At the end of last week, as the children were filtering out of the building towards the buses or their families, one Grade 3 student, new to ISA, paused to take in the scene. Taking the opportunity to check in with him, I asked, “So, what do you think of ISA so far?” He paused, looking thoughtfully into the distance before announcing, “It’s perfect.” Although I firmly believe that we can always improve the ISA experience for the children and their families, I was reminded of just how special this place is and felt a surge of pride in our teachers and support staff, knowing that this 3rd grader’s feeling doesn’t happen by accident or luck.
The celebrations and events to mark the 50th Anniversary of ISA have well and truly begun. On Friday, our Grade 4 and Grade 5 students performed in the Opening Ceremony. Saturday’s Golden Gala Family Day promises to be a wonderful, fun-filled event to bring everyone together. A huge thank you goes out to all the members of our community (students, parents, teachers and support staff) who have contributed to its planning, organisation and execution. On the day, please take a moment to respond to a brief survey that will be overseen by members of our Grade 5 classes, who will take turns running a table with Chromebooks. For those that prefer, there will also be QR codes dotted around the campus that will take you to the survey. Your responses will help our Yearbook team cover the events of this momentous year in ISA’s history.
The evening of Thursday, September 1, offers us another opportunity to come together on campus. Our Preschool and Elementary School Open House will run from 6:00pm until 8:00pm. I encourage you all to take this opportunity to meet your children’s teachers, view the classrooms and learning spaces and enjoy hearing more about our approach, our aims and our ambitions for the year ahead. Our specialist teachers will be on hand to share information about PE, art, languages, music, EAL, Learning Support and the library. At 6:20pm, the classroom teachers will commence their presentations in the grade level classrooms. These presentations will be repeated at 7:20pm to accommodate those families that have multiple children in the Preschool and Elementary School years. In between these two sessions, a brief presentation will take place in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
The first field trip of the year will involve our Grade 4 students on Tuesday, August 30. The value of these experiences cannot be overstated; not only do they provide real-life, multisensory context to what children are learning, field trips also allow for the forging and consolidation of social bonds and friendships, a developing sense of independence and the creation of lifelong memories. In order to help us make the most of such trips, I ask that you all double-check that you have completed the annual Field Trip Permission Form on PowerSchool. Unlike previous years at ISA, signing and submitting this form will confirm your permission for all general day trips taken during the school year. You will not be asked to sign a new form for each individual field trip - unless the trip is an overnight/residential trip (e.g., the Grade 5 trip to Nethy Bridge) or unless the trip involves an activity that calls for extra care (e.g., the annual Grade 4 sailing day).
In fact, please allow me to take this opportunity to encourage you all to routinely check your PowerSchool accounts. We ask that you ensure we have all the information we need to provide the best possible learning experience for your children. This means completing all forms in a timely fashion - and providing updates should any details change. Of particular importance are medical forms and contact details (including the details of emergency contacts in case you, as parents and primary caregivers, cannot be reached).
Lastly, Monday, August 29, marks the beginning of the After School Activity program at ISA. We have been amazed at the enthusiasm and appetite for the activities on offer and have had to take the unfortunate step of creating waitlists for some wildly oversubscribed activities. Our Elementary Assistant, Diane McBain, has worked tirelessly to collate requests and respond to parent questions. This is a complex and time-consuming task and we want you all to know that we have done our very best to ensure that every child has a place in at least one of their chosen activities. The final rosters will be available on PowerSchool by this afternoon (Friday, August 26). Your child should only attend an activity next week if it appears on his or her PowerSchool schedule. If your child has been waitlisted for an oversubscribed activity, you will be notified by email.
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