Edition 2 - September 21, 2018
Important upcoming dates
Sept 24 - Sept 28 - ES MAP Testing
Oct 1 - Oct 5 - MS Map Testing
Oct 11 - Public Holiday
Oct 18 - 23 Fall Break
Nov 9 - Parent Teacher Conferences
Nov 22 - 23 No School for students
Dec 21 - Winter Break starts
Jan 14 - School resumes
Apologies for the delay in sending this week's newsletter out but there were some technical difficulties that did not allow us to send it last week as scheduled.
Dear Parents,
I would like to thank all of the parents who came along to the recent Back to School Nights in the Elementary and Middle School. We had a solid turnout of parents and the overwhelming feedback that I received was that your children are happily engaged in interesting and meaningful learning.
Great start
I have been a principal in schools for 20 years, and I can honestly say that the start to this year has been one of the most positive and smooth starts that I have experienced. I want to thank and acknowledge the efforts of your children's teachers for the way that they have fully prepared for the start of this year and ensured that your child is being challenged and supported. There is a very positive feel around the school this year, and I believe that is due to the efforts of the teachers and the students who are more focused and have clear expectations about the direction of the school.
Literacy Focus
Our focus this year will continue to be literacy and numeracy as well as the continued development of the international curricula that focuses on science and social studies. ES teachers are receiving extra support in reading and writing from Ivana Brajanovska, who is our new literacy coordinator. The school has recently purchased new resources to support this initiative in 'Readers and Writers Workshop'.
MAP Testing
As a school, our mission is to provide our students with many opportunities for success and growth, both academic and personal. You understand that NOVA is very diverse; our students come from the all four corners of the world, and we like to celebrate their individual and cultural differences. This diversity also poses a challenge for instruction, one that needs to be frequently aided by timely information. For this
reason we have partnered with the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) to measure the academic progress of your child, and measure his/her growth over time. This testing is referred to as MAP Testing.
ES testing is the week of September 24-28
MS testing is the week of October 1-5
The detailed schedules will be posted on school doors. Attached is the info letter for parents and here is the link for NWEA's Parent Toolkit as well as a parent guide to growth in MAP.
https://www.nwea.org/parent-toolkit/
Parent letter
Parent Guide to Growth in MAP
Assessment conference at NOVA
All good teachers are life-long learners, so we accept that we can always do better. One area we hope to improve on this year is the way that we assess students. Nova is fortunate to be hosting a conference about assessment for the entire CEESA region next month. Along with 50 teachers from around the region, 60 Nova teachers will participate in this conference. In addition to the highly regarded international presenters, we will have a number of our own teachers presenting at the conference.
Writing Pearls
NOVA International School is holding its short stories contest titled 'Nova Writing Pearls'. It is open to all young writers from grade 6 to grade 12. Stories can be from any genre and between 300 and 1,000 words. -Write what is in front of you: Fiction, Non Fiction, Narrative and Personal Eye! Finalists will have their short stories published in NOVA Pearls, Edition of 2019. Work should be submitted to: Ms. Julija L. Krstevska at: julija.krstevska@nova.edu.mk by November 30, 2018
Grade 4 History Unit
To start their history unit "The Great, The Bold and The Brave", the fourth graders took on the role of "classical architects" and recreated some of the famous and most celebrated buildings from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Even though this was a competition for "The Best Classical Architects", the students showed extraordinary cooperation and sportsmanship.
Superheroes in Kindy
Kindergarten students are learning about all sorts of superheroes, those that wear capes and appear in comic books and also those superheroes that are in society such as doctors, nurses, firemen, police officers, and many many more. Last week they had their entry point where they got to dress up in superhero costumes and enjoyed a host of activities. It certainly looked like a lot of fun. There are some photos in the slideshow at the bottom of the page.
Basketball star
Congratulations to Teo in Grade 8 who recently competed in a basketball tournament in Poland. Not only did his team win the tournament but Teo was awarded MVP of the tournament. There are photos of Teo in the slideshow at the bottom of this newsletter.
