September 13, 2006

UPDATE

September 13, 2006

Prepared by

Deanna Duncan, Principal

Kelly Patchen, Assistant Principal

Dr. Richard Beall, Director

For the last two years—and for the rest of their school careers at CIS—our 9^th graders will be the “elders” of our student body. They will serve as mentors and examples for all the younger students, but they won’t have older students for guidance and support. This year we decided to provide an Adult Mentor for each 9^th grade student for the 2006-2007 school year. The purpose of this program is to provide a “Big Buddy” for our 9^th grade students. We are excited to give our students and our staff this wonderful opportunity.

At the beginning of the school year, each staff member (teachers, clerical, custodial, teacher assistants, and administration) filled out an “All About Me” form. Each ninth grade student had an opportunity to read each staff member’s “All About Me” and selected three adults they were interested in serving as mentor.

Last week, the Mentor-Mentee assignments were made and all participants were informed. The staff, as well as the ninth grade students, seems very excited and enthusiastic about the program. Most adult mentors have taken the opportunity to introduce themselves to their 9^th grade mentee and have begun establishing a mentor relationship with their 9^th grader.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dee Duncan, our Principal.

We’re making a special call to Kindergarten and 1^st grade parents/guardians—and everyone else that can help—to join us this Saturday morning for a work party from 8am-noon. We’re going to install an improved drainage system on the playground side of the K-1 buildings, and need lots of hands to make this light work. Please bring shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, and saws-alls.

We’ll also have a load of new pine bark mulch to spread under and around the new shade structure. If you can help out, please email Cathy Hayes at hayesc@ciscomets.org or leave a message at 704-455-3847 ext. 1.

It was a massive effort with a cast of dozens. Thanks very much to all the parents, guardians, and community members who contributed to the greening of our athletic field. Organized by volunteer John Royals, turf management instructor at the Cato Campus of CPCC, the field has ½ mile of irrigation lines and Tifway Bermuda grass. The sod will take several weeks to take root, so we are asking everyone to stay off the field until it is ready. We’re hoping to host our first home soccer game here on October 5^th.

Our Parent-Teacher-Student Organization (PTSO) celebrated the new school year with a reception for new families (below, under the canopy) and their first meeting, with standing-room-only attendance.

Carolina International School honored Patriots Day with a special assembly for students in grades 4-9. Three 8^th grade students and their teacher described the significance and impact of September 11^th:

Ms. Belachew was in Italy at the time, and told how the Italians mourned the event and closed schools early the next day.

Andrew Wetherill’s father worked for NYPD in the past, and stood guard at the WTC after the 1993 bombing. His step-brothers enlisted in the Army due to 9/ll.

Bailey Hayman was in third grade, and didn’t understand the scope of the event at the time. But now she recognizes the courage of police and firefighters and how the tragedy brought our nation together.

Sarala Mahlin-Korn’s mother worked at one time in the World Trade Center, and their family had a friend in Flight 93.

Today, as you know, is the 5^th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. We join millions of people around the world in taking a moment to reflect on the significance of this day.

It is important for us to understand that this event did not need to happen. It was not a natural disaster, something beyond human control like a hurricane. It was not an accident, an event that couldn’t be avoided.

It was deliberate, cruel action. It was directly opposite our school’s core values. The men that planned and executed the attacks did not respect our country and its citizens, and they did not seek solutions that would serve humanity in a responsible way.

We must not feel that the people who committed these crimes were representatives of their country or culture. There are peace-loving, solutions-oriented people in every country and culture. Our school’s theme this year is to “Celebrate Diversity.” We must see the goodness in all people and work to develop that potential.

On Friday, some of us will have the opportunity to meet people like that. Three of our 9^th graders will be traveling to Denver, Colorado, for the 10^th Anniversary Celebration of an international youth organization called PeaceJam. Leading the conference will be 11 winners of the Nobel Peace Prize—including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu—the largest collection of Peace Prize winners in US history.

