the pandemic but you can see an outline of the plan here.

• Fushigi Week - MSSC is organizing a dress up days to coincide with Book Week.

  • Monday - Valentines Day

  • Tuesday - Pajamas Day

  • Wednesday - Masquerade Day

  • Thursday - Twins, Triplets Day

  • Friday - Book Character Day

• Student Records - Members of the student support team have been working to streamline the record keeping process. Some documentation has been difficult to find because there are different versions of shared drives for a couple of the middle school classes. We hope to have those issues fixed soon. Also, look for a ROC log to be published. You will be able to use this to check the status of Records of Concern that have been submitted.

• Winter Reports - The Winter Trimester report includes criteria achievement levels (MYP), 1 to 7 grades (DP), class comments, advisor comments, and PP and EE comments. Comments should be proofread by your partner (list linked above) and the target date for getting them to that person is February 25. They should get their feedback to you by March 7 and everything should be uploaded by the morning of March 9. Remember, reporting handbooks, deadlines and a lot of other information can be found in the Academic Affairs (Kyomu) shared drive linked at the top left of this page.

• Mid-Year Meeting - I had some good conversations this week. There are a few people who've signed up that I have yet to set appointments with. I will soon. If you haven't signed up, please use this form.

• Faculty Meetings - We have a full faculty meeting this week to continue working on Task 1 for WASC.

• Discipline records - There were two additions to the discipline spreadsheet this week. Please continue to put any discipline issues in ManageBac so they can be exported.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Rainbow Week - Next week is Rainbow Week. The committee has an activity planned for LHR on Monday and if you didn't manage to watch the Powtoon in SHR this morning, please show it in Monday's SHR.

• Book Week - Mel with the support of MS student council has been planning some events to encourage reading for the week of February 14. She has had to be nimble with her planning but you can see the working schedule here.

• IB Conference PD Opportunity - Myles sent a reminder about this opportunity, it isn't too late if you do it tonight. You can find out more information about the conference here. Use this form to sign up.

• Bulletin Boards - With the number of events, there are quite a few posters appearing on campus. As a reminder, posters shouldn't be taped to windows or painted walls, please use bulletin boards or designated pillars like the ones outside Tara's room or the cafeteria.

• Mid-Year Meeting - Thank you to those who have already signed up using this form. There is still time to do so. More information can be found in last week's update.

• Camps - Thank you to those who have shared ideas. If I haven't cornered you yet, I'm likely to do so, so having an idea in advance might be helpful.

• Faculty Meetings - In this week's meeting we'll follow up on the evaluation we've started of the IB programs.

• Discipline records - We're averaging one new addition a week to the discipline spreadsheet. Please continue to put any discipline issues in ManageBac so they can be exported.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• IB Conference PD Opportunity - As Myles mentioned in an email today, we have enough PD funds to register teachers for the upcoming conference in March. Many of the presentations can be viewed asynchronously into June so there is plenty of time to see them. You can find out more information about the conference here. Use this form to sign up.

• ATL Skills in ManageBac - As we move towards the next visit, we'll be using the analytics function in ManageBac to pull out data on when we are implementing the various ATL skills, key concepts, global contexts, etc. As you move through your units, please ensure these are up to date. The ATL skills are a particular focus now but the more up to date things are, the easier it will be to pull data out.

• Mid-Year Meeting - Thank you to those who have already signed up using this form. There is still time to do so. More information can be found in last week's update.

• Camps - I've had a few good ideas suggested to me but I still need some other ideas to put together some options for students to make the best use of those days.

• Faculty Meetings - This week there is a full faculty meeting planned for the third floor conference room. The focus will be on WASC Task 1, reviewing our progress since 2018.

• Discipline records - Like last week, the spreadsheet of exported discipline issues has one addition from grade 6.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Mid-Year Meeting - This meeting is a mid-year check in to make sure things are going okay and to find out if there are areas in which you need support. This year I'm particularly interested in how you are doing with the pandemic. More information and a copy of the form can be found in the "professional growth protocol." Please let me know your available times by completing this form.

• Rainbow Week - SAVE TWO DATES! The Rainbow Week committee is excited to present two events this year.

  • SHR on Friday, February 4 - Powtoon on “LGBTQ Foundational Knowledge”. Please show it to your homeroom class (it will be given closer to the date)

  • LHR on Monday, February 7 2:40-3:30pm via Zoom in homeroom classrooms. Rainbow Week committee presentations and Q & A.

  • Please see Cary Mecklem (she/her) with any questions.

• Camps - With overnight camps becoming less likely, I'm considering some internal camp options similar to what we did on the final day last year when we had coding, hiking, survival, etc. I would appreciate it if you could come up with an idea or two to help with this.

• Faculty Meetings - Thank you for your work in last week's meeting. You can see the slides here. Next week MYP teachers will go over the feedback from the BQC.

• Discipline records - The spreadsheet of exported discipline issues has one addition this week from grade 6.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Personal Project Exhibition - Thank you to Mel and Stephanie for all of their work on this. Mel sent out an email today with a lot of the information. Here are some of the pertinent details and links:

  • In person - Parents will be visiting during first period and then will leave (although supervisors and teachers who have prep time throughout the day are encouraged to come to the library or conference room to offer support). Grade 9 students will visit during LHR and have been sent a separate activity and schedule.

  • Virtual - Periods 2 to 6, via 2 livestreams

    • Schedule link

  • Livestream links

    • 3F Conf Room http://sois.live/personalproject2022A

    • Library http://sois.live/personalproject2022B

  • Please use this form to give Feedback to Students
    

The students have been working hard and, while nervous, are eager to present their work. They would appreciate your support and yours and your students' feedback will help them finish the last section of their reports.
As a reminder, because they will be presenting all day, the grade 10 students will not be attending regular classes on Monday.

