Tirana International School 19 September, 2018 Important Dates September 13-25 - MAP Testing 21 - MS parent/teacher mixer - jessica-hesprich@alb.qsi.org 28 - TIS Iron Chef at 6:00 pm October 8-12 - Fall Break - No School 18-25 - Digital Citizenship Week 23 - Picture Day 26 - Fall Festival 31 - Traditional Parent/Teacher conference Director's Desk Dear Parents, Students and Friends of TIS, Over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed more and more families taking time to come in to have lunch with their children at TIS. Such "lunch dates" are an amazing way for you to stay connected with your child's school experience and to have a great meal. Parents of elementary, middle and secondary students should know that they are welcome in the building, but please stick the following times: During lunch, dropping off in the morning, picking up after school, and during appointments with teachers. Although teachers love to see you here, supporting your children, they may not have time to have a meeting each time they see you during the day. Of course they want you to say hello, but if you need to talk about a specific question or concern, it is better to set up an appointment so that you have their full attention. Sometimes we need more than a few minutes to talk, so setting up a meeting is the best way to make sure that you get a full answer to your question and are not rushed by a class returning or the teacher preparing for a lesson. Thank you for your help as we all work together to support your children. Don't forget to sign up for TIS Iron Chef next week! See you on the 28th. Looking Forward, Robert S. Jackson TIS will provide: grills for cooking, olive oil, basic spices, ovens and clean surfaces. Parents bring: food ingredients, their own cookware and knives. Don't bring: your kids! This is an adult only event. Please contact Judith Visser (devissers@live.nl) or Robert Jackson (robert-jackson@qsi.org) with questions. TIS Iron Chef Cooking shows like Iron Chef, Master Chef, and Top Chef are all the rage right now on TV and our school wants to join in on the fun. On September 28 at 6:00 pm, TIS will hold our first ever Iron Chef championship for parents! In association with Era, who will provide wine and cheese for the evening, TIS is inviting parents to show off their cooking skills in a competition to see whose dish will reign supreme. The theme of the evening is "Healthy food that kids will love." Era will be around to learn about your meals and then hopefully replicate them in the kitchen during meal times at school. The rules are simple...you will have 60 minutes to prepare and present your main course food (no desserts or salads) to our panel of judges. Don't prepare anything at home...just bring ingredients and when we start the clock, you will have just one hour to make the best meal possible. Other parents will get to try a small bite of your food so plan on making a few portions. Register here to reserve your cooking spot. Please plan on coming even if you just want to see what others will prepare. Our chefs need an audience too! Of course, we will have prizes for the top dishes and you could see your special meal pop up in the cafeteria during lunch time for everyone to enjoy. Looking forward to a tasty evening, Robert S. Jackson, Director A Shared Vision Tirana International School is truly a global community! This year we are excited to have students from 32 different countries attending our school. We also offer six different language courses to help our students to succeed in the diverse world that we live in. Starting last week and continuing into next week, students have been taking their fall MAP tests. Before fall break, you will receive the results report for your child. Until then, here is some information about what MAP testing is. A Tangled Web The Six-Year-Old Science class has found a problem! Cords always seem to get tangled. We observed ear phone cords, and lots of cords that our Tech Advisor, Mr. Brian, had in a box. All of these cords were jumbled up. We designed solutions to keep cords from becoming tangled again. Cool Science The 10 Year Old Classes have been studying matter and particularly how matter can change phases by increasing or decreasing energy. Last Friday, the scientists of the 10 YO Classes investigated why dry ice changed phases differently than regular ice! History Repeats Itself! In Secondary Cultural Studies classes, students started the year off by brainstorming why it is important to study these subjects. Each class is specific in its content and therefore has unique reasons for its study. While the differences are many, each class found that the content is relevant to our understanding of the world today. The Intensive English Elementary group is working with sound and letter recognition. Students have been introduced to short words that have the given sounds. They have had a lot of fun using Quizlet, where they can practise the skills of matching words to pictures, writing, and listening. Way to Go! In French class, 8 year olds are talking about clothes. They are practicing vocabulary with different activities like describing what each person from a magazine is wearing. On Fridays we play the game “I have ……. Who has …… ?” This is an easy-to-play game that is a great way to practice essential language concepts with the whole class. Russian Language Students In the Russian language class, students are reading, writing, speaking and listening about the topics of weather and national holidays. Dear Parents of TIS, This survey asks your opinions regarding the education your child receives, transportation, cafeteria, and other issues. Your feedback is very important and very helpful as we are considering our goals for the future of the school and how we can best meet the needs of a changing community, Your participation is needed. This survey, officially created by MSA, will take about ___ minutes to complete and will address several areas of the school. We ask that you let us know what we are doing well, but also to mark growth areas for the school. One important part of this planning is for our re-accreditation through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA). Our MSA Accreditation is internationally considered the gold standard for schools that seek to have an outside body confirm that our program, facility and finances are at an exceptionally high level. In February 2019, we will have a visiting team from MSA on campus for several days as they weigh out our commitment to excellence and to what extent we are meeting the needs of students. Naturally, a large part of this process is hearing from you and creating plans that will meet your needs During MSA meetings, our TIS staff will crunch and analyze the survey data in order to reflect and plan for the next 10 years as well as conclude the results in our self study draft due in October 2019. Comments are appreciated. Make your voice heard by completing the survey today! Gerti Gjoni - Guitar Teacher I am a professional Guitarist and Guitar Teacher. I teach Classical, Acoustic and Electric Guitar. I have started playing the guitar since the age of 6. I am also a songwriter, performer and singer. I have worked as a guitarist and music director and participated in several TV Shows in the Albanian channel (Top Channel) and also have been part of TIS (as an external guitar teacher) for more than 10 years. You can contact me at: gerti1981@hotmail.com My phone nr: 069 86 27 126 |