FYI regarding Reading and Writing

A note from ES Admin...

Reading and Writing Workshops:  As you know, we use the Reading and Writing Workshop approach in our literacy instruction.  This approach effectively supports the teaching of our literacy standards and requires students to apply skills learned through lessons to their own reading and writing.  The nature of this work requires students to work at deeper literacy levels, which frequently requires time beyond a 40 minute period in the school day.  Therefore, to better support your child's learning in reading and writing, shortly we will begin to alternate the reading and writing workshop lessons from one day to the next. This will provide the necessary time for students to delve more purposefully into their reading and writing work.  This only applies to the formal Reading and Writing Workshop lessons, and other reading and writing activities will still occur in other forms throughout the school day.  

Halloween Fun!

We enjoyed a "fang-tastic" parade and party today as the children were dressed in their costumes, excited to partake in the activities, and hungry for fun! 

The classroom mothers organized three thrilling games, which included guessing what food items were supposed to be the dead body parts of Mr. Brown, wrapping mummies, and dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller (but stopping to make a scary face when the music stopped). Needless to say, the children shrieked, cringed, and laughed wildly! 

After the games, we ate the delicious (and creatively prepared) food, which parents sent in. (Thank you!! Everything was so great!) 

I hope you'll be amused by these fun memories and, thank you, again, for those of you who were able to make it to the party. It was so nice seeing you! 

PS. Grade 3 teachers all dressed in a Star Wars theme, which was something we decided over the summer. (This allowed teachers to purchase things at home or have the time to make their costume.) I was so impressed by how fantastic everyone looked. Check us out: 

Our fabulous EAs made very believable students!! 

Don't forget to click on the blue link above to view all of the pictures. :) 

Fall Parade and Halloween Party

DAA will be celebrating the fall season through the annual costume parade. Students are invited to come to school in costume (no scary costumes, masks, blood and gore, or weapons) and all will participate in a fall costume parade around the school track. 

Parents, Middle/High School staff and Grade 5 students are invited to line the track and clap for the great costumes. All PS and ES students will make one lap around the track (with their classes) and return to class. 

Here is the schedule of how grades levels will walk around the track: 

Grade 5's will go first through the front foyer and walk around the track. Then...

• 8:10 ~ KG1 (exit: foyer and they will walk on outside lane of track)   

• 8:15 ~ Grade 1 (exit: glass doors close to middle of track and they will walk on inside lane of track)

• 8:20 ~ KG2 (exit: foyer and they will walk on outside lane of track)

• 8:25 ~ Grade 2 (exit: glass doors close to middle of track and they will walk on inside lane of track) 

• 8:30 ~ Grade 4 (exit: foyer and they will walk on outside lane of track)

• 8: 35 ~ Grade 3 (exit: glass doors close to middle of track and they will walk on inside lane of track)

Grade 5 will remain on the far end of the track and clap for all the other classes.

Immediately following the parade, please join us for our class Halloween party. We should arrive back into our classroom around 8:50 and will promptly begin some fun activities, which have been organized by our class mothers. Then, we'll enjoy some yummy food, creepy music, and socializing. 

Looking forward to seeing you then!! (Don't forget your camera.) :) 

A few tidbits...

• The Famous Pumpkin Patch Returns:  For those children who have purchased pumpkin, they will be available for pick up in the ES lobby before and after school on Monday and Tuesday.  Kindly note that an adult must pick up the pumpkins, a voucher must be presented, and no pumpkins are permitted on school busses. Happy carving!

• The Jr. EAC soccer season is underway!  Please get all your updates on Allison's link:  Jr. EAC

• ASA information can be found on our DAA portal (http://www.gemsdaa.com/), on the Elementary School page found under the 'Divisions' tab.  Here's a shortcut:  After School Activities

Swimming News

Last week, our PE Teacher, Mr. James informed our class that they will their swimming unit. These classes will be during your child’s regularly scheduled P.E. lessons and not in addition to them. Students are to wear their PE clothes to school on these days. Just to be clear, our swimming days will be the following: 

• Day 3, Monday, Oct. 19th
• Day 5, Sunday, Oct. 25th
• Day 6, Monday, Oct. 26th 
• Day 8, Wednesday, Oct. 28th
• Day 10, Sunday, Nov. 1st 

During the swimming class, students will focus on stroke development, body position and breathing techniques. The measured water temperature has averaged 30C.