• Campus closed tomorrow - SIS has admissions testing this weekend. As part of that, they have to ensure that the testing areas are sanitized.

• Discipline records - Since the last update, the spreadsheet of exported discipline issues has been updated with a couple more names. Please continue to record any issues that come up in ManageBac under the behavior tab. This will allow us to keep track of patterns. I will update the spreadsheet weekly. If you have an issue like academic dishonesty, please check the spreadsheet to make sure it isn't the first time the student was involved.

Some notes from the MYP Coordinator...

• Job-alikes - Here is a list of the upcoming MYP job-a-likes--a chance to step out of our SOIS bubble and engage with peers from other schools. Highly recommended.

• BQC - Winter is here; our feedback is coming. Look forward to a meeting where we reflect on how far we've come since the last evaluation and what our next steps will be. This will inform our IB self-study.

• Personal Project Exhibition - Many thanks to all the supervisors for supporting the students. A huge "Thank you!" to Mel for shepherding the Class of 2024 throughout the process. You will have received an email from her with more information about the exhibition on Monday (all day).

• Interdisciplinary teaching and learning - New guide - Expect a few sessions this winter and in the spring to go over the changes and plan at least 1 IDU for every grade level. In order to prepare for these sessions, please ensure that the key concepts, related concepts, global contexts and global context explorations for all your active units are up-to-date in ManageBac. If BQC was a deep-dive into at least one unit, our next goal is ensuring that "Inquiry: Establishing the Purpose of the Unit" is accurately documented for all units. Here are some resources:

• ID teaching and learning (New guide)

• Teacher support material

I hope you had a restful break. Welcome back!

Stephanie

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Upcoming Events - If you're like me, you probably do not want to think about too much beyond the vacation, but still, here is a list of things to keep in mind for our return. Most of these have or will have emails or other documentation that's shared.

  • Animal Welfare day - January 14

  • Personal Project Exhibition - January 17

  • Rainbow Week - February 7 to 10 (events all week including LHR and some SHRs)

  • IBDP Mock Exams for grade 12 - February 21 to 25

  • Winter Strings and Chorus Concert - March 1

  • Winter Bands Concert - March 2

  • SIS HS Graduation - March 5

  • OIS Camps - March 14 to 16 (inshallah)

• Full Faculty Meeting - I realize that the extra hour on the faculty meeting on January 12 isn't ideal but we do need an extended period of time to kick off the WASC reaccreditation process. We normally have an in-service day before classes resume when SIS is doing their returnee exams (January 7) or on Adult's Day (January 10). We made a decision in the middle of last year to eliminate the in-service this January to extend the amount of time people would have to travel in hopes that they could. This left us without an ideal place to put the training but Wednesday seemed the best compromise. I'm grateful for your understanding and please talk to me or Myles if there is a scheduling conflict so the workshop leader can plan accordingly.

• Discipline records - I want to thank those people who have been recording their discipline issues in ManageBac. It is a good, central place to keep them and they stay with the student throughout their time at OIS. The only drawback is that other teachers can't check the history of a student. If someone plagiarized in your class, you don't know if it is the first time or the sixth time the student was caught. Starting with this week's update, I will be publishing a spreadsheet of exported discipline issues. That way, if you do need to talk to someone, you can check their history. Control-F is probably the quickest way to find someone but you can also use sort or filters. Please don't put discipline issues directly in the document, use the ManageBac behavior tab.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Prefectural Visit - Thank you to Kendal and Mike for having the visitors in their class for a full period and to the others who had them drop in for a minute or two. They ended spending the whole day here. Most of that was looking over accounting books but they did spend the morning on curriculum. Things went well with no real concerns.

• EARCOS Journal - Tara sent a notice about this. This is an opportunity to be published and highlight something that you are doing in your class or other area of school. You can find out a bit more here.

• Winter Concert - It was really nice to see live music again. Thank you to the music department for putting on a great event. If you didn't catch it live, you can watch the recorded version here: https://senri.online/December7LiveStream.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Prefectural Visit - On Tuesday, we will be visited by the prefecture education office. They will observe both Kendal and Mike teaching a class and will also look at our textbooks and curriculum. They do this because they give us a grant every year and they want to ensure we aren't indoctrinating our students with propaganda from places like North Korea. On Monday, I will need to get textbooks and other materials from I&S teachers and others who teach "social studies".

• Evacuation Drill - We will have our second drill on Monday during period 2. This will involve evacuating to the field. The committee in charge of evacuations is meeting this afternoon and will send out further instructions. Please see me with any questions. Note, do not share this information with the students.

• Winter Concert - As a sign of COVID progress, we will have a live concert on Tuesday. The students will be performing in the gym but most of the audience will be online at https://senri.online/December7LiveStream. Thank you in advance to the music department for what promises to be a great show.

• Camps - Thank you to those who've spoken to me with some ideas. I am still open to suggestions.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Parent Teacher Conferences - Thank you for all of you work on this. It generally seemed to go well and all of the parents I spoke to were quite positive. Like a lot of things, we will be evaluating how we do conferences so if you have any thoughts or feedback, feel free to share it.

• Camps - I've started doing some preliminary planning for camps. It is a bit of a struggle since there are still a lot of unknowns. I would like to offer some overnight options and hope they don't get cancelled but also have some local opportunities. If you have some ideas for day camps or overnight trips or want to revive something you did in the past, let me know.

• Attendance - Hopefully, the email I shared clarified things. It seemed a bit more settled today. As we move towards the winter vacation, we are likely to get some more requests for absences. It isn't ideal but these times have made things more complicated. I appreciate your flexibility.

