After School Activities
Every Tuesday the Lego group meets in Ms Debby’s room to continue building their city. It is one of the new after school activities for the children to enjoy. Cody Fritz, Areg Kostanyan, Michael Tarqunto, and helper, Stefan Kampen are busy creating as soon as they walk through the door. They are working to have the city completed before the end of the year. They are all focused and ready to assemble when they arrive. The boys are learning to follow instructions for some of the pieces. Others, they imagine their own creations. It is an amazing group!

Watch for the completed city soon.

QSI Runners Support the Skopje Children’s Oncology Ward
Their sponsors donated a total of 5000 denar. Great work kids!

(Thanks Bridget and Aleksandar Blagoevski – Trazoff for sharing your pictures.)

OPEN STAGE – May 20 in the Green House

We are looking for parents that would like to “jam and sing” along with the students. If you have a group or can sing let Ms Ruthanne and Mr. Goce know so we can add you to the evening’s program. This year the Annual Art Show will be part of the Spring Concert and Graduation at the Dramski Theater.

Dear Parents and Students,

It is time to start thinking about Summer Camp 2010. We are already busy planning ideas for an exciting schedule. Your child is in for a fun summer with lots of experiences. Summer Camp is a safe haven for children to play and enjoy the vast list of activities offered on a daily basis. We make it easy for the parents and fun for the kids. Just drop off your kids at 9:00 a.m. and pick them up at 1:00 p.m

Iowa Test of Basic Skills

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) results have arrived.  The Individual Student Profiles will be sent home with an explanation sheet soon.  If you would like further explanation of the scores, your child’s teacher or Mr. Tower will help with further interpretation of your student’s scores.  One score that helps to determine how your student performed on this norm-based reference test is the National Stanine (NS).  A Stanine is a group of percentiles.  The Stanine 4, 5, and 6 are considered to be average performance for that grade level.  A Stanine of 4 corresponds to a percentile of 23% to 39%.  These are different ways of comparing students’ performance.

Results of the School Wide Testing conducted in February 2009 and February 2010 for the Core Total for Reading, Language, and Mathematics can be seen in the chart below.  The NS is a scale from 1-9 with the average falling in the 4-6 Stanine of your typical Bell Curve.  The scores below show that our students generally score in the high average range or above.  We do find that individual student scores for non-native English students may be lower; however, their scores tend to get better after being in our school two or more years with the additional individual attention that they receive.  We do not administer the ITBS to the First through Third Grade students.

QSI is in the process of changing its Standardized Testing to the “Measuring Academic Progress” (MAP) from Northwest Evaluation Association out of Portland, Oregon.  This is a computerized standardized testing program that is given twice a year and is more culturally friendly to schools with large multi-cultural base.  The results are back within 24 hours as opposed to the three or four month delay that is the rule of the day with the other tests.  QSI staff will be receiving training on the MAP this summer and will implement tests during the 2010-11 school year.

Haikus from Level Seven

Level 7a has been learning about modern Japan these past few weeks. We have studied about the city of Tokyo and compared and contrasted it with our own city of Skopje, and we have also learned about what specifically makes a city modern. We discovered the symbolism behind the Japanese flag, and we learned about the unique use of the kimono. We have also explored different traditional art forms that are important to the Japanese people, including origami, flower arranging, bonsai trees, and fan dancing. Haikus are short Japanese poems that are also considered an art form, and each of the students spent time writing their own haikus. These haikus follow the original rules of the poem such as the first and last line must be 5 syllables long and the second line must be 7 syllables long. It was challenging, but it was a great exercise! We’ve enjoyed learning about Japan!

“High up in the sky
The sun is like a diamond
Pretty as dresses”
--Sara Alomari

“The important flag
The flag is with red and white
It’s the rising sun”
--Kristel Kampen

“Beautiful Fugi
I love Japan very much
Houses beside it”
--Lasha-Giorgi Kikvidze

“Eyes can see and work
All pretty and efficient
So nice and locked up”
--Cole Blackman

Holidays that Matter by Liubov Gurieva, Lilit Mirzoyan, Darina Muellender
May 1945 saw the end of the Second World War in Europe. To honor the memory of the millions of victims of the war and promote peace, the United Nations has designate May 8 and 9 International Days of Remembrance and Reconciliation. These days are observed in most European countries. Many countries also mark their liberation and victory over Fascism in the beginning of May.

When Britain celebrated the end of the war in 1945 many people took to the streets. Here is a street party in St Albans, UK, on Victory in Europe Day in 1945, (©St Albans City and District Council).

On May 4 at 8:00 p.m. the Netherlands holds a two-minute silent commemoration of the fallen. At that time people gather in city squares to remember together. On May 5 the country celebrates the Liberation Day with musical festivals and concerts.

In Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, the end of the Second World War is traditionally celebrated with several events. Families go to classical concerts especially organized to mark this occasion. School children attend exhibitions, write essays related to the topic, and visit locations of historical battles.

Russians and Armenians celebrate Victory Day on May 9 with military parades in Moscow and Erevan. This year representatives of the military from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and the Commonwealth of Independent States will take part in the Moscow parade alongside Russian regiments.

Eternal flames symbolize our unfading memory of the war and its victims. During the festivities governments and citizens lay flowers near the flames and other war memorials. War veterans are honored all over our countries.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. ”

~Carl Jung ~