Here is a list of items students will need to bring to school for swimming class:

• Swimsuit (girls - one piece please)
• Towel
• Sandals/flip flops (prevents slipping and keeps feet healthy)
• Plastic bag for wet items
• Goggles – mandatory (promotes proper technique)
• Swim Cap – mandatory (ensures a cleaner pool)

Please remember to label all swimming gear and towel tags so we can return lost items. 

Also, it is very important to keep the P.E. Staff informed of any health problems or health conditions. Students need to bring a written note from a doctor to inform their P.E. teacher if a student is unable to participate in swimming. Otherwise, if a child is at school, they should be well enough to be in the pool.

If students miss any swim class, their grade can be affected. We only have 5 classes of swimming in this unit, so even missing one class is missing 20% of swim time.

Grade 3, 4 and 5 students are expected to be in the pool without a life belt. If your child still requires one, or has any concerning issues with swimming, please let Mr. James know.

Thanks so much for your support! I know most all of the students are excited about getting in the pool!! 

How to find the reading level of a book...

Dear all,

Some of you are already aware of this website, but I just wanted to share it again. You can look up the Guided Reading Level of most of the books your students/children are reading.

• Enter the web address:  http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/
• Click on the circle next to Guided Reading (A-Z)
• 
  Guided Reading
  (A-Z)
  

• Enter the title of the book 
• Click Find Books
• Look at the Guided Reading Level
• Please not that most titles will have the guided reading level available, some may not.
• Hope this helps when choosing the “just right level” book for your child

Warm Regards,

Mrs. Rashmi 

Pumpkin Sale

The Famous Pumpkin Patch Returns! 

DAAPA is hosting our annual Pumpkins Pre-Sale next week!  

Pumpkin carving is an American tradition that brings the whole family together for an evening of fun.  If you would like to order, you can purchase pumpkins vouchers in the PS/ES Foyer at drop-off and pick-up on Monday, Oct. 19th, and Tuesday, Oct. 20th. 

AED 35 per pumpkin

HAPPY CARVING!

Parent-Teacher Conferences

You are invited to parent/teacher conferences, which will occur next Wednesday and Thursday (Oct. 21-22). Please visit School Bookings. 

Elementary School Event Code = 3M9BM

Please note:

• All appointments are 20 minutes with the last 5 minutes of each appointment slot reserved as a transition period between appointments.

• If your child receives learning support and you have received an email from your child's Learning Support Teacher, then please be sure to sign up for a time with your child's Learning Support Teacher.  Please contact your child's Learning Support Teacher if you have questions.

• Arabic teachers will have paper sign-up lists available through our ES Receptionist, Ms. Smitha, from Sunday, October 18th until Tuesday, October 20th.  After this, these sign up lists will be available to parents in the hallway outside of room 245.  

For more information please visit gemsdaa.com and look at the front page for the parent teacher conference info. 

Also, please be sure to return the Hopes and Dreams survey, which was sent home on Sunday, as this will be an important part of our conference. 

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Pictures!

At long last, I was able to upload and post all of our pictures from our school year thus far. They are located in a tab on the right called Photos 2015-16. 

Please feel free to save/download the ones you want to save forever. To do this, all you have to do is right click to "save as" or click the little cloud in the right hand corner, which says, "add to library." (This is an option on each picture.) 

I hope you'll enjoy seeing a glimpse into our school day and also treasure the memories! 

An Invitation from the Library...

Do you wonder how you can support your child as a reader? 

One way is by reading aloud at home. 

Please join us on 

Tuesday morning, October 13, from 8:00-8:30 AM

in the library for a conversation about the importance of reading aloud at home. 

