ISM Saturday Work Day for September: 9/13/2008 9:30 am - 1:00pm

Saturday, September 13th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., will be a Saturday Work Day here at ISM.

The event is being chaired by parent Bob Brown, who comes well-equipped to the task as he serves as CSUMB's Director of Campus Facilities and Operations.

Tomorrow's task list includes:
(1) TASK: Removing sand from the lower playground as our top priority safety task.
Volunteers are asked to bring flat-bladed shovels, brooms, and wheelbarrows to assist with this task. We will need a good number of volunteers to complete this task.

(2) TASK: Repairing a cracked electrical outlet in Portable 3 (Arnow) (This task is for a volunteer with electrical experience only)

(3) TASK: Painting wooden panels on south side of Admin building (Using supplies provided by MPUSD, please scrape, sand, wipe down, and paint wooden panels underneath windows on south side of Admin building.)

(4) TASK: Assessing / Repairing ramps to both Portables 3 & 4: The tops of both ramps have wood damage, posing a safety and trip hazard. If possible, please secure wood ramp pieces to the support structure. Tools needed: larger power tools & wood screws

(5) TASK: Paint railings to MS Portables (Portables 1, 5, & 6) (Please sand, wipe down, and paint railings for Portables 1, 5, & 6.)

(6) POTENTIAL TASK: Assess Technology Server Room in Library:
(Under direction of IT staff or committee member, please test computer hardware (monitors, drives, mice, etc.) to determine functionality. Mark items for eWaste disposal and mark items for use.)

ONGOING MONTHLY TASK: The campus ALWAYS needs trash pick-up, especially in the area around the lower blacktop, and the area in and around the portables. This is a great task to get children involved. Rubber gloves and trash bags are available for use for this task.

ONGOING MONTHLY TASK: City of Seaside upper playground: Please rake & level wood chips level in the upper playground. This is a safety issue task that we try to complete each month.

ONGOING MONTHLY TASK: Sort "Lost & Found" items ­ in basket in library as well as the multi-use room -- to separate clothing with names from items that are unlabeled. Once sorted, items with names can be returned to students via classroom teachers.

So whether you are a long-time Saturday Work Day supporter or new to ISM and looking for an opportunity to meet your monthly volunteering commitment to ISM, please join us for this and every monthly Saturday Work Day.

So, bring your enthusiasm and your tools -- shovels, brooms, wheelbarrows, power tools, paint rollers, brushes, nails, and screws -- and we'll see you tomorrow, Saturday, September 13th from 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

For more information, contact Operations/HR Manager Lisa Griffin Burns at 831-583-2165.

Regards,

Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager

Student Drop-off Zone

Dear ISM Community,

You may have noticed that we now have a nicely painted zone in front of the school that is designated for student pick-up and drop-off. This area is to be used by parents, car pools, and mini-school buses for both ISM students as well as the MCOE Special Education programs on campus.

We are asking for your cooperation to use this area as a loading and unloading zone only; do not park and leave your vehicle in this location during the morning hours before school (7:30 - 8:20 a.m.) as well as the afternoon hours (2:00 - 3:40 p.m.) in order to accommodate pick-up and drop-off for both ISM and MCOE students each day. It's very difficult for students in wheel chairs to get on their buses when cars are parked in that space.

Thanks for your help!

Regards,
Lisa Griffin Burns
ISM Operations / HR Manager

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Request for Science Unit Supplies

We need your help in gathering supplies for our in-class science activities. Please review the list and contact nmaeng@aol.com regarding any items you can provide. We will then contact you with a confirmation prior to your bringing the items to class.

Your contribution will have a direct impact on your child's science learning experience. If any of you work for or with companies that may be willing to donate some of these supplies, please consider approaching them and let us know if you will need a donation form from ISM.

Our goal is to have communication from all of you by this coming Monday, September 15, and all of the supplies actually in our classrooms no later than next Friday, September 19.

ISM 4th GRADE SCIENCE SUPPLY LIST
EARTH'S SURFACE UNIT - 2008/09

(Quantities noted are for both classes combined)

• Samples of limestone, quartzite, sandstone, slate, and pumice -- should be small and of consistent size, about 2- or 3-inch cubes
  
