Announcements

=Announcements= toc

(12 Sept)
Dear All,

Please note below the agenda for Thursday's meeting at 7.15am in Song 6:

1.	Philosophy and Policy Purpose update

2.	Common Language for language

3.	LANGUAGE COMMITTEE


 * GUIDELINES FOR SUB-COMMITTEE WORK**

1.	Decide on roles and responsibilities for sub-committee members: ·	Facilitation of meetings ·	Formulation of agendas ·	Recording and distribution of minutes (within sub-committee and to wider group) ·	Timekeeping

2.	Decide on time, date, location and regularity of sub-committee meetings

3.	Suggested Steps and Timeline i)	Review the May 2005 brainstorm questions and edit/add to lists, (see attachments) ii)	Collect existing documentation, policy, philosophy; Parent/student/faculty surveys Match practice against philosophy and highlighting areas of mismatch for discussion Send drafts to whole committee/admin check and feedback Present final documents for stage 1 sections for final committee review.
 * September/October:**
 * Mid-end October**
 * End of October/early November:**
 * End of November:**

See you then.

(9 Sept)
Dear All,

Many thanks for a productive meeting last Thursday morning. The drafts for statements of philosophy, purpose, implementation and evaluation will be with you very soon!

I suggest we do meet again this Thursday 14 September at 7.15am in Song 6 with your coffee and my cookies to move towards sub-committee work with some suggested procedures, timelines and the questions from the May 2005 brainstorm for your focus area as a starting point.

Just a reminder that our wiki address is: http://langpolicy.wikispaces.com/ Thanks to Beth for arranging this!

See you soon!

(4 Sept)
Dear All, Thank you all for considering an alternative start time for our meetings. The morning slot was the most popular so please can we meet from 7.15-8.00 in Song 6 on Thursday morning this week. Let's make a prompt start. If you bring your coffee I will try and remember cookies!

AGENDA 1. Philosophy Brainstorm update. 2. Policy: Implementation and Evaluation (Preparation: Please bring your ideas cut up or on post-its ready to stick). Groupwork- catergorize responses prepare a written summary of the main points on the posters brief oral feedback (if time allows). 3. Next meeting 4. AOB

See you then!

(1 Sept)
Dear All, Now that extra-curriculars are starting, there are a number of people who will have a clash with our Monday afternoon time, (and possibly other days). I'd like to get a sense of when an alternative time might work for all or most people: A morning before school (7-8) An afternoon after activities or the Wednesday meeting (4.30-5.30) Please let me have your votes with first and second preference by Monday morning and I get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, be busy brainstorming and printing out the slips on policy implementation. Have a good weekend.


 * __LANGUAGE POLICY: PURPOSE, IMPLEMENATION AND EVALUATION__**
 * Stage 1: Complete by early/mid September 2006**
 * 1) What is the purpose of a language policy?
 * 2) When/where/for whom is the language policy applicable?
 * 3) How will the language policy conform to IBO/WASC/CIS/NCCT expectations/requirements?
 * 4) Who monitors/assesses the implementation/evaluation/revision of the language policy?
 * 5) What are the consequences for non-compliance with different aspects of the policy?
 * 6) Will we have essential agreements regarding implementation of the policy?
 * 7) How do we communicate the language policy to the community?
 * 8) How do we define a language for learning policy?
 * 9) How/when will the language policy be revised?
 * 10) What can we learn from other schools?
 * 11) What language do we choose to teach at our school and to what level?

(27 Aug)
Dear All, Just a final reminder of our meeting in Song 6 at 3.30pm on Monday. Agenda 1. Philosophy Brainstorm (preparation: bring philosophy statements for different bullet points on separate index cards/post-its/paper slips). 2. Sort Card Activity 3. Poster paper write up. 4. Gallery Walk and comment. 5. Group report and committee edit. 6. Next Week: Preparation for Policy: Purpose, Implementation and Evaluation brainstorm 7. AOB

(23 Aug)

 * LANGUAGE COMMITTEE BRAINSTORM**
 * What is the role of language in our school in promoting friendly, collaborative, constructivist, world citizens?
 * How do we value all languages and cultures?
 * Why is language important?
 * What are the benefits of learning languages?
 * What do we understand about language and learning?
 * What is the role of English in our school?
 * What is the role of the host country language in our school?
 * What is the role of other languages in our school?
 * How do we define, promote and cater for different kinds and needs of bilingualism/s in our school?
 * What level of proficiency do we want students to achieve?
 * Are there different/common expectations for different languages in our school?
 * What are the roles and responsibilities and expectations of administration, teachers, other employees, parents and students in our school?