SAS Pudong Middle School

A profile of IOWA test scores, which were written by students in October, will be sent home with your child today.  Please see article on Page 5 in this week’s Parent Talk regarding the IOWA tests.

Parents,

On Friday, we encountered a server problem that may have delayed progress report information from being posted to Edline.  A few teachers were unable to post at that time and they have been instructed to do so on Monday.  Please remember our current progress report policy as posted in the agenda book states that if your child is new or making below a 70 you will receive an individual report.  Otherwise, you will receive a generic update on the material being covered in the class.

Furthermore, this policy as well communication as a whole are under review by the faculty.  By the end of April, we will post a revised protocol for how we will communicate academic information and update parents on school events.  It is my goal to continue the parents role of primary educator throughout middle school and it is my belief to achieve this we must provide them with adequate information.  We appreciate your patience as we as a faculty discuss philosophies, best practices and develop the protocols that will best serve our student and parent population.

One aspect we are pursuing for our students is the feasibility of introducing Laptops.  The process to determine if this an avenue we wish to pursue as well as how we as a school would pursue this has begun.  One step we must take is determining which platform of computers we wish to use.  To help obtain information in this regard, Dr. Roukema will be traveling to San Francisco with a team of technicians and Mr. Torris (Deputy Superintendent) to visit schools currently using Apple products.  Therefore, he will be out of the country next week.   For immediate assistance please contact Dr. Rosen.

3rd quarter progress reports will be posted to Edline today

 MYGNITE Tonight! - Finishes at 6 pm.

All Middle school students brought home a sheet related to China Alive 2008 requesting information updates to travel documents.  This year’s China Alive Program will take place from May 12-16.

Grade 6 – Xian

Grade 7 – Beijing

Grade 8 – Guilin

Please ensure that this sheet is updated and returned to your child’s homeroom teacher.  More detailed information to follow including a China Alive Parent Coffee on March 13th following the PTSA General Meeting.

China Alive timeline:

Feb. 18-22 – Collect travel document info

March 13th – China Alive Parent Coffee

April 7th – Information package sent home

April 10-11th – Payment for trip during Parent Conferences

April 29th – Final updated information package sent home

May 12-16 – China Alive

Thanks to all the parents who were on campus this week for the Global Issues Conference (See Parent talk article), as well as the High School transition meeting.

For Parents of students in 8th grade:  A Grade 9 Course Description Booklet can be found on EdLine.

IOWA Test Scores will be sent home on February 29th.

Save the Date:

Thursday March 13th - Parent Coffee – China Alive

Friday March 14th - PUDONG ROCKS!  An evening of music and dance from middle and high school students.  Details to follow.

Communication with the Middle School:

** The most comprehensive school wide information is to be found at http://teachers.saschina.org/mspudong

Weekly Parent Talk articles

Weekly Middle School Notes

Edline – MS HomePage: https://global.edline.net/InterstitialLogin.page

Counselor’s Blog: http://schoolcounselor.teachtck.com/

For information regarding middle school alignment or any other Educational Programming issue, please see the following website:

teachers.saschina.org/edpro

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If you do not wish to get emails from your school, you may change your email

preferences on the Manage Account page by clicking on the following link:

http://www.edline.net/login/ManageAccount.page

This week, we held sessions for our 8th grade students and for our 8th grade parents to discuss the transition to high school. We have posted both presentations on this blog for your reference.  Please note that we will be sending home registration information for middle school students for the 08-09 school year on April 3rd with the student report cards.

Grade 8 transition information

class-of-2012-parent-meeting.doc

Imagine sitting in a classroom where you are part of a group made up of 13 and 14 year olds together with adults. The class is not being run by a teacher but by students themselves. This was the exact scene last Tuesday when 8^th graders at Pudong held their Global Issues: Society and Environment Day. This day was a key component of the current Humanities ‘Think Action’ project.

