Week 10 - November 1, 2017
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful to see so many students, staff, and even parents dressed up yesterday for Halloween. I wanted the emphasis to be on fun and that certainly was the case. I was extremely impressed with the way that students across the entire EMS conducted themselves despite being excited by wearing a costume and having a sugar fix from all the candy. I want to thank you as parents for supporting the school this year with Halloween, not only by arranging costumes for your children but also to those who volunteered to decorate doors, set up displays, provide candy and supervise various activities. There are a lot of photos at the end of this newsletter with many of them being from Halloween, so please enjoy viewing them.
Parent Teacher Conferences
On Friday, November 10 we will hold our Fall Parent-Teacher conferences from 10am to 6pm. On this day there will be no regular classes. The meetings are designed to allow parents the opportunity to meet with teachers. For Elementary School students, Homeroom teachers and ESL teachers will schedule a time to meet, while specialist teachers will be available throughout the day.
If your child is in Middle School then you will be receiving an email from your child's Homeroom teachers with further details. However, due to the nature of the way classes are arranged, there will be no signup for Middle School. MS parents are welcome to meet with individual teachers at any time during the day between 10am and 6pm. Once you arrive all teachers will be available for you to see.
For Elementary School, we are initiating a new signup procedure where parents can select a time via a webpage. Only those times that are free can be selected. You can access the signup page via the email that your child's Homeroom teacher will provide or by following this link. Simply select your child's teacher from the tabs above and fill in your requested times. I will ask for contact details for a confirmation and for you to add your child's name. If you do not receive a confirmation email within a couple of minutes please contact your child's teacher.
The specialty teachers will also be available in either their classrooms or the ES library to meet with you without a scheduled time. I strongly encourage you to also meet with the specialty teachers before or after your scheduled time with the homeroom teacher, as these classes are an important part of your child’s school experience.
CEESA Girls soccer tournament
It is our great pleasure to host the CEESA Blue Division Middle School Girls Soccer Tournament 2017. We are excited to welcome the participating schools:
- International School of Belgrade, Serbia
- Anglo-American School of Sofia, Bulgaria
- Pechersk School International – Kiev, Ukraine
- International School of Latvia – Riga, Latvia
- The International School of Azerbaijan – Baku, Azerbaijan
- NOVA International School – Skopje, Macedonia
All games on Friday and Saturday will be played at a field of FC Alumina, which is located 15 minutes walk from NOVA.
All teams will play three games on Friday and three on Saturday. You can see a map and the schedule of games by following this link on our school website.
PTA Morning Tea
Next Wednesday, November 8, there will be a PTA Morning Tea. I have been requested to give a brief outline for parents of the new International Curriculum that we plan to implement at the school. If you would like to get more details about the curriculum, then I would love to see you there. My presentation will take about 30 minutes. The morning tea will be held in the ES Cafeteria starting at 8am.
Grade 3 ESL book
I had the pleasure of visiting the Grade 3 ESL class today with Ms Lazevski, the EMS Curriculum Coordinator. While we were there the students explained the steps of the writing process and showed us the newly published book. One copy of "The ABC of Jobs" book is now available in the ES Library. We hope you'll enjoy reading it! If you would like to view it yourself you can download it here.
Grade 1 field trip
Last week, on Friday, October 27, the first graders had the opportunity to visit a farm and a fruit and vegetable plantation located in Bardovci, Skopje. After learning about the different food groups and where food comes from, this was a great opportunity for our young learners to see how and where the food grows before it is taken to the market. We were also able to see some of the domestic animals and hear a presentation how and when these animals are fed and used in order to provide milk, milk products, eggs and meat. Moreover, our hosts were too kind to prepare homemade cheese, milk and yoghurt for all of us to try. At the plantation, the students saw various types of fruits and vegetables, distinguishing between the ones that grow in the soil, showing only their leaves above ground and those that grow on trees or above the ground. Before leaving, our students enjoyed their lunch outdoors. Please see a sample of photos in the gallery below.
Dear Parents,
It was wonderful to see so many students, staff, and even parents dressed up yesterday for Halloween. I wanted the emphasis to be on fun and that certainly was the case. I was extremely impressed with the way that students across the entire EMS conducted themselves despite being excited by wearing a costume and having a sugar fix from all the candy. I want to thank you as parents for supporting the school this year with Halloween, not only by arranging costumes for your children but also to those who volunteered to decorate doors, set up displays, provide candy and supervise various activities. There are a lot of photos at the end of this newsletter with many of them being from Halloween, so please enjoy viewing them.
Parent Teacher Conferences
On Friday, November 10 we will hold our Fall Parent-Teacher conferences from 10am to 6pm. On this day there will be no regular classes. The meetings are designed to allow parents the opportunity to meet with teachers. For Elementary School students, Homeroom teachers and ESL teachers will schedule a time to meet, while specialist teachers will be available throughout the day.
If your child is in Middle School then you will be receiving an email from your child's Homeroom teachers with further details. However, due to the nature of the way classes are arranged, there will be no signup for Middle School. MS parents are welcome to meet with individual teachers at any time during the day between 10am and 6pm. Once you arrive all teachers will be available for you to see.
For Elementary School, we are initiating a new signup procedure where parents can select a time via a webpage. Only those times that are free can be selected. You can access the signup page via the email that your child's Homeroom teacher will provide or by following this link. Simply select your child's teacher from the tabs above and fill in your requested times. I will ask for contact details for a confirmation and for you to add your child's name. If you do not receive a confirmation email within a couple of minutes please contact your child's teacher.