Parents have such a crucial role to play in their children's literacy development. Through elementary school and beyond, reading aloud to your children supports reading and social skills and creates strong bonds. 

Please come!

Dear Parents, 

Mr. Jeff, our ES IT teacher, has been introducing World Education Games to as many students as possible and giving them their account information for the huge event.  This event had previously been known as WORLD MATH DAY, but has evolved into MATHS, SCIENCE and LITERACY events. (If students haven't yet heard about this from him, it's because they were doing a practice MAP test during their IT class.) 

The event runs from Oct. 13-15th. Students will compete against other students from around the world and collect points for each correct answer.  At the end of the event, all points are converted into cash and UNICEF uses the worldwide total to help with the SCHOOL-IN-A-BOX Project.  (View here: Unicef Video School in a Box) This helps our DAA students think beyond the academics and technology and more about Global Citizenship.  

Students can keep a record of any and all countries that they compete against, as well as what time they took the test.  Then, we as a class can use this for tracking, graphing, tallying, mapping and comparisons with other classes. They start to see time zone patterns over these few days.  

Students are tracked as individuals and as a school.  Top answerers will be recognized at the end of the event.  

Students are encouraged to do this at home as it is open now for practice. I will be giving out the account numbers and password information on Sunday. 

Have fun!! 

MAP Testing Info.

MAP testing will begin next week. Information about MAP testing was included in last week’s SPOTS and additional information was sent home with all grades 3-5 students. n Su

We give students MAP tests to determine individual instructional levels and to measure academic growth in the areas of reading, language arts and mathematics throughout the school year, and from year to year.  

The tests are completely computerized and are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for each child’s level of learning.  As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing.

I will be sharing a Point Point with the class in an effort to lower their test anxiety and give them an idea of what to expect. 

In addition to the information already provided, the following tips are helpful for parents in preparing their children for testing:

• Make sure that your child is well rested on school days. Children who are tired in class are less able to pay attention or focus on the demands of a test.

• Give your child a well-rounded diet.  A healthy body leads to a healthy and active mind.

• Please make every effort to be on time as two of our tests begin at 8 AM. 

• Encourage your child to listen to directions and give every question their best effort.

Here is our MAP schedule: 

• Tuesday ~ Oct. 13~ 8:00-9:30 ~ Reading
• Sunday ~ Oct. 18 ~ 9:30-11:10 ~ Writing
• Tuesday ~ Oct. 20 ~ 8:00-9:30 ~ Math 

ES Dismissal Procedures

ES Dismissal and the Start of After School Activities (ASAs)

We want to say a big thank you to all of you that have assisted us before and after school with keeping our hallways clear until 7:30 am and again until 2:45 pm in the afternoon by waiting for your children in the foyer. It has made a huge difference in keeping instruction going until the end of the day and speeding up dismissal!  

Please note the following change to our dismissal procedures in conjunction with the start of ASA's on Sunday, October 4th:

Similar to last year, classes will begin to independently make their way to the foyer at the end of the day. Teachers will continue to assist students in packing up, lining up in the classrooms,. and supervising students as they walk down the hallway. Students with ASA's will wait in the classroom until 2:55 pm when they will be dismissed to attend their ASA.  

Please continue to help us by waiting in the foyer for your child to come down. Students have been told to continue to meet at the same meeting spot in the foyer. 

Thank you for your help with this, 

ES Admin

Wild Wadi Night!

Wild Wadi Night Returns!  

Remember how much fun you had last year at Wild Wadi Night for DAA Families?  

DAAPA is pleased to announce that we will be sponsoring a night at Wild Wadi Waterpark exclusively for DAA students and their families again this year on October 16th from 8:00-11:00 pm. During this time, the park will be open to DAA families ONLY.  It is a great opportunity to have fun with your friends!  

Tickets will be sold for 100AED/person on or before October 8th and 125AED/person after this date. Ticket sales begin on Monday in the PS/ES reception area and at the Leopard’s Den at drop-off and pick-up.