The weekly newsletter of New Mexico International School
Todd Knouse
Head of School
Volume VI-22
January 17, 2017
All the Knews You Kneed to Know
In this week’s edition:
Knouse Knews
1
Kindergarten
3
First Grade
3
Second Grade
4
Third Grade
5
Fourth Grade
5
Fifth Grade
6
Arabic Update
6
Accolades!
7
Committee News
8
School Info & Contact 11
Upcoming Events
Sponsors
11
12
Scan Here to Make a
Contribution to the
NM International
School Foundation
Todd Knouse, Head of School
Intent to Return Forms
Last week, all families on our
email distribution list
received a copy of the Letter
of Intent to Re-enroll for
2017-2018 school year. This
is the letter you receive every
year wherein you indicate if
you intend your current
NMIS student to return to
our school next year. You
must turn this form in by
February 10 at 3:30 pm.
Failure to turn this form in
on time will constitute a
forfeiture of your child’s
enrollment for 2017-2018.
If you have siblings of
students who are returning
for 2017-2018, please also
indicate them on this same
form. This will tell the school
that such a child needs an
Offer of Admission letter that
will be sent the following
week and due February 17.
Snow Closures/Delays and
the Text Message System
Have you signed up for the
NMIS text message system?
This is how we send out last
minute pertinent information
such as snow delays and
closures. To sign up, text
“@nmis” to (253)358-2608.
To unsubscribe, test
“unsubscribe@nmis” to the
same number.
All public schools have
statutory requirements for
number of instructional
hours per school year.
When NMIS builds its
calendar each year, it
intentionally builds in
additional hours beyond this
requirement. One reason or
this is to be prepared for
snow closures/delayed
openings. If we experience
closures and delays that
exceed our planned
additional hours, then the
school will be required to
make up lost instructional
time.
As of now, we have had only
one closure, and still have
several hours beyond our
required instructional hours.
Thus, there is no need for a
“make up day” for the recent
snow closure. Of course,
this may change as they year
progresses.
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School Choice Week and Town Hall
Meeting
Next Week is National School Choice Week.
NMIS Special Events is putting on several
events throughout the school week to
celebrate NMIS as your choice. See
attached flyer for details.
As part of School Choice, our Governing
Council will host its first of two annual
Town Hall meetings. These are informal
gatherings of the community with the
volunteer members of our Governing
Council. The Governing Council (or GC) is
the “school board” of NMIS. What a great
opportunity to meet the GC members,
celebrate NMIS successes, share why you
choose NMIS for your child, and talk
about our future.
Winter Trimester Volunteerism
As we look to School Choice Week next
week, I wanted to say “thank you” again to
everyone for their dedication to
volunteerism at NMIS. Choosing NMIS
means really being a participant in the
school’s community.
I have attached another copy for the Winter
Trimester Family Contribution Log for you
to keep track of your efforts towards the
betterment of your child’s school. Thank
you so much. Just as last trimester, you
will turn these in at the next
Parent/Teacher conference time, which is
February 23-24.
You may recall that when school began we
sent home Fall Supply List requests and
indicated that a second list would go home
mid-year. It includes supplies your child’s
teacher requests for the balance of the year,
as well as costs for field trips for January
through May. We ask these to be delivered
by January 6 (as soon as possible). This
will be the final supply list request for the
year.
The field trip cost is payable via the OSS
service. There have been some tech issues,
so give us a day or so to get those resolved
before trying it.
Lunch Room Help
We are still looking for a volunteer every
other Tuesday to help in the lunch room.
See the Committee News section for details.
Mid-Trimester Progress Reports
Mid-Trimester Progress Reports will go
home this Friday, January 13. Please
review them, sign and return to classroom
teacher.
Mid-Year Supply List Requests
Just before winter break, you received a
Mid-Year Supply Request List. You’ll note it
much smaller than the fall list.
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by Maestra Salley and Maestra Pedrotty
Hope you all had a wonderful long
weekend!
We will begin our week by reviewing what
are all the ways we express ourselves. We
will reflect on what we learned last week
about the IB attributes of Thinker and
Inquirer and how they helped us express
ourselves as we presented or research
findings last Friday. Then, we will learn
what Communicators and Open minded
people do and how we can express
ourselves by growing on these two IB
attributes. We will do a fun activity by
showing a part of a big picture and then
opening a discussion of what each kid
shares what the picture is about. As
students disagree we will ask why do you
think differently? As we uncover the picture
we will reflect how this activity helped us
become more open minded to the opinions
of others and how we can share or different
opinions in a respective way and see it as a
positive thing as other people's opinions
help us to see things in different ways and
grow as a person. We will also do a fun
activity where students will say Hola in
different languages. We will continue to
record on our IB attributes booklets how
students expressed each attribute during
the week.
