Dolphin Dispatch INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PANAMA MARCH 20, 2015 ISSUE 28 “We will and educate inspire our students to reach their full potential and contribute to the world by providing an exemplary English language education enriched by our multicultural community.” In This Issue Family Fun Fair Announcements Elementary School Middle School High School PAIS Conference Athletics updates (Go Dolphins? Technology Showcase Flyer ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER March Calendar Issue 28 MARCH 20, 2015 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS ISSUE 28 Summit of the Americas/ Cumbre de las Americas in Panama: During the week we received several questions regarding the possible closure of school during the dates of this event in Panama. Our administration team is monitoring the situation and confirming the information being shared by the media and government officials. Based on the information available, ISP will remain open April 10, 2015 until otherwise notified. We will keep you informed of the situation as it develops. REMINDER REGARDING TUITION Please disregard if you are under the Institutional category or payment has already been made. If payment has been made by wire transfer or direct deposit to our accounts, please send us bank confirmation via e-mail to be able to process it. Dear ISP Parents: Please remember that tuition corresponding to the fourth quarter is due on Monday March 30, 2015. For your reference, please find below fees corresponding to the 3 rd quarter: Due Date March 30 PK-3** US $ 1,660.00 PK4-5 US $ 2,660.00 6-8 US $ 2,930.00 9-12 US $ 3,310.00 ** The fee for the Full Day PK-3 Program is the same as PK4-5 ($2,660.00) According to policy, an administrative charge will be levied on all payments not settled by the due date. For more details, please find the Tuition & Fee Payment schedule on the ISP website. We encourage you to keep your account up to date to avoid penalties. Please remember that EAL & Learning Resource Programs payments for the 1 st & 2nd Sem SY2014-2015 should also be cancelled Re-inscription for next school year 2015-2016 is coming up and all outstanding balances corresponding to this school year must be settled before this process can be completed. For questions regarding the tuition and fees please contact: Brenda Vega Business Office [email protected] ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 27 Elementary School Becky Jobes, PhD—Elementary Assistant Principal—[email protected] ISP Elementary Participates in International Good Deeds Day— School Supplies for our Sister School, Escuela Gabriel Lewis Galindo During the first two weeks of March our families were generous enough to contribute to our sister school supply drive. On Monday, March 16th a group of administrators and some of our Student Representative Council students made the short 5 minute drive to our sister school to deliver the supplies. A staff member from the school gave us all a tour and we got to see directly how our supplies will support the students in the school. Many thanks to all of you who supported this cause and ISP Elementary school’s participation in International Good Deed Day. ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Elementary School Becky Jobes, PhD—Elementary Assistant Principal—[email protected] Geocaching with the Talent Development Program The Talent Development Program’s Exploration class has been exploring the adventurous world of geocaching. Using satellite coordinates, GPS receivers, and cache specific hints, geocaching resembles a global game of “hide & seek”. With over 2 million geocaches hidden worldwide, anyone can geocache! The grade 4 & 5 students participating in the program put their geotreasure hunting skills to the test at the Amador Causeway. Select the link to watch their experience and learn more about Geocaching. Geocaching with the TDP A message from our Student Representative Council (SRC) Our SRC is hosting a lunch for all of the Dolphin staff at ISP. These staff do a tremendous job of taking care of our school. The SRC is asking each student to bring in $3 to donate towards a lunch for the Dolphin staff. The money will be collected by homeroom teachers through Friday, March 27th. (poster created by Jorge) ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Elementary School Becky Jobes, PhD—Elementary Assistant Principal—[email protected] Bring Your Own Reusable Water Bottle to ISP!!! Write your name on the bottle. Use permanent marker or get a sticker that won’t come off so you keep track of your bottle. Look at the Label! Your bottle should be BPA FREE to keep you chemical free. Don't reuse disposable plastic water bottles! They can't be cleaned properly and may leach harmful chemicals after repeated use. Make your bottle your new device, carry it EVERYWHERE you go! Spring Book Order Time Dear Parents, Great News! It’s our spring book order time! We are sending the Scholastic International School Book Club leaflets home so that you and your child will have an opportunity to purchase some new titles. Please place your order online at http://world-schools.scholastic.co.uk/internationa-schof-panama by March 27th, 2015. The link will take you directly to the ISP order page. All you need to do is enter either the name of the book or the item number into the search field and then add that item to your basket. Once once you have added all of the items you want to your basket, you can then proceed to the checkout to confirm and pay for your order. Please do not send cash orders to school. