Corrales International School: BACKPACK EXPRESS

BACKPACK EXPRESS (to see this email in color and to enable links, please click above in the area that states: Having trouble viewing this email? Click here )

November 5, 2010

Dear CIS Families:

November promises to be an extremely busy month. This week you had an opportunity to meet with your child's teacher and learn about your child's academic progress. I hope your meeting with the teacher or teachers was productive.

In order to continue the professional development of our teachers, on November 18-19, teachers will be attending the New Mexico Dual Language Conference. We are hoping to hear and learn of new strategies to improve our teaching of languages in all our grade levels. On these days, students will not attend school, so please mark your calendars.

A quick word on the calendars. Our entire school calendar is on our school website, www.corralesinternationalschool.org. Please review it frequently to ensure you have updated information.

Our Thanksgiving Holiday break is scheduled for November 24 - 26. Students will attend school on Monday, November 22 and Tuesday, November 23.

Last school year, we have had a Thanksgiving celebration with our students and their families on the day before our Thanksgiving Holiday break. This school year, because of the increase in numbers, we are modifying our celebration. I am asking teachers to coordinate with their room parents to facilitate an activity with their students and their families, that may include goodies, that commerates the historical significance of Thanksgiving. The internet is full of fun activities and ideas for teachers and parents to help celebrate Thanksgiving. These are some of the websites:

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/thanksgiving/

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/thanksgiving/

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/thanksgiving/index.html

Additionally, November 23rd will be a no uniform day. Students and teachers will decide as a class how they will dress on this special day to commemorate the historical significance of Thanksgiving.

The learner profile for this month is OPEN-MINDED

Open-minded students understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities.

They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.

Encourage your child to try out new things-new food, new games and new activities.
Expose your child to different festivals, celebrations and traditions and be sure to present them in a non-judgmental way
Encourage your child to really listen to others when they speak.

GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMO

Dear Parents:

I am writing to encourage you to attend the upcoming PTA meeting as several members of the Governing Council plan to be there to answer your questions and hear your views on school issues.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 PM on Tuesday November 16 and will be held at the school. We accepted the PTA's gracious invitation to attend the meeting as we thought it would be a great opportunity to give you an update on our efforts to find a suitable, long-term home for the school and also the latest word from Santa Fe on the budget outlook for the remainder of the school year.

If you can't make the PTA meeting, I hope you will consider attending one of our regular meetings. The Governing Council meets monthly on the first Wednesday in the Village Council chambers, which is located in the heart of Corrales. The meeting starts at 5 and normally ends by 7:30.

We give parents, staff, and other members of the public an opportunity to speak to us at every meeting as we value their opinions.

I can't adequately express how much I've enjoyed serving on the Governing Council for the past year and a half and feel honored that I can contribute to the success of such a great school. If you see me at school or an event, I hope you will introduce yourself as I hope to meet every one of you by the time my term ends.

Jennifer A. Salisbury

Governing Council Co-Chair

NEWS

WINTER SHOP AND STROLL

Winter Shop & Stroll

Hello Corrales International School Families,

The cold weather and holiday season celebrations are around the corner! So mark your calendars for the CIS Winter Shop N' Stroll that is scheduled for December 10^th at 5:00 pm. This is a family event with a "Kids only Shopping" area and story-telling for all with Scott and Johanna Hongell-Darsee from the NM Humanities Council! The shopping area is made possible by donations of articles by CIS families, and will be priced from .10 cents to $1.00.

We need all your extra, unwanted, "stuff" for the shopping area.

Examples are: old ties, lotions, soaps, holiday ornaments, gifts that were given to you that you don't know what to do with, old jewelry etc.

You can begin dropping off your items now in the box marked Shop N' Stroll by the front table at the school.

We will also need volunteers to help work the event and donations of soups, stews and baked goods. Please contact Karen Grending if you have questions or can volunteer either your time or a home baked/cooked item.

Karen Grending: kgrending@grending.com

STUDENT SAFETY

Please keep in mind some of these safety precautions to keep our students safe. Also, please observe the stop sign (left side) when you are driving through our parking lot.

Mornings

Parents if you need to drop-off your child before 8:15 a.m. you must have him/her attend the before school program. Before care is located in Ms. Gaby Escobedo's classroom. There is no one else available to supervise your child. Children of all ages can not be left unattended.

Pick-up and Drop-off

Students cannot be picked up after 3:20 from their classrooms.
All students will be dismissed at 3:30 from the pick-up/drop-off area (Midway Blvd. entrance).
Since we have 70 more students this school year, some of you may choose to park on Midway Blvd. and walk to get your children from the pick-up area.
CROSS WALK. Please allow us to help you cross the parking lot. We have too many cars exiting plus the bus.
Please be aware that there is a STOP sign in the parking lot to allow pedestrians to cross.
Students not picked up by 3:40 will be taken to the Aftercare Program by their teacher. There is a charge for Aftercare service.

We ask that you abide by these safety precautions. Remember, your children are watching you and learning from your actions.

RECYCLING PROJECT - PARENTS NEEDED

November is New Mexico Recycling Awareness month.

Through the hard work one of our parents, Mabel Arrellanes, our school has received several recycling bins. Mr. Johnson has agreed to coordinate this recycling project with our students.

In order for this initiative to work we will need parent volunteers to take the recycled material to the appropriate locations.

Below is a link of the locations in Albuquerque where we can drop off the material at no cost. The Solid Waste main office is 4600 Edith NE (Edith and Griegos) it is also the closest drop-off to the school. Recycling drop-off sites:

http://www.cabq.gov/solidwaste/recycling/dropoff

I hope we can count all our parents to participate and help us with our recycling project.

CIS FOOD PANTRY

We have started a food pantry to provide a healthy lunch for those students that forget their lunch or are not able to bring a lunch to school. Additionally, we would like to start collecting food for families that are in need. There will be a box by the front desk to collect canned or dried goods.

The following items are needed for student lunches:

- instant macaroni and cheese, instant noodles/ramen or other soups

- fruit cups, dried fruit, fruit leather, cheese crackers, granola bars, boxed juice, single serve pastas, pretzels etc

Please contact Anna Prewitt at annaprewitt@gmail.com for more information.

Upcoming Events

Sunday, November 7 Daylight Saving Time Ends. SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK 1 HOUR

Tuesday, November 9 6:00pm

SAC Meeting

Wednesday, November 10 5:30pm

Director's Coffee

Thursday, November 11

Veterans Day (SCHOOL WILL BE IN SESSION)