August 7, 2014

Dear Parents,

Welcome to First Grade! We hope you had a wonderful
summer holiday. The following letter contains important information about the
first grade team and program that you will need to refer to frequently so please
keep it for future reference.

THE TEACHERS

Monica Tindall is Australian. She graduated with Honors in her Early Childhood
Education Degree from Newcastle University and has a Masters Degree from
the Southern University of New York. She has taught in Australia, Singapore
and Venezuela. This is Ms. Tindals twelth year at ISKL. She enjoys keeping fit,
visiting the spa, traveling and dining out. As a hobby she runs a blog,
theyumlist.blogspot.com where she posts all of her favourite spots to eat, stay
and spa.

Araceli Arismendi is from Houston, Texas. She received her Bachelor's of
Arts from The University of Texas at Austin and her Master's of Education
from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Araceli has eleven years teaching
students in grades kindergarten through 4th grade. This will be her 3
rd
year
working at the International School of Kuala Lumpur, and she cant wait to work
and learn from her new group of learners! On her free time, she enjoys yoga,
running, cooking, dining, and dancing to great beats.

Karin Martin is from Honolulu, Hawaii. She received her bachelors degree from
Colorado State University and has a masters degree in Education from
Chaminade University in Honolulu. She has lived overseas for over 20 years
(Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing). She is married and has two daughters
who attend ISKL middle and high school. This will be her sixth year teaching
and her third year at ISKL. She enjoys reading, eating and spending time with
her family.
Alasdair Hamilton is from Toronto, Ontario Canada. He received his bachelors
of Arts from University of Gulph and his bachelor of Education from Trent
University. He has taight for the past 3 years in Kuwait. When he is not
working, he loves to be outdoors. Caonoeing, skiing and running are some of the
activities he loves to do. At home he loves cooking and tryng new recipes.

Ashley DeAcetis is from Long Island, New York. She went to Lehigh University
where she received a Bachelor of Science in Business & Economics and a
Masters in Elementary Education. She spent the last fours years working as a
Kindergarten and First Grade Teacher at the American School of Guatemala.
Ashley enjoys being active and loves walking her dog, going hiking, running and
doing yoga. It is Ashleys first year at ISKL and she feels excited to be a part
of this warm community. Ashleys passion is education and she is greatly looking
forward to meeting her new students.

Sungeeta Singh is from New Zealand. She is originally from South Africa. She
received her Bachelors degree from the University of Durban-Westville and
her Masters degree (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from
the University of Tasmania. Although this is her first year at ISKL, she brings
over 30 years of teaching experience to the classroom. She has taught from
Prep Senior to Grade 12. She is passionate about teaching literacy. In her
leisure time, she enjoys walking, yoga, travelling and learning about new cultures.
She feels very privileged to be part of the ISKL family.

Diane Foudy is from Canada. She received her undergraduate degree from
Bishops University, her Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the
University of Strathclyde, and has a Masters Degree from the State
University of New York. Diane is entering her 18
th
year of teaching with
international experience in Kuwait, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Oman. She is
married and has two daughters in ISKLs Middle School. This is her sixth year
at ISKL. Diane enjoys reading, cooking and hiking.

THE TEACHING ASSISTANTS:

Miss Salama was born in Kedah, Malaysia. She has worked for ISKL for twenty
one years. She has three grown-up children. Salama enjoys cooking, sewing, and
exercising.

Miss Jag was born in Negeri Sembilan Malaysia. She has worked for ISKL for
eight years. She has a young son. Jag enjoys listening to music and cooking.

Miss Josephine was born in KL. This is Josephines seventh year at ISKL. She
has two teenage boys and worked in preschool in Childrens House. Josephine
loves teaching and loves working at ISKL!

Miss Priscilla was born in KL. She has worked at ISKL for seven years. In her
free time, she loves to be with her friends.

Miss Elaine was born in Selangor. This is Elaines fifth year at ISKL. Previously,
she has worked in a renovation firm and a Kindergarten classroom. She has two
children, one in high school and one in college. In her free time she likes to
listen to music, shop and visit with friends.

The Student Resource Team (SRT) TEAM

Grade one is supported too by Kate Balsamo (Speech and Language therapy), and
Amy Diefendorf (counselor). They are a vital part of the First Grade team and
will be working with students in classrooms over the year.

SPECIAL CLASS DAYS - Your child will enjoy the following classes, taught by
talented specialist teachers: Physical Education (PE); Music; Art; Library; and;
World Languages.