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or Menitza Gonzalez at [email protected]. Stephanie Scoggin Elementary School Librarian ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Elementary School Becky Jobes, PhD—Elementary Assistant Principal—[email protected] Conscious Discipline notes from 3/19 Key Notes and Reminders for Conscious Discipline Training: ASSERTIVENESS Saying, “No!” and being heard: Setting limits respectfully Power of Attention: What you focus on, you get more of Skill: Assertiveness – setting limits respectfully Purpose: Set limits and expectations Structures used in the classroom: Time Machine and Instant Replay (Allow kids to try to “re-do” a difficult situation so that they can choose a different outcome and see how it works right away rather than waiting till “next time.” Brain Smart Tip: Telling children what to do (and how to do it) aligns their bodies with their willpower. Emotional Development : Healthy Boundaries are essential for all relationships – kids start to learn how to set limits with friends and others for the way that they want to be treated. Kids learn to use a strong voice and standup for themselves. They are supported and encouraged through this process. Key Phrase : Did you like it? When you are upset you are always focused on what you don’t want. Passivity invites aggression, aggression begets aggression and assertiveness dissipates aggression Children must learn that they teach others how to treat them. They must learn to assertively deal with the intrusive behaviors of others. You have the right and responsibility to say “No.” You-Me accusations leaved a child feeling attacked – “You think you can get away with ______. You always ________. Any statement about the other person, rather than statements about one’s own feelings or thoughts, tends to have an attaching quality. Instead of saying “You made me sad because….” try to say “I felt sad because……” This allows the person you are talking to, to be able to listen without feeling attacked. Assertiveness clearly tells that child what to do so that they can meet your expectations. Assertiveness comes from the Power of Attention: Focus on what you WANT to happen. Join us on April 8th at 10:30AM for our next Conscious Discipline meeting. ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Middle School Diane Guevara, Middle School Principal—[email protected] Sweet Melodies: Full House Finale to 2nd Annual ISP Music Fest 2015 The second annual ISP Musicfest closed last week with a well-attended special performance by student and faculty participants from the American Nicaragua School, Balboa Academy, MET and ISP. In case you missed the show you can click the link below to see a short video made by our very own Jada Owens and Chloe Martindale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v90Q3LrEzEk We also had the chance to speak to some of the organizers and participants, here is what they had to say: “On behalf of ANS Visual and Performing Arts, I would like to thank the staff, students and administration of ISP for inviting us to your school and your country and for providing an excellent learning experience for our students. The event was very well organized and everyone we interacted with in Panama both in the school and outside was extremely helpful and welcoming to us. You left us with a very good impression and we hope we can come back and make music together again and see your performing arts center when it's finished.” – John Spiro, American Nicaragua School “Events like MusicFest help remind us the importance of community. Not just the community of our school, but also of our city and furthermore our region. By bringing together young musicians to create music together, we strengthen our commitment to the arts as well as our community by building new friendships and making connections that can last for years to come.” –Adam Herzing Director of Visual and Performing Arts, ISP. “When you combine groups of passionate, talented, and inspirational people, some amazing conductors, and a big audience, what you get is a wonderful challenge—both mental and physical—that we call the fun and unique learning experience named Music Fest!” -MS Choir and Band ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Middle School (continued) Diane Guevara, Middle School Principal—[email protected] Making a Wish Come True Through our Community Leaders Our Middle School Community Service Leaders and Make a Wish Panama recently collaborated to sponsor Elvis, a 7 year old Panamanian boy. The students planned and organized a Super Hero party for him where he received his wish – an iPad, clothes, and toys. The best part of the experience was meeting Elvis and sharing this special moment with a new friend. Seeing Double in the Middle School ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Middle School (continued) Diane Guevara, Middle School Principal—[email protected] Developing 21st Century Skills Excerpts from “Teaching Critical Thinking Skills Through Project Based