November 17, 2011
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November 17, 2011
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Upcoming EventsAll School News
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| Upcoming Events | back to top |
 | Week At-A-Glance End of Middle School First Trimester Middle School First Trimester Art Sharing Thanksgiving Luncheon - Noon Dismissal November 24-25Please check on Veracross or through the school website calendar for details about all upcoming events. The calendar is updated on a regular basis as events are created. Please check back regularly. |
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| All School News | back to top |
 | Self-portrait T-Shirts Order Deadline Extended Our Parents Association has partnered with classroom teachers and has embarked on a fun and creative fundraiser this year that involves art and creativity and will result in a nice keepsake item. The self-portrait t-shirt project includes the partnerships of all grades and classes. Teachers will conduct the project in class. The result? A t-shirt, tote bag or sweatshirt that reflects both the creativity and artistry of our students. Families can order the products through the CAIS online boutique here. Please note, deadline has been extended! Please order items no later than Friday, December 9. For those who regularly come to the Oak Street campus, you can see a sample of the shirts on the first and third floors. Flyer with more information can be found here. The eScrip Corner: Relative and Friends Can Help CAIS Too Spending Thanksgiving with grandparents, uncles, aunts, or friends? While you're breaking bread, why not tell them how easy it is for them to generate eScrip donations that fund community and classroom activities for your child's school. Whether their local grocer participates or not, they can always contribute through their online purchases. And not one dime comes out of their pockets. To help them get started, email this eScrip invitation letter, which explains the program and how they can participate. Book Fair Starts After Thanksgiving in New Venue The Winter Scholastic and Chinese book fair will start on Monday, November 28 after the Thanksgiving holiday and will run through Friday, December 2. New this year, the book fair will be held in the third floor library of our Oak Street campus. Visit the CAIS book fair homepage for details here. This year there is an additional online site to purchase books that will be open for two weeks from November 21 through December 5. You can access the online site here. This an easy way to purchase books while supporting our school library and classrooms. Teachers have wish lists for their classrooms that are funded by the book fair profits. Orders from our online fair will arrive several days after the online fair end date. Our Librarian, Warren Wright will receive one shipment for all orders and each order will be individually bagged and labeled by teacher and student for easy distribution. Fifth Grade Teacher is a New Daddy
Heading into the Holidays with a New Gift Policy As our organization evolves, so do our policies and as we enter the holiday season, we want to make sure you read through our new gift policy, which can be found on the all three Veracross division webpages. The policy is in the family handbook and also as a standalone document on the ‘resources page’ and on the main ‘news’ page. We encourage you to explore the pages for resources, policies and procedure documents as well as photos and news. Here’s what you need to know about the Veracross division webpages:
Our Minds are on Turkey, but the Holiday Faire is Around the Corner
You’re Invited to Celebrate FAIS’s 50th Anniversary
Chinese New Year Parade Float Theme Announced We are excited to announce that we will be participating in the 2012 Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade on Sunday, February 11, 2012. CAIS parents Bradley S and Lisa T, parents of third grader Simone, and designers of the award-winning CAIS Year of the Tiger float, have once again stepped up to their creative directorship of the CAIS float and have submitted an amazing artistic rendition of the Chinese fable, Carp Jump over the Dragon Gate - Lǐyú tiào lóngmén - the Chinese fable that describes the metamorphosis of a humble carp fish into a sacred dragon. Carp Jump Over the Dragon Gate is the story of nine carp fish that battle upstream against a strong current. When they reach a waterfall called Dragon Gate, they leap from the water, turning magically into dragons as they clear Dragon Gate fall. This, it is said, is the reason that dragons have scales. The parade is not until February, but there will be plenty of volunteer needs to create the elements of the float. We hope to make this float a wonderful showing for our 30th anniversary. Some volunteer tasks involved with the float include:
If you are interested in learning more about the volunteer opportunities with the Chinese New Year parade, please send us an email. |
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| Development | back to top |
 | Does Your Company Match? Double the impact of your giving with an employer matching gift. Many companies in the Bay Area are dedicated to philanthropy and have established matching gift programs to encourage charitable giving from their employees. Does your employer have a Matching Gift Program? You can double or even triple your gift to CAIS with a matching gift. To find out, check out our matching gift webpage. Thank you to all our new annual fund donors this week: Christopher Stewart and Shelley Wu, Harold Kwan and Freda Kong, William Lee, Sally Lee, Aom Phanthong - Koh Samui and the Monkey, Mark and Amanda Fiteny, Raghavan Seetharaman and Wendy Lai |
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| Early Childhood Division | back to top |