• Extracurriculars - As we continue to open up, the after school programs will be needing our support. If you aren't already assigned to a club or sport, it is likely you will be approached.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Parent Teacher Conferences - Please see the notes below about conferences. If you haven't sent me your appointment links, please do so today. I will update the website over the weekend and told parents that I will go live with it at 6:00 pm Monday. That way, everyone has a fair shot at their preferred appointment time.

• Report Cards - Please review what I wrote last week for expectations on this report. Note that for Personal Project, you do not put in any grades yet, just a comment that is based on section B of their report which students should have given you Monday. If you are struggling with the reporting deadline, please let Stephen and me know.

• Camps - If you have some ideas for camps, please let me know your thoughts.

• Library Room Bookings - If you have some long term bookings for library classrooms, you will have to update these for the new trimester. Please don't book rooms unless you are sure your group is going to use them.

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. We are down to three students on the official list.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Parent Teacher Conferences - We will run these like last year which is following the open appointment system in the morning, having a clean break for lunch at 11:30 and then resuming with appointments from 12:30 to 4:45. This worked well and allows flexibility in the morning for parents who couldn't get appointments or who just prefer the open system. The appointments in the afternoon will also allow for virtual meetings if there are some people who do not want to or can't come in. We will be using the appointment system in Google Calendar so a "Meet" will automatically be created with each appointment. That means you need to join the Meet from the appointment in your calendar. Here are Google's instructions for creating appointment slots on your calendar. If you are more of a visual learner who doesn't mind my voice, here is a 3+ minute video showing you how to do it. Note that this is the video I made last year. This year's date for the conferences is November 18. Everything else is still the same. I will need a link to your appointments which I will post to a parent website. My video explains how to do that. Please get me your appointment links so we can publish the website with everyone's info at the same time. I'm in the process of updating the PTC Website. It is still a work in progress but you can start reviewing your details soon.

• Report Cards - Thank you for all of your work preparing reports. Remember that we would like to have everything posted by November 12. If you are struggling with the deadline, let me and Stephen know but please understand that we need to publish the report cards to ManageBac on November 17 at the latest so that parents can review them prior to PTCs on November 18. Some other things to keep in mind with this report:

  • There are no comments for regular classes unless there is an anomaly that needs to be explained.

  • The progress report comments will still be in ManageBac. Please delete them so they do not show up on this end of trimester report.

  • Grade 10 students will need a comment for criteria B on their personal project. See the email Mel has sent out.

  • There are advisor comments which should include how the students are approaching service.

  • Grade 12 students should have an EE comment and the status indicator on the EE records should also be updated (Excellent/On Track, etc.).

  • Remember, the G12 trimester grades may differ from the PGs just issued, since they represent two different assessment periods (this trimester vs the end of the whole course).

• Camps - If you have some ideas for camps, please let me know your thoughts.

• Parents as a resource - When families first enroll in the school, the form parents complete asks what expertise they have that they could share with a class. Cary went through the elementary parents and created this spreadsheet. You might find this useful when looking for a guest speaker but keep in mind, some parents would have filled this out a long time ago. If you do reach out to someone, you may need to remind them where you are getting the information and ask if they are still interested. We will look into adding MSHS parents, too.

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. We are down to three students on the official list.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• COVID Restrictions - As we move towards the winter trimester and as numbers decline, we are reviewing many of the COVID protocols we have in place. While we might loosen up on clubs and activities and a few other things, masks, temperature checks, and those other basic protocols will remain in place. Grade 6 is out on a field trip today and it is possible for you to plan an outing with your students. More details on any changes will come out soon.

• Camps - With the above in mind, I am going to go ahead and start planning camps in some form. It still might look different from what we did prior to the pandemic, but the possibility of having overnight trips is looking more likely. Unfortunately, Northstar has really suffered during the pandemic and might not survive. I will check in with them again but it isn't likely they will have staff to host us. If you have ideas for camps please let me know.

• Parent Teacher Conferences - I've had this here for the last few weeks and haven't had much in the way of feedback so I am going to move ahead with the hybrid approach we used last year. I will announce it in the Educator coming out soon. Look for more details soon but you can get an idea of what to expect by looking at the PTC Website from last year.

• MAP Testing - Thank you for your support with this. Except for a few students who didn't complete them in the allotted time, the tests are now finished and you can see the results on the NWEA website.

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. We are down to three students on the official list.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Halloween - While we don't necessarily officially celebrate Halloween on campus, students have typically dressed up and shared treats with each other. As long as they are following the 5 respects, dressing up is fine. In the context of COVID, we will announce that any treats that are shared should be individually wrapped and normal eating rules should be followed. That is, only eating in the cafeteria and courtyard or designated classrooms during normal lunch times. Having said that, Middle School Student Council is planning some events for next Friday. Look for more info soon.

• Parent Teacher Conferences - I wrote about this last week so all I will add is that there is still time for your comments and feedback. For your reference, here is the PTC Website from last year.

• MAP Testing - Thank you for your support of these tests. You should be able to log in and see the results of completed tests. There are still a few more to go. Here is the schedule. Remember, if you would normally be teaching when the students are testing, you are expected to proctor. Here are the guidelines for proctoring. Please let me know if you have any questions.

• Beginning of the year meetings - Just a reminder, please use this form to let me know your best times for an appointment if you haven't had a chance to do so yet.

• Faculty Meetings - We are scheduled to have a full faculty meeting this Wednesday with a focus on the current WASC action plan

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. There is a grade 6 student who should be on it but they didn't quite follow the instructions. I've followed up with them so hopefully he will be there soon.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Easing restrictions - With vaccinations going up and cases going down, we've been looking at what, if any, Covid restrictions should be relaxed. While much of the conversation was focused on Winter trimester, there are some things to consider.

  • Visitors - You should let your principal know if you will have anyone visiting campus, including parents, and also let the red counter know.