The specialty teachers will also be available in either their classrooms or the ES library to meet with you without a scheduled time. I strongly encourage you to also meet with the specialty teachers before or after your scheduled time with the homeroom teacher, as these classes are an important part of your child’s school experience.
CEESA Girls soccer tournament
It is our great pleasure to host the CEESA Blue Division Middle School Girls Soccer Tournament 2017. We are excited to welcome the participating schools:
- International School of Belgrade, Serbia
- Anglo-American School of Sofia, Bulgaria
- Pechersk School International – Kiev, Ukraine
- International School of Latvia – Riga, Latvia
- The International School of Azerbaijan – Baku, Azerbaijan
- NOVA International School – Skopje, Macedonia
All games on Friday and Saturday will be played at a field of FC Alumina, which is located 15 minutes walk from NOVA.
All teams will play three games on Friday and three on Saturday. You can see a map and the schedule of games by following this link on our school website.
PTA Morning Tea
Next Wednesday, November 8, there will be a PTA Morning Tea. I have been requested to give a brief outline for parents of the new International Curriculum that we plan to implement at the school. If you would like to get more details about the curriculum, then I would love to see you there. My presentation will take about 30 minutes. The morning tea will be held in the ES Cafeteria starting at 8am.
Grade 3 ESL book
I had the pleasure of visiting the Grade 3 ESL class today with Ms Lazevski, the EMS Curriculum Coordinator. While we were there the students explained the steps of the writing process and showed us the newly published book. One copy of "The ABC of Jobs" book is now available in the ES Library. We hope you'll enjoy reading it! If you would like to view it yourself you can download it here.
Grade 1 field trip
Last week, on Friday, October 27, the first graders had the opportunity to visit a farm and a fruit and vegetable plantation located in Bardovci, Skopje. After learning about the different food groups and where food comes from, this was a great opportunity for our young learners to see how and where the food grows before it is taken to the market. We were also able to see some of the domestic animals and hear a presentation how and when these animals are fed and used in order to provide milk, milk products, eggs and meat. Moreover, our hosts were too kind to prepare homemade cheese, milk and yoghurt for all of us to try. At the plantation, the students saw various types of fruits and vegetables, distinguishing between the ones that grow in the soil, showing only their leaves above ground and those that grow on trees or above the ground. Before leaving, our students enjoyed their lunch outdoors. Please see a sample of photos in the gallery below.
Student Services News
Let’s start with a little self-reflection, as parents:When you are learning a new skill, what’s your first reaction? Are you excited? Nervous? Do you want to walk away or dive in? What happens when you try to solve a problem, but the first attempt fails? Is your instinct to give up? Get mad? Roll up your sleeves and try again?
We all have strong reactions in the face of challenges. So it’s understandable that our kids feel a whole range of emotions as they work through problems. As parents, we want them to develop the confidence to say, “It might be hard, but I can figure this out!” Follow this link for the full article.
Every day, I get to spend time with parents of young children. Their stories of parenthood are sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking, as parents express frustration that their precious, limited time with their child is spent in power struggles and negotiations: high aggravation, limited joy. Follow this link for the full article.
In my experience as a parent and parent educator, I have found that there are a number of key concepts that help parents gain important insights into the meaning of their children’s behavior that lead to more positive and effective responses to the range of challenging behaviors that arise in early childhood. Follow this link for more info.
Technology Tips
Learning the ins and outs of the latest technology is a lot like learning to swim or ride a bike: The younger you are, the more naturally it comes. This is troubling news for parents who already feel two steps behind their digitally savvy children. While assisting with traditional school work poses enough challenges, parents now need to help their children build wikis and solve math problems on iPad apps. As schools shift toward online platforms and E-learning devices, tech-challenged parents may feel intimidated. If you would like to read the rest of this interesting article please follow this link.
Photos this week
This week's photos feature the students from Grade 3 and 4 ESL as well as PreK4 and their Diwali presentation. I hope you enjoy them.
Russell O'Neill
EMS Principal
Let’s start with a little self-reflection, as parents:When you are learning a new skill, what’s your first reaction? Are you excited? Nervous? Do you want to walk away or dive in? What happens when you try to solve a problem, but the first attempt fails? Is your instinct to give up? Get mad? Roll up your sleeves and try again?
We all have strong reactions in the face of challenges. So it’s understandable that our kids feel a whole range of emotions as they work through problems. As parents, we want them to develop the confidence to say, “It might be hard, but I can figure this out!” Follow this link for the full article.
Every day, I get to spend time with parents of young children. Their stories of parenthood are sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking, as parents express frustration that their precious, limited time with their child is spent in power struggles and negotiations: high aggravation, limited joy. Follow this link for the full article.
In my experience as a parent and parent educator, I have found that there are a number of key concepts that help parents gain important insights into the meaning of their children’s behavior that lead to more positive and effective responses to the range of challenging behaviors that arise in early childhood. Follow this link for more info.
Technology Tips
Learning the ins and outs of the latest technology is a lot like learning to swim or ride a bike: The younger you are, the more naturally it comes. This is troubling news for parents who already feel two steps behind their digitally savvy children. While assisting with traditional school work poses enough challenges, parents now need to help their children build wikis and solve math problems on iPad apps. As schools shift toward online platforms and E-learning devices, tech-challenged parents may feel intimidated. If you would like to read the rest of this interesting article please follow this link.
Photos this week
This week's photos feature the students from Grade 3 and 4 ESL as well as PreK4 and their Diwali presentation. I hope you enjoy them.
Russell O'Neill
EMS Principal
