October 29, 2015

28 October 2015
Dear Parents and Friends of ISF Junior School
1. As I shall attend the IB Africa, Europe, Middle East (AEM) Regional Conference on
Thursday – Sunday of this week, I send this short note today to keep you current
about the life and times of the Junior School; I shall not be able to do this on
Friday.
2. From the Board:
Dear Members of the ISF Community,
Please join us for our annual Meet the Board event TODAY, Wednesday,
October 28 at 7pm, at the Upper School Campus. Come enjoy some light
refreshments and bring your questions for the Board. We will be presenting an
overview of our work with a focus on the strategic areas of Finance and Facilities,
and we welcome your input.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Best regards,
Mary Louise Culpepper
ISF Board Secretary
Gentile Comunità ISF,
Siete invitati all'incontro annuale con il Consiglio di Amministrazione il 28
ottobre alle 19 alla Upper School. Venite per un piccolo rinfresco e per porre le
vostre domande direttamente al Consiglio. Verrà data una panoramica sul nostro
lavoro con particolare attenzione all'area strategica della Finanza e Strutture, il
vostro contributo è benvenuto.
Vi aspettiamo numerosi!
Mary Louise Culpepper
ISF Board Secretary
3. Our annual Winter Festival concert will be held on 04 December, with the
Junior School alone participating. It will be a morning event in Bagno a Ripoli.
Full details will be published soon after our return from the short break.
4. Around now you will be receiving the first (of six through the year) end of Unit of
Inquiry short reports from your child’s teacher. I encourage you to review it with
your child and to celebrate and encourage their efforts, noting also with them
areas that have been highlighted for improvement.
5. The exit gate from the playground / parking area will be locked at 1700 on
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Tuesday it will be locked at 1615.
It is essential that students are collected on time after clubs and that the parking
area is vacated by these times on these days. Thank you for your support with
this and it has been much appreciated these past few weeks.
6. Please see the attached notice form the Parents Association regarding Halloween
which will take place in the cortile from 1400 on Friday 30 October. The PA has
transformed the cortile and Italian Garden! Clubs will not take place on that
Friday. If your child, who normally takes the bus home, will be collected by you
on that day, please let us know by THURSDAY 29 October at 1400 so that all
bus children can be accounted for safely on Friday.
7. On Tuesday afternoon G2L presented an outstanding Assembly related to their
first Unit of Inquiry this year dealing with rocks, minerals and tectonic processes.
Congratulations to all students for their active participation and to Ms. Lutz, Ms.
Elisa, Ms. Tanya and Ms. Valeria for guiding and preparing them.
8. G5 returned on Friday last from a very successful curriculum –related three-day
trip to Naples and Herculaneum. Alongside all of the academic learning involved
it was gratifying to hear from accompanying staff that the conduct and
engagement of students was excellent. Well done to all G5, Ms. Runge, Mr. Bailey,
Ms. Kustrin, Mr. Fornai and Ms. Nickels.
9. Please if you take a dog onto the campus, leave it in your car and do not take
it into the school. This is an important safety and health matter. Thank you.
10. The Parent / Staff Choir continues to meet every Friday at 1530 in the Music
Room in preparation for our Winter Festival Concert. New members always
welcome to an ensemble which is sounding ever sweeter! But not this Friday
afternoon, due to Halloween celebrations! However, Ms. Kustrin is happy to
rehearse with all choir parents available tomorrow, Thursday, and / or Friday
morning from 0830 - 0900
11. If you wish to discuss a school bus service after Clubs, please contact Andrea
Mangini at 3356066355 or via email at [email protected]
May I wish you a very pleasant weekend with your children.
Martin Donnellan, Junior School Principal
Happy Halloween
We are proud to pronounce that on Friday, 30 October 2015 the PA, with assistance of the school, is
organizing the annual Halloween Party. It is a big event at the Junior School and we are looking forward to
see parents and family dress up and join the party. So get your costumes ready!
Dress up
Dressing up for kids will start at 14:00 (let you child bring their costumes to school) and we would like to
ask parents to come and assist the teachers. Some kids need help with their costume or need face painting.
If you have some old Halloween costumes you don’t use, please donate them to the PA. There will be a
blue container available in front of Anna Maria’s office.