  • Activities - These can start meeting on campus but you should inform admin and follow the process Toshi outlined in the bulletin today.

  • Field Trips - It is possible to start planning trips again and in fact grade 6 is already planning one. (See the G6 teachers chat.) We still need to be careful about crossing prefectural lines and Covid protocols and there is more paperwork to fill out, but it is possible. Let me know if you have any questions and you can also discuss the Covid related paperwork with Toshi.

• Parent Teacher Conferences - This is the next big event on the horizon. I'm thinking that we will follow a similar format to last year which was a hybrid model. In the morning we used our traditional open appointment system, which was well attended, and in the afternoon, parents had to set an appointment but they had the option of meeting you online with Meet or in person. I like the hybrid approach because we were able to capture some parents who wouldn't normally be able to come during the day and we won't likely extend too far into the evening. It might be one of those things that continues after Covid is a memory. However, nothing is carved in stone yet, so please give me your comments or feedback. For your reference, here is the PTC Website from last year.

• MAP Testing - These got off to a good start for the most part. For grades 8 to 10, students are using their own computers and I was a bit surprised to find that there are a handful of students who have really old operating systems that aren't compatible with MAP (eg. Windows 8). We've needed to supply them with a school computer. Students who weren't able to complete their test in the allotted periods should see me. Here is the schedule. Remember, if you would normally be teaching when the students are testing, you are expected to proctor. Here are the guidelines for proctoring. Please let me know if you have any questions.

• Tech Use - Thank you again to Mel for her work on the new Responsible Use Policy. A few questions came up about what SIS is doing. Hagiwara sensei is also reviewing the policy and he will be meeting with Mel so that we have a consistent policy across both schools. As Mel mentioned, this is a "living document" that we hope to have finalized with your feedback by the end of the year.

• Keeping Track of Discipline - As we discussed in the meeting, please use ManageBac to register student concerns. Let me know if you have any questions.

• Beginning of the year meetings - I fell a bit behind in confirming appointments but am still on track to complete these by the end of the month. If you haven't had a chance to sign up, please use this form to let me know your best times for an appointment.

• Faculty Meetings - A group of teachers has been working hard to hammer out clearer guidelines for the pastoral program at school and they would like to share their work with MYP homeroom teachers on Wednesday. See Stephanie's note below for more details. A lot of work is being done by different groups of people to clarify policies and procedures at OIS that will hopefully make things easier for teachers in the long run. I appreciate the time you're spending on participating in these discussions.

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. There aren't any recent changes I am aware of. In APM, we are discussing whether we need to continue this in the winter trimester. One thought is that it wouldn't be an official option anymore (unless the prefecture continues to require it) but it would be available when someone has to stay home for Covid protocols, after a vaccination or something similar. It would be up to the student to work with the teachers on this.

Some notes from the MYP Coordinator...

• BQC - The internal deadline is on Monday, October 18th. Please go to Shared Drives > MYP > BQC > Visit 2023 and find your subject folder. Please upload the unit and self-evaluation. Thank you to those who have already done so!

• Pastoral program in the MYP - We will spend 30 minutes during next Wednesday's meeting on the draft of "Pastoral program in the MYP". The document includes the purpose of pastoral care and the roles and responsibilities of HR advisors and the ad hoc PSHE/ATL team.

Thank you,

Stephanie

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Tech Use - Mel, along with some input from others, has been working on updating our Appropriate Use Policy. One change is it will be called the Responsible Use Policy. We would like to share that with you after school on Wednesday along with a brief discussion of how to use it. We will be trialing it this year with the aim of finalizing it for next school year.

• Sports Day - There has been a lot of communication about sports day. Probably the most important thing to keep track of is the jobs list so you know where you are supposed to be tomorrow.

• Keeping Track of Discipline - I've written about how we should be keeping track of this in ManageBac. When we discuss the Responsible Use Policy, we'll look at how to use the Behavior Tab.

• Budget submissions - This is the last call for any budget submissions. Please see the update from two weeks ago for more information but if you have any requests, please send them to me by Wednesday as we will finalize things for KG on Thursday.

• Beginning of the year meetings - These are in full swing. If you've filled in the form and I haven't made an appointment yet, look for one soon. If you haven't had a chance to sign up. Please use this form to let me know your best times for an appointment.

• MAP Testing - This starts next week with grade 6 on Tuesday. Here is the schedule. Remember, if you would normally be teaching when the students are testing, you are expected to proctor. Here are the guidelines for proctoring. Please let me know if you have any questions.

• Faculty Meetings - This Wednesday we want to do is introduce the responsible use policy. That should not take very long. I would like to follow that with a brief meeting with the grade 7 teachers.

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. There aren't any recent changes but a grade 6 student may be added soon.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• PD Wednesday - Thank you again to Kendal for leading us in the ATL workshop. While I was mostly conversing with my partner, it sounded like some good conversations were taking place. She's already sent them out but just in case, here is a link to Kendal's slides. Having our meetings focused more on PD and helping us improve our teaching and program implementation is a better use of our time than information sharing. If you have an idea for another workshop that you hope someone else could do or that you would like to lead, let me know.

• Tech Use - At a recent faculty meeting we had a discussion about the use of technology and we used this Padlet to facilitate the conversation. Since then, we have had a few incidents, particularly in grade 7 with students taking pictures of classmates without their knowledge and some other issues. In the next week I will be talking to some of you, particularly on the grade 7 team about some measures we can take to help address this.

• Sports Day - Next Saturday is sports day. Thank you in advance for your support. Because the last one was canceled, the current student council members don't really have experience with organizing the days and what we are doing this year doesn't fit the typical pattern. Both have resulted in some challenges. Between MS and HS they are doing their best to balance the workload for teachers.

