ISY Elementary Blog

Happy Holidays

Mike Simpson, Elementary School Principal

December 17, 2021

2021 has challenged all of us in many different ways. As teachers and parents, we step up and meet those challenges for the good of our students and children. 

It takes a lot of energy and resilience to keep stepping up and sometimes it might feel like we are running low on both. Fortunately, our students and children have plenty of energy and resilience to share!

They share their energy and resilience with us through their attendance, participation, and good humor. I am sure that you are inspired by your child(ren)’s efforts this year. We certainly have been and we have also been grateful for your support. 

On behalf of our Elementary School team, we wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday and we look forward to seeing you in 2022.

Classes begin after the holiday at 8am on Monday, January 10.

Holiday Assembly

We celebrated the end of 2021 with our annual holiday assembly – complete with stories, songs, and a fun drawing activity. The traditonal Teachers Holiday Dance was a hit again this year!

COUNSELOR’S CORNER with Ms. Patty:

The Importance of Routines Over the Holidays

Soon the winter holiday will be upon us.  For many a break from the school routine is a welcomed time to relax and unwind but for many children the lack of structure can breed uncertainty and anxiety.  In general, most people benefit from routines but children, in particular, find comfort in knowing what is expected.  Further routines help children regulate socially and emotionally.  

So how do we enjoy the holiday and yet maintain some structure to support our children?  Here are a few ideas:

  1. Make a plan: Before or at the start of the holiday, sit down with your child and develop a plan of what will happen over the next 3 weeks.  Make a calendar of events & activities the family expects to participate in.  Have your plan include daily activities, such as wake up time, meals and bedtime.
  2. Maintain daily activities:  It’s easy over the holidays to let the little things go but maintaining routines, such as daily bath, teeth brushing or bedtime stories provides security for children and helps them maintain healthy lifestyle choices.
  3. Prioritize sleeping & eating: Elementary children need 9-12 hours of sleep each night.  Maintain daily bedtime schedules as much as possible.  Keep regular meals.  Eating healthy meals on schedule will help maintain energy and help avoid irritability.  Encourage moderation of unhealthy snacks and treats.
  4. Develop a screen time schedule: Children have more access to unstructured time with devices during the holidays.  Make a plan with them to determine how much, when and what type of device time they may have.  Remember not all screen time is equal.  Quality and quantity are different.

I hope these tips enable your family to have a truly restful and enjoyable holiday.  I hope the coming year brings peace and comfort to you as well.  As always, I am available to the ISY community for support.  Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at escounselor@isyedu.org 

Warmly, Ms. Patty

Ms. Patty is available to support all ISY families.  If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at escounselor@isyedu.org. 

Patty Amundson-Geisel

Pre-K to Grade 6 Counselor

Semester 1 Ends Friday, January 21

Today we break for the Winter Holiday. Classes will resume on Monday, January 10 at 8am and our first Semester will finish on Friday, January 21. Semester 1 reports will be available on Friday, January 28.

Internet Issues

Offline Learning Activities

Every Friday, your child’s homeroom teacher will email you a PDF of offline learning activities that your child will be able to do if they lose access to the internet. 

Please only use these plans if your child is unable to access the internet. If you have the internet, your child will be able to attend online classes as usual. 

To make sure the offline learning activities stay connected to what is happening in class, our teachers will review and, if necessary, update the offline learning activities each week. Please download the PDF document attached to the email as soon as you receive it on Friday. The email will also have a link to this instructional video:

Previous Elementary School Posts

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Yangon, Myanmar

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