Our project developed out of a constructivist approach aimed at developing a sense of the links between our global environment and society, and the concept of stewardship in students of today. Here in 8th Grade Humanities at SAS Pudong, we chose to SPEAK UP on the following global issues:

• Massive step-up in the fight against poverty
• Ensuring peacekeeping, and conflict prevention and combating terrorism
• Education for all
• Ending the digital divide
• Addressing international labor and migration rules

Students explored one of the above global issues, focusing on the development of real life action plans at a local level. Part of our ‘Think Action’ project was for our students to develop and lead a workshop on one aspect of those issues. So, last Tuesday, 130 students divided into 30 groups and led workshops, sharing information and running activities for students and parents. Topics ranged from ‘Combating conflict through TaiChi’ , ‘Raising awareness of racial discrimination in preventing conflicts’ to ‘How terrorism affects schools’. Students’ aims were primarily to raise awareness of a specific topic, discuss solutions and present their action plans for how they were confronting these issues. They did an amazing job of leading discussions and activities, and presenting the results of their research. They themselves could directly see the benefits of this activity. Lei Lei Zhou described her day as “fun for everyone involved. The topics were interesting and I started to see connections and relationships between the different topics.” Added to this was the feeling that we are part of a very complex environment. As Parth Patel put it, “it was very useful to learn what was happening in the world outside of our reality.” In the workshop presentations, and in the wikis that students have created, their direct engagement with the material is obvious. On-going evidence of their learning, engagement and passion for the issues they have chosen to deal with can be seen in their student wikis currently being constructed. Have a look at their work in the websites below:

http://global-challenge.wikispaces.com/
http://challenge-global.wikispaces.com/

In the second stage of this project, the best workshop presentation will be selected to join the Global Issues Network (GIN) conference, which students from all over the world will attend in Beijing this year. GIN aims to encourage students to “think systemically about real issues while also taking action to improve the human condition (an)approach … where students assume leadership of their own programme.” http://www.earcos.org/gin2008/gin2.html . At the end of next week we look forward to announcing the names of the 4 students who will be selected for this exciting opportunity

In the afternoon, the 8^th grade attended presentations by teachers. As part of our focus on modeling global citizenship, and leadership skills, Eli Weiss shared his experiences in running a grassroots NGO in Seattle which sought to empower youth to be successful and positive members of the community through urban gardening. Jeff Utecht presented Nicholas Negroponte’s ‘Get one, give one’ project of creating a cheap laptop that will give children around the world new opportunities to explore and experiment and how this is changing the face of education. Karl Zigmand presented work done by the middle school community service club fundraising and sponsoring programs. Alix Clarke and Jordan Small presented ‘Human Rights and Human Wrongs in Burma (Myanmar)’, sharing their experiences of working with refugees and with injustices experienced by the Burmese. Finally, Tim Munnerlyn presented ‘Bullyproofing Our School - How can students impact our school in making our campus a safe positive environment?’ Students were given a choice as to what presentation they wanted to attend, thus encouraging them to follow their interests and develop their initiative.

What was the purpose of this whole project? Students of the 21st century are expected to be so many things: responsible global citizens, self-directed, skilled in research and decision making, adaptable to a continuously changing environment, and mindful of service to the community. The three primary motivators in creating a learning community are curiosity, the excitement of discovery, and ownership. Authentic learning experiences help students recognize patterns and models and engage with systems. To empower our students and to encourage them to engage with the ethic of creating a sustainable future, we need to allow them to see what they are capable of doing. Our approach is aimed at allowing students to analyse their values systems, breaking out of the world of the classroom to forge a direct link with the real world. Parents could see first hand the benefits of this day for their children. Lisa Chen described it as a great way for the kids to learn about presentation skills. Rula Msays thoroughly enjoyed her experience, saying that “the kids really knew the material. They answered questions intelligently and there was great integration of technology.”

Susannah Muench and I have been delighted with the way students have taken initiative, become more independent and become more supportive of each other. We have seen great team work and a very strong sense of a learning community over the past 3 weeks. It is an amazing experience to run a Humanities work session for 3 hours, send students off for lunch and have them come back in 20 minutes, saying, “Can we please go on working in the room? We need to do more!” We have truly been facilitators in this project, teaching skills as the need arose, while students were self-directed and self-motivated. Well done, Grade 8. We’re proud of you!

Monday February 18th

Next week, all middle school students will be bringing home a sheet related to China Alive 2008 requesting information updates to travel documents.  This year’s China Alive Program will take place from May 12-16.

Grade 6 – Xian

Grade 7 – Beijing

Grade 8 – Guilin 

More detailed information to follow including a China Alive Parent Coffee on March 13^th following the PTSA General Meeting.

SAS Pudong will be sending 6 CISSA floor hockey teams to the season ending tournament at SAS Puxi tomorrow. If your child is involved with CISSA hockey, please check the CISSA page on Edline for tournament games and bus schedules.  

Next week, CISSA volleyball will begin.

Monday February 18^th – Middle School Alignment Task Force meets on the Puxi campus.