• Keeping Track of Discipline - Over the last few years, we've experimented with some different systems that haven't proven to be sustainable. As I said in a previous update, please use the ManageBac behavior tab to keep track of incidents, especially those that have escalating consequences built into policy like academic dishonesty or irresponsible technology use. In the coming weeks, I'll be moving some incidents from the old documents to ManageBac. This may result in homeroom teachers getting an email from ManageBac that their student was involved in some kind of violation. Please double check the date before getting alarmed.

• Budget submissions - This is the last call for any budget submissions. Please see the update from two weeks ago for more information but if you have any requests, please send them to me by Wednesday as we will finalize things for KG on Thursday.

• Beginning of the year meetings - I've made quite a few appointments but there still a few I need to make and there also a few people who haven't had a chance to sign up. Please use this form to let me know your best times for an appointment.

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. There is at least one addition for grade 7 next week. The home study option will continue at least until the end of the trimester. No decision yet on whether it will continue in winter.

• MAP Testing - Here is the draft schedule. Please review it for any problems. It is very difficult to find two blocks together and not take more than one class per subject. I've been able to limit it to that and I appreciate your understanding. In most cases, if testing is happening during your, you are expected to proctor. Here are the guidelines for proctoring we used last spring. Please let me know if you have any questions.

• Faculty Meetings - This Wednesday we are scheduled to have a two schools full faculty meeting i the library to look at planning for the next phase of the campus remodeling. This summer, the regular classrooms and hallways are slated to be updated. We will mostly discuss the classrooms on Wednesday. We will be meeting in the library.

Some notes from the MYP Coordinator...

Thank you for all your hard work in making BTSN informative for MYP families.

• Building Quality Curriculum - It is officially October! The final deadline for submission of documents to BQC is October 25th, but I would like to establish an internal deadline of uploading both the unit and self-evaluation in the Shared Drive folder (MYP > BQC > Visit 2023 > Find your subject) by October 18th. I hope this is not too much to ask as we have had this on our radar for some time. I will need the week to give everything a final check before final submission and would really appreciate your meeting our internal deadline.

• Pastoral care - The PSHE/ATL team (Kurt, Mel, Kendal, Maricar, Margot and I) are currently working on a document that outlines pastoral care in the MYP. We hope this will clarify the role of the PSHE/ATL team, the class (at the moment) and the responsibilities of homeroom advisors. We plan on sharing a final draft with you by next week. As with all things, this will be a living document that we will reflect on and evaluate at the end of the year. Thank you for your cooperation thus far in conducting the activities we suggest for LHR.

• Service as action - In the next few weeks, I strongly suggest talking to your advisees about their plans to meet their learning outcome(s) for Service this year. Ken Kitamura from Grade 12 is assisting MYP students get student-initiated ideas off the ground as his CAS project. Please feel free to refer your advisees to him (222048@soismail.jp) and cc Kurt, his CAS project advisor, who is also organizing Friday Flex presentations on Service. If an advisee is having trouble identifying a Service activity, please refer to this SOIS Service Activities Sheet, which will soon include CAS projects, too. If you are running an activity that is not in the Sheet, please let me know.

From the OIS HSSC Advisor

The HSSC has been working extremely hard since May to organize an admin-approved Sports Day that they hope students will enjoy, especially since after-school sports have been cancelled. They have shown resilience, perseverance and an extraordinary level of flexibility in organizing an event for nearly 500 students in such uncertain circumstances.

As an advisor, I am proud of their creative thinking, problem-solving skills, work ethic and how they have handled every challenge with grace (remarkable considering how young they are); I appreciate your supporting their intentions to bring our Two Schools Together in a way that is safe and enjoyable for students.

Ogawa-sensei and I have tried to assign teacher tasks in a way that is simple and takes into account any participation in MS Sports Day in the morning. Here is the Logistics Document for HS Sports Day and a Sheet outlining the schedule and teacher joblist for both MS and HS Sports Day. Please find out what your tasks are for the day and familiarize yourself with the rules and logistics of the event.

A huge thank you to the SOIS Administrative team and the PE department for their feedback and support. If you see Koki Ogawa (OIS 12), Tanishka Murthy (SIS 11), Tadayoshi Kamegai (OIS 12), Tomoka Matsushima (SIS 11), Michele Jang (OIS 10), Yurika Kano (SIS 11), Lee Jun Foo (OIS 12), Manato Shibata (SIS 10), Rena Kawasaki (OIS 11) or Lin Yamaguchi (SIS 11), please give them a Sabers Safe "pat-on-the-back" and a word of encouragement. They have been working on this non-stop and through weekends while juggling their academic and personal responsibilities. They are a truly remarkable team :)

I hope you have a restful weekend. Thank you for all that you do.

Stay safe and get some well-deserved rest,

Stephanie

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Comments - If you are having difficulty with the deadlines, please just make sure you are keeping me and Stephen in formed.

• Budget submissions - Just a reminder on this. Check last week's update for more details. Please let me know if you have any requests.

• Beginning of the year meetings - Thank you to those who have already signed up. If you haven't had a chance, please use this form to let me know your best times for an appointment. I will start making appointments soon. See last week's update for more information.

• Home Study List - This is the list as of now. More students are getting the vaccine and staying home with symptoms. We want them to get those vaccines so I appreciate your work in accommodating the students while they stay home.

• MAP Testing - Here is the draft schedule. Please review it for any problems. It is very difficult to find two blocks together and not take more than one class per subject. I've been able to limit it to that and I appreciate your understanding. In most cases, if testing is happening during your, you are expected to proctor. Here are the guidelines for proctoring we used last spring. Please let me know if you have any questions.

• Faculty Meetings - This Wednesday we are scheduled to have a MS/HS faculty meeting.

