Tirana International School May 30, 2018 Important Dates June 1-2 - Musical Aladdin 3:30 pm / 6:30 pm 2 - SAT 8 - 3rd Season of Activities End 16 - Graduation 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm 22 - Last Day of School (1/2 Day) Director's Desk Dear Parents and Friends of TIS, As we plan for next year, we want to inform you about two major changes. First of all, we have grown to the point where we are splitting some homeroom classes. Our current plan is to create two groups for each of the 5's, 6's, 7's, and 10's. We have hired some exceptional educators to fill these roles as we strive to create the optimal environment for your children to learn. Of course, the question comes up as to how we are splitting our classes. To help you understand this process we have created a short video that demonstrates how we blindly split the group, creating two equal classes. Check it out here - How will we split classes? The second change is that we are adding a second option for elementary music next year. Starting in August, students in the 5-10 year old classes may opt to take either vocal music with Mrs. Wheelis or violin with Ms. Marjana. Two years ago we began to offer group violin lessons as an after school activity and it has proven to be so popular that we are moving them into the school day. If you choose to take violin, then Ms. Marjana will email you with details on how you can select the proper instrument for your child over the summer. She would love to meet with each parent to talk about violin as option. Please take this survey to let us know which choice you will make. In addition, you can find a brochure below on the method used to instruct in the violin. Regardless of the music choice that you make for next year, every child will have the opportunity to be a part of the school's musicals and choirs! Looking Forward, Robert S. Jackson, Director Creative World of Spanish Poets The Spanish 4 students are exploring the creative world of Spanish poets, like Federico García Lorca and Pablo Neruda. It was interesting to travel to different parts of Spain and Spanish history through the eyes of different poets. Some of the students were inspired by the poetry and decided to write their own poems in Spanish. Make sure to come by the Spanish corner to see these masterpieces. Children's Books Middle School Students have published children's books, and the best way to test them out was to read them to the 4-year-old class. Ms. Caroline and Ms. Jenny said they were very impressed with all of the children's books, and the 4-year-old class enjoyed the event immensely. Aladdin Our school production of Aladdin is June 1 and 2. Tickets are free but we have limited seating for each night of the show. Reserve your tickets HERE! One-two Point Prespective Design The TIS artists this time studied how to create one-two point perspective designs, using objects and buildings that are aligned in the same direction. Students focused on viewing in a way that they are looking at one corner with two sets of parallel lines moving away from them, and every set of parallel lines has its own vanishing point. They liked adding some realism in their drawing by creating the illusion of a three- dimensional space. The media chosen for this type of art was graphite, black pens, and watercolors. The final product was amazing and they discovered that they can all be future architects. Growth of Trade The 10 Year Old Class is currently investigating their "Growth of Trade" unit in Cultural Studies. To make things a bit more interesting, students are learning through an interactive game called "Civilization in a Box", which asks: How will your civilization fare? It all depends on your team's ability to glean information from class discussions, text, maps, etc as well as just luck. When you roll the dice, will you roll a "1" and earn a new trade route? Will you roll a "2" and go to "war" over a trade route with another team? Maybe your team will be the unfortunate victim of a sandstorm and maybe you'll discover a new hidden resource- who knows! We come to class eagerly each day, armed with new questions and information ready to play and learn! Geometric Shapes Mr. Smith's 12 year old math classes are currently working on understanding Geometric Shapes. After being able to identify those shapes we are then solving for their area, volume and surface area. The students are working very hard on learning how to differentiate between the various equations they need to use and how they relate to each shape. Rhyme Time The theme in the Dragonfly class this week is Rhyme Time and what better way to learn rhymes than with the help of nursery rhymes! Here the kids can be seen re-enacting Hey Diddle Diddle. Phonics Skills 7-year-old students were assigned a creative project to review the phonics skills they have studied this year. Some students wrote a song or a poem, and others created their own game. They had a lot of fun sharing them with their friends. Students got to show off their creativity while sharpening their literacy skills. Ready For a Show! IE students have been busy preparing a little puppet show for the five year old students to finalize their unit of Reader's Theater. They are very excited about it! |