Have a Wonderful Holiday Season

Dear ISM families,

Our last week before the break brought us a holiday program with elements that were adorable, moving and thought provoking. We are blessed with children who possess many talents.

The book fair ended after the holiday program and it was a huge success. Over $10,300 worth of books were purchased, which means that 60% of that total or about $6,000 will be used to buy new books for our ISM library and classrooms. 345 new books have already been added to our collection as a result of this recent fair.

We sent our students and staff off for their holiday break this morning after enjoying the great sounds of the Glen Baker band With special guests, Kindergarten teacher Josh Carr, Grade 3 teacher Peggy Brown, 8th grader Elijah Sage and his mother Katherine as well as parent Bryan Diamond. We know everyone enjoyed it.

We look forward to seeing everyone back at school ready to begin 2009 on Monday, January 5, 2009.
On behalf of the ISM staff, I would like to wish everyone a wonderful and restful holiday season and a Happy New Year.

Eric Pearlstein
Associate Director
(831) 583-2165

Reminders

Tomorrow, Friday, December 19th is a free dress day here at ISM. Also, please remember that it is a minimum day and all students should be picked up by 11:30am. Staff will also be leaving early to start their holiday breaks so prompt pick up of your child(ren) will be greatly appreciated.

School will resume again at 8:20 am on Monday, January 5th, 2009!

Thank you all! Have a wonderful winter holiday and a Happy New Year.

ISM staff

Reminders

Dear Parents,

I want to thank all of the parents who helped transport and support our class today with our trip to the Gateway Center in Pacific Grove. Thank you to Barbara Okamura who set up the visit for us and helped with every aspect of the trip. Thanks to Ming-Chainn Chou, Kathleen Hill, Liza Linsao, Theresa Curatalo, Claudia Paul, Barbara Okamura and Anna Johnson for driving and helping out.
Though it was a short visit, it was very good for everyone, I believe. I am so proud of all of the students for their good behavior, great singing and reading. They were also so kind to the clients of the center. The homemade cards and ornaments were well-received and everyone loved the treats you all provided and the students passed out. All in all, it was a very heart warming experience.

Two other notes:
Tomorrow is the Winter performance. You've already been sent a note from the ISM office. Our 4th grade classes are trying to dress in white tops and dark bottoms. Do what you can with that. I'm not so picky but, clean and no holes in the clothes are a good start. Some of the students said they didn't have white tops and dark pants/skirt. The school uniform could also suffice. I should be in the classroom by 6:00. You can drop your child off anytime after 6. Pick up at the end of the program.

On Thursday (it's a huge performance week for us), our class is hosting the 4th and 5th grade assembly. If you have time to stop by at about 2:40ish, you might catch our skit called "The Baker's Dozen" or singing the Winter Solstice song. The students have been working hard on preparing the skit and song. Please join us if you can.

After that, I will leave you all alone for a while!!! Whew!! Enjoy the break and have a festive and
relaxing holiday.

Best wishes,

Mary Welsh

Winter Program Reminder

Please join us for our Winter Holiday program tomorrow night, Wednesday, December 17th from 6:30 – 8:00 pm in the MUR.

This is a school-wide event and ALL students K-8 will be performing, beginning with the kinders at 6:30 pm and moving up the grades. Students should report to their classrooms no later than 6:15 pm dressed in their holiday apparel.

It is asked that all families plan to remain throughout the entire program to support all of our students and to be considerate of the performers on stage. Students will return to the classroom after their performance and may be picked up there at the conclusion of the program.

Tomorrow night will also be the last night to shop at the ISM Book Fair for all those holiday presents before it closes tomorrow evening. The fair will be open from 6:00pm until the end of the Holiday program.

We will also have gently used uniforms on sale the same evening. Uniform items for your children are available for a mere fraction of what they are worth!

We look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow evening to celebrate the arts at ISM!

ISM Staff

Weekly Update - 12/14/2008

Dear Grade 4 Parents,

It will surely be a fast week this week with all we have going on. Here's a few reminders:

We have a short field trip to the Gateway Center in Pacific Grove (the permission slip mistakenly says it's in Seaside. Sorry!) on Tuesday morning. There are a few students who have not yet turned in their permission slips for this. Please make sure your child brings it in tomorrow. We still need one or two drivers to do the trip. At my last count, we had seats for about 19 - 20 students. If anyone else can help, it would make the trip possible. Please let me know asap. (Depart around 10am, return at 11:45)

We decided to move the Secret Santa gift exchange to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so all could participate. Tuesday is the small treat, Wednesday is something homemade (bookmark?, ornament?) and Thursday a small gift under $5. I have backup gifts if anyone forgets and will try to find a moment to open up my "star store" so the students can purchase the little things I have if they would like for their Secret Santa. I am trying to keep this stress-free for the parents and fun for the students. Let's hope it works.

Wednesday evening is the ISM Winter program. The program begins at 6:30 so, I am assuming the students will need to be at school at 6:00pm. Stay tuned for more details.

Wednesday morning the Earth's Surface and People project is due. We will begin presentations on Wed. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns with this.

Friday is free dress and an early dismissal at 11:30. We have been invited to join our 8th grade reading buddies for a morning holiday party. I hope you saw the note about food requests. I assume the students may not be too hungry at that time but a little snack will be welcome if possible.

Thank you to the families who purchased books from the book fair for the classroom. They are in our class library ready to be read. We appreciate your help in building the library.

Homework:

No spelling
Reading 20 minutes, record in planner
Math: Monday: Study Links 5.5, Tuesday: None, Wednesday 5.6, Thursday 5.7
Wednesday Earth Science project due - 5 paragraphs.

Have a wonderful week,
Mary Welsh