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Virtual Monday - Remember, schedule wise, this coming Tuesday is Monday. We will follow the Monday schedule when we are back after the three day weekend. We do this to balance out the number of times we have each day of the week in the trimester. Most Japanese holidays fall on a Monday and this helps maintain balance between classes.

• Budget submissions - We are coming to the time of year where APM will discuss which budget requests to put forward to the foundation for the fiscal year 2022-23. Generally, these are requests for things that don't fit into the normal department consumables budget. Please submit any items for consideration by emailing me before Wednesday 6 October. The classroom and corridor renovation plan will be considered separately, so do not submit requests for furniture or construction that will fall under this category. If you have any questions please come talk to me.

• Pastoral Care - There have been several different initiatives going on to consolidate and improve the Pastoral program at the school. This is coming out of the fact that WASC includes pastoral care in their student support recommendations and that it is part of the MYP action plan. In the latter, under the standard of organization, practice B5.9 (The school has systems in place to guide and counsel students through the program) it states that we are working towards, "A revised pastoral structure that is clearly aligned with the expectations of the MYP – eg. Service, reflection, etc. And creating a document that explains this structure." That document is being worked on right now by the PSHE-LHR-ATL committee and we hope to have a draft soon that will better explain how the different elements align and the responsibilities of the homeroom teachers. Once that is complete, it will be shared and we will use it this year with the aim of refining and improving it so it can be implemented fully next year. I know that there has been some confusion about how the roles and pieces fit together but we should be able to bring more clarity soon.

• Beginning of the year meetings - Now that BTSN is behind us, it is time to start thinking about your beginning of the year meeting with me. The purpose of this is for the teacher to reflect on theirs and their students' performance and help set a foundation for a strong school year. Things to discuss include how "the school can support teacher self-directed learning. This can be formal goal setting, specific student learning goals, developing new techniques or skills, etc." More information can be found in the "professional growth protocol." Please use this form to let me know your best times for an appointment. The aim is to get these done by mid to late October.

• Learning updates / Educator - Myles sent an email earlier in the week about these publications and he also created a schedule for when teachers should contribute. You can see that here.

• Home Study List - At least one more student will be returning this week. This is the list. Lot's of students have been getting their vaccines recently and staying home because of symptoms. If they can participate in your classes even though they aren't on the list, it would be appreciated.

• MAP Testing - I will start the MAP schedule soon which will take place towards the end of September and early October. Teachers of students in 6 to 10 should expect to lose one class per subject and grade level. If you teach two subjects to a grade level, you can expect to lose one class from each subject. You will generally be expected to proctor when you would normally be teaching. Note, too, that the PSAT, which will include many grade 10 and 11 students takes place on October 13.

• Comments - Thank you for all of your work on these. Documents worth referring to for guidelines on writing comments for this report include page four of the reporting handbook and the document on ATL comments that Stephanie shared last year. Comments should be about 3 to 4 sentences in length and include reference to the ATL skill(s) you are focusing on this trimester.

• Faculty Meetings - This Wednesday we are scheduled to have a full faculty meeting.

Some notes from the MYP Coordinator...

Thank you for all your hard work in making BTSN informative for MYP families.

• BTSN website - The MYP Overview page contains documents regarding assessment criteria level descriptors for each subject. Please encourage parents to refer to this as grades start to come in. We would like to help our families use this to understand the numbers they see on ManageBac. A complete list of ATL skills is available on the same page.

• Personal Project - Just a gentle reminder to update the status of your student on ManageBac and record any meetings via the Notes function. This helps Mel and I follow up with students. Please do not check "Record as interview note" if you want the student to see the note. Please refer to the Guide for more details. Guide for Personal Project Supervisors

• Service as action - Thank you to all the HR advisors for your help with this. Students are coming up with some very interesting self-initiated activities that are open to Two School collaboration. Plans and goals can still be a focus of discussion with your advisees; please tell them to reach out to me should they have any questions.

• MYP Homeroom - This year, the PSHE/ATL team is working on using the class to provide further instruction and development of ATL and SEL (via PSHE) skills. We are also working towards aligning this with what we do in LHR and the creation of the MYP Portfolio, hence the guidance in the LHR spreadsheet and dropping resources in Google Classroom.
  The activities in the LHR sheet are suggestions based on what they are working on in PSHE/ATL class, but if you, as the adults that see them everyday, have other ideas for LHR that can help support their development, please let us know.
  We understand that this approach needs more structure and are now working with Kurt to create a document that: (1) places these elements under the umbrella of a pastoral care program and (2) clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of homeroom advisors. The aim is that every student in the MYP has at least one adult on campus who is looking after their growth as a whole person, not just as a student.

I truly appreciate your patience with the process and the grit that you continue to display in supporting your advisees.

Stay safe and get some well-deserved rest,

Stephanie

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Back to School Night - Thank you for all of your efforts in organizing your presentations for back to school night. Remember to please upload your presentation, any files, etc. to this shared folder so they can be uploaded to the website.

• MSHS Meeting - Thank you for your participation in the meeting this past Wednesday. I liked using the new room but it was perhaps a bit cozy considering the current circumstances. The upstairs room is a bit bigger, we might try that next time. Here are the slides with all of the links for your reference. The tech use discussion is one I would like to continue.

• Learning updates - Just a reminder that these will be going out every other week. It is scheduled to go out again next week so please upload your learning examples by next Friday.

• Home Study List - By my quick count, we are down to about 10 students on the list. There is one new addition in grade 8 who is doing it for a couple of days because he is getting his vaccination. Please keep an eye on the list so you know who to expect in class and who will be online.

• Temperature checks - We've had three weeks for everyone to get used to the systems. Please double down next week in homeroom on the temperature checks. It really is important for the students to monitor their health before they come to school. If you have habitual offenders, let me know.

