LUNCH DELI BAR TO BEGIN FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Attention CSIHSIS Students:

Your voices have been heard! Thanks to our Student Parliament, who met at the end of last year with the nutritionist from our school cafeteria, we will have a lunch deli bar this year beginning the first day of school.

There will be two registers in the cafeteria; one for the purchase of hot foods and the other for the deli bar, where you will be able to select meats, cheeses, salad toppings, and contidiments to create your own heroes.

School food will be piloting this program in our cafeteria. Its success will be determined based on student use of the deli bar--so Dragons, you asked for it, it is here, now it is up to you to keep it!

UNICEF & United Nations Provide Students with Opportuntiy to Participate in Secretary General High Level Summit on Climate Change

The Secretary General High Level Summit on Climate Change will take place on September 22, 2009. It is anticipated that over 100 world leaders will be in attendance for the Summit. Selected delegates will participate in the Secretary General’s Opening Session by presenting their ideas in a document to world leaders and creating a video on climate change solutions, which they will present during the Session. The delegates will also participate in the Closing Session of the Summit, as well as the First Ladies' luncheon on children and climate change on September 23. Students will engage in a preparatory programme during which time they will review many facets of climate change with UNICEF technical staff and outside experts.

We are thrilled to have been asked to have our students apply to this program as only 12-15 students will be selected. Eight of our recommended students have alpplied to participate in this wonderful learning experience where they will engage in collaborating with others, public speaking, problem solving, and learning more about climate change and what they can do to help solve this global problem.

In the meantime, you can help: Turn Down, Recycle, Walk,

CHANGE!

Journey Into Journalism

Once again we need your help to enhance our students' learning experiences in Journalism.
As our journalism class is made up of students in three grades, the curriculum and reading selections must be differentiated to meet the needs of the students in those grades. Seniors, who have been in the journalism class for a year or more, need new literature that will challenge and engage them, while expanding their knowledge of the field of journalism.

The Elements of Journalism is a classic nonfiction piece about the responsibility reporters have to their audience. In addition, this book will provide insight into all aspects of the journalism profession. Since it is written by journalists, it is a valuable source for our students who are eager to learn and improve as high school reporters and who may be interested in careers in journalism.

Your help will ensure that our senior students continue to be challenged and engaged in this course. As the mentors in the class, this book will help them move closer to becoming effective mentors who practice professional high school reporting.

Any donation that you can afford, as well as your passing this proposal on to others who may be interested in helping enhance our Journalism Program is appreciated. Click here to donate to this worthwhile project: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=304546&verify=1958088204

NYC Marathon 2009

When I got home after surviving the rip tides this morning during a training swim in the pre-hurricane ocean waters of the Jersey Shore, I went online to read all about how the Yankees will sweep the Red Sox to find my confirmation email for entry into this years NYC Marathon. The marathon takes place the first Sunday in November.

I have spent a lot of the summer traveling, and training & racing triathlons - in downtown from reading novels & planning technology curriculum of course! I have been getting ready for an October 4th Half-Ironman. Its a 70.3 mile race that covers 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles on a bike, and a 13.1 mile run. Fun, fun, fun! I am doing that race for the I-Will Foundation. I have raised money without the help of my hardworking advisory because of the summer months so I am eager to return to Advisory and hear all the wonderful ideas they will have for their next service learning project - as I am sure my advisory has been thinking and writing down their ideas all summer, right?

I am running the 2009 NYC Marathon for the Boomer Esiason Foundation Team. This is a charity that raises money for Cystic Fibrosis. Like we did for the Wellness Community, I am sure that the Miano Advisory and our school community will do all we can to help a great cause! Since the marathon is the first weekend in November we'll be working hard from the start of the year.

Can't believe it is August already!

Share Your Summer Experiences With the CSIHSIS Community!

This summer CSI students , staff , and their families have traveled to England, China, to a variety of countries in Africa, to Canada, to Puerto Rico and other areas of the Caribbean, as well as throughout the United States. Additionally, students have completed internships, have had work experiences, and have participated in a variety of summer programs including film making programs, athletic programs, and arts and academic programs. It would greatly enrich our community if you could share your reflections, your photos and your learning from your summer experiences with us.

I was fortunate to participate in Alan November's Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston this summer. The conference focused on using technology in classes to enage students in active learning and to build student and professional learning communities. Hopefully we will be trying screencasting and digital story telling in addition to having students collaborate through the use of google docs. We are also considering having students develop digital portfolios through the use of blogs. As I participated in the conference, I had the opportunity to practice using some of the tools we hope to incorporate into learning this year. We twittered and tweeted to share our learning, we took notes simultaneously sharing our product using google docs, and had opportunties to experience new ways to engage learners using technology. Tlo read a little about what I learned, and to learn more about why it is imperative to engage students using technology read Alan November's article "Students as Contributors: The Digital Learning Farm" http://novemberlearning.com/resources/archive-of-articles/digital-learning-farm/
Now I am off to Puerto Rico to learn how to relax and to enjoy some time with my family.

Help Us Build a Multi-Media Component for The International Insider

Click here to see how you can help our school make our award winning newspaper, The International Insider, a full multi-media news source: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=299209

Our newspaper, which we publish 6-8 times a year, is international in that our articles have a global focus, students collaborate with students in other countries to write articles together, and we have a network of schools from around the globe with students who report for our newspaper.
Our newspaper has grown from a 4 page to 16 to 20 page layout with a staff of 50 students from all grades. As we are an international studies school with reporters in schools around the globe, we need to move forward technologically to become a multimedia online newspaper. A multimedia newsroom will allow for differentiation in that students who are technologically savvy will play an integral role in publishing a live online newspaper complete with podcasts and video segments.
In order to move forward technologically, our news room needs the proper software. Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Student Edition is a program that combines Indesign, Photoshop CS4 Extended, Illustrator CS4, Flash CS4, Dreamweaver CS4, and more. Such a program will allow all students to benefit both in the newsroom, school and international community, as everyone will have access to our newspaper.
Your help will ensure that my students are able to move our school publications, our newspaper and literary magazine to a new level by adding 21st Century technology, while also providing them with additional opportunities to grow in achieving 21st century learning skills as this software will afford them the opportunities to work as news reporters with cutting edge technology.

To read back issues of The International Insider click here: http://www.csihighschool.org/international-insider

College Trip October '09

To all 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students:

Seats are still available for the College Trip!!

October 15th - 16th
University of Delaware
University of Maryland
American University
George Washington University

$100 per person includes charter bus, hotel room, and all meals
See Ms. Mammaro in Room 240D on September 8th for a permission slip!!!