Girls on the Run is a non-profit program that encourages pre-teen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. They are looking for 150 women to be running buddies for the girls in the program – who include some of our own TIS students! You don’t have to be fast or super athletic to be a running buddy, just have a great heart and want to help a cool girl complete a goal. For information see www.girlsontherun.org.
Dear Friends,
It is so nice to see some light when I get on the streetcar in the morning. (Don’t tell me what’s coming. For the first time I have set the local weather as a favorite on my computer). Last week was another busy week, the highlight of which was a very beautiful and enjoyable Sakura Matsuri performance by the Japanese track students. We were honored by the presence of Consul General Okabe of Japan, who stayed on afterwards to hear a presentation by the fifth graders about their Capstone trip. Mr. Okabe also discussed further cooperation between the Consulate and TIS. We were grateful that he found so much time to spend with us in his busy schedule.
This coming Saturday, the Board and I will meet to finalize the budget I have proposed for next year, including the tuition. We will also be making a final decision on the Custom House.
When I arrived here, the Board generously gave me an opportunity to live with the Strategic Plan for a few months to see how doable I felt the target dates and priorities are. I think the strategic plan is a spot-on road map for our future, and I think that we (and that means the teachers, the staff, you, the board and I) are already making great headway in reaching many key objectives. The approved plan will be mailed to you this week.
In about another week, we will be putting on-line the annual school evaluation (previously known as the All-Parent Survey). This year we want to do the evaluation early enough so that we can still improve things for the remainder of this school year. We have cut some of the more general questions and we have added sections to specifically evaluate my work, the work of my admin colleagues, and the work of my teaching colleagues. I will be assiduously harping on you to fill out that survey as it will provide all of us valuable feedback. Please watch ITK for that announcement.
I’d like to remind everyone that, as stated in our handbook (p. 36), because of CCD regulations, pets should not be brought into the school or onto the playground. Please be mindful of this.
A reminder also that there will be no school this Friday as it is report writing day and the following Friday will be Parent/Teacher conferences.
Finally, our thoughts are with Maria Abad and her husband. Maria’s mother in law is seriously ill in Ecuador and they are in the process of preparing to go and take care of her. Assuming that they can get their passports quickly renewed, Maria could be out for some time. We will limp along without her and keep her and her family in our thoughts.
See you at the corner,
Alfonso
AOrsini@intlschool.org, 503-226-2496 x104
Congratulations and thank you to all the Japanese Track teachers, students and parents for putting on such a terrific Sakura Matsuri Festival on Friday, February 19!
See slideshow below or, if reading this from e-mail, click here to see photos!
Please fill in and return your Custom House form to me by tomorrow at 4 pm (February 23). The form has room to specify whether or not you support the Custom House and we would like to know your feelings either way. Thank you to everyone who has turned in their forms.
On Thursday morning Feb 18, nine fifth grade students and one fourth grade student received awards from Meiru Liu, Director of the Confucius Institute at Portland State University. All ten children are native English speakers who passed the Chinese government language proficiency test, HSK for its Chinese initials. The test is likened to the Test of English as a Foreign Language in the United States. It was designed and developed to assess the Chinese language proficiency of non-native speakers, and serves as a requirement to enter university in China as an undergraduate student and as a reference for hiring decisions in China!
Congratulations to the students for all your hard work and this terrific accomplishment! Thank you to the teachers!
Thank you and congratulations to all the Chinese Track teachers, students and parents who worked so hard and put on such a terrific Chinese New Year celebration!
See slideshow below or, if viewing this from e-mail, click here to see the photos.
Parent / Teacher conferences will be all day Friday, March 5 and after school Tuesday, March 9. Childcare will be provided for your TIS students while you are in the conferences. Please watch for an e-mail from your teacher coming soon with the link to the on-line sign-up sheet.
Scholastic book flyers for February will be in your parent folders by 2-12. please have your orders in the blue TIS folders on your class bulletin board by 2-26. And remember, everyone wins with Scholastic. You get books at a greatly discounted rate and the school earns points they use to buy books for the library. Also, please DO NOT turn in an order with cash. We cannot mail that. And double check your total due and make sure your check is for the right amount. If we have to contact you regarding this, it slows down the whole ordering process for everyone. Thank you!!
Denise Biencourt, Scholastic chair, denisebienco@ccwebster.net
If there are grandparents or other special people in your child’s life, we can keep them updated with TIS News! The newsletter you recently received in the mail is issued three times per year and is specifically designed to update our community on school news and programs. By signing onto our mail list, grandparents and special friends will receive TIS News three times per year and two to three fundraising solicitations per year. If they live in the Portland area, they will also receive invitations to the auction and to the spring wine tasting.
If you would like to have someone added to our list, please send their mailing address to Lauren Hostetler at LaurenH@intlschool.org. Thank you!
If there are grandparents or other special people in your child’s life, we can keep them updated with TIS News! The newsletter you recently received in the mail is issued three times per year and is specifically designed to update our community on school news and programs. By signing onto our mail list, grandparents and special friends will receive TIS News three times per year and two to three fundraising solicitations per year. If they live in the Portland area, they will also receive invitations to the auction and to the spring wine tasting.
If you would like to have someone added to our list, please send their mailing address to Lauren Hostetler at LaurenH@intlschool.org. Thank you!
