Tirana International School 9 January 2018 Important Dates January 14-18 - Winter MAP testing 15 - Advisory Board Meeting (6:00 pm) 23 - PSG Meeting (8:00 AM) 25 - Iron Chef - Parent vs Student (6:00 pm) 30 Jan - 3 Feb - CEESA MS Choir/Moscow February 7-10 - CEESA HS Tech Robotics/Bucharest 7-10 - HOSTING - CEESA HS Speech&Debate/Tirana 11 - 100 Days of School 15 - Math Carnival 18-22 - Mid/Winter Break, No School
Director's Desk Dear Parents, Students, and Friends of TIS, Happy 2019 to each of you. We are so excited to be back and see your smiling faces, fresh from vacation and full of hope for the new year. As a school, our desire is to both provide amazing opportunities for growth and inspire your children so that they might reach new heights in their academic, athletic and personal lives. We are always interested in how we might improve and since January is the time for resolutions and new thoughts, please take some time to reflect on how we might do better for you in 2019. If you want, you may take this voluntary survey to help us know our areas of improvement for the new year. Looking Forward, Robert S. Jackson, Director MSA Accreditation Do you know the school's mission? Over the last year the entire community helped revise it to help simply the full page document so that our students could better understand our goals as a school. Take some time to reread these four points and reflect on what they mean for our students and you as important stakeholders in the community. Remember that these statements apply to everyone at TIS! Parents, TIS is excited to announce our winter Saturday Sports Program. TIS will offer a six-week gymnastics and basketball program for our students from ages 5-13. Dates: January 12, 19, 26 February 2, 16 March 2 Gymnastics for ages 5-7 will run from 9:00 until 10:00 Gymnastics for ages 8-13 will run from 10:00 until 11:00 Basketball for ages 8-10 will run from 9:00 until 10:00 Basketball for ages 5-7 will run from 10:00 until 11:00 Basketball for ages 11-13 will run from 11:00 until 12:00 The cost for the gymnastics is 6000 Leke for the six-week session. Payment will be made directly to the coaches at the first session. The gymnastics training will be conducted by 3 coaches with extensive experience in the United States and Albania. There is no cost for the basketball program. Both programs are open to boys and girls. The schedule has been organized so that children may participate in both activities. Registration for the Saturday Sports program can be completed by filling out the Google form HERE Albanian Art Students in art class were exploring Albanian art influenced by the culture and traditions. Their subject matter included landscapes, food, portraits, musical instruments and animals that are part of the Albanian history. The Albanian Renaissance in the field of arts, developed for the first time since the middle Ages. Painters were looking for meaning, traditions and identity. Students took a lot of interest researching art periods and famous Albanian artists by applying various techniques in their artwork. The importance of Literature In AP Spanish Language and Culture, we have studied the importance of literature and how literature can create connections between human beings. Additionally, we have investigated important works of literature by famous Hispanic authors, like Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Casa de Espiritus by Isabel Allende, and other authors. By investing various works, we also analysed and critiqued the validity of the works by using different information sources related to this unit, and created a research based analysis. Writing Albanian Language class excitedly shared their writing about winter vacation. They were so much thrilled to tell about their adventures with friends and family. They said they are ready for new school adventures in this New Year! Telling Sounds Apart Learning to tell sounds apart is a key literacy skill in the Early Years and a first step in being able to read and write. The auditory discrimination that students develop in preschool years or kindergarten prepares them for decoding and spelling words through phonics. Among the activities that we have been practicing, our favorite is “Give doggy a bone”. Students were able to identify, distinguish and isolate individual sounds. 7-8 YO Kids have been exploring dance skills during rhythm unit. The 6 YO student have been working on manipulative skills during object manipulation unit. The Secondary PE class have been learning about volleyball skills and strategies. Two Digit Numbers In math, the students have begun working with two digit numbers up to 20. They are counting orally 0-19, identifying numerals 0-19, as well as writing and sequencing them. This week, the Fives worked in pairs rotating and sharing their knowledge about teen numbers using interactive games with base 10 blocks to further cement the important number sense skill of tens and ones. Mathematics and Computing There will be a Mathematics contest sponsored by the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing at the University of Waterloo offered at TIS on February 27. There will be over 50,000 contestants world wide participating. Application deadline is February 6. This contest will be open to 12 year old through Secondary 4. See your Mathematics teacher for details. The students worked on determining the needs of plants and animals. They had to make sure each animal and plant received everything it needs to survive in it's ecosystem. Exploring Things The Bumblebees have been busy exploring things connected with winter this week! One of our favorite activities has been freeing sea animals from ice. The children used salt and warm water to melt the ice and free the animals. It was a good opportunity to work on problem solving, team work, and concentration. |