Welcome to Life in Second Grade

Hello Parents,

I would like to invite all 2JS parents to complete the anonymous SAS parent survey online. It will  provide me with valuable feedback and insights to help guide my teaching practices. Below you will find information and instructions from the Deputy Superintendent. Thank you for participating!

Dear SAS Parent Community Members:

I am happy to announce the beginning of the annual teacher performance evaluation parent survey for the 2009-2010 school year.  The survey will be open to all community members through the entire month of February.

The survey can be accessed through the SAS Community Portal.

Translations for the survey can be found at the following links:

For Chinese click here
For Korean click here

Once you log in using your parent ID and password, click the link at the top that is labeled “Teacher Performance Survey”.

As has been done in the past two years, the teachers at SAS are seeking feedback from the parents of their children about their performance in areas in which they would have direct involvement. The results and comments from the survey go directly to the teachers who then include the survey information as part of their professional portfolio, and the survey content is discussed with their supervisor.

I would urge you to provide specific and professional feedback to the teachers at SAS. Consider carefully not only addressing suggestions, but also providing teachers feedback on what you feel is going well in the classroom programs at SAS.

The feedback you provide is important and it will be part of the professional reflection process as all of our teachers have a vested interest in ways to improve the programs at Shanghai American School.

Below you will find a list of a few frequently asked questions.

Sincerely,
Andrew Torris

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Is the survey multi-lingual?
A: You can leave answers to the open ended questions in other languages and they will be interpreted later.  The advancement office has also provided access to translations of the surveys at these web addresses.  Either click the link or copy and paste the link into your web browser.

For Chinese click here  http://gallery.mailchimp.com/1e2c001e7323bba58b5fbf241/files/SurveyinfoChinese.pdf
For Korean click here http://gallery.mailchimp.com/1e2c001e7323bba58b5fbf241/files/SurveyinfoKorean.pdf

Q: Is the survey anonymous?
A: Yes. Completely.  In fact it is so anonymous that technical staff supporting the independent website only has access to the data as it comes from survey input.

Q: Do I have to do all the surveys at the same time, or can I come back to the website again and again?
A: You can return the website several times, and you can revise your survey through the month of February.

Can you believe that 100 days of second grade has passed? Our day began when we arrived and decorated our 100 day badge to wear for the day. While we were busy with word study the kindergarten classes paraded through our classrooms showing their 100 collection of items. Later in the afternoon the entire second grade got together to Drop Everything And Read and our goal, 100 pages. We surpassed that goal with 4095 pages read! While the reading was taking place, students took turns choosing 100 snacks. Math skills came in handy as only 5 or 10 items could be chosen from one snack. After the snacks were chosen and reading was finished the students were treated to a wonderful science movie on balance and motion. The best part of the afternoon was eating the 100 snack items while watching the exciting movie. It was a great 100th day at SAS.

Fractions are so much fun! Try these fraction games and see how much fun you can have making fraction pizza.

Make a pizza to order!

Slice your pizza!

Making more pizza!

Today 12 APAC basketball teams came to SAS Pudong campus to start a three-day tournament. The excitement was high as the entire Pudong campus awaited the arrival of the teams in the high school gym. The elementary students made banners that led each team as they were introduced to the parents, teachers, and students. The games began shortly after. Each elementary grade level was given two teams to support. 2nd grade was assigned to HKIS (Hong Kong International School) and ISB (International School of Beijing). We went to see part of a game played at 10:30. What an exciting event. At 1:00 the ISB basketball players came to meet us in person. After introductions, our students asked thoughtful questions to the players. Then the best part of all, the students were given lessons and got to play basketball with the stars! It was a wonderful day to be an EAGLE! Tomorrow we will go to cheer on SAS Pudong as well as get to meet HKIS players. Go EAGLES!

Important Weekly Class News

Thursday will be class picture day. Send in money if you want to purchase the picture.

Friday, pay 10RMB to wear PJ’s to school and help to raise money for Haiti.

Informational Updates

Thursday is Treat Day don’t forget 5 RMB

Ask your child about Raz Kids. An exciting reading website they learned how to use last week during Reader’s Workshop. The link is to the left of this post under reading resources. Each student knows their password. If they forget, please email me. Happy virtual reading!

I would like to send a special thank you to each and every person who participated in our world celebration unit. The presentations, treats, crafts, and personal touches helped the unit come alive as well as showing our students that they are a wonderful part of a diverse community. Upon reflection one student responded, “I learned that no matter where you are from holidays are always fun!”

Click on newsletter to enlarge!