 | This Sunday Participate in a Walk/Run and Raise Money for CAIS Looking for a great way to get your family out for some fun and fitness? Mark your calendars for a 5k and 1-mile family friendly run/walk event in Golden Gate Park this Sunday, November 20. People Events has graciously allowed CAIS to directly benefit from their Run and Walk for the Hungry event. Our school will receive 100% of the pledges designated to CAIS. Contact parent coordinator Shirley Tse with any questions or to get involved. To learn more about the event, please check the event page on the CAIS Community Wiki here. If you haven’t checked out the CAIS Community Wiki, you’re missing out. This community run web page includes all of the great things that happen at CAIS, that aren’t classroom-based that you would find on the newly launched Veracross division pages. Soccer leagues, parent education events, photos, after school activities and more. If you did not receive your wiki invitation and wish to be part of the conversation, please go to CAIS Community Wiki here. Halloween is Over – Please Return UNICEF Boxes This year's UNICEF donations are adding up from the efforts our children made during Halloween. The first grade has raised a total of $226.44 and the second grade has a total of $225.55, a difference of only 89 cents. The sixth grade collected a total of $105.31, bringing the total amount collected this year to $739.09, the largest amount since 2007! Please turn in any remaining UNICEF boxes to your teachers so our librarian, Warren Wright can send the donations to UNICEF before Thanksgiving. Thank you for your strong support of this activity this year. Thanksgiving at CAIS Holidays and food are both important elements of the CAIS community and Thanksgiving is no exception. The day before the Thanksgiving break, this coming Wednesday, November 23, the halls of CAIS will be full of food, sharing and laughter. As you've heard through room parent efforts, each classroom organizes its own Thanksgiving feast of traditional and Asian-inspired dishes. Families serve the meals buffet style in each classroom. Teachers, administrators and staff fine-tune the sport of "grazing" from classroom to classroom on the delectable food our families provide for the community. Please note, Wednesday is noon dismissal and there is no child care. Your child's classroom teacher and/or division director will send specific pick-up details no later than Monday, November 21 so you can plan your pick-up accordingly. Happy Thanksgiving! |
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| Lower School | back to top |
 | Science Events for Families For those of you with budding scientists in your family, our middle school science teacher, Susan Sherman recommends a trio of events offered to the public that are part of the American Geophysical Union of Scientist annual meeting held the first week in December at the Moscone Center. The public events all take place on Sunday, December 4. Schedule of public events are here and are age appropriate for third through eighth graders. The American Geophysical Union of Scientists hold their annual is a convergence of more than 18,000 geophysical scientists from the world who gather to present their findings and ideas about the global climate, the oceans, volcanoes, earthquakes, polar conditions and more. Every year our seventh and eighth grade science teacher, Susan Sherman is honored to be one of only 50 teachers invited to attend a two-day workshop that presents the latest information about the physical systems of the planet earth. Included are discussions and hands-on experiments about how to present this material to students. Fifth Grade Teacher is a New Daddy
This Sunday Participate in a Walk/Run and Raise Money for CAIS Looking for a great way to get your family out for some fun and fitness? Mark your calendars for a 5k and 1-mile family friendly run/walk event in Golden Gate Park this Sunday, November 20. People Events has graciously allowed CAIS to directly benefit from their Run and Walk for the Hungry event. Our school will receive 100% of the pledges designated to CAIS. Contact parent coordinator Shirley Tse with any questions or to get involved. To learn more about the event, please check the event page on the CAIS Community Wiki here. If you haven’t checked out the CAIS Community Wiki, you’re missing out. This community run web page includes all of the great things that happen at CAIS, that aren’t classroom-based that you would find on the newly launched Veracross division pages. Soccer leagues, parent education events, photos, after school activities and more. If you did not receive your wiki invitation and wish to be part of the conversation, please go to CAIS Community Wiki here. Second Graders Chat with Chinese Class in Colorado Last Friday students from Su Laoshi’s second grade class made a set of new friends…in Colorado…via Skype. The purpose of the pilot program – coordinated by Chinese Program Director, Kevin Chang – was to help reinforce conversation skills with other Chinese speakers while getting to know one another. The event was well organized, with the second graders at Global Village Academy in Aurora, Colorado sitting in neat rows ready to ask questions in Chinese and make new friends. Each teacher gave a brief introduction to one another and the questions from students started, giving each child a chance to answer individually. The most popular question related to what their parents did for work and what the time difference was between Colorado to California. Based on the interaction, involvement and excitement of the second graders, Kevin Chang plans to introduce similar programs with different grade levels. Next up is a Skype conversation with fourth and fifth graders from International School of the Peninsula. To see video of from the second grade pilot program, please visit the LS Veracross