These are people who also saw problems in the world, but they dedicated their lives to real solutions, and they stand as examples of goodness and courage. The goal of PeaceJam is “to inspire a new generation of peacemakers who will transform their local communities, themselves, and the world.” We look forward to hearing our students’ stories about this special experience.

Today our US flag stands at half-mast. By tradition, the flag is raised to full staff, and then lowered to half-staff as a symbol of our loss and our sorrow on this day, a shared symbol that unites us with all Americans.

But on our campus, many flags fly, representing the countries in our world family. As we take a moment of silence today in sympathy for the lives lost and families devastated by the attacks, let us also think of all that we share in common with citizens of the world.

Let us commit to daily lives of respect, of responsibility, of real solutions, and of lives of service as new peacemakers.

Our students in grades K-4 will be participating in Cabarrus County’s Traveling Bookmobile this year at our school. The bookmobile is a traveling library that comes to our school every other Friday from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm. Our first four visits from the Bookmobile are slated for September 15^th, September 29^th, October 13^th, and October 27^th.

In order to accommodate everyone, we are going to alternate dates of visits by homeroom colors. Students in the BLUE K-4 classes (Ms. Wages, Ms. Patsiavos, Mrs. Bunch, Ms. Bishop, and Ms. Ruff) will have the opportunity to visit the bookmobile on Friday, September 15^th and then again on Friday, October 13^th. The GOLD K-4 students (Ms. Morton, Mrs. Medina, Mrs. Batra, Ms. Johanns, and Mrs. Kawski) will visit the bookmobile on Friday, September 29^th and then again on Friday, October 27^th. If you have any questions about the Bookmobile, please call Mrs. Patchen at 704-455-3847 ext. 7. Happy Reading!

Our theme for the 2006-2007 school year is “Celebrating Diversity”. We want all students, staff and families to understand and celebrate the differences in each of us. Celebrating diversity includes honoring differences in learning styles, ethnic backgrounds, religious practices, socio-economics, interests, talents, strengths of intelligence, gender, age, and more.

We want all students to understand that each of us is different and that is what makes each of us special. We each have a special “gift” and we all have “weaknesses”. We should accept and embrace each other’s gifts as well as help one another grow in each of our weaknesses.

As we go through the 2006-2007 school year, you will hear us emphasize our theme. We will celebrate and work together as a team to help each student recognize the characteristics that make them unique and a “gift” to our school and the world! We will work together to help students develop tolerance of characteristics that are different in their peers and then celebrate those differences. Through respect, tolerance, understanding and celebration we hope that each student will find their path to success and grow as students and individuals. We hope through “celebrating diversity” each student will not only grow academically but will also support their classmates as a part of a team. A team that is comprised of unique individuals, all with a gift to offer their classroom and the world!

Let us serve as models and assure that we celebrate the diversity in each member of our school community –parents, guardians, teachers, administrators, staff members, students, and Board members. We hope 2006-2007 is a fabulous learning experience for all!

Please make sure you place your orders for your winter wear by the October 10th deadline so you will have your clothing back before the winter break. All orders received after 9AM on September 12th will be placed in the October 10th order.

The uniforms have arrived and will be sorted on Wednesday for an anticipated distribution to students by Thursday.

There will be a home game this Thursday against St. Michael's. The game will begin at 4:15 and will be held at the Mallard Creek Recreation Center on Johnston-Oehler Rd. in Charlotte. Admission is free so come support our lady Comets!!!

Our coed Comet soccer team continues its season with practice at Reedy Creek Park on Monday, September 18^th from 4:0-5:30pm. The next game is Thursday, September 21^st at 4:25 at St. Michael’s.

Come listen to African drumming, Celtic music and other international songs at Cabaret Night on Friday, Sept. 29 at the McGlohon Theater at Spirit Square.