THE PROGRAM We are looking forward to having a successful experience
together. The first month the children will need time to settle in and adjust to
their new surroundings. Grade One students will have a full year adding new
skills to their personal, reading, writing, math, science and social studies
toolbox. At Open House and throughout the year, via newsletters and
curriculum letters, you will receive more information about the program
specifics.

THE MELAWATI WAY The Melawati Way is an integral component of our
community. Within each Grade One class, we will emphasize this theme:

Make a difference by
! Taking care of yourself
! Taking care of others
! Taking care of this place

ISKL SLRs (School Learning Results)
In addition to the Melawati Way, the childrens learning in Grade One will be
guided by our SLRs which are:

Collaborate Constructively
Think Creatively
Reason Critically
Communicate Effectively
Learn Enthusiastically
Live Ethically

SCHOOL HOURS Children should arrive between 7:40 and 7:50am as
supervision is not available before this time. Children should go
directly to the playground - there is no supervision in classes before
8:00am. The first bell rings at 7:55am, at which time students line up with their
class and First Grade assistant in the playground and walk in a line to the
classroom. Classes begin at 8:00am First Grade students attend school from
8:00am 2:45pm daily. Optional after school activities begin on September 8,
starting at 2:45 and ending at 3:45pm.

TARDY Children who arrive to school after 8:00am must first go to the main
office to get a Tardy Slip before entering the classroom.

UNIFORMS Children should come to school in dark blue shorts and the
official white or blue shirt and a hat. All of these items are purchased at the
Melawati bookstore. On P.E. days, children should wear rubber soled, closed-toe
sports shoes. (Sports shoes are recommended for everyday use to enable your
child to make the most of their recess times in the playground.) Children will
bring their P.E. clothes to school on P.E. days and change into their P.E.
uniform. Please label ALL of your childs belongings with name and class.

SNACK AND LUNCH - Students may bring food from home or purchase snack
and / or lunch from school using their POS cards. You will need to top up your
childs POS card in the front office with a minimum of RM100 per top up.
Please do not send money to school as Melawati is a cash free
campus. For children who bring home-packed food, we cannot stress enough
the importance of sending healthy (low sugar, low fat, high fibre) food and
drinks. This provides the nutrients your child will need throughout the day and
will promote physical and mental development. Please have your child eat a
healthy breakfast before coming to school as well. Children bring their lunch in
a lunch box or small cooler bag. There are no heating facilities for lunches for
children in grade one.

The Grade One children use the tables outside Prep Senior for snack and lunch
times. The ordering routine will be the same as the one that students follow in
Prep. Senior. A menu and order form will come home at the end of each week,
to be filled out for the entire week, and returned to the class teacher in the
students zipper folder each Monday. The first order form will be available on
Friday on Panther Apps. Please complete the form and send it in with your
student on the first day of school, Monday.

An important note about snack time: PLEASE ensure your child knows
what they are having for lunch before they come to school each day lunch
from home or lunch from school. They also need to know if they have snack from
home or snack from school. Help your child differentiate between the two.

WATER BOTTLES - Students should bring a small, clearly labeled water
bottle, which they can keep in class for use during class hours. A clear, large
label will make it less likely that bottles are lost. To ensure the most of
instruction time children are encouraged to go to the bathroom during their
break times and to have their water bottles filled before coming to the
classroom to minimize distraction to the learning periods.

SUPPLIES - Children should bring a regular sized backpack, big enough for
carrying A4 sized folders, lunch box, library books, hat and water bottle. No
roller bags please, as these are too big for the cubbies provided.

CHANGES IN A CHILDS MODE OF TRANSPORTATION - Student safety is
of utmost concern to us. School policy states that if parents wish to make a
change in the way a child goes home at dismissal time, the teacher must be
informed in writing. If written permission is not received, your child will go
home in the customary manner. If your child must go home in a different way
than normal, you must contact both the school busing office and the classroom
teacher.
melawatibusing@iskl.edu.my Jane or Grace: 012 3973466 or (03) 4104 3061

A change in activities, such as your child missing an activity one day, should be
communicated to the classroom teacher and also Jessie Leong in the main
office, jleong@iskl.edu.my, (03) 4104 3000

HOME/SCHOOL FOLDER - From Monday to Friday your child will bring home a
zipped folder. Once the routine is established, books will come home inside the
folder and also any special notes. Your child must return their home/school
folder to school each day.
Most notes and information however will be sent via email or posted on the
class webpage or blogspot.