division pages in the news section. The news item is titled "Second Graders Chat with Chinese Class in Colorado." Halloween is Over – Please Return UNICEF Boxes This year's UNICEF donations are adding up from the efforts our children made during Halloween. The first grade has raised a total of $226.44 and the second grade has a total of $225.55, a difference of only 89 cents. The sixth grade collected a total of $105.31, bringing the total amount collected this year to $739.09, the largest amount since 2007! Please turn in any remaining UNICEF boxes to your teachers so our librarian, Warren Wright can send the donations to UNICEF before Thanksgiving. Thank you for your strong support of this activity this year. Thanksgiving at CAIS Holidays and food are both important elements of the CAIS community and Thanksgiving is no exception. The day before the Thanksgiving break, this coming Wednesday, November 23, the halls of CAIS will be full of food, sharing and laughter. As you've heard through room parent efforts, each classroom organizes its own Thanksgiving feast of traditional and Asian-inspired dishes. Families serve the meals buffet style in each classroom. Teachers, administrators and staff fine-tune the sport of "grazing" from classroom to classroom on the delectable food our families provide for the community. Please note, Wednesday is noon dismissal and there is no child care. Your child's classroom teacher and/or division director will send specific pick-up details no later than Monday, November 21 so you can plan your pick-up accordingly. Happy Thanksgiving! Send your Child to School with Canned Food - Annual Food Drive Ends Monday
Cross Country and Volleyball Teams End Season with a Strong Finish This past Monday our cross country JV girls team won the SFAL league championship trophy. Way to go fifth and sixth grade girls! The JV boys finished second place in league and varsity girls finished third. In volleyball news, our varsity team finished the post season in second place, losing the championship by a small margin at Friday’s playoff match. The JV team finished third place in the SFAL league. This past Monday basketball season commenced with daily practices in the gym from 3:45-5:00 p.m. Our JV boys are the defending champions and the varsity boys placed second in the league. Full basketball game schedule can be found on the school calendar. Check the Veracross division pages for links to cross country and volleyball photos. |
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| Middle School | back to top |
 | Send your Child to School with Canned Food - Annual Food Drive Ends Monday
Cross Country and Volleyball Teams End Season with a Strong Finish This past Monday our cross country JV girls team won the SFAL league championship trophy. Way to go fifth and sixth grade girls! The JV boys finished second place in league and varsity girls finished third. In volleyball news, our varsity team finished the post season in second place, losing the championship by a small margin at Friday’s playoff match. The JV team finished third place in the SFAL league. This past Monday basketball season commenced with daily practices in the gym from 3:45-5:00 p.m. Our JV boys are the defending champions and the varsity boys placed second in the league. Full basketball game schedule can be found on the school calendar. Check the Veracross division pages for links to cross country and volleyball photos. Thanksgiving at CAIS Holidays and food are both important elements of the CAIS community and Thanksgiving is no exception. The day before the Thanksgiving break, this coming Wednesday, November 23, the halls of CAIS will be full of food, sharing and laughter. As you've heard through room parent efforts, each classroom organizes its own Thanksgiving feast of traditional and Asian-inspired dishes. Families serve the meals buffet style in each classroom. Teachers, administrators and staff fine-tune the sport of "grazing" from classroom to classroom on the delectable food our families provide for the community. Please note, Wednesday is noon dismissal and there is no child care. Your child's classroom teacher and/or division director will send specific pick-up details no later than Monday, November 21 so you can plan your pick-up accordingly. Happy Thanksgiving! Science Events for Families For those of you with budding scientists in your family, our middle school science teacher, Susan Sherman recommends a trio of events offered to the public that are part of the American Geophysical Union of Scientist annual meeting held the first week in December at the Moscone Center. The public events all take place on Sunday, December 4. Schedule of public events are here and are age appropriate for third through eighth graders. The American Geophysical Union of Scientists hold their annual is a convergence of more than 18,000 geophysical scientists from the world who gather to present their findings and ideas about the global climate, the oceans, volcanoes, earthquakes, polar conditions and more. Every year our seventh and eighth grade science teacher, Susan Sherman is honored to be one of only 50 teachers invited to attend a two-day workshop that presents the latest information about the physical systems of the planet earth. Included are discussions and hands-on experiments about how to present this material to students. Middle School Students Surpass National Fitness Standards During the last week in October, our middle school students participated in a series of fitness testing and the results of our students compared to the national standards are impressive. See the results of our middle school students. Tell Your MS Child the DJ Lounge at the Holiday Faire Is the Place The Holiday Faire is happening in just a few short weeks and there are quite a few new features, including the middle school DJ and lounge. This exclusive “lounge” area