• Tracking discipline - Over the last two years, we've experimented with different ways to track discipline with Google forms, spreadsheets with Autocrat and the shared folders and nothing seems to have worked that well. We did this because we didn't like the way that ManageBac only allows admin and the homeroom advisor to get a holistic picture of a student's record. However, having tried the other methods and not having them work well, I would like to go back to ManageBac. They now have a more systematic way to extract the information so I can make holistic views of students more readily available. This is important because we follow a progressive discipline model and it is important to know if you are the third teacher to have had to talk to a student about her cell phone use. You don't have to include every time you talk to a student but things like habitually using the phone in class, repeatedly not following requests of the teacher, plagiarism, and similar things should go in. If you aren't sure, just ask me.

• Library booking forms - For your information and convenience I've added the library room booking form link at the top of this page under a link to the library website.

• Sports Day - Currently, student council is planning on holding some form of sports day on the scheduled day of October 9 with October 11 being the back up day if the 9th has bad weather. More details will come closer to the event but please keep the date in mind for your planning.

• Parent workshops - I've had some discussions with Mel and Stephanie about organizing some parent workshops. As a way to connect when they can't come on campus, I would like to organize more events. If you have an idea for something to share with parents, let me know.

• Faculty Meetings - This Wednesday there is a DP teacher meeting scheduled. This is a follow up on unit planning from the meeting during the in-service.

Some notes from the MYP Coordinator...

Not much from me this week; I know you are all busy with BTSN preparation.

• Service as action - Thank you for your support in helping our students find meaningful ways to engage in Service. Students are coming up with such great ideas. Responses to the forms and relevant documents are in the Shared MYP Drive.

• Friday Flex - The focus for Friday Flex assemblies this year will be Service presentations (mostly by students) and inspirations for the MYP Portfolio.

Talking about who we are, the experiences that have shaped us, the challenges we face and our proudest achievements is not easy; I am hoping our MYP faculty could help model that for our students. I, for example, am thinking of talking about mental health, being an introvert in an extroverted world and/or the challenges that I face as a woman of color. If any of you have similar stories that you are willing to share, please let Kurt know. He (and possibly Ken Kitamura) will be organizing Friday Flex this year.

Enjoy your weekend and thank you for all that you do,

Stephanie

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Back to School Night - Our annual Back to School Night (BTSN) is scheduled for the evening of September 16. Elementary is hosting theirs September 10. Both sections will be doing an online version this year because of the state of emergency. Please review last year's BTSN website as in the coming week and a half, we will be updating it for this year. You should prepares slides that introduce you, your class and it's objectives, significant assessments and, as they are a focus this year, what ATL skills you are incorporating into your classes. BTSN is not a time for individual conferences but an opportunity to make a good first impression on the parents and help them understand the goals of the course so you can work together for the benefit of their children. Have a look at the website from last year and let me know if you have any questions. We will talk about this on Wednesday.

• Reporting Dates - Stephen shared the reporting dates timeline earlier in the week. Please refer to this as you are planning your assessments. There might be a few tweaks to the SIS deadlines on the document. It is also linked at the top of this page and in the Academic Affairs shared drive.

• Calling in Sick - Hopefully you never need this but if you wake up feeling ill, please contact me via a phone call, iMessage, SNS, or LINE. Please do not email me as I'm likely to miss emails in the morning. Some of our subs have to travel a long distance so the sooner I can contact them the better. I have my phone on silent at night but wake up at 5:00 am on school days. My phone number is 090 9691 5315. Please save it in your phone.

• Home Study List - More of our students will be returning next week so our share of the list will be smaller. We do have one addition for next week in grade 9. He should return the following week.
  I’ve had a few parents ask me if their child who woke up not feeling very well but good enough to participate online could do home study for the day. The main reason we are asking for the advance notice is so you can be well prepared for the students online. It still might be possible for them to join some classes if you can accommodate them but the student should contact you directly. Last minute students who will just be out for the day will still be counted as absent by the office but you should note if they participated online in ManageBac.

• Attendance - As a reminder we are currently using two attendance systems, ManageBac and the school based app which is maintained by Student Info in the office. In homeroom you check the app to make sure your students have registered properly and included their temperature. Student Info will use the data from the app to fill in homeroom attendance on ManageBac. For all other classes teachers need to fill in attendance on ManageBac. If you follow this link to the app, you can download a shortcut to your desktop and there is a QR code for you phone. Having the app on your phone will be handy in an emergency or a fire drill.

• Friday Flex - There was a video today on service, if students were absent, please have them watch it. Next week there will be another video introducing the MYP portfolio.

• Kento Center - You may have noticed Amy Evans and Katy Benitez on campus Thursday. They will be coming once a week throughout this trimester usually on Tuesday morning, Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. They are giving us advice on improving our Inclusion program. If they drop by to observe, please continue teaching as normal.

• Earthquake/Evacuation Drill - The rain put a bit of a damper on the fun but if you have any feedback on how things went today please share it with me.

• Faculty Meetings - This Wednesday we are scheduled to have a faculty meeting in Stephanie's room (327). Agenda items include BTSN, ATL skills and referencing them in BTSN and Progress Reports.

Some notes from the MYP Coordinator...

• Building Quality Curriculum: I experienced my first unit evaluation this afternoon and was grateful for the opportunity to gain insight into a colleague's class and teaching practices and engage in meaningful and constructive conversation. I was particularly impressed at the ease with which we were able to give and receive positive and constructive feedback. Submissions for BQC will open soon and the deadline is October 25th. Please find time to meet in your departments in order to engage in a similar activity and complete the MYP Unit Evaluation document (in Shared MYP Drive). Please upload that along with the units in the Shared BQC Drive by October 18th so I can give everything a final check.