Halloween Parade
At 14:30 there will be a Halloween parade. The parade starts in the Cortile and will go through the Italian
Garden and will end back in the Cortile.
Fun and scary activities
After the parade around 14:45 there are some grade appropriate fun and scary activities and the children
will get some candy. The PA asks if you can donate some pre packed candy. There will be a blue container
available in front of Anna Maria’s office where you can put the candy. There will be some gluten and nut
free candy set aside for kids with dietary restrictions.
Halloween Buffet
Also there is a Halloween Buffet and last year a lot of parents brought in really delicious Halloween
dishes. Help the PA to create another scary Halloween buffet by bringing in some dishes. Members of the
PA are happy to collect the dishes on Friday morning the 30th at drop-off time or bring it in before 14:00.
Please label gluten and or nut free dishes.
The party finishes at 15:30 and the children will go back into their classrooms to get their things. (Note: the
busses leave school 10-15 min. later than normal). For children who take the bus, please let the teacher of
your child know if you are taking them home or if they go home by bus.
Volunteers needed, please sign up!
I would like to underline that the PA is volunteer based, so this means that also this event is organized by
volunteers. To organize the fun and scary activities they need volunteers to help. Without volunteers, the
PA can’t run the activities. Please sign up to help during the event using the below iVolunteer link:
http://parentlink.ivolunteer.com/jshalloween_2015
Buon Halloween
Siamo orgogliosi di annunciare che venerdì 30 ottobre il PA, insieme alla scuola, organizzerà la rituale festa
di Halloween. Come ogni anno, sarà un grande evento alla Junior School e speriamo di vedere i genitori e le
famiglie unirsi alla festa mascherati e truccati. Rispolverate i vostri costumi dunque!
I costumi
I bambini indosseranno i loro costumi a partire dalle 14:00 (date loro il costume la mattina in un sacchetto).
Abbiamo bisogno che qualche genitore venga a scuola per aiutare i più piccoli. Alcuni avranno bisogno di
aiuto con il costume, altri avranno bisogno di aiuto con il trucco.
Inoltre, se doveste avere un vecchio vestito di Halloween che non usate più, potete donarlo al PA
mettendolo nel contenitore blu che troverete di fronte all'ufficio di Anna Maria.
La Parata
Ci sarà la tradizionale parata dei bambini nei loro costumi. Comincerà nel cortile per poi svilupparsi nel
giardino all'italiana e terminare di nuovo nel cortile.
Giochi e scherzi
Al termine della Parata, approssimativamente intorno alle 14:45, i bambini potranno partecipare a giochi e
scherzi pensati per le diverse età. I bambini riceveranno caramelle e dolcetti naturalmente!
A questo proposito il PA sarebbe grato se qualcuno potesse regalare caramelle pre-confezionate. Ci sarà un
altro contenitore blu di fronte all'ufficio di Anna Maria.
Inoltre vorremmo rassicurare chi avesse figli con restrizioni alimentari che ci saranno dolci e caramelle
conservate separatamente senza glutine e senza nocciole.
Buffet di Halloween
Allestiremo anche un buffet. Lo scorso anno molti genitori hanno portato piatti a tema davvero deliziosi e
rappresentativi. Aiutateci a rendere anche il buffet di questo anno adeguatamente spaventoso! Portate
qualcosa, i membri del PA potranno raccogliere le vostre leccornie venerdì mattina al drop off oppure
direttamente il pomeriggio alle due.
Per favore marcate chiaramente gli alimenti senza glutine o senza nocciole. La festa finirà alle 15:30 ed i
ragazzi torneranno nelle loro classi per prendere le loro cose. (I pulmini partiranno in ritardo di 10/15
minuti quel giorno). Se vostro figlio di solito prende il pulmino, per favore avvertite la scuola se anche per
quel giorno andrà a casa con il bus o se ci sarete voi.
Volontari per favore!Vorremmo sottolineare che il PA è su base volontaria. Senza volontari non potremmo
organizzare nessun evento, neanche Halloween. Sono i volontari che organizzano le attività dei giochi e
scherzi per i bambini e per rendere memorabile la festa per i nostri figli. Fatevi avanti! Iscrivetevi per dare
una mano durante la festa tramite il seguente link:
http://parentlink.ivolunteer.com/jshalloween_2015