From the Preschool/Elementary School Principal

 

Being new to a place comes with all sorts of challenges and opportunities, some of which we embrace and look forward to, while others raise our anxiety levels and test our confidence. This is true of children, of course, but it is equally true of adults. Each year, we welcome new children and families to the ISA community - and we also welcome new staff and teachers. It is easy to forget, however, that each school year is “new” even to the returning students and families: there are new grade levels, new classmates, new teachers, new responsibilities, new expectations…the list goes on! 

With this in mind, the teachers and support staff at ISA have worked hard to ensure that the children have encountered these new experiences in a positive, welcoming and supportive environment. From the conversations I've had with the children, I can hear excitement and postivity from both the students new to ISA and those that have been here for years. Behind the scenes, we have also spent time welcoming our new staff members to the ISA team: Debbie Cooper (Grade 4 classroom), Francesca MacAlpine (Grade 5 Language Arts) and Hannah Powell (Learning Support). Louise Warnock will be known to many of the students already, but she has a slightly different role this year and will be working as one of our Learning Support teachers one day each week. Each of these teachers comes to the ISA community with enormous enthusiasm and I look forward to you all having the chance to get to know them better as the year progresses.

The evening of Thursday, September 7, offers us an 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/Performing Arts, EAL, Learning Support and the Library. In a slight change from previous years, the Preschool team will run an early Open House session at 2:15pm on Thursday, September 7. There will be one evening session for Preschool parents who can’t attend the afternoon session. There is no need to attend both. The thinking behind offering this afternoon session is that many parents will be coming on site to collect their children in the afternoon anyhow, and this might be far easier than trying to return in the evening. More detailed information will come your way soon about the afternoon Preschool Open House as well as the evening Open House for the Elementary School grade levels. 

The first field trip of the year will involve our Grade 4 students on Tuesday, August 29. Less than a month after that, the Grade 5 students will head off on their residential trip. Before we know it, each of the grade levels will be embarking upon field trips in and around Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (and beyond). 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. 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 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). 

After School Activities

Monday, August 28, 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 25). 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.