For Language arts, students will learn
words that begin with the letter LL and V.
We will continue to work on our Tesoros
booklet about "alimentos" and we will
review words that begin with D and
students with make their own books
conjugating the verb Tener (yo tengo, tu
tienes) and the food vocabulary they are
learning from their Tesoro's booklet ( ei: yo
tengo una fresa, tu tienes un pescado etc)
For Math, we will review all the math rules
we have learned until now by playing
games where the teacher with be the
fishermen and students with be fishes and
as the teacher catches a fish each fish will
have to guess the rule/pattern/shape etc.
We will continue to learn addition and
subtraction through a variety of math
stories and problems that have to solve.
For Science we will continue to learn about
the five senses and will do the science kit
for touch.
by Maestra Cooper de Uribe and Maestra Sayer
Happy Belated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
In remembering Dr. King, many IB
attributes come to mind. He was a
principled risk-taker and caring
communicator, and we are fortunate to
have the opportunity to think about his
legacy and what this generation of firstgraders can do to continue making his
dream more of a reality. Thank you for your
children!
This week, we will begin investigating our
new IB unit on How the World Works. The
central idea of this unit is: The sun may
cause change on Earth. Our first line of
inquiry will take a look at how the sun
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affects conditions on Earth, so we will
spend this week thinking about what we
already know about the sun and what we
want to learn. We will track shadows with
sun dials to help us become more aware of
the sun’s position in the sky. During readalouds, we will also learn about how the
sun plays a part in day and night, as well
as the seasons. Our vocabulary words will
be sol, estrella, gas, plasma, día, and noche.
In math, we will continue working with
base-10 blocks to foster understanding of
place value. And we will take our
knowledge of place value to help us with 2digit addition and to compare numbers to
see what is greater than, less than, and
equal.
by Maestra Tuttle and Maestra Pell-Schaver
We hope you enjoy your three day weekend!
Students are very excited about this new IB
Unit Sharing the Planet. We launched our
unit by inquiring about what natural
resources are and what we have around us,
as well as which resources are renewables
and nonrenewable. This week students will
continue working in individual posters to
show their knowledge and understanding
about all the resources that Mother Nature
gives us. To continue learning about this,
we will also introduce our second grades to
a very fun song in Spanish called Los
Recursos Naturales.
In Science this past week students planted
cucumber seeds. We will start making
observations and keeping data once the
seeds start sprouting (fingers crossed that
they sprout!) This new week we will
introduce our second graders to some new
“living things”. The kids will be in charge
of keeping them alive. Make sure that you
ask your children about their new
classroom“friends”.
On Thursday we will h
ave a special visit from the Albuquerque
Water Authority. They will be in our
classrooms to show us different ways to
conserve water. Students will have an
interactive activity with the Water Authority
representative. It is going to be fun and
educational! Our Tesoros reading for this
week will be “Problemas con el agua”,
which ties perfectly with the message of our
special visitors. For English read aloud we
will read a whole series of books found in
our wonderful library called Exploring
Earth’s Natural Resources. These read
alouds will be the perfect catapult to take
us to our new topic really soon which is
going to be habitats. Students will have a
brief introduction about what habitats are
in preparation of our upcoming inquiries
and activities in the very near future.
In Math we will continue with Unit 7. This
week we will review patterns in doubles
and halves. Our second graders will explore
weights in pounds, area and patterns. We
are starting to teach them the foundations
of multiplication and division, so they will
also have more opportunities this week to
continue practicing those skills that they
are already learning. We will end our week
by working with measurements and
rounding to the nearest centimeter and
nearest inch.
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by Maestra Martini and Maestra Saenz
IB trans-disciplinary unit- We continue
the week by introducing more economyrelated words. For example: budget,
income, earnings, profit, etc. Students will
engage in a trading activity to understand
the similarities and differences between
bartering and using a monetary system.
Math- Students will begin Unit 7 which is
their volume 2 workbook. This unit will be
not only a review, but an extension of both
multiplication and division skills. Students
will review square-number facts and
division patterns.
Social Studies- Students will read about
the history of money in their textbook. They
will also learn about the steps to take when
making an economic decision.
Spanish Reading- We will be reading
¡Emprende tu propio negocio! (Start Your
Own Business!). This will further develop
the students’ understanding of making
economic decisions.
