Tag Archives: welcome

News from the Library

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Welcome to the Elementary Library

It has been a wonderful beginning to the year in the Elementary Library. The returning students walked in oohing and aahing over the new space, briefly mourn the loss of the loft, and check out many, many books. The new students quickly get the hang of things, and know they can approach Ms Stella, Ms Joji and me with any questions.

With more than 1/3 of our Elementary Students being new to SAS this year, it seems like a good time to share some information about our library.

Our Shanghai American School Library houses the largest collection of English books in all of China, and although our ES Pudong library is the smallest of our 4 libraries, it has close to 30,000 titles in its physical, and digital collection…How lucky are we?

We currently have 60 kindles, 60 Ipod nano’s and 20 Ipads all loaded with books, (some kindles have over 150 books on them) so there is no shortage of new reading material available. If there is a book you want to read, and we don’t have it in our Pudong Elementary library, check destiny to see if we have it somewhere else, like Middle School, or Puxi Campus. If you can’t find it there, let me know and I’ll order it for next year, and possibly purchase on kindle, audio or Ibooks if it is available.

We encourage your children to bring back their library books as they finish them; and not wait until their allocated library day to return them. They can place books on the blue cart in the main hallway as they enter the Elementary School in the morning. Kinder and Pre K students can place them in a basket in their classroom and they will be brought over each morning by a library helper. Each book checked out by children and parents is for 14 days

To use our database to see what is available in our library go to http://destiny.saschina.org and click on Pudong Elementary then log in using your school ID number as the username AND password. From here you can check the catalog to see what we have, go to ‘my info’ to see what you have checked out, and renew books as long as they are not already overdue.

Guidelines for Check Out

We encourage students to check out many books through the year.

Each time they come to the library:

Pre K can check out 3 books *

Kindergarten can check out 5 books *

1st Grade can check out 5 books *

*(this is the maximum students can have checked out at any one time)

Grade 2-Grade 5 can have UNLIMITED check-out privileges; so they need to use their common sense and make sure they don’t check out more books than they can read/carry.

While Grade 2-Grade 5 students check out is unlimited, within that, they can check out a maximum of:

-3 Graphic Novels

-3 DVD’s

-3 Books in a Series

We encourage EVERY student in Elementary to check out at least ONE non-fiction book each check out period.

Additional Lunch Recess Library Visits

Monday and Wednesday-Grades 2 and 4 are allowed to check out in the library during their lunch recess time. If the day is too hot/wet/polluted you are welcome to stay and read. If the day is fine, we’ll send you out to play once you’ve checked out your books.

Tuesday and Thursday-Grades 3 and 5 are allowed to check out in the library during their lunch recess time. If the day is too hot/wet/polluted you are welcome to stay and read. If the day is fine, we’ll send you out to play once you’ve checked out your books.

Parent Check Out

Each parent is allowed to have 10 books checked out in their name at any one time. Please come in and see us to find out how we can help you this year in the library.

Parent Volunteers

We have a robust volunteer system in the Elementary Library. Some parents volunteer for a regular time, some drop in when they can, or if we e mail them specifically to ask for help, and some spend an hour or two when they come in to school for a child’s activity, and have some extra spare time.

If you think you would like to volunteer, we will have a welcome meeting on Friday September 6th, straight after the Principal’s Coffee. It will also be an information session on using our library catalog and databases, as well as general advice on making the most of your child’s library experience. You won’t be pressured to volunteer; it’s just a chance for you to learn more about what we can offer you such as access to Sora (overdrive) Flipster and RB Digital which you can also read more about here. http://libguides.saschina.org/c.php?g=891876

We can’t wait to greet you all in the library. With over 1,000 new books, bringing our collection to about 30,000 items, there really is something in our library for everyone!

We are so excited to have you as part of our community. I think you’ll agree with me that the facilities we have at SAS are second to none, and when it comes to the Libraries at our school, that is indeed the case.

