From the Director’s Desk This has been a quiet week here at QSI Dushanbe. Our MS and Secondary students have been out and about in Dushanbe and other parts of the world on their Week without Walls journeys. We welcome them back on Monday and can’t wait to hear and see all about their grand adventures. Much thanks to the teachers and staff who made this week a great one for all. Next week we have our Science Days on Thursday and Friday. This is an incredibly fun and creative event. Much thanks to Mr. Horton for the organization and inspiration! Just like last year, all of the students from ages 4 through Secondary have been working on a science challenge which they will then demonstrate or compete over the course of those two days. Watch for live Facebook updates or, better yet, come watch! We’d love to have you here! On Tuesday morning, the Eco School Club electricity conservation group has requested that the school experience a morning without electricity. A power outage affects much of what we do, so we have had to think through the ramifications. This includes having a cold lunch prepared. We will take the time to consider that many people in the world are without electricity for much or all of their day, and to reflect on how grateful we are for all that we have. On May 1st from Noon until 1:00 p.m., we will be celebrating our International Day. PSG is supporting our Sunshine Committee with the organization of the event. Please take a moment and read through a letter from PSG to all parents. The school needs your help to make this an event that truly represents the 25 nationalities at our school. Thank you for your support! We will begin MAP testing on April 24. In next week’s newsletter, we will share information about the new web-based MAP format and reports. We are excited to be rolling out this updated version. We wish you a wonderful weekend QSI Dushanbe community. Kim Black and QSID Staff
Dearest QSI Parents, The QSI Parent Support Group, in support of the QSI Sunshine Committee, is writing to seek your support for a very important celebration that will take place on the 1st of May from 1200-1300. It is International Day, a day that celebrates what makes QSI such an extraordinary place for our children to learn and grow. We currently have 25 countries represented at our school, and that’s just passport countries. Many QSI students, parents and teachers come from multicultural backgrounds, and have come to adopt different heritages and customs through their upbringing. International day is a day for all of us to come together and celebrate the many different countries that we hold near and dear to our heart. It is events like these where we can show the pride we have in our heritage and educate both children and adults on what makes us all uniquely different. On this special day, the students will have a flag parade and carry a flag that they feel represents a part of who they are. They will then place that flag at a table (there may be students who may want to carry more than one flag). At the table, we are requesting parents to volunteer with their children and bring food items of their country or special items unique to their culture, like musical instruments, toys, books or games. We understand that there will be some countries with more people represented than others. Director Kim Black will be contacting parents who have signed up for the same countries so that they can coordinate items that will be provided at the tables. The Parent Support will also allow children to have time to go to all the tables and learn about the many countries represented at QSI. We understand that pulling away from the middle of the workday can be difficult, but words cannot express what your involvement in this will mean to your child/ren and to QSI community. If you are able to help with this special day, please email Director Black with your name, and Country table you would like to volunteer at. Many Thanks, The QSI Parent Support Group SECONDARYHello from the Road - Uzbekistan Ten secondary students are finishing up their Week Without Walls tour of eastern Uzbekistan today. The journey has taken them from the Timurid Registan and Shah-I-Zinda of Samarkand to a Kazakh yurt camp under the stars in the Kyzylkum desert and the madrasahs, mausoleums and markets of Noble Bukhara. We will finish our tour in modern Tashkent before beginning the journey South to Dushanbe.
The word “Makerspace” has become a buzzword in schools over the past few years, and QSID is jumping on the bandwagon. A makerspace is exactly what it sounds like it should be: a workspace set aside specifically for creating, inventing and exploring tools and ideas. At our school we hope it will be a place for students to solve problems, tinker, and use their imaginations either as part of class challenges or as part of individual or small group activities. These can be high tech, low tech or no tech. As you do your spring cleaning, or just because you might have items that could be recycled, we would be happy to take them off your hands. From cloth to containers, plastic to play doh, wire to wood, we are looking for clean odds and ends that may be used to create a new toy or added to a sculpture or as part of a student invention we haven’t even thought of yet. Send these things in with your student, and it will be added to our supplies. At the moment, besides these miscellaneous items, we are hoping for a donation of a sewing machine or two. Thanks for your support as we continue to help our students become 21st century thinkers and problem-solvers.
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