From the Preschool/Elementary School Principal

 

*This week's photos come from Children in Need Day (across grade levels and subjects)

and the Grade 1 "Field Trip" to look at seed dispersal.

Children in Need

Each week during the Monday morning assembly, I spend a few minutes highlighting one of the six central ISA Values: Respect, Excellence, Diversity, Community, Integrity and Service. For the past two weeks, the highlighted value has been Service. ISA has a strong tradition of encouraging children to embrace a sense of responsibility for supporting others in need, both locally and in the wider world. 

To give children in the Preschool and Elementary School opportunities to think and act in ways that support and reflect the value of Service, different grade levels will take on the leadership for various initiatives. This year, the 4th grade took the lead in organising activities to support BBC’s Children in Need. These young students have been at the center of planning the entire week, including: organising (and performing) an awareness-raising presentation and birthday quiz for the Monday assembly; agreeing upon a spirit and fundraising day for Friday; working collaboratively to create and deliver presentations to explain Children in Need to students in each of the grade levels; and designing a structured method for collating and analysing the data they would collect by visiting the other children in every grade level (i.e., the number of spots and the amount of money collected). 

Through their efforts, the Grade 4 students are helping others, while also developing their own leadership skills, including planning, public speaking and following through on commitments. Well done to the Grade 4 students and their teachers, Mrs. McMahon and Mrs. Cooper, for all they have done to bring the value of Service to life across the school in support of Children in Need.  By the end of the day on Friday, the 4th graders estimate that they have raised over £334! In the coming weeks, the children in Grade 3 will build on the theme of Service as they organise a food drive for those less fortunate than us in and around Aberdeen. 

Upcoming events

In order to keep up to date with announcements and events, please continue to routinely check the Community Hub, which is regularly updated and houses both the Daily Notices and the Events Calendar. Some highlights for the coming week include: the final day of the Book Fair (Monday, November 20); a celebration of thanksgiving in Preschool, Kindergarten - Grade 2 and the Grade 3 - Grade 5 corridor (Thursday, November 23) and the Teacher In-service Day (Friday, November 24 - a non-student day). 

In addtion, please take note of the performance days and times for The Magic of Dr. Seuss. The Grade 3 students will bring to life two classic Dr. Seuss stories: The Lorax and McElligot's Pool. There will be a performance on Wednesday, November 22, at 6:00pm in the QET. There will be a second performance on Thursday, November 23, at 4:30pm. Donations of £5 are welcome.