Now they will utilize the future tense to
express ideas, intentions, or actions that
have not taken place yet.
Phonics/Spelling- Students will work on
the spelling of plural words. They need to
know certain spelling patterns: add –es to
words that end in s, ch, sh, x, or z and drop
the –y and ad –ies if a word ends with a
consonant+-y.
Science- Students will know how science
determines what can and cannot be
recycled. They will learn the process of how
materials (e.g. plastic, paper, aluminum)
are recycled.
Sight Words:
simple/simple
since/desde
soldier/soldado
someone/alguien
something/algo
south/sur
Grammar- Students have worked on the
present and past tense of regular verbs.
by Maestra Quiñonez
I hope you enjoyed the long weekend.
Thanks so much to Eva Fanari for helping
us to learn more about the lattice method
of multiplication last Friday. If you would
like to come to our class and help us with
the any of the following subjects: math,
social studies or science, please let me
know. You are more than welcome to
contribute to your kid academic learning.
This week we will begin our IB Unit "How
We Express Ourselves" which focuses in
the ways in which we reflect on, extend,
and enjoy our creativity. We will learn
about how the exploration of Literature
leads to a better understanding of oneself.
In Language Arts, students will learn the
definitions and the major differences
between poems, drama, and prose.
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In Science, we will learn about how the
many parts of the human body interact to
function as systems.
In Math in Spanish, we will review the
topic about rotations and angles. Students
will make and use a full-circle protractor.
In Math in English, students will continue
working with the lattice method for
multiplication. We will also practice
reading, writing, and comparing large
numbers using patterns in the base-ten
place-value system.
by Maestra Bouché
IB Unit: Who We Are. We will begin our
Who We Are unit this coming week. We
usually include "the talk" during the
teaching of this unit which is usually led by
the school nurse. If we do plan on doing
this, we will contact you and request
permission to present this to your child.
Math. This coming week we are working on
leaf plots and circle graphs.
L.A. Spelling quizzes continue to take place
on Fridays. Your child may practice at
home. Their spelling lists are in their
planners.
Weekday Workouts and Grammar Practice
workbooks continue to be in our daily
activities. This coming week we will be
reading The Night of San Juan. We are also
reading and analyzing articles from local
writers.
Update for Fourth Grade
I would like to welcome everybody to the
new year and I hope you have an amazing
year!
In the month of January:
I will continue the Unit "Who we are", by
focusing more on the vocabulary that is
related to Christianity, Judaism and Islam,
aside from this, I will teach the students a
The rubric for the presidential presentation
will be provided January 20th. The
president presentation will take place on
February 14th and 15th.
Gratitude Corner: Thank you for providing
the supplies and for submitting payment
for the field trips. Thank you parents for
any and all support of the 5th grade class
and NMIS.
Field Trips.
1-23-17 Arabic immersion field trip.
Yanni's.
2-7-17 Festival de Bellas Artes. National
Hispanic Cultural Center.
3-3-17 National Museum of Nuclear
Science.
little about Arabic culture,as well as
it's celebrations and traditions.
I will emphasize on the way in which
religion affects culture.
I will also do a small project about this
unite.
I will continue teaching the students the
letters of the Alphabet, the sound of the
letters and how to connect the letters to
form words.
6|Page
I start teach the students the parts of the
body and how to play the game guess
where in Arabic. Finally, I will teach them a
small conversation that related to the
unite.
There are some good website you can allow
your kids to go and play Arabic games and
listen to some words, these are the sites:
http://3asafeer.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUuF
Md4-a80
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdXTu
6j00JA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKPb
bNkTKtM
http://www.arabic-games-iium.net/
Update for Fifth Grade
In the first two weeks of January, I will
continue to teach the students about the IB
Unit "How we express Ourselves". I will
provide a set of vocabulary words and
a story that is related to this subject, I will
teach them how people express their
feelings in Arabic and Arabic culture, and I
will give the students a second vocabulary
list about this subject.
In addition, I will teach them how to say
the central idea and lines of inquiry in
Arabic.
In the last two weeks of this month, I
will focus on the IB unit "Who we are".
I will use a vocabulary list, a story that
is related to this unit, and how to
demonstrate responsibility and politeness.
Besides these, I will continue teaching my
5th grade students the following:
A- Geometric shapes
B- Read some Arabic stories
C- Teach the students songs about winter
D- The difference between masculine and
feminine forms in verbs and pronouns
E- Write some sentences for the new
vocabulary words
F- Conversations about ordering food
by Todd Knouse
NMIS Students Doing Great Things in Their Community!
