Volume 8 Issue 8

18 April 2013

Elementary Times
Universal American School provides a challenging, inquirybased American and international education that empowers students to be caring individuals, critical thinkers, and responsible global citizens.

Universal American School Dubai

Notes from the Principals Office

You might easily have confused the lobby of UAS with an outstanding art gallery this week; we had the great fortune to be able to enjoy hundreds of impressive art works by our creative and talented young artists. Now, as those works go home with students, parents will have a chance to frame, display, or otherwise enjoy the delightful art works. We are working to make this issue of Elementary Times particularly helpful and practical. Please know that in this issue I will advise parents regarding Progress Reports, Curriculum Coordinator Erin Machacek will advise parents regarding the Student Led Conferences, and Assistant Principal Jennifer Stockbridge will advise parents about the test scores sent home with students on the 18th (MAP for grades 2-6 and ISA for grades 3-6). The four (adding Technology Coordinator Helen Farran) of us will be available to answer questions in person during the conference hours on April 24th.

Important Dates to Remember

April 14-18 Arts Alive! Visual Arts Displays of Elementary Student Work 18 MAP (gr. 2-6) test and ISA (gr. 3-6) test scores sent home w/students Progress Reports posted to Portal Last day of Semester II After-School-Activities 24-25 Student-led conferences (primarily student and parents) 24 Half-day (12:00 dismissal) 25 No school for students May 18 19 23 29 Talent Show Practice (noon to 5:00 in Multi-Purpose Hall) Talent Show Performance for Parents (6:00 pm in MPH) Half-day of school (12:00 dismissal) for teacher training Grade level spelling bees and Final Spelling Bee (1:20)

June 11

Half-day of school for students (12:00 dismissal) Last day of classes for 2012-2013 school year Reports posted to Portal and sent home with students

Volume 8 Issue 8 Parents have had a chance to see a new reporting format this year (the Progress Report) and the full report card (distributed in February). The schedule calls for a second Progress Report (on April 18th) and full report card (on June 11th). The conferences that were held in November and will be held on April 24th add a third dimension to the reporting plan. Several parents have questioned the value of the Progress Reports, because they are short and dont include grades. For some parents, effective communication regarding student progress means a number or a letter grade. Teachers know those symbols, grades, are often over-valued and given more meaning by parents than warranted. We will be evaluating what changes might be needed to the reporting systems for next year, and the progress report will get a lot of our attention. We necessarily have to follow certain format lines, because the ways our data management systems are set up to gather and store information from reports. We hesitate to make progress reports much longer and overload teachers with forms and reportsmany teachers spend the equivalent of a weeks full-time work preparing each of the two semester sets of reports. It is most important that teacher time be available for preparation and teaching. The most important considerations have to do with whether the Progress Reports in their current form are effectively meeting their purposes: 1. alerting parents to areas or concern in their childs learning or behavior if such alerts are needed, 2. confirming that, in that absence of concerns, learning is progressing as expected, and the child is cooperating and working to the best of his/her abilities, and/or 3. noting any unusual observations, or suggesting ways parents can help with learning. We will continue to look for the best ways to make sure parents receive information about their childs progress in timely and understandable ways. Eric Webb Elementary Principal

18 April 2013

Student-Led Conferences
UAS Students and Teachers are preparing for upcoming conferences to be held on the 24th -25th of April. What is a Student-Led Conference? A student-led conference (SLC) involves the student and parent in a discussion centered on student achievement. In this format the student takes the lead. Students talk about their learning and the parents respond, encourage and commit to a plan for future learning. Teachers are present in the room and may offer encouragement and/or clarification if necessary. During the conference, there will be different families in the room, and students will be rotating through a variety of centers. How does the Student Led Conference function, and what might it look like? In this conference format, your child will take the lead to communicate their learning to you. The portfolio, center activities, hands on homeroom investigations and the specialist classroom all play a part in the functioning of the overall conference. The SLC is a time for children to share and for parents to observe and appreciate growth and achievement. Children should be taking the lead role, communicating, guiding, risk-taking and showing their overall growth, independence and confidence. After the conference, students will take their portfolio home. The portfolio will then return to the homeroom teacher by 2nd May to allow for the last Unit of Inquiry to be added. All conferences and schedules have been set for the 24th and 25th, and parents were sent this information last week via homeroom teachers. If you need to reschedule your conference, please contact your childs classroom teacher who will make the required adjustments. We look forward to seeing you soon J Yours truly, Erin Machacek, PYP Curriculum Coordinator

