Dear TIS parents,
As we move towards the Middle of March the Cherry Blossom Fair activities are now in full swing and we need everybody’s help to make this a highly successful event once again:
Donate items (in good condition) for our bargain bazaar and book sale.
Sign-up to volunteer at our different stations that day (food, games, arts & crafts, prizes, bargain bazaar, book sale, etc.), contact Luz Amigorena to volunteer.
Sell as many Raffle tickets as you can! Raffle ticket class competition prizes are more amazing than ever this year! We will be sending a complete CBF package that includes the raffle ticket stubs assigned to each family next Wednesday March 18.
CBF Charity Nominations
With Cherry Blossom Fair just around the corner it is time to start considering how profits will be distributed this year. Earlier in the year the PSA surveyed the school community as to whether we should continue supporting charities, the amount of the split between spending on TIS and Charities and the types of Charities the community would like to see us support. Overwhelmingly the school community elected to continue supporting charities with CBF profits and the most favoured split was 50% TIS and 50% charity. The Cherry Blossom Fair funds are separate to other PSA fundraising activities, such as pizza, popcorn and popsicles, where 100% of the profits are already returned to TIS via the Grants program.
The survey revealed the preferences for charity support were in the following priority:
Japan charities focussed on Tohoku
Charities with which TIS has a meaningful connection such as TIS Cambodia
Other Japanese Charities
Other worldwide charities
The PSA is now seeking nominations for charities that the school community would like to support. If you have a connection with a charity or know of a worthy cause please nominate a charity to be considered for support. Following the Fair a meeting will be held to consider nominations and a vote will be undertaken to determine the charities and amount to be supported.
Please send nominations to: Denise Mullen.
TIS CBF: Silent Auction Themed Baskets 2015
The Cherry Blossom Fair this year will again feature themed baskets filled with contributions from students and families of TIS to be used as part of the Silent Auction. Basket items needed are in all different price ranges – your participation however big or small is very much appreciated and will help ensure the fair is a resounding success! We plan to have 4 themed baskets, in the areas of Arts & Craft, Toys/Legos, Sports/Entertainment/Games, and Disney “Frozen”.
You can easily participate by contributing anything NEW but NOT gift wrapped from items listed below:
TOYS OR BOARD GAMES
Legos, Playmobile, Erectors, Magnetics, Building sets, Puzzles, Learning kits, Jewelry or sewing kits, Play Vehicle & RC, Figures and dolls etc.
SPORTING GOODS
Any sporting gears, sporting game tickets, athlete apparels, etc.
ARTS and CRAFTS
Drawing books and kits, color pencils and crayons, water coloring sets, paint brushes, knitting kits, play dough, beading sets, glitters, etc.
DISNEY “FROZEN”
Any merchandise from the Disney movie sensation “Frozen” including dolls, dresses, crafts, etc.
Please feel free to email Bec Busby for any questions, additional ideas or where to purchase items. You could also partner with other parents to purchase a larger item or donate something towards a purchase with our help.
There will be a box placed in School Lobby from Monday 2nd March, for the children to place the items.If you prefer to give a cash donation for items to then be purchased, please email Bec Busby to coordinate. We would appreciate all the donations to be in before Spring break by Friday 20th March.
Thank you and we look forward to your kind contributions.
Silent Auction Team
Bec Busby and Laila Easum
WANTED:
YOUR USED BOOKS
It’s time to clear out your bookcases!
What: Used books in good, saleable condition; English preferred, but foreign
language books also welcome
Why: Cherry Blossom Fair Book Sale!
Where: Drop them off in the Gym (in front of the climbing wall)
When: After Spring Break, at morning drop-off until 10:30 preferably on the following days:
April 1 (Wed), 3 (Fri)
April 6 (Mon), 9 (Thurs), 10 (Fri)
April 13 (Mon), 14 (Tues), 15 (Wed), 16 (Thurs), 17 (Fri)
Contact:
Deanna Elstrom
Melissa Grant
Jo Andrews
It’s That Season Once Again!
Following the success of previous BARGAIN BAZAARS at the much-awaited TIS Cherry Blossom Fair, we are asking you once again to take part in this fun and purposeful event, which will be held on April 18th!
What do we need?
Please donate quality items which your family has outgrown or no longer need.
They must be in good condition, something that you would be willing to buy for yourself or your children.
We need items from your children’s closets (winter and summer clothes or swim wear), toys, kitchen implements, electronic items and gadgets, accessories, bikes, and play equipment. Please note that NO ADULT CLOTHING will be collected and sold this year!
In order to save time, effort and space, we will give you some idea of the items which we think would optimise the quality of our Bazaar in future newsletters.
Details for dropping off goods at school to come soon! However, if you wish to drop off your donations before the Spring Break or during non-collection dates (weekdays only), please inform us by email so we can make necessary arrangements to receive them.
Your Time – Need Volunteers!
We may have the goods, but the success of this event greatly depends on our community’s collective effort. We will need YOUR help to volunteer before and during the event!
We will also need volunteers on the day of the Festival, so please send an email to both Rachel AND Meg for any questions, and to reserve your slot/s as a volunteer!
We look forward to having fun working with you soon!
Thank you!
The 2015 Bargain Bazaar Committee
Rachel Van Haeff and Meg Cherry
PSA Parent Education
Upcoming Workshop
Japanese at TIS
April 9, 2015 (Thur) 8:30-9:20 am
@ MPR and TIS Learning Lab (across library)
Japanese Language Team
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The Japanese language team will be presenting to parents how Japanese is taught to students at TIS. There will be two workshops running simultaneously; one for the Japanese native program run by Miho Nishita and Sayaka Tsukada in the Multipurpose Room (MPR) and another for the Non-native Japanese program run by Misao Akashi, Niki Kitao and Yuko Kipnis in the Learning Lab. Both workshops will address the following:
– Overall program structure
– Student class placement procedure and criteria
– Curriculum: UOI, standards and benchmarks, classroom learning activities
– Assessments: types and methods of assessment, report criteria
All parents are encouraged to attend. Please note that this is a 50 minute workshop and teachers will need to leave promptly for their classes at 9:20am so please come on time.
Please RSVP: Nami Hamada
PSA Parent Education
Upcoming Workshop
Visible Learning at TIS
March 17, 2015 (Tue) 8:30-9:30 am
TIS Learning Lab (across library)
Steve Meade, Deputy Head of School
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Visible Learning was introduced with John Hattie’s meta-study Visible Learning. This synthesis of over 800 meta-studies is the result of 15 years’ research covering more than 80 million students and bringing together more that 50,000 smaller studies. It is one of the largest collections of evidence-based research about what works best in education. Hattie compared the effect size of many aspects that influence learning outcomes in schools and points out that in education most things work. The question is which strategies and innovations work best and where to concentrate efforts in order to improve student achievement. In this seminar, we will explore some of the work of John Hattie and share some examples of how TIS is implementing some of these strategies and innovations.
All parents are encouraged to attend.
Please RSVP: Nami Hamada
As always, we love hearing from you, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, ideas or concerns.
Best Regards,
Luz Amigorena
PSA President