Tirana International School 22 August, 2018 Important Dates August 23 - First Day of School! 23 & 24 - MS Retreat 31 - Back to school Picnic September 3 - Preschool Cafeteria Meeting with Parents 6 & 7 - Secondary Retreat at Lake Shkodra Resort 10 - 1st Season Activities START 21 - MS parent/teacher mixer October 8-12 - Fall Break - No School 18 - End Quintile 1 23 - Picture Day 26 - Fall Festival 31 - Parent/Teacher conferences Director's Desk Dear Parents and Friends of TIS, Tomorrow is a very special day for the staff and faculty at Tirana International School - the beginning of the academic year. The first day of school is often a punch line on comedies and joked about among social circles, but we see it as the start of an amazing adventure, during which your children will be transformed into greater thinkers and learners. We see August 23rd as the start of something incredible and we are very grateful that you are giving us the opportunity to spend 180 days with your children between now and the end of June. Naturally, there will be difficulties and times when students struggle, but our message as educators is clear - we are here to support you. The best way to make that happen is for you to keep communicating with us about concerns and triumphs that your child is experiencing. We as teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents are all on the same team and share the same goal of academic and personal excellence for each child. Sleep well tonight for tomorrow the magic begins! Looking Forward, Robert S. Jackson, Director Away For The Day Starting this year, Tirana International School will implement an Away for the Day policy for all students that helps them to find a safe place to store their phone during the school day. Students in the middle school and secondary will be assigned a specially designed phone locker that will house their device during the academic day. This policy comes after much discussion and research into the area of cell phone usage in school and higher education. The decision is not made lightly and is in response to the overwhelming evidence that having phones in the same classroom, even turned off or silent, is detrimental to the learning process. Last year, the administration engaged students about this topic to hear their thoughts and concerns. You are welcome to see some of the research that was discussed here and provide us with feedback as we continue to seek the best educational experience possible for your children. Activity and Athletics 2018-2019 We are excited to once again offer TIS families an exceptional activity and athletic program in the 2018-2019 school year. This year you will see some changes as Matt Stalker joins our staff as our Athletic Director. He hopes that you will provide some actionable feedback on our current system so that he can continue with programs that work well and add programs that are not yet available. For the first round of activities, a list of all options will be sent out with the newsletter on August 29. Then on Saturday, September 1, families may sign up for the first season of sports and activities for 5-17 year olds. Remember that all options are on a first come, first serve basis, so you are encouraged to decide before hand which clubs are of the most interest to you. Exact timing of the sign ups and more details will be sent out on August 29 in the newsletter. Doctor Beginning of the Year Information Dear Parents, My name is Valbona Selmani. I am the school Doctor at Tirana International School. I have 15 years of experience as a doctor and this is my 8th year working at TIS. We offer medical assistance for our students from 7:45 AM to 4:00 PM. I would like to encourage you to inform me about any medical issue or health concern you might have. If your child has any past medical history or severe allergy, please feel free to come and talk with me or contact me. Please make sure also to fill the medical form for your child for a better assistance. Our school continues to be a nut free school due to nut allergy for several students. We would like to make your child’s experience in our school the best ever and the cooperation between parents and the school is crucial for it. Best regards, Valbona Selmani MD Tel: 355 42 365239 Email: valbona-selmani@alb.qsi.org Room Parents Parents often ask how they can be more engaged in the life of the school. One key role is to volunteer as a Room Parent for the year. This position helps bridge families, welcome newcomers, provide support for teachers, and to coordinate activities. We are currently looking for parents to volunteer with the 5's, 7's, 10's, 11's, 13's, and Secondary. In some cases, one family has already volunteered for these classes, but due to class splits, we will need more parents. In addition, if you would like to volunteer with any of the classes as a room parent, then please write to robert-jackson@qsi.org to get signed up. We will have an organizational meeting in two weeks with all volunteers and teachers to talk about the role and how you can best help support the class. Middle School Retreat On August 23 & 24, all TIS Middle School Students (11-13 year olds) will head to Lake Shkodra Resort for their annual retreat. The school will provide transportation, meals and tents for the students to enjoy a wonderful opportunity get to know one another and plan for an exciting academic year. The participants should come to school by 7:45 on the 23rd and will return back to school on the 24th in time for the afternoon bus at 3:15. Please see this information sheet with packing information, schedule and registration link. |