Learning,” by John Margendoller Critical thinking is a foundational skill for 21st century success, a reality recognized by P21 adherents and educators everywhere. But how do we help students learn to do it? And what is critical thinking, anyway? Is Project Based Learning (PBL) really the best way to help students become critical thinkers? In Project Based Learning, in order for students to learn something, they must do something. Projects that develop critical thinking competencies are designed around cognitive tasks that require deliberative thought – making judgments between alternatives, figuring out the best way to create something, weighing evidence, reconsidering initial ideas, creating a plan for solving a problem, and summarizing an argument’s key points. Critical thinking projects not only require students to think carefully and deliberately, they provide models and scaffolding to show how such cognitive tasks are carried out. Teachers can scaffold and guide students by defining the specific competencies used in the project, modeling them for students, giving students the practice and feedback they need to develop the competencies, and finally, requiring students to explain during the project’s public presentation how critical thinking was used in the project. Non-Googleable Driving Questions, deliberative cognitive tasks, support and scaffolding – these all combine to create projects that help students become critical thinkers. There is one more element, however, that needs to be added to this mix – formative assessment and feedback. Students can learn to evaluate their own thinking and they can learn to evaluate the arguments and reasoning of their peers. This ability to think about the quality of their own and of others’ thinking is encouraged by timely, relevant, actionable feedback from the teacher, from their peers and from their own self-assessments. So does PBL teach critical thinking? Our answer is that it can, but a project has to be structured with critical thinking as a goal. For critical thinking to occur, projects have to be structured to demand deliberate, reflective thought, and students have to be shown examples of what critical thinking looks like, in addition to being supported, assessed, encouraged, and given feedback as they try such thinking out with their peers and on their own. Only then can PBL become “genuinely educative” for critical thinking. ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 High School John Shea, High School Principal—[email protected] IN PICTURES: IB ART SHOW OPENING IN CASE YOU MISSED THE OPENING YOU CAN SEE SOME OF WHAT HAPPENED CLICKING THE VIDEO LINK BELOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxRGnGH_0iM ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 High School (continued) John Shea, High School Principal—[email protected] GIN Student Leadership at the PAIS Conference Five ISP 9th and 10th grade students - Isabel Pereira, Briney Choi, Nicolas Bran, Daniel Roldan and Gaston Arguindegui - had the opportunity to lead a workshop for international educators from around the nation as part of the Panama Association of Internationally Minded Schools (PAIS) Conference. The workshop focused on their experiences as part of our growing Global Issues Network (GIN) program. The program currently consists of five service learning projects, incorporating more than thirty students. They presented two of these projects: Read Me More, and Walks and Talks. More information can be found at their websites http://readmemore.wix.com/hdbp and http:// walksandtalks.tk/. Students also created hands-on activities for participants to learn about the goals of service learning, motivating students to complete these projects, and connecting local service to broader issues of global importance. GIN students will continue honing their presentation skills in preparation for their session leadership at the 2015 AASSA GIN Conference, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in October. This was an impactful experience for students. Gaston reports that “it was really fun to turn the tables and have the opportunity for us as students to teach teachers about the things that are most meaningful to us at ISP.” He was also proud to be among the only students presenting at the conference. Nicolas added that it was valuable to be able to “spread the idea of GIN to other schools in the country and to watch our impact grow.” QUE VIVA LA POESIA! ISP’s Spanish Department and Spanish Club continued their proud tradition and celebration of World Poetry Day yesterday, Thursday, March 19. Now in its 4th year, Mr. Moises Pascual and his Viva Poetry event showcased Panamanian poets Magdalena Camargo Lemieszek, Hector Collado and Salvador Medina. As Mr. Pascual, an accomplished poet himself, describes --- these lyrical voices representing the current Panamanian poetry, will read their works, interact with students and provide both an educational experience and cultural exchange for all. The High School was very pleased to host this event, continuing our celebration of World Poetry Day. Many thanks to the Spanish Department and the participants. ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Special guest: Panamanian poet Salvador Medina shares one of his poems with the ISP Community gathered to celebrate World Poetry Day. Issue 28 Towards Educational Excellence Lauren Streifer, Curriculm Director—[email protected] ISP Participates in Second Annual PAIS Conference Wednesday afternoon marked the second annual Panama Association of Internationally Minded Schools (PAIS) Teachers Teaching Teachers Conference. PAIS was started three years ago with the hopes of building collaboration amongst the international schools in Panama as well as supporting education in Panama. This year the conference was held at The Metropolitan School and was attended by over 400 educators. The focus of the conference was “Teaching Locally, Thinking Globally” and included sessions on community service, service learning, imbedding real world problem solving in classes, classroom practices that increase student engagement, assessing student learning, and many other topics tied to teaching and learning. Twenty ISP teachers offered presentations and over 80 attended the conference! Here is what some of our participating faculty had to say about participating in this years PAIS conference: “Great collaboration and connections; ideas energize and can be implemented today. ISP teachers lead in many ways and will continue to grow and share” - Lori Lauscher IBDP Coordinator “PAIS was the perfect example of how collaboration can make school communities stronger and it was an outlet for teachers to show their passion for their profession.” - Christie Wilson 5.4 Teacher “I loved being a presenter and a participant at PAIS because that's the perfect way for collaboration as teachers are teaching teachers and teachers are also learning from teachers. It was great to see that every teacher you met is unique in his/her own way and knows something that you don't and vice versa. It was an amazing day to be a Dolphin.” - Priyanka Jethani MS EAL Specialist Grade 7 “PAIS reminds us that we are part of a larger, international community in Panama committed to continuously improving our own teaching in order to provide a better education for our students.” - Andrew B. Alfano Instructor of Chemistry Featured above, Priyanka Jethani MS EAL Specialist who was one of over 80 teachers representing ISP at PAIS. CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE PARCIPANTS FOR MAKING US DOLPHIN PROUD!!! ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Athletics Peter Smyth, Athletic Director—[email protected] CELEBRATING OUR DOLPHIN ATHLETS!!!! Flag football The girls stared their season off with an impressive 14-0 win on their home field against Las Esclavas last weekend. A draw mid week has them set up for an exciting game this upcoming weekend. If you can stop by the Maracana at 11am you will be able to see he girls in action. Coaches Gonzalez and Arauz where thrilled with the first games and looking forward to the weekend. Triathlon Our MS athletes represented themselves exceptionally well last week in the Tri Kids event held at Panama Pacifico. In the 12-13 age group Jason Martindale came in 2nd place. In the 14-15 age group Nacho Molina placed first and Nicco Soto placed 4th. Fantastic achievements by all, well done. Please come and Support your teams !!!! GO DOLPHINS. WHEN A DOLPHIN WINS ALL THE DOLPHINS WIN ! ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 Athletics Peter Smyth, Athletic Director—[email protected] Sub 10 soccer Although ADECOP doesn't start for sports teams until after spring break ISP were able to play a friendly in the sunshine against Balbo Academy. The sub 10 coaches Conzelman (boys), Bellido and Janssens (girls) had a great afternoon on the main field with all the athletes getting playing time and enjoying ‘the beautiful game’. Senior Girls Soccer The Dolphins were in action Tuesday night against the travelling ‘Eagles’ team from Coste Del Este. The match was played under the lights at the Maracana. The girls played exceptionally well on the big field and proved to be stiff competition for the select side. Coach J. Smyth was very proud of the girls and suspects a rematch may be arranged soon. Please come and Support your teams !!!! GO DOLPHINS. WHEN A DOLPHIN WINS ALL THE DOLPHINS WIN ! ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28 M A RC H 2 0 1 5 SUN 1. MON 2. TUE 3. WED 4. THU FRI S AT 5. 6. 7. ES Bringing Literature back to life parade Swim meet 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. IB ART SHOW!— ——————— ——————— ——————— —————— ——————— ——————FAMILY FUN FAIR 22. 29. 23. 30 24. 8th grade orientation to High School 25. TECH 26. 27. 28. 31 1 2 3. 4 APRIL—–——— ——————— ——————— —————— SHOWCASE! The Family Fun Fair is coming and it’s GOING GREEN! In order to support ISP’s efforts towards becoming a “green school” this year’s Fun Fair will have a Recycling Center. We are encouraging families to bring recyclable materials from home to contribute towards our recycling effort. Items that can be recycled are: newspaper, paper, plastic bottles, and tin/aluminum. Please prepare your items before you come: paper should be free of all staples and tape; all bottles and cans should be thoroughly cleaned. The Recycling Center will be clearly marked and near the entrance of the fair, so come with your recyclables for this day of fun! ISP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Issue 28
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