Ms Joji, Ms Stella and Mrs Power

 

Hello there 5KP

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Hi 5KP students and parents

I am excited to welcome you to the 2011-2012 school year and hope that you come to class well rested after a relaxing and happy Summer Vacation. It is important to get lots of rest in these first few weeks as you will be taking in lots of new information, meeting many people and getting your brain into gear for a year of learning.

I spent mine in Australia, which was NOT really a Summer holiday as it was winter down there! For the first two weeks, my daughters Hannah, Mimi and I went to the north/west of Australia to Ningaloo Reef which is a world heritage area and very beautiful. Hannah and I had a wonderful time swimming with whale sharks, seeing turtles, humpback whales on their migration path, and many different types of fish and coral.

We then flew to Melbourne to be reunited with Mr Power, your future tech teacher, and my husband. It was very very very cold in that part of the country and we spent a lot of time complaining about our ‘summer’ holiday but it is where most of our family live so it was great to catch up with them and also to visit our friends there. Our ‘home-town’ is Ballarat, Victoria and we spent most of the school holidays (two weeks) there looking at kangaroos, koalas, kookaburras and wild birds, enjoying all the good things an Aussie Winter has to offer.

Our final two weeks were spent in warmer weather on the Great Barrier Reef in Port Douglas, Queensland with another family that we love very much. We swam in the pool and at the beach and again Hannah had the opportunity to swim on the Reef, this time with her Dad. After a week there, we flew south to the Gold Coast of Australia and enjoyed a fast paced day at Seaworld which was a great way to end out time ‘Down Under’.

Now we are back home in Shanghai, starting our 7th year as teachers here. Mimi is starting Pre-K and Hannah will be just down the hall somewhere in 5th grade so it should be a very exciting year for the Power Family!

5KP will be starting their swimming unit on Thursday 18th of August during their P.E. lessons. The program will end on Monday, Aug. 29th. This is a great opportunity for students to improve their swimming and water safety skills, while having a safe and enjoyable experience. Please read the following guidelines below so as to make sure you are ready to begin the swimming program:

BATHING SUITS:

Girls should wear a one-piece bathing suit. Boys may wear Speedos, trunks or knee length Lycra suits; however, they should not wear bathing suits that are below their knees. Please make sure the condition of your suit is suitable. T-Shirts are not allowed. To ensure that the children do not forget their bathing suits, all students can leave their suits hanging in a designated place at the pool. When they arrive for their next lesson, the suits will be there, dry and waiting for them. Please clearly write your name on your bathing suit.

GOGGLES & CAPS:
Some students prefer to swim with goggles and some not. You can make do with basic, inexpensive goggles that are comfortable. Swimming Caps should be worn by all students with long hair as it makes swimming comfortable and is much more practical. At the very least, long hair should be tied back. Again, the students will leave their goggles here at the pool until the swimming unit is complete. Please clearly write your name on the cap and goggles.

TOWELS:
We are very fortunate on having clean towels for all our students. Students do not need to bring their towels. Towels are provided!

SICKNESS:
It is our policy in the PE department that if a child is attending school, then they must participate in physical activity. If you are well enough to be at school, then you are expected to participate in swimming.

This is a great opportunity for your child to receive professional and high quality instruction from a qualified and experienced aquatic staff, who will endeavor to provide a safe and friendly learning environment. Swimming is a life skill!!

For inquiries regarding this unit, feel free to contact the Aquatic Director, George Carpouzis, or your PE Teacher, Scott Hossack.

George Carpouzis
Tel: x3572
Email: george.carpouzis@saschina.org

My e mail address is kimbra.power@saschina.org if you have any questions parents. I look forward to meeting many of you at our Orientation Day next Tuesday and our Open House early next month.

Welcome to 5KP

Welcome New Students

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I was delighted this morning to meet 17 of my 18 new students that I hope to be teaching for the remainder of the school year. My class consists of 9 girls and 9 boys and although there were some first day nerves, we seem to already be getting on very well and gelling as a group.

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Well done 5KP for making such a great start to the year.