News From Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Tues, 10/9 Middle School Information Night, 6:30 pm
Thurs, 10/11 +Talk I: School Connections, 7 pm
Fri, 10/12 PADRES Family Camp Out (ticketed event)
Thurs, 10/18  SDMC, 3:30 p.m.
Fri, 10/19  Early Dismissal, 12:30
Fri, 10/19  International Festival, 3:00-6:00 p.m.


New Assistant Principal
I am pleased to announce that the interview committee unanimously agreed to offer the position of Assistant Principal to Ms. Joyce Ballard.  Ms. Ballard will oversee magnet, fieldtrips, discipline, and G/T, eventually taking on teacher appraisal.

Ms. Ballard comes to us with 11 years teaching and leadership experience, currently serving as grade level chair to her team and lead reading teacher at Lovett Elementary.  Prior to that, Ms. Ballard  taught 6th grade Reading at Pin Oak Middle School, where she also served as cluster leader, and co-chair of Student Opportunities.  Ms. Ballard is Columbia trained in Reader's Workshop and believes in matching students to just right books.  She is a member of the University of Texas Collaborative Urban Leadership Project, and will complete that work in May.

Ms. Ballard will finish the grading period at Lovett Elementary, joining us later this month.  She will be on campus for the International Festival and is eager to meet the community at that time. 

I would like to thank Ms. Webster, Ms. Warner, Ms. Rivers and Ms. Walton for serving on the interview committee.

Free Everyday Math Apps!
October 10-12 you can help your child (for free) get prepared to compete in the first Principal's Challenge!  My favorite is Divisibility dash!  The publisher of Everyday Math is offering free apps at the iTunes App Store, or get them for 99 cents at the Android Marketplace.  The following apps are included in this promotion:

• Addition Top-It
• Monster Squeeze
• Equivalent Fractions
• Beat the Computer
• Divisibility Dash

The Principal's Challenge begins Monday, October 15th!

Exhibition is Underway! 

Our fifth graders have begun their journey toward Exhibition.  As an IBPYP school, all students in their final year are required to complete an independent inquiry about a real life local problem.  After dissecting the organizing theme of Sharing the Planet last week, the 5th grade class created the central idea for this year's Exhibition:  Inequality can be solved through tolerance and conflict resolution. Under this central idea the 5th graders will begin an inquiry and will select the problems that they want to learn more about and on which they want to take action.  Join us as our 5th graders share their work.

Save the Date

Tuesday Evening, 6:30 p.m.

December 18th

+Talk: School Connections

I look forward to seeing you at St. Paul's on Thursday evening for this important event.  Experts will help us learn more about making strong home and school connections.  See you there!

International Mindedness in the PYP

An excerpt from IB PYP Basics for Practice…

There is one compelling component that stands out from the common ground that represents good practice in all IB World Schools offering the PYP.  That is, the kind of student we hope will graduate from a PYP school, the kind of student who, in the struggle to establish a personal set of values, will be laying the foundation upon which international-mindedness will develop and flourish.  The attributes of such a learner are listed in the IB learner profile, which is central to the PYP definition of what it means to be internationally minded.

The IB learner profile is consciously value-laden, for this kind of learning is what the IB supports, and is the embodiment of the IB’s philosophy of international education.  The attributes described in the learner profile are appropriate to, and achievable by, all primary years students.  The teacher needs to interpret these attributes in a manner appropriate to the age and development of the student.  Schools should be aware that part of the adaptability and versatility of the programme lies in what these attributes may look like from one school culture to another.

As well as presenting schools with a philosophical perspective on what international education may be, the PYP prescribes a curriculum framework of essential elements:  knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes, and action.

Each of these is reflected in the learner profile and is a reference point for the construction of a school’s curriculum.  One of these essential elements, highly congruent with the IB learner profile, is a particular set of attitudes — appreciation, commitment, confidence, cooperation, creativity, curiosity, empathy, enthusiasm, independence, integrity, respect and tolerance.  These attitudes should affect deeply the learning environments and the personal interactions that occur within them.

Through acknowledging and struggling to meet the diverse needs of the student — physical, social, intellectual, aesthetic, cultural— PYP schools ensure that the learning is engaging, relevant, challenging and significant.  What adds significance to student learning in the PYP is its commitment to a transdisciplinary model, whereby themes of global significance that  transcend the confines of the traditional subject areas frame the learning throughout the primary years, including early childhood.  These themes promote an awareness of the human condition and an understanding that there is a commonality of human experience.  The students explore this common ground collaboratively, from the multiple perspectives of their individual experiences and backgrounds.  This sharing of experience increases the students’ awareness of, and sensitivity to, the experiences of others beyond the local or national community.  It is central to the programme and a critical element in developing an international perspective, which must begin with each student’s ability to consider and reflect upon the point of view of someone else in the same class.

Have a great week!