Weekly News for March 5th!

Middle School Principal Appointment Announced!

(taken from ParentTalk)

Currently the high school assistant principal at Taipei American School, Cathy Jo (C. J.) Maloney has been appointed middle school principal for the Pudong campus when school year 2007-2008 begins in August. Superintendent Dr. Dennis Larkin is enthusiastic about the appointment. “C.J. will bring a breadth of secondary school experience to SAS”, Larkin wrote in an e-mail to staff. “Her experience in high school and her leadership qualities will provide a sound basis for continuity in our middle and high school programs as they develop in the next few years”, Larkin wrote.

“Through the interview and reference process, Maloney emerged as well prepared for her leadership positions and well-versed in transformational leadership qualities. “She is clearly committed to collaborative planning, to the essential components of interdisciplinary teaming in middle level education, and to a well-rounded extra- curricular program. She is fully committed to the components of exemplary middle school programming”. Before moving to Taipei, C.J. was assistant principal at the Groton Dunstable Regional High School, Director of Student Services and a special Education teacher at Nashua Senior High School, both schools in the greater-Boston area. She’s worked a total of 13 years in education, the last six as an administrator.

Maloney holds a Masters degree in educational administration from Cambridge College and a Bachelor of Science degree in special education from Keene State College. Larkin “looks forward to C.J.’s collaborative leadership in our middle school next year and to working with her as a member of our administrative team. We are fortunate to have C. J. Maloney join our leadership team; please join me in welcoming her to our SAS community”.

5^th Grade Blog!
You might want to head over to our 5th grade blogs. Check out Mrs. Power’s blog and read some of the 5th grade blogs she has listed under her Blogroll. Tomorrow another class of 5th graders will upload their first podcasts to their blogs: Some poems they’ve remixed..so be looking for those as well.

Guest Author Week Ahead!

This next week at Pudong the classrooms and our auditorium are going to be well used! In the elementary Kathryn Lasky, Minfong Ho and Eric Kimmel will both be visiting our students, with opportunities for our kids to learn and interact with established, professional and successful children’s authors. My experience with programs like this are always positive as the students are motivated to write and to read more as they personalize the reading/writing process.

I want to offer special thanks to Peggy Knudson and Colleen Williams, our intrepid and amazing library/media specialists. Both ladies in collaboration with their colleagues on the Puxi campus have made these classroom visits possible. Not only is this an example of the opportunities that our one school, two campuses program brings (2 authors at each divisional level), but also the creativity and curricular diversity that each of our library media specialists at SAS brings to the table.  Congratulations in advance to all of the educational specialists involved! 

As always you can contact the librarian, Peggy.Knudson@saschina.org, tel: 6221-1445 ext 3650 for further information.

Three Authors to Visit SAS Pudong March 8 & 9

 Preparations are under way for visits from American authors Eric Kimmel, Kathryn Lasky, and Minfong Ho.

Eric Kimmel trained to be an elementary school teacher, but became a storyteller instead. He credits his Ukrainian grandmother for instilling in him a love for story telling. His more than 50 books in print are primarily based on folk tales from around the world.

Including Japan, Africa, Russia and the Aztec Indians of South American. His stories include two from China: Ten Suns and The Rooster's Antlers: A Story of the Chinese Zodiac. Mr. Kimmel will be visiting grades PreK – 5. 

Kathryn Lasky  is the author of the current best selling series, Guardians of Ga’Hoole. She has also written several books for the Dear America and Royal Diaries series. In 1984 Ms. Lasky received the Newbery Honor award for Sugaring Time. Christopher Knight, Ms. Lasky’s husband, is a photographer for several of her nonficiton books. Christopher will join her presentations at SAS. You can learn more about Kathryn Lasky at http://www.kathrynlasky.com. Ms. Lasky will give a presentation to grade 6 and will visit grades PreK – 5.

Minfong Ho is an award-winning Chinese American writer. Her works frequently deal with the lives of people living in poverty in Southeast Asian countries. The 6^th grade Language Arts classes read The Clay Marble, which is about a 12 year-old girl in a refugee camp in war-torn Cambodia. Minfong Ho will present to the entire middle school and will then work with all MS students in smaller groups.

Don’t forget our Podcasts!

I did something a little different for the elementary podcast and we are getting some great press on the web! Wow!! Check it out here!

As usual, the middle school kids put together a great podcast! Check it out here!

 

On the Pudong Campus ...

March 5, Korean Liaison Coffee Morning will start at

12 noon on Monday at Puxiang, 1600 Century Ave.

March 8, PTSA Meeting is scheduled from

8:30 to 10

 am in the Lecture Hall L101.

March 8-9, Visiting Authors will be on the Pudong Campus.

March 9, Korean Parents’ Workshop will be held in the

Mandarin
City clubhouse 2F from

1 to

4 pm.

March 9, European Coffee Talk is set for

10 am at

 Cordula Krusemann’s house, Tomson Villas S35 (near the big

 playground). RSVP needed: Tel. 5833-2922, mobile: 1381-

7811-822 for email: kruesmann_gilch@hotmail.com

 March 17, Shamrockin’ Vegas Style, a PTSA fundraising event, is set from

6:30 pm to

12:30 am in the

 Vizcaya Club.

April 6-7, Annie Junior, this

Pudong Middle School

Musical will be performed at

5 pm on Friday afternoon

 and Saturday 6 pm. Tickets will be on sale soon. Watch

for information in the upcoming issues of ParentTalk.