Elementary Principal’s Blog

April 26th
Blog Post

Sandy Sheppard, Elementary School Principal

Dear all,

Welcome back, and thank you to all the parents who attended the parent conferences on Tuesday.

Today, we had an assembly that included Grade 5  sharing and music presentations from Grades 2 and 4. See the Pride of the Principal awards below.

The Grade 5 ComPassion projects are in full swing. Starting next week, the students will work with their mentors from across the school to develop their work. They have generated ideas and are following the Service Learning Cycle to determine what action they would like to take. The mentors, along with the Grade 5 teachers, will guide them in developing their ideas further. This work culminates on the 21st of May with an exhibition after school. You are all invited to attend. It is an exciting time as this is the final project in their elementary years, which signals their readiness to move to middle school. 

We continue to monitor the weather daily, the students are using the Gym at break time whenever it is available rather than being outside. The lunch room is been used for eating for all students Grade 1-5.

Have a great weekend.

Take care,

Ms. Sheppard

IMPORTANT

FOOD AT SCHOOL

Several of our students have been bringing candy to school to eat during snack and lunch time. They are also sharing with other students. While this is a lovely gesture, we try to promote healthy eating at school and would prefer that candy be left for a treat at home that parents monitor. Thank you in advance for ensuring that your child/ren do not bring candy to school.

    SUN CARE

    It has started to get very hot outdoors. During these warmer periods, to play outdoors, our students are required to wear sun hats and sunscreen. We ask your assistance to apply sunscreen to your child before they come to school and also to send a named sunscreen bottle to school so that sunscreen can be reapplied before break times.

    Exciting news from our Library: Introducing PressReader

    To access some excellent magazine and newspaper articles then please check out ISY’s new subscription to PressReader. ISY is an official Press Reader hotspot enabling login-free access on our wifi network. Please follow the instructions below to access from home:

    At home, click the sign in button, enter your ISY email address and password.

    Click the “library or group” access button. Type in “Yangon” to locate our school and select it.

    Click sign up, enter your ISY email address. A link is now sent to your email which allows you full remote access.

    Parents can get 7-day access by linking a device while on campus. For longer term access parents should login through their child’s account, allowing 5 devices.

    Chinthe Cubs

    For 2024-25, we will be offering a 3-year-old program. The current 4-year-old program and the new 3-year-old program will be called Chinthe Cubs. Please complete this sign-up form to register your interest in finding out more information about the new Chinthe Cubs classes. As a reminder, admissions for the next academic year, 2024-25, will be accepted from 15th February 2024. The information session has been completed, but you can get information at any time by contacting our ISY Admissions Office.

    Dates to Remember

    1st May – NO SCHOOL

    3rd May – Parent’s Connecting Parents, Parent Association event – see more information below

    22nd May – NO SCHOOL

    7th June – Last day of school – school finishes at 11:30

    PARENT ASSOCIATION EVENT

    The Parent Association invites all parents to an afternoon of relaxed fun, food, and drinks to meet other parents and have a good time. The event will be held at ISY on May 3rd from 5-8 pm. The entry fee gives you access to free flow barbecue, salads and beer. If you would like to pre-book wine this is also available. Please help us to plan by registering using this link.

    Executive Functioning Skill: Mental Flexibility 

    Mental flexibility is the ability to change and adapt when situations or strategies don’t work as planned and one needs to find an alternative.  Good problem solvers have mental flexibility because they are able to look beyond the first idea and pursue other ideas with enthusiasm.  Being mentally flexible allows us to manage stress better and bounce back faster when obstacles hinder our path to success.  You can help your child develop mental flexibility by:

    • Letting them fail.  Children need opportunities to fail in safe environments so that they can practice managing their feelings, learn from their mistakes and understand that some things need multiple attempts before they can be successful. 
    • Teach them that problem solving isn’t done with one idea.  Problem solving takes time and effort.  Many failures may occur before the problem is truly resolved.
    • Provide differing points of view.  Every situation has multiple perspectives.  Helping your child understand that will open a new world of empathy and understanding.
    • Use mindfulness strategies to help your child build stamina for the present.  Stress is often worrying about the future.  Remaining present allows your child to see the process and not get overwhelmed by possible mistakes or failures.

    If you would like to talk with Ms. Patty about this or any of the executive functioning skills discussed in previous weeks, please contact her at escounselor@isyedu.org.

    Warm regards, Ms. Patty