The concert benefits the Boys and Girls Choirs at St. Peter’s, a non-denominational choir open to any child in the Charlotte region. CIS third-grade student Sarah Moore is a member of the Town Choir. Her sister, Emily, who previously attended CIS, sings with the MasterSingers, the group’s teen choir.

Cabaret Night’s theme is “World Music” and will feature three area groups as well as performances by all of the Boys and Girls Choirs at St. Peter’s. The groups include Chris Thompson and the Cultural Ensemble (African drummers and dancers), Nancy Whiskey (a Celtic music group), and the Renaissance Singers.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit the MasterSingers’ choir tour to Europe next summer, during which they will visit and perform at two CIS sister cities, Krefeld, Germany and Limoges, France.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Patron tickets, which include a pre-show reception catered by La-Tea-Da’s, are $50 for adults and $30 for children. General admission tickets are $30 for adults and children. A portion of each ticket price is tax-deductible. Free parking is available at St. Peter’s.

To reserve tickets, call 704-332-7746, ext. 118. For more information about the Boys and Girls Choirs, visit www.StPetersChoirs.org.

Have you ever seen the dance Bharatnatyam? It is the classical dance of India. Radhika Unnithan will be having a dance recital from 4pm-7pm this Sunday at Dana Auditorium – Queens Univerisity with all her 60+ students ages 4-17. Tickets are $5/children and $8/adults. All proceeds of the program will be donated to the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. Donations are welcome. For more information, contact Sheetal Desai at 704-968-2636.

Please join other CIS families for our weekly coffee time on Friday’s at Jackson’s Java on Hwy 49 after drop off.

CIS is compiling a collection of ethnic and traditional recipes from the families and staff to create a beautiful keepsake – An International Cookbook. “The Global Gourmet” will be sold as a Fundraiser for the PTSO. A junior high student’s art work will be featured on the cover. Please see attached flyer for more information. If you would like to be involved in the cookbook committee, please contact Beth Thompson-Peace at thompsonpeaceb@ciscomets.org or 704-455-3847 ext 5543.

This program offers parents the opportunity to “adopt” a teacher or staff member and leave them secret notes or small items. If you are interested in participating in this program, please contact Annemarie Irons at annemarieirons@hotmail.com.

Saturday, September 30^th 9am – 12pm – Help the Kindergarten Teachers clear the trails on campus! Ms. Wages and Ms. Morton are eager to get their classes out on the trails to further integrate the environment in their curriculum. They are looking for several families to help clear limbs and debris, spray poisonous plants, spray weeds and more. Please gather up your tools, weed killer, ant killer, wheel barrows and put on your long sleeve clothing and join them Saturday, September 30^th from 9:00am until 12:00pm. If you are not available to help out and would like to donate items, please contact Ms. Wages or Ms. Morton. Thank you.

Uniform Sorting Volunteers Needed- If you are interested in meeting once a month to help sort and bag school uniforms at the Volunteer Fire Department located on Rocky River, please contact Charlotte Halperin at chalperin@carolinaa.rr.com or call 704-503-0753. You may also contact Beth Thompson-Peace at thompsonpeaceb@ciscomets.org or call 704-455-3847 ext. 5543.

Tutors - Tutors are needed to help the lower elementary students with reading and math. If you are would like to help tutor students, please contact Beth Thompson-Peace.

The athletic committee is currently accepting advertisements for Team Programs that will be given out at soccer, volleyball and basketball home games. Rates range from $25.00 to $200.00 for the 2006-2007 school year. If you are interested in placing an advertisement, please contact Beth Thompson-Peace.

I would like to thank Dr. Jane Fitch, Co-chair, Julie Hicks, Co-Chair and Donna Spohn, Treasurer, for holding a very positive and informative PTSO meeting last Thursday. I would also like to welcome Wendy Maldonado, who has accepted the Secretary position for the PTSO. Last, but definitely not least, I want to thank the parents and staff members that attended the meeting. Mark your calendars now for the next PTSO meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 5^th at 6:30pm.