March, 15th
Blog Post
Dear all,
Next week is Spirit Week. See the poster below for more information. The students love the opportunity to dress up to come to school. We hope you will encourage your children to participate in the daily themes.
In the Elementary School, our Student Council is encouraging a commitment to the earth next week by encouraging classes to save electricity by participating in daily electricity-saving activities. Not only have they challenged classes to get involved, but they have also presented to them why these activities are beneficial for the earth.
They are encouraged to:
Monday – Turn lights out for an hour
Tuesday – Check AC usage
Wednesday – Keep the classroom doors and windows closed
Thursday – Unplug devices that do not need charging
Friday – Use no electricity for 30 minutes
The official Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 23rd. If your family is interested in participating, here is a link to a website full of great ideas.
Our Chinthe Fund after school activity group are also running a Dog-a-Thon, see more information below on how your children can become involved.
As a reminder, we continue to emphasize the importance of students coming to school on time. Our school schedule allows for a short morning meeting every morning in the Elementary School. These meetings are important as they set the stage for the day, and also, it is when the teachers deliver important notices. We feel it is very important for students to be at school for this, these meetings start promptly at 8:30. The school bell rings at 8:20 allowing students to make their way to the rooms and be ready to start the day.
Don’t forget to purchase your ticket for the Gala. We hope to see you there.
See more information below.
Take care,
Ms. Sheppard
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.
DOG-A-THON
Our Chinthe Fund service learning group is running a dog-a-thon next week. They will be collecting – dry dog food, rice and charcoal. This is a competition to see who can bring in the most items. The winning class wins donuts for the class.
Thank you in advance for encouraging and supporting your child to participate.
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.
PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETING
28th March – Parent Association meeting to share updates and financials.
There will also be a presentation from Mrs Feller our Librarian on the exciting new Library platforms – Sora and PressReader.
All invited
8:30 – 9:30 AM
in the Multi-Purpose Room
FUNDRAISING GALA
The 5th Annual ISY Fundraising Gala is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 30, 2024, at the PARKROYAL Hotel Yangon and will be in their Yadanar Ballroom starting from 6:00 pm. The theme will be The Garden of Hope. The Gala supports and links to ISY’s strategic theme of Sustainability. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the event, please see this linked sponsorship document with the sponsorship packages and form. Any questions regarding sponsorship should be directed towards our Advancement Associate, May Su Yadana Bo (mbo@isyedu.org) or +95 9 880 441 040, +95 9 964 210 248. You can also see further details about ticket purchases for the event on our ISY Gala webpage and Facebook Event page.
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
25th March – No School (Tabaung Holiday)
28th March – Parent Association Meeting – 8:30 – 9:30 in the MPR
30th March – Annual Gala – 6 PM
5th April – Special Thingyan Event
6th April – 22nd April – Thingyan Holiday
23rd April – Parent Conferences – NO SCHOOL
3rd May – Parent’s Connecting Parents, Parent Association event (more information to come)
Executive Functioning Skill: Attention
This week we return to our discussion regarding executive functioning skills. As we have discussed, executive functioning skills are the processes in the brain that allow us to set and reach goals. These skills are an umbrella term for the varied skills needed daily. In previous blogs we have discussed: planning, organization, task initiation, time management, working memory and self control. Over the next few weeks, we will address the final three skills of attention, flexibility and perseverance.
This week we explore attention, which is much more than the ability to focus. Attention means knowing when and where to direct your focus. Being self aware regarding your level of focus so you can best direct your attention and being able to direct and redirect attention as new information is presented. This skill is important not only in an academic setting but throughout life. Meeting new people, having a conversation, learning new information all require attention. So how as parents can we support our child to develop their attention? Here are a few ideas:
- Give clear, direct instructions. Often, as parents, we provide extensive reasons for the directions, but keeping it simple allows your child to focus on the important content of the direction.
- Build in routines and consistency. Children are better able to attend when they know what is expected of them.
- Provide down time. Overscheduled children may feel overwhelmed and may not be able to attend as purposefully as they may like due to fatigue.
- Break large tasks into smaller ones. A very messy room that needs to be cleaned, might begin with just re-shelving books on the floor and then the clothes, etc.
- Keep distractions away from work spaces. Children can easily get distracted when devices or toys are near their work locations.
If you have any questions regarding executive functioning skills or other concerns regarding your child’s development. Please reach out to me at escounselor@isyedu.org I am happy to support you and your child.
Warm regards, Ms. Patty
The International School Yangon
20 Shwe Taungyar Street
Bahan Township
Yangon, Myanmar
+95 (0) 9 880 441 040