Give me a P! Give me an N? Give me an E? Etc Etc Etc

What does it spell?

Pneumonia!

After three doctors, three weeks on anti-biotics and three weeks of coughing, that is all behind me now; thanks for you patience!

Now, to the News of the Moment!

Report Cards are coming home tomorrow.

‘New Students’ I wonder what your former report cards looked like…A’s and B’s…Percentages? Comments?

Students who’ve been at S.A.S. for awhile… how many ‘2’s have you received in years past…how many ‘4’s???

What are your hopes and dreams for your child’s report card parents? Are you aiming high? Preparing for the worst?

None of my current students have received a report card from me before so I’ve spent some class time this week showing them the reports I have been writing, because they are THEIR report cards and it is more important than anything for me (well, not ANYTHING, but you know what I mean) that my class understand how I give their grades and why I am writing what I am. When I say writing, parents and students, I mean laboring, dwelling, reflecting, thinking, pondering, worrying, comparing, drafting… report cards seem to be a pretty important gauge of a child’s progress here at S.A.S. and so I really care about what goes into them. There are so many considerations, reports are so subjective.

So, for the record, I want you to know some things for when you’ll be reading these report cards yourself.

1. 1 doesn’t get given out often, and if it does, parents are generally aware of it before it is allocated, or at least understand why it is being given due to testing etc.

2. I give 2’s…lots of 2’s… but I don’t think I give as many as I should! 2 means the child is making progress, a reasonable assumption at the start of a new year.

3. 3 is for 3, it is a great place to be, when I give a 3, I hope you feel hap-py! (read with rhythm please)

4. I think a number 4 on the first trimester report card is very very rare and I don’t give them lightly. They are to be given when students are going above and beyond.

I hope you take some time to read the comments I’ve written on your child’s report card (their eyes immediately jump to the numbers) Admittedly there is some cutting and pasting going on with longer narratives, however, I try really hard to let you know that I KNOW your child and have their best interests, their ongoing learning and their happiness in mind as I teach them and as I write my comments.

Santa’s Workshop…

Next Tuesday at 2 pm we will be visiting Santa’s Workshop with our cute little reading buddies, Mimi is certainly excited to do her VERY OWN SHOPPING!
Students will have the opportunity to purchase gifts for others if they choose. I have talked to the class about this and explained that who they buy for and what they buy is entirely up to them but that in years gone by students do tend to end up spending between 100-400 rmb depending on the size of their family, if they buy for ayis or drivers, teachers or friends etc. I have also told them they don’t need to buy anything for me there, instead, I am open to accepting chocolate, massage vouchers and all other forms of bribery all year long!!!! But seriously, I WILL accept gifts at anytime! But REALLY seriously, I was just checking to see if you are still reading as “we’ve only just begun” (comment naming the band who had that hit tune and your child will receive a coffee bar pass this Friday!!!) Just trying to keep myself amused!

Art Field Trip…

If you’d like to come along to the Picasso Exhibition at the Chinese Pavilion at the Pudong Expo Site our class are heading there on Wednesday December 7th along with 5MM. We will be leaving school around 10 am and returning around 2 pm.

If you want to be a chaperone you must come to and from the Exhibition on the school bus, and will be allowed to attend free of charge. Please email me if you are interested. We are able to take two chaperones from each class. The first two people to contact me via email will be our chaperones.
If you are third or beyond to apply and are happy to pay 80 rmb to come along, you are welcome to attend but please let us know asap as we need to organize buses and accurate numbers.

Thank you and you can see here for more details about the Exhibition itself.

Permission slips were sent home today with your child.

Pudong Elementary will be having a NO HOMEWORK week from the 5th to the 9th of December. The purpose of this week is to provide families with a special opportunity to spend the time usually allocated to homework, towards doing a variety of different activities together. Below you will find a list of possible activities that can be done throughout the week.

• Taking a walk together and talking about your day
• Cooking together
• Reading to each other
• Playing board games
• Giving your child jobs to do around the home i.e. setting the dinner table, taking the dogs for a walk, cleaning out their bedrooms
• Writing up the Santa’s Workshop wish list together
• Emailing family members – grandma’s grandpa’s
• Making a thankful (grateful) list- in 2 languages
• Playing card games, such as Go Fish, Uno
• Build a card house-see how high it can go
• Build a tent in the living room/dining with blankets and read with a flashlight inside
• Have your child/ren put on a show…Have them create their own costumes.  Set a show time. Pop popcorn.  Don’t forget to film it
• Play hide and seek inside house/apartment.
  
• Take a photo every hour and do a photo journal of the day
  
• Play dress up and take pictures
  
• Going through toys and choosing some to donate to orphanages OR TO OUR CLOTHING DRIVE LISTED BELOW..

and while I am cutting and pasting…

How about supporting Santa’s Workshop next week and our Animal Rescue Group at the same time:

While we are speaking about animals…

Do you have old dog toys lying around your house?  Half bags of treats your fussy pets won’t eat? Cages they’ve outgrown or leashes a little frayed?  Well, Animal Rescue will take ALL your used pet items off your hands!

Almost 1000 dogs were recently saved outside of Sichuan.  They are now being housed in a temporary shelter in Sichuan with very few supplies.  We will wash and sort your old items and donate them to this shelter. There is a box outside the MS/HS cafeteria for drop-off, or bring your donation to your teacher’s classroom who can contact us through Mrs. Rosen for pick-up.

NOTE: We are also very interested in collecting old blankets or sheets not good enough to donate to clothing drives.  These dogs are going to get VERY cold this winter without our help!

Also keep your eye out at Santa’s Workshop for a way to make a 10 kuai donation to purchase a brand-new small pet blanket in the name of YOUR pet for a Sichuan dog this holiday season!  You’ll also get to sign a huge card letting all those dogs know you care!

In other news…

Our Second ASA sessions begin when we get back from our Winter Break (January 9th-February 16th.) The Booklets will be sent home this Friday and must be returned to the Elementary Office, via me, by Friday December 9th. It looks like there will be some great activities, some of which have limited spaces, so make sure to check it out and return as soon as you can.

In Class…

Math: We have begun our 5th Math Unit on Fractions with a Pre-Test and as a grade level we are trying to differentiate our instruction more, discussing ways we can challenge the students that need extension, and still cater for those who need more in-depth instruction.

Writer’s Workshop: We started work on Essays today; I LOVE this unit and have high hopes for successful pieces that will be published between our Winter Break and Chinese New Year; stay tuned. In the meantime, help your children by giving them examples of things YOU feel passionate enough to write an essay about.

Reader’s Workshop: We’ve finished up our Book Clubs on Social Issues and I believe your children learned a great deal, not just about the issues they read about, but also the complexities involved in working within a team; negotiating group dynamics and different learning styles. Now we move on to a Non-Fiction unit.

Social Studies and Science: As we wrap up our Migration Unit, (have you seen your child’s movie about YOU on their blog yet?) We prepare to begin our unit on building where we go beyond just constructing Lego, looking at many areas of basic engineering, models and designs; the kids enjoy this unit and so do I.

Phew… I’m tired just thinking about it all! Good Night