 Tuesday February 19^th – Grade 8 Global Issues Conference.  Parents are invited to attend workshops conducted by grade 8 students and teachers.  Workshop sessions include conflict prevention and creating sustainable communities.

Wednesday February 20^th - 8th Grade students will attend a High School orientation session during Advisory class. 

Thursday February 21^st – 8^th Grade parents are invited to a High School transition session.  High School counselors will be ready to answer questions related to transitioning into high school.  Library Lecture Hall 11:00-12:30.

Friday February 22^nd is a Middle school MYGNITE. 

Friday February 22^nd – Progress Reports will be posted to Edline. 

IOWA Test Scores will be sent home on February 29^th. 

Save the Date:

Thursday March 13^th - Parent Coffee – China Alive

Friday March 14^th - PUDONG ROCKS!  An evening of music and dance from middle and high school students.  Details to follow.

Communication with the Middle School:

Ø     ** The most comprehensive school wide information is to be found at http://teachers.saschina.org/mspudong

Ø     Weekly Parent Talk articles

Ø     Weekly Middle School Notes

Ø     Edline – MS HomePage: https://global.edline.net/InterstitialLogin.page

Ø     Counselor’s Blog: http://schoolcounselor.teachtck.com/

Ø     For information regarding middle school alignment or any other Educational Programming issue, please see the following website:

teachers.saschina.org/edpro

In preparation for the move to Grade 9 and High School next year, the SAS Pudong High School administration and Pudong counseling department will be holding an informational meeting for all current Grade 8 parents whose children will be attending Pudong HS next year. It will be held after the regular Pudong PTSA meeting from 11:00 - 12:30 on Thursday morning, February 21, in the Library Lecture Hall. There will be general information about the Pudong High School academic and extracurricular program, as well as specific information as to how and what students must do to sign up for courses next year. We hope to see you there! If you cannot come, please contact Mr. Munnerlyn, MS Counselor, or Ms. Nordmeyer, Grade 9-10 counselor, for information on course signups.

On February 11^th and 12^th, teachers will be in school participating in Professional Development workshops. Classes resume on Wednesday February 13^th – Day 2

SAS, Pudong will be sending 6 CISSA floor hockey teams to the season ending tournament at SAS, Puxi on February 16. Please check the CISSA page on Edline for tournament game and bus schedules.

CISSA volleyball will start the week of February 18. Applications will be posted on Edline and also available in hard copy during M.S lunch times.

Monday February 18^th – Middle School Alignment Task Force meets on the Puxi campus.

Tuesday February 19^th – Grade 8 Global Issues Conference. Parents are invited to attend workshops conducted by grade 8 students.

Thursday February 21^st – 8^th Grade parents are invited to a High School transition session. Details to follow.

Friday February 22^nd is a Middle school MYGNITE

Friday February 22^nd – Progress Reports will be posted to Edline.

Invitation from the Chinese and Korean Liaisons:

Dear Parents,

The Pudong Chinese and Korean liaisons cordially Invite you to attend our Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival Luncheon.

Time: February 20, Wednesday 11:30am-1:30am

Place: The Eton Hotel

535 Pudong Avenue

(at the corner of Pudong Ave and Dong Fang Road)

Tel: 3878-9888

Cost: RMB 135/person. (The additional 5RMB to cover

The cost of a music performer.)

RSVP prior to February 13, Wednesday. Please e-mail

frankandscarlett@yahoo.com.

A combination of traditional Chinese food and Western

Food buffet will be served. The Chinese and Korean

Liaisons will give a short presentation of New Year

Customs in China and Korea. During the last 1/2 hour,

A classic pipa (Chinese string instrument) artist will

Give a performance to put you in the mood of some

Chinese culture.

As this is the biggest Chinese holiday, we hope to see

A lot of you there and have a great time!

Sincerely,

Scarlett Shen and Queenie Zhang, Chinese Liaisons

Rachael Kim, Korean Liaison

Communication with the Middle School:

Ø ** The most comprehensive school wide information is to be found at http://teachers.saschina.org/mspudong

Ø Weekly Parent Talk articles

Ø Weekly Middle School Notes

Ø Edline – MS HomePage: https://global.edline.net/InterstitialLogin.page

Ø Counselor’s Blog: http://schoolcounselor.teachtck.com/

Ø For information regarding middle school alignment or any other Educational Programming issue, please see the following website:

teachers.saschina.org/edpro