• Sandpaper (10 packages)
• Straws (200)
• Modeling clay (2 lbs.)
• Safety goggles (20)
• 20 clean jars with lids, 12-ounce size, smooth sides for observation, no labels.
• 10 plastic paint trays with 1/2” hole drilled in the bottom – even better would be 10 long bus trays, also with a hole drilled at one end
• 10 5-gallon buckets (detergent or cat litter buckets are fine, no lids needed)
• 10 pint- or quart-size plastic yogurt/cottage cheese/sour cream containers to use as scoops
• Cool rocks from different places
• Play sand, 50 pounds per classroom
• Pea gravel or small rocks, 1 cu ft to share between the classrooms
• Bagged soil, 1 cu ft to share between the classrooms
• Astroturf scraps (about 1 square foot per classroom)
• Paper cups (200)
• 20 large cartons (i.e. paper boxes)
• 10 dishtowels
• Hardboiled eggs – 2 dozen (teachers will probably have to provide these)
• Plastic knives and spoons (50 of each)
• Toothpicks (2 boxes)
• Oranges, 2 dozen
• 10 Aluminum turkey trays

Barbara Okamura (Tanner's Mom)

Childcare Available for Tonight's "Helping With Homework" Workshop

Childcare is available for school-aged kids. We are requesting a donation of about $2 per child to cover the cost of the providers. Hope to see plenty of parents there! Registration is free and it's okay to register on arrival.

Ms. Arnow

ISM Volunteers Needed for the Salinas Airshow

We have a fantastic group of ISM parents signed up to work the parking area at the Salinas Air Show on the weekend of Sep 27 and 28th, and yet we still need more people to make it work. We are hoping to fill 24 spots for both days, 7:15 AM to 3:30 PM.


click for creditsISM volunteers will sell parking tickets at the show for this event. Our volunteer work will bring money to the school from the Air Show as well as put ISM positively and visibly in the community. Bring friend to volunteer with you for ISM, their hours count as your hours, and you can enjoy the show together. What a great deal!

We are asking for adult volunteers only because of the money exchange involved. As we will be selling tickets right by the car lanes, please do not bring young children along unless you have someone to supervise them.

All volunteers get access to the Air Show, and lunch and beverage will be provided.

To sign up or ask questions, please e-mail clarawang@comcast.net and don't forget to log your hours using PTO Manager!

We have ants...

Ants have found their way into our portable and some of the student's lunches yesterday and today. The best way to avoid problems with them is to make sure your child's lunch is completely sealed in a reusable container or ziplock bag. I prefer not to spray for ants around the students and their personal items so, if we can keep the food sealed up, we should be able to avoid problems.

Thank you.

Helping With Homework

A three part series on how to help your upper-elementary aged student complete homework without driving you or your child crazy. Learn how to foster your child's independent problem-solving abilities, organizational skills, and academic understanding while developing self-esteem and self-reliance. Our first session will focus on best ways for parents to support homework in general, with two follow-up sessions on specific ways to support learning in literacy and math at home.

When: Thursdays, September 11th, 18th and 25th 2008 from 6 to 8 pm
Where: International School of Monterey, 1720 Yosemite Ave Seaside, CA 93955

For information or to register contact the Monterey Adult School at 899-1615.

Parent Update 9/8/2008

Dear Parents and families,

Thank you to all who were able to make it to Back to School night last Thursday night. It was great to meet the new parents and see the returning ones as well. You are a wonderful group of supportive folks and it's great to have everyone part of the ISM community.

Austin's dad, James Moberg, has set up a blog site for our class announcements. As I understand it, you can go to http://www.coastclick.com/welsh/ to check out any information or notes I send out. It may take me a little while to get used to this system, but once we do, it should prove to streamline our communication. Thanks James!

We have already gotten a couple of donations on our class wish list. Thank you to Kathleen Hill who brought in a room fan today. It works like a charm and will certainly help the air circulate on both warm and cooler days. Thank you also to the Perez family (Esme's parents) who brought in tennis balls for the ends of the chairs and another 5 gallons of water for the class. Alex's parents, Bene Milling and Nik Myers have found a piece of carpet that might be coming to our room which will help with the sound if it works out.

This week instrumental music will be starting after school this week. I have just a few flyers I will send home with students who let me know if they are interested. If you need to pick up a flyer, you can find them in the office.

Spelling groups have begun this week. Students should be coming home with their lists of words in their planner and words to sort. I am sending home a list of things the students can do with their spelling words. They should pick one thing to do each night. The tests will be on Friday.

I am still working on getting the grades into Power School and they should be there by the end of the week. You should have your password to check your student’s progress. If you don't have one, check with Lisa Burns in the office.

Homework this week:

Monday
Parents - Read Family Letter 1.9 (you are reading it now.)
Math - Study Links 2.1
Read - 20 mins.
Spelling - Word Sort

Tuesday
Math - Study Links 2.2
Read - 20 mins.
Spelling - Anything from the list

Wednesday
Math - Study Links 2.3
Read - 20 mins.
Spelling - Anything from the list

Thursday
Math - Study Links 2.4
Read - 20 mins.
Spelling - Anything from the list

Thanks,

Mary Welsh