Run to remember
On Saturday, September 15th, The team " Teachers on the Road" proudly represented NOVA in the race RUN TO REMEMBER organized by the U.S. Embassy, Macedonia. The ES teachers Melita Romih, Radica Jovanovski, the high school teacher Ana Foteva, and the Grade 8 student ,Sara Romih, worked as a team and finished the 5 kilometer track with obstacles. Photos of our brave competitors are below.
When it comes to delaying kindergarten entrance, there’s lots more at stake than a single child’s competitive edge.
If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, you probably remember the argument he makes in the book’s first chapter: In competitive situations, a person who’s relatively older than the others will probably be the one who wins.Hence, Gladwell’s famous case for academic redshirting: the increasingly popular parental practice of delaying kids’ entrance into kindergarten. According to some research, between 4 percent and 9 percent of kindergartners are redshirted annually. And while some scholars have suggested that redshirting doesn’t do much of anything--at least in the long run—Gladwell contends that this assumption is false. Rather, this dynamic persists in insidious ways, locking “children into patterns of achievement and underachievement, encouragement and discouragement, that stretch on and on for years,” To read the full article please follow this link.
To raise independent kids, treat middle school like a dress rehearsal for life
My fifth — and last — child is starting middle school this year. I’m also a middle school teacher, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ll do differently this time. Most of the changes stem from being realistic about what middle school is — and isn’t. Years ago I was directing a play and we had a rough first dress rehearsal. Some of the parents worried the play would be terrible, and wanting to please them, I spent more time backstage during rehearsals, micromanaging everything. At first this helped; subsequent rehearsals were smoother. Unfortunately, my students got used to me being backstage managing everything. They didn’t learn to think for themselves, make decisions, or struggle through challenges to find solutions. The play never became theirs, so it never reached its potential. The goal of a successful production is not a polished dress rehearsal. That confuses the process and product. Sometimes the best productions have messy dress rehearsals because the only way to integrate the complexities of scenery, costumes, props, lights, sound and special effects is to make mistakes. To read the full article please follow this link
Kindest regards,
Russell O'Neill
EMS Principal
Sept 24 - Sept 28 - ES MAP Testing
Oct 1 - Oct 5 - MS Map Testing
Oct 11 - Public Holiday
Oct 18 - 23 Fall Break
Nov 9 - Parent Teacher Conferences
Nov 22 - 23 No School for students
Dec 21 - Winter Break starts
Jan 14 - School resumes
Apologies for the delay in sending this week's newsletter out but there were some technical difficulties that did not allow us to send it last week as scheduled.
Dear Parents,
I would like to thank all of the parents who came along to the recent Back to School Nights in the Elementary and Middle School. We had a solid turnout of parents and the overwhelming feedback that I received was that your children are happily engaged in interesting and meaningful learning.
Great start
I have been a principal in schools for 20 years, and I can honestly say that the start to this year has been one of the most positive and smooth starts that I have experienced. I want to thank and acknowledge the efforts of your children's teachers for the way that they have fully prepared for the start of this year and ensured that your child is being challenged and supported. There is a very positive feel around the school this year, and I believe that is due to the efforts of the teachers and the students who are more focused and have clear expectations about the direction of the school.
Literacy Focus
Our focus this year will continue to be literacy and numeracy as well as the continued development of the international curricula that focuses on science and social studies. ES teachers are receiving extra support in reading and writing from Ivana Brajanovska, who is our new literacy coordinator. The school has recently purchased new resources to support this initiative in 'Readers and Writers Workshop'.
MAP Testing
As a school, our mission is to provide our students with many opportunities for success and growth, both academic and personal. You understand that NOVA is very diverse; our students come from the all four corners of the world, and we like to celebrate their individual and cultural differences. This diversity also poses a challenge for instruction, one that needs to be frequently aided by timely information. For this
reason we have partnered with the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) to measure the academic progress of your child, and measure his/her growth over time. This testing is referred to as MAP Testing.