Volume 8 Issue 8

18 April 2013

MAP and ISA-ACER Test Results

If you are the parent of a student in grades 26, you will be receiving your childs results of the International Schools Assessment (ISA- ACER) test and/or the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test today. While both are standardized tests used to measure student growth and academic achievement in the areas of Reading, Writing (Language Usage) and Mathematics, there are similarities and differences between the two tests and it is important to understand how to use the information presented in the results. Both assessments compare our students to students in the United States and around the world. Both report your childs achievement using a numerical, equalinterval scale, much like centimeters and millimeters on a meter stick. The biggest difference between the two tests lies in the content assessed. The ISA-ACER test is a paper-pencil, grade-level achievement test. This means your child took the exact same ISAACER test as others in his/her grade level and that test was based on material typically covered in that grade level. The MAP test, on the other hand, is a computer-based, adaptive test that adjusts according to how a student responds. This means the test became more difficult when your child answered correctly and therefore, your child took a test specifically created for his or her learning level. When looking at your childs overall academic progress, including their strengths and areas in need of improvement, it is important to consider multiple pieces of evidence (progress reports, report cards, teacher comments, standardized test scores, etc.) to help you get the most comprehensive picture of your childs development. The ISA-ACER and MAP assessments, combined with report cards from the school, all provide effective tools for monitoring your childs achievement and growth over time by pinpointing what they have learned and what they are ready to learn. Teachers and administrators will use this data to plan instruction, design appropriately differentiated lessons and activities, and to evaluate the educational programs at UAS. It is important, however, to understand that each standardized test is one test at one point in time. They are not designed to measure intelligence or a students capacity for learning. Included with the test results are documents to help you further interpret and understand your childs scores. Additionally, we welcome questions about these assessments and invite parents to stop by the Elementary Library during Student-Led Conferences on Wednesday, April 24 or Thursday, April 25 to learn more about the MAP and ISA-ACER tests. Jennifer Stockbridge Assistant Elementary Principal

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18 April 2013

Library News
Hysterical fiction anyone? While I am quick to agree that humor can make for a good read, this wasnt exactly what I was getting at when I suggested that some students try reading historical fiction. Grade 4 students were recently exposed to this genre in their classrooms with their teachers. The simplest definition is that it is a branch of realistic fiction that is set in the past amidst real historical events or settings. Genre is a French word meaning type or kind. Being able to recognize the features of particular genres supports our breadth and depth of knowledge across fields including books, reading and all things literary. Students are encouraged to read from a variety of genres. I think as parents and teachers, we all know children who suffer from genre fixation. There are boys who wont read anything unless it involves a mystical fantasy world (take the Eragon and Percy Jackson series as examples) and girls who only want to read fiction about similarly aged girls and their sagas at school with friendship groups (think the Beacon Street Girls). One of the explanations for these fixations is that familiarity of a genres conventions helps our understanding of the story and as a consequence, the impact that the story has on us. While it looks like a reading rut by those of us from the outside, students seem to enjoy reading from one particular genre because their understanding of the rules results in the story being more meaningfully for them. All the same, I would recommend students read from a variety of genres.

Some links that I have found with suggested genre titles include: www.lapl.org/kidspath/books/genre/i ndex.php (Los Angeles Public Librarys Kids Path) http://nancykeane.com/rl/#Genres (Nancy Keanes Childrens Literature website) www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/bookl ists/children_booklists.html (Monroe County Public Library Booklists)

An Internet search of your own is sure to result in many other recommended reading genre lists. If you are looking for a way to entice your child to read more, lists like these are terrific pathways to introduce children to a lifelong love of reading. Also important to mention is that the donated and used Book Drive raised over 1000 AED, which will be donated to charity. Medecin Sans Frontiers, MSF, has a fund for Syrian refugees and I will ask teachers and parents if they agree on this choice or have other suggestions. Thank you to everyone who donated or bought books! Tania McPhillamy Elementary Librarian

Volume 8 Issue 8

18 April 2013

Examples of Reading Genres

TRADITIONAL Folktales Fables Myths Legends Epics FANTASY Fantasy Worlds Science Fiction Historical Fantasy REALISM School Stories Mystery Adventure Historical Fiction etc INFORMATIONAL Science History Geography Mathematics Arts etc BIOGRAPHY Fictionalized biographies Traditional biographies Autobiographies Memoirs

Grade 2 Kings & Queens of the Tables

On April 14th the second graders participated in their first Kings and Queens of the Tables competition. Over the past three weeks all of the Grade 2 students have been working hard to memorize their multiplication tables. Students first worked on understanding what multiplication means before they began to memorize their multiplication facts. Students were able to make connections with repeated addition and skip counting. The Grade 2 teachers taught some effective strategies and tricks so that all students could improve their speed and accuracy. It was our hope that some of the tips made it easier for students to memorize their multiplication facts as well as give them the confidence they need to move on to the next step in Math. All students participated in this final competition and it was amazing to see how excited the second graders were to do Math. Everyone was smiling and laughing which was great to see. In the end, a King and Queen of the Table were crowned, Seokhyeon Lim and Yasmine Maayah. Now we will begin to memorize our division tables!

Volume 8 Issue 8

18 April 2013

Dont forget the Bookworm Book Fair that is on next week in the Secondary library (see the dates and times on the flyer). Envelopes will be sent home with students and you can choose to put money in them for your child to buy books during their class visit to the fair. Alternatively, the fair can be visited anytime during the week by parents during the conferences it is often convenient for parents to go with their child. Enjoy!