If you have a picture and story you would like to share about your child doing
something really cool, please share it with us! We will publish it in our weekly
newsletter. Send submissions to [email protected].
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These updates are provided by the respective committee’s chairperson. Consider
joining a committee by writing to the chairperson. It’s a great way to get involved
and add to your child’s educational environment.
Cara Morris [email protected]
& Kate Cunningham [email protected]
Hello NMIS community!
Are you looking to get started on your volunteer hours for the year? Do you want to
spend time with your student during the day? We need your help staffing the library.
Our library is totally run by volunteers who do everything from reshelving books when
they have a free minute to helping students during their class visits on Thursdays and
Fridays. We have other work too if you are interested. Please contact our committee
chairs for information.
Our book review contest is underway. We look forward to seeing the reviews from your
kiddos and seeing which clan can write the most book reviews. The review forms are
attached in English and Spanish. Which clan will clinch this contest?
Denette Varley [email protected]
No update.
Christel Reynolds [email protected]
No update.
Crystal Spain [email protected]
No update.
Erika Lucero [email protected]
No update
8|Page
Parisa Wright & Brenda Vigil [email protected]
No update.
Parisa Wright [email protected]
To purchase uniform tops (shirts, sweaters, jackets), visit
www.customoutfitters.com/NMIS
To purchase uniform bottoms (pants, shorts, skorts), review Family Handbook pages
23-26 for accepted bottoms and where you can buy them.
Jenny Dillow [email protected]
To order a lunch for delivery to NMIS for your child, go to:
http://rhubarbandelliott.h1.hotlunchonline.net/
Still looking for lunch duty help every-other Tuesday!! Come join our awesome team
as well as spending time with your kiddos! Contact Jenny at [email protected]
or text at 505-917-0018.
Anna Martinez [email protected]
No update
Bridget Chaves, chair & Shonesha Rogers vice-chair: [email protected]
No update.
The next SAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25 at 6:00 here at
NMIS.
SAC Members for 2016-2017
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Andrea Sewell
Shonesha Rogers
Stacey Adams
Mark Brooke
Gary Newell
Sarah Baca
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
9|Page
The NM International School Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that
is dedicated to fundraising for the benefit of NMIS. This is an integral arm to the
mission of the school. Contact the president of the Foundation’s Board of Directors to
join this effort. Please visit www.nmisf.org for more information.
NMIS Foundation Board of Directors
Leslie Alvarado
Carrie Swartz
Dan Hill
Brenda Vigil
Brian Verardo
Laureen Lerch
vacant
President
Vice President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Member
Member
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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
Monday, January 23 – Friday, January 27: National School Choice
Week





Wednesday, January 25 – SAC meeting 6:00
Thursday, January 26: GC Town Hall Meeting 6:00
Monday, January 30: 100th Day of School Celebration
Friday, February 10: Intent to Re-enroll for 2017-2018 due
Monday February 13 & Tuesday, February 14: Progress
Monitoring Assessments
These are assessments for children receiving Tier 2 academic
interventions in Cycle C to monitor growth.
 Friday, February 17: End of Winter Trimester
 Friday, February 17: Offer of Admission for new siblings due
 Friday, February 17: End of Intervention Cycle C
 Monday, February 20: No School – Presidents’ Day
 Tuesday, February 21 – Friday, March 17: Logramos Testing
Window
This is the annual Spanish language achievement test given to all
students K-5. Testing schedule varies by teacher.
 Tuesday, February 21: Beginning of Intervention Cycle D
 Thursday, February 23 & Friday February 24: No
School- Parent Conferences.
 Thursday, February 23: GC Meeting 5:00pm
 Monday, February 27: No School – Teacher PD Day
 Wednesday, March 1: Open Enrollment for 2017-2018 Begins
 Thursday, March 2: Prospective Parent Night #1 6:00pm
New Mexico International School is a
candidate school for the Primary Years
Programme. The school is pursing
authorization as an IB World School. These
are schools that share a common philosophy
– a commitment to high quality, challenging,
international education that New Mexico
International School believes is important for
our students. Only schools authorized by the
IB Organization can offer any of its three
academic programmes: The Primary Years’
Programme (PYP), the Middle Years’
Programme (MYP), or the Diploma
Programme (in addition to the IB Careerrelated certificate). Candidate status gives no
guarantee that authorization will be
granted. For further information about the
IB and its programmes, visit
http://www.ibo.org.
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9780 Coors Blvd. NW
(505)890-WINE
www.nickyvs.com
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