• Service as action: Thank you for showing the video to students during Friday Flex this afternoon. Please remember that we are asking Homeroom Advisors to discuss Service with their advisees at least once every trimester. This is a great way to establish rapport with our students through purposeful conversation. This first discussion will help you get to know your advisees' interests, hobbies, strengths and inclinations towards Service. Please check "Service as action for HR advisors" for more details. And next week, please remind them to complete their Fall Service forms sent via ManageBac and email.

• Service collaboration with SIS: I am collaborating with Toshi, Ingela and Dawn in order to create a central database of Service activities at OIS and SIS. The hope that we can bring the Two Schools Together around our common mission and through the act of service. Please complete the OIS Service Activities form for any Service activities that you supervise or run.

• Personal Project: Mel and I have been following up with all Grade 10 students on their progress over the summer. Please expect your students to meet with you soon. She and I also discussed some expectations for supervisors in documenting student progress on ManageBac so that we can view the results of your meetings with them, too. Please read the Guide for Personal Project Supervisors.

• Need Personal Project Supervisors! We have two new students in Grade 10. Naomichi is interested in either improving his drawing skills or exploring teenage nutrition. Sofia wants to learn more about the effects of social media on the teenage brain. They are both lovely students. They do not have clear goals for their projects yet, but if you are interested in supervising either (or both) of them, please let Mel know.

It's been a busy second week; thank you for all that you do. Please have a restful weekend!

Stephanie

Here are some things to think about as we move into the next week of school..

• Join the PD committee - With the departure of Michelle, we don't currently have a MS/HS teacher rep on the PD committee. Could that be you? That person could also double as the EARCOS rep as that position is still open and the EARCOS rep serves on the PD committee. The committee is scheduled to meet twice a trimester to help allocate PD funds. See me if you are interested or have any questions.

• Handbook signature pages - once you get the whole class, you can put the stack in my box. Please track down any students who are missing theirs.

• Homeroom - As we move into this school year, we really want to strengthen the homeroom/advisory system. I'm in the process of reviewing and updating the teacher expectations in our old documents some of which you can see here and here. If you have comments, feedback or want to be involved, please see me. In the meantime you can see some of the work coming from the PSHE team below in Stephanie's notes.

• Friday Flex - Related to the above we would like to make more use of the Friday Flex time we have scheduled to accomplish some of our goals with the students. This won't necessarily always follow the assembly format we had pre-pandemic. If you would like to share something with a group or all of the MYP students, we will have a sign-up form soon. I'm sure the students would love to see a different side of you.

• Kento Center - Starting next week, we will have regular visits from the Kento Center so they can learn about our school and help us strengthen our student support system. We have retained them as a consultant this first trimester. They will be starting by doing observations so you may see them in your classroom in the coming weeks.

• Seating plans - The public health department asks that all teachers use a seating plan for their classes to help with contact tracing. We had a good discussion about this in APM because this request seems to assume a certain type of teaching that isn't always taking place here. Still, please have a documented seating plan for when teacher centered instruction is taking place. You may change it periodically as you get to know your students better. We won't attempt to keep track of all the different configurations that might come up when you move students into pairs, groups, etc.

• Lunch Patrol - Thank you for your work on this. Two schedules were sent out this week, one for HS in the cafeteria and one for MS in the homerooms. Both have gone through several changes since they were first shared and there are likely to be a few more. Please put your times on your personal calendar.
  The main point is to ensure that students aren't talking with their masks off. Because the MS rooms are smaller, it needs to be silent in the room if anyone is eating (this doesn't apply to the cafeteria). Others, who aren't eating should leave unless they are quietly doing school work. Also, students should make use of the extra space if the room isn't crowded. With PE and music, the MS rooms often only have a handful of students at any one time. They should space out more even if it means leaving their assigned seat.

• Earthquake/Evacuation Drill - We are scheduled to have a drill next Friday. Look for an email from Tanaka sensei with more details and see me if you have any questions. Once the email comes out, I'll check in with new teachers. There are a few issues that were raised about drills in the past and this drill is being used to document some of those issues for improvement in the future.

• Faculty Meetings - We've set aside this Wednesday for departments to meet about BQC, unit planning, and other beginning of the year issues. For your reference, here are the slides from the MS/HS Meeting during the in-service.

Some notes from the MYP Coordinator...

• Thank you for your hard work this week in getting our students settled in and excited for a new school year. I especially appreciate your flexibility in ensuring that our students online feel connected.

• ATL Skills: Helping students develop ATL skills will continue to be a focus this year, so please keep that in mind in your unit planning. Grade 10 students are in the process of identifying the ATL skill(s) they will apply in the Personal Project. Let's help them be more literate in ATL skills. An article from the World Economic Forum cites results from a survey conducted by UNICEF involving 11,000 respondents across 136 countries that might provide perspective. ("We asked young people about work and skills. Here's what they told us.")

• LHR Overview: In the interest of meaningfully connecting PSHE, ATL, socio-emotional learning and advisory, the PSHE/ATL team has created an overview of long homerooms for the Fall Trimester. There are suggested activities that you can use and notes to help guide you. Please let Maricar, Kurt or I know if you need help or have questions.

• Service as action: Next Friday Flex, I will ask homeroom teachers to play a video (re)introducing Service as Action to MYP students. A link will be provided next week. This year, we would like advisors to help students process their experiences. Here is a guide that includes the rationale behind this change and the roles and responsibilities of the advisor in terms of Service. Please read it in advance of your first advisory session.

• Personal Project: Mel and I have been following up on students' progress. We expect to have spoken to each student by next week. We are encouraging them to reach out to you soon for a meeting. Please expect an e-mail from Mel and I that clarifies the responsibilities of the supervisor by next week.

Have a restful weekend; it is well-deserved.

Stephanie