Upcoming Events
Tuesday, 9/3 First Day of Specialties
Wednesday, 9/4
Thursday, 9/5
Friday, 9/6 PTO Meeting, 8:10 am, Cafe
Monday, 9/9
Tuesday, 9/10 K-2 Curriculum Information Night, 6:30 pm, begins in Cafe
Wednesday, 9/11 3-5 Curriculum Information Night, 6:30 pm, begins in Cafe
Thursday, 9/12 +Works Coffee or Brown Bag Lunch (see flyer for details)
Friday, 9/13 Fall Holiday - No School
Wednesday, 9/18 5th Grade Day of Service - Houston Food Bank
Early Pick-up
Please make every effort for your child to attend school each day for the entire day. When your child leaves early, they miss instruction. When you must pick up your child early, please remember that it may take a few minutes to call your child to meet you at reception. We will not call your child from class before you arrive.
Please also note, at 3:00 p.m. we will no longer call for children for early pick-up. After 3:00 p.m. you will need to go to the dismissal area for your child.
Have a great week!
Tuesday, 9/3 First Day of Specialties
Wednesday, 9/4
Thursday, 9/5
Friday, 9/6 PTO Meeting, 8:10 am, Cafe
Monday, 9/9
Tuesday, 9/10 K-2 Curriculum Information Night, 6:30 pm, begins in Cafe
Wednesday, 9/11 3-5 Curriculum Information Night, 6:30 pm, begins in Cafe
Thursday, 9/12 +Works Coffee or Brown Bag Lunch (see flyer for details)
Friday, 9/13 Fall Holiday - No School
Wednesday, 9/18 5th Grade Day of Service - Houston Food Bank
Building a Strong Relationship With Your Child's Teacher
Experts will tell you that a strong partnership between parents and teachers will benefit your child. As parents, you should feel like you sit on the same side of the table as the teacher, and the teacher should feel similarly.
You can start that important work by attending next week's Curriculum Information Night. You will learn about the teacher, the curriculum and the critical work of the new grade level. You will also learn how best to communicate with your child's teacher.
I think the trap we fall into most often is that we try to guess about why a teacher says or does something, or why a teacher assigns a particular activity, or even assigns a particular grade. Many times it feels safer to reach out to another parent or even a former teacher. The only person who can really tell you the answer though is the teacher who made the decision. When we reach out to others, at birthday parties, on the playground or even via facebook, we damage the parent and teacher partnership. Go directly to the teacher.
Maintaining a strong relationship takes work on the part of the teacher and work on the part of the parent. PBS Parents gives good advice on building and maintaining a strong relationship. It’s worth doing!
Spotlight on IB:
International Mindedness in the PYPAn 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 learningthroughout 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.
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 learningthroughout 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.
Safety First!
We are noticing many parents engaged in cell phone conversations while dropping off and picking up. Please remember that it is illegal, and dangerous, to use a cell phone while in a school zone and/or the drop-off and pick-up zones. 
Early Pick-up
Please make every effort for your child to attend school each day for the entire day. When your child leaves early, they miss instruction. When you must pick up your child early, please remember that it may take a few minutes to call your child to meet you at reception. We will not call your child from class before you arrive.
Please also note, at 3:00 p.m. we will no longer call for children for early pick-up. After 3:00 p.m. you will need to go to the dismissal area for your child.
Have a great week!
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