Tirana International School 13 March 2019 Important Dates March 14 - Summer's Day - No School 15 - Staff Professional Development Day - No School 19 - Advisory Board Meeting 20 - Elementary SO Assembly 25 - Third Round of Activities Begin 29 – Term III Tuition Payment Due 29 - Student Led Conferences April 1-3 - Mock AP Exams 4-8 - MUN Trip 5-6 - Alice in Wonderland Performance 11-14 - CEESA Knowledge Bowl in Tirana 18-21 - CEESA HS Math Counts in Belgrade 24 - National Honor Society Induction Ceremony 29-May 3 - Spring Break - No School Director's Desk Dear Parents, Students, and Friends of TIS, This week I would like to turn our attention to an area that we often think about, but rarely discuss in the newsletter - school activities. Typically, the conversations we have at school revolve around student academic growth and achievement, and we just assume that everyone knows what is happening with our activity program. The fact is that this year we have seen tremendous growth in our program, thanks to the dedication of our staff and the leadership of Matt Stalker, our Activity Director. Some of the advancements this year include a thriving gymnastics program, more opportunities for MS/Secondary athletics (Hooray for the girl's basketball team! - see below), and an expanded after school program for students. Mr. Stalker is very open to suggestions and has been listening all year, adapting ideas and planning ahead for an even better program next year. If you have questions or suggestions for the upcoming year, please reach out to him either by phone, email or scheduling a visit at school. Mr. Stalker has a desire for each of our students to find the activity that suits them best, so please let us know where we can improve. Looking Forward, Robert S. Jackson, Director See the latest MS Newsletter here. When Life Gives You Lemons... The Bumblebees had a great time making and drinking lemonade this week. It was a good opportunity to talk more about the color yellow, count lemons and cups of water, and strengthen their hands while juicing the lemons! The end product was delicious! Summer Day The Albanian Language class wishes everyone "Happy Summer Day". March 14th marks the celebration of Summer Day, a national feast that originates from the pagan beliefs of Albanian’s Illyrian ancestors. Legends say that Summer Day is a celebration for the rebirth of nature after the end of the winter season and is also a sign of the rejuvenation of people’s spirit. Indoor Flooding The 7 year olds are learning about changes to the Earth’s surface. They posed the question of how does land change when there is a flood. They made a model flood to make a claim of how the land changed. Watch out for flash floods! In Reading the Fives have just begun the unit of “Responding to Literature.” We used the “Round Robin” strategy to illustrate the story elements in collaborative groups in order to sequence the two different versions of the Little Red Hen through a retelling path on which they got to walk on and retell the story using the pictures. The Fives learned a lot not only about retelling, but also about being involved and working together as a team to complete their individual tasks and final product on time. Student in their elective unit in Visual Arts are learning how to balance compositions, creating realistic wild life painting with the subject focus on African animals. They were able to convey a sense of being there by representing as much of the animal as possible masterfully using unity, range of color and brushes, tonal layers and mood. These young artists successfully captured the essence of the animal and presented it in a creative way. Congratulations to the Tirana International School Lady Tigers on winning the TAIS (Tirana Association of International Schools) High School Girls Championship. The Lady Tigers defeated World Academy of Tirana in the semi-finals winning by a score of 29-9. They followed that up with a strong defensive effort in the finals defeating GDQ school by a score of 10-4. The girls should be commended for their dedication and commitment as they practiced hard throughout the year and persevered despite having a very young team. Last week the team traveled to Sarajevo to participate in the CEESA HS Girls Tournament. The girls played very hard and placed 5th in the tournament. We are looking forward to getting back in the gym and improving our skills as it is never too early to get ready for next year! Tumbling in PE The 6 & 7 Year Olds finished gymnastics/tumbling unit and now are engaged in kicking and striking skills such as soccer skills. Onward to Spring and getting back outside! Moo! Cluck! Woof! The 6-year-old students in Spanish class have been learning about farm animals. This unit's focus was dividing words in syllables. We practiced by matching and connecting syllables to form words. It is always fun to see students matching their literacy skills from English into their Spanish language class. Word recognition is the main component of fluent reading and it can be improved by practicing with flashcards, lists, and word grids. Word recognition is important because it helps students to read fluently and be able to recognize words easily. Some words are "irregular," meaning they are difficult to read using a sounding out strategy. This is why we continuously review and practice reading and writing them. 11-Year-Old science students have been working with Newton's laws of motion. They had a fun time exploring action reaction and creating their own pinwheels. In Physical Science students have been exploring several concepts, like factors that affect friction and most recently buoyancy. Students built boats out of clay and determined how displacement affects the buoyant force. We have a new website where you can look through the items and see if you find anything that belongs to you. |