OPTIONAL HOME ACTIVITIES - We understand that the children have a
very long day at school and they need time to play and relax when school is
over. This is a highly valued part of their physical and mental wellbeing and
unstructured playtime develops skills that cannot be formed otherwise, such as
creativity, lateral thinking, independence and social/ emotional skills.

We do however ask that you read with/ listen to your child everyday a book of
his/her choosing. Feel free to read to your child in his/her native language as
well as in English. At times teachers will send Optional Home Activities that
connect learning in class to the home. These activities are not graded and are
not returned to school. In grade one and we trust parents to use the activities
as appropriate for their child. We recognize that many parents already engage
their children in meaningful activities such as cooking and reading together,
playing board games and imaginative play.

LIBRARY - First Grade students visit the library once every 6 days. See the
class calendar for your childs library day.

BIRTHDAY PARTIES Please refer to our separate notice about celebrations at
school.
If you are holding a celebration at home, teachers are happy to send invitations
home through the Home/School folders only if all students are invited. Parents
must handle invitations for home parties to which only some children will be
invited.

TOYS FROM HOME The Grade One classrooms are full of interesting items
that belong to the entire community and therefore are a less potential source
of conflict than are personal belongings from home. In order to avoid problems
among the children, toys from home are not allowed at school.

SICKNESS - We would like to suggest that our parents follow these guidelines
in order to minimize absences due to illness.

! Please do not send a child who may be coming down with an illness to
school.

! Please ensure that your child has had at least one completely fever
free day (24 hours) without medication before he/she returns to class.

! Children with heavy colds may not be feverish; however, our little
ones are often not yet able to cover their sneezes and coughs
sufficiently. We would prefer them to stay home until their symptoms
have calmed down.

! If your child has allergies of any nature, inform the teacher.

! If your child needs any type of medication during the school day, the
medicine must be sent in with a note and given to the school nurse. She
will administer it.

! Students who are not feeling well or who have been absent due to an
infectious health condition such as chicken pox, pink eye, whooping
cough, impetigo, measles, mumps or head lice need to see the nurse and
receive clearance before returning to class.

PARENT SHARING IN THE CLASSROOM - Children enjoy having their
parents come to their classroom to share interesting information or to teach
something. If you have a talent such as playing a musical instrument, singing,
drawing, or even reading stories, please let the teacher know. We will set up a
time for you to be with us and participate in our day. Your childs homeroom
teacher will make you aware of other opportunities for classroom participation
after the students have settled into a regular routine.

ROOM PARENTS - Every class in ISKL Melawati needs at least one Room
Parent volunteer who works both with the Grade Level Coorindator and with the
teacher to organize class events like parties, parent gatherings and field trips
and recruits other parent volunteers to help. Please notify your childs teacher
if you would like to take on this role.

COMMUNICATION GRADE ONE GOES GREEN!
To have the best possible education for your child we will need to work together
and have open communication. Please feel free to contact your childs teacher
with any questions or concerns you may have. In Grade 1 we use email as the
preferred way of communicating with parents. We use the @iskl.edu.my address
only so if you are not yet signed up please see our technology department
immediately. All newsletters and communication pages will be sent home through
via email or class websites.

Parents may contact teachers through Panther Apps.

Our addresses are as follows:
"#$%&'()'*"+,-./,#0 (Karin Martin)
aarismendi@iskl.edu.my (Araceli Arismendi)
mtindall@iskl.edu.my (Monica Tindall)
adeacetis@iskl.edu.my (Ashley DeAcetis)
ahamilton@iskl.edu.my (Alasdair Hamilton)
dfoudy@iskl.edu.my (Diane Foudy)
ssingh@iskl.edu.my (Sungeeta Singh)

The ISKL Grade One phone number is (03) 4104-3020 for emergencies. Please
be considerate of your childs teachers time and be sure to arrange a meeting in
advance via email if there is an important issue to discuss. Please remember
that you may not be seen if you just drop by as these drop-ins may take away
valuable contact time between the teacher and students.

We are all looking forward to a great year with your child.

Sincerely,
The First Grade Teachers

Important points to remember:

LABEL everything
We have a green ethos and do our best to align our actions with this value
Were one team (children, parents, teachers, school community) working
together towards a better future for our students. Go Team!