is a place for middle school students to hang out and listen to the music of DJ Mikey C. That’s right, eighth grader Michael C is quite the experienced DJ. His talents have brought life to several dances and events throughout the city and he always donates half of his proceeds to charity. We also hear he’s got quite the break dancing moves. The Holiday Faire is happening Saturday, December 3 in the Oak Street gym. We're looking for middle school volunteers. Please encourage your child to participate. Sign-up for Holiday Faire volunteering here. After their volunteer shift, they can hang out in the lounge area listening to DJ Mikey C. Hope to see you and your middle school children there! Art Sharing Tomorrow – All Families Welcome to Join As the first trimester comes to an end next week, we invite you to come see what your middle school child has been working on this trimester during the middle school sharing, happening Friday, November 18 from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. in the basement level of our Oak Street campus. There will be Brush Painting, Hip Hop, Chinese Music, Art, Dance and Winter Program Music preview! See the fruits of your child's first trimester in their Arts Program classes. Please come to the basement level at 2:00 p.m. The audience will rotate through art exhibits and watch live music and dance demonstrations. If you have any questions about the art sharing event, please contact Arts Program Director, Susan Kennedy. |
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| Parent Association | back to top |
 | Self-portrait T-Shirts Order Deadline Extended Our Parents Association has partnered with classroom teachers and has embarked on a fun and creative fundraiser this year that involves art and creativity and will result in a nice keepsake item. The self-portrait t-shirt project includes the partnerships of all grades and classes. Teachers will conduct the project in class. The result? A t-shirt, tote bag or sweatshirt that reflects both the creativity and artistry of our students. Families can order the products through the CAIS online boutique here. Please note, deadline has been extended! Please order items no later than Friday, December 9. For those who regularly come to the Oak Street campus, you can see a sample of the shirts on the first and third floors. Flyer with more information can be found here. The eScrip Corner: Relative and Friends Can Help CAIS Too Spending Thanksgiving with grandparents, uncles, aunts, or friends? While you're breaking bread, why not tell them how easy it is for them to generate eScrip donations that fund community and classroom activities for your child's school. Whether their local grocer participates or not, they can always contribute through their online purchases. And not one dime comes out of their pockets. To help them get started, email this eScrip invitation letter, which explains the program and how they can participate. Our Minds are on Turkey, but the Holiday Faire is Around the Corner
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| Athletics | back to top |
 | Cross Country and Volleyball Teams End Season with a Strong Finish This past Monday our cross country JV girls team won the SFAL league championship trophy. Way to go fifth and sixth grade girls! The JV boys finished second place in league and varsity girls finished third. In volleyball news, our varsity team finished the post season in second place, losing the championship by a small margin at Friday’s playoff match. The JV team finished third place in the SFAL league. This past Monday basketball season commenced with daily practices in the gym from 3:45-5:00 p.m. Our JV boys are the defending champions and the varsity boys placed second in the league. Full basketball game schedule can be found on the school calendar. Check the Veracross division pages for links to cross country and volleyball photos. Middle School Students Surpass National Fitness Standards During the last week in October, our middle school students participated in a series of fitness testing and the results of our students compared to the national standards are impressive. See the results of our middle school students. |
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| Library | back to top |
 | Book Fair Starts After Thanksgiving in New Venue The Winter Scholastic and Chinese book fair will start on Monday, November 28 after the Thanksgiving holiday and will run through Friday, December 2. New this year, the book fair will be held in the third floor library of our Oak Street campus. Visit the CAIS book fair homepage for details here. This year there is an additional online site to purchase books that will be open for two weeks from November 21 through December 5. You can access the online site here. This an easy way to purchase books while supporting our school library and classrooms. Teachers have wish lists for their classrooms that are funded by the book fair profits. Orders from our online fair will arrive several days after the online fair end date. Our Librarian, Warren Wright will receive one shipment for all orders and each order will be individually bagged and labeled by teacher and student for easy distribution. Halloween is Over – Please Return UNICEF Boxes This year's UNICEF donations are adding up from the efforts our children made during Halloween. The first grade has raised a total of $226.44 and the second grade has a total of $225.55, a difference of only 89 cents. The sixth grade collected a total of $105.31, bringing the total amount collected this year to $739.09, the largest amount since 2007! Please turn in any remaining UNICEF boxes to your teachers so our librarian, Warren Wright can send the donations to UNICEF before Thanksgiving. Thank you for your strong support of this activity this year. |
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