1. Welcome to the 2014/2015 School Year at ISM

2. I am very excited to be joining the ISM team this year! My name is Lindsay Fewster and I recently moved to Casablanca from Canada. I graduated University with a joint Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree; followed by a Bachelor of Education. My specializations include K-6 education and special education. Prior to joining the ISM team I taught with my home school board in Canada for the last 4 years. My strong desire to travel, gain new teaching experience and work in a small, student driven environment is what led me to ISM. Teaching is my dream and my passion. It is therefore my goal to create a safe, fun and positive learning environment that enables all students to explore their surroundings and follow their own dreams. I strongly believe that each and every child has the ability to change the world and to become active global citizens. I therefore believe that our focus must not only be on the academic endeavors of a child but also on their overall social, emotional and physical well being. By providing students with endless hands-on, interactive learning experiences we can help them to reach their full potential. ABOUT ME

3. ISM learners are: Compassionate Adventurous Creative Inquisitive Principled Reflective OUR CHARACTER TRAITS

4. Our classroom is a place for fun, interactive learning. It is a place where students feel safe to express themselves and take risks. A place that is welcoming and supportive. We are a family and students should always feel that they can be themselves and come to me for anything. Students travel home with a folder each night. The folder carries important notes for home, marked work and also their homework book. Please ensure it is returned to school each day. Also, at the end of each day, students complete an activity called “What Stuck With You Today?” It is an opportunity for students to reflect on their day and chose to write about one or two things that ‘stuck with them’ or that they enjoyed. Please take the time to ask them about their sticky and their day. OUR CLASSROOM

5. Together as a class we created a classroom pledge that we agreed upon and decided were important rules and expectations to have in our classroom. Our classroom pledge is… “Today I will be the best person I can be. I will…. listen with my eyes, my ears and my heart, always try my best, be a good friend, show respect for myself, others, and my surroundings, speak English in the classroom unless I am translating so that everyone is included. Today, I will make good choices and I will make a difference!” CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR & EXPECTATIONS

6. Student folders travel between home and school everyday and can be used as one means to contact me by putting a note in the folder. Please also feel free to contact me by email at any point. I encourage open communication with both my students and parents, so please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns you may have. lfewster@ism-casablanca.com “The Scoop” is our school newsletter that is sent home monthly. Please also remember to check our school weebly site regularly for school wide events and reminders as well as classroom events and reminders. This site is used as a means of communicating with parents. ismcasablanca.weebly.com COMMUNICATION WITH HOME

7. Monday - Letter to the Teacher Students write a letter to me on a topic of their choice. It can be about something that took place over the weekend or something they are simply interested in or curious about. It can be submitted electronically on Edmodo or as a written entry in their homework book. Tuesday - French Madame Lopez will assign and post weekly French homework for students. Wednesday - Maths Maths questions and/or problems will be assigned based on the current strand of study. Thursday - Arabic Students will complete Arabic activities and/or tasks assigned and posted by their teacher. Friday - Responding to the News Students will read and respond to 1 current event in the news. They may respond by drawing a visualization of what they read or by writing a brief summary. They will also write about 1 connection (something it reminds them of) or thought (something they learned, something that they found interesting or caught their attention, something that left them wondering, something they felt) they had after reading. They need to include the website and title of their article. It can be submitted electronically on Edmodo or as a written entry in their homework book. Kid friendly articles can be found by typing “news articles for kids” into Google **Students should be reading nightly in addition to the above homework and is something that can be done in any language** OUR WEEKLY HOMEWORK SCHEDULE

8. All students now have Edmodo accounts with passwords that they can use to post homework, ask classroom questions or post interesting links they find. www.edmodo.com Students are also set up on Raz-Kids with a user name and password where they can read books at their level and take a comprehension quiz after reading. www.raz-kids.com TECHNOLOGY

9. Language Students receive French & Arabic instruction every morning. Reading The key components of daily reading instruction include: decoding, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. Writing The process of writing includes: brainstorming, draft pieces, revising, editing and publishing our written work. Traits of good writing include: ideas, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, voice, organization A focus on creativity, detail, neatness and spelling is also emphasized. Handwriting Without Tears Students engage in daily cursive practice with emphasis on speed and accuracy. LITERACY & LANGUAGE

10. Abacus Evolve Students engage in daily hands-on mathematics that encourage the use of manipulatives, problem-solving and inquiry. Through Abacus, students are taught to problem solve, communicate and reason. Areas of focus include: Number & Algebra Shape Space & Measures Handling Data MATHS

11. Our topics this year include: Culture & Government- a country study of Morocco and a student choice Earth & Space Science- layers of the Earth, volcanoes, fossils etc. History & Geography- world languages Physical Science- light and sound waves Ancient History- ancient civilizations in South America Life Science- food webs and adaptations of plants and animals in the rainforest UNIT STUDY

12. Please let me know if you have any further questions about our year. I look forward to a fantastic year filled with fun and many memories! -L. Fewster “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela FINAL THOUGHTS