ES testing is the week of September 24-28
MS testing is the week of October 1-5
The detailed schedules will be posted on school doors. Attached is the info letter for parents and here is the link for NWEA's Parent Toolkit as well as a parent guide to growth in MAP.
https://www.nwea.org/parent-toolkit/
Parent letter
Parent Guide to Growth in MAP
Assessment conference at NOVA
All good teachers are life-long learners, so we accept that we can always do better. One area we hope to improve on this year is the way that we assess students. Nova is fortunate to be hosting a conference about assessment for the entire CEESA region next month. Along with 50 teachers from around the region, 60 Nova teachers will participate in this conference. In addition to the highly regarded international presenters, we will have a number of our own teachers presenting at the conference.
Writing Pearls
NOVA International School is holding its short stories contest titled 'Nova Writing Pearls'. It is open to all young writers from grade 6 to grade 12. Stories can be from any genre and between 300 and 1,000 words. -Write what is in front of you: Fiction, Non Fiction, Narrative and Personal Eye! Finalists will have their short stories published in NOVA Pearls, Edition of 2019. Work should be submitted to: Ms. Julija L. Krstevska at: julija.krstevska@nova.edu.mk by November 30, 2018
Grade 4 History Unit
To start their history unit "The Great, The Bold and The Brave", the fourth graders took on the role of "classical architects" and recreated some of the famous and most celebrated buildings from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Even though this was a competition for "The Best Classical Architects", the students showed extraordinary cooperation and sportsmanship.
Superheroes in Kindy
Kindergarten students are learning about all sorts of superheroes, those that wear capes and appear in comic books and also those superheroes that are in society such as doctors, nurses, firemen, police officers, and many many more. Last week they had their entry point where they got to dress up in superhero costumes and enjoyed a host of activities. It certainly looked like a lot of fun. There are some photos in the slideshow at the bottom of the page.
Basketball star
Congratulations to Teo in Grade 8 who recently competed in a basketball tournament in Poland. Not only did his team win the tournament but Teo was awarded MVP of the tournament. There are photos of Teo in the slideshow at the bottom of this newsletter.
Run to remember
On Saturday, September 15th, The team " Teachers on the Road" proudly represented NOVA in the race RUN TO REMEMBER organized by the U.S. Embassy, Macedonia. The ES teachers Melita Romih, Radica Jovanovski, the high school teacher Ana Foteva, and the Grade 8 student ,Sara Romih, worked as a team and finished the 5 kilometer track with obstacles. Photos of our brave competitors are below.
When it comes to delaying kindergarten entrance, there’s lots more at stake than a single child’s competitive edge.
If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, you probably remember the argument he makes in the book’s first chapter: In competitive situations, a person who’s relatively older than the others will probably be the one who wins.Hence, Gladwell’s famous case for academic redshirting: the increasingly popular parental practice of delaying kids’ entrance into kindergarten. According to some research, between 4 percent and 9 percent of kindergartners are redshirted annually. And while some scholars have suggested that redshirting doesn’t do much of anything--at least in the long run—Gladwell contends that this assumption is false. Rather, this dynamic persists in insidious ways, locking “children into patterns of achievement and underachievement, encouragement and discouragement, that stretch on and on for years,” To read the full article please follow this link.
To raise independent kids, treat middle school like a dress rehearsal for life
My fifth — and last — child is starting middle school this year. I’m also a middle school teacher, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ll do differently this time. Most of the changes stem from being realistic about what middle school is — and isn’t. Years ago I was directing a play and we had a rough first dress rehearsal. Some of the parents worried the play would be terrible, and wanting to please them, I spent more time backstage during rehearsals, micromanaging everything. At first this helped; subsequent rehearsals were smoother. Unfortunately, my students got used to me being backstage managing everything. They didn’t learn to think for themselves, make decisions, or struggle through challenges to find solutions. The play never became theirs, so it never reached its potential. The goal of a successful production is not a polished dress rehearsal. That confuses the process and product. Sometimes the best productions have messy dress rehearsals because the only way to integrate the complexities of scenery, costumes, props, lights, sound and special effects is to make mistakes. To read the full article please follow this link
Kindest regards,
Russell O'Neill
EMS Principal