Upcoming Events and Recent Successes

Dear CAISL Community,

After 4 days of school, we are truly back in the swing of things.   I know I just posted a blog a few days ago but wanted to start the school year with some information about upcoming events and a reflection on our recent successes.   

New Family Coffees

Parents new to the CAISL community are invited to a “New Family Coffee”.    These informal sessions are designed to provide you with additional information about the school and to answer any questions which have arisen.  I also want to hear from you about your and your children’s introduction to CAISL, first few days of school, and your thought on what went really well and what we can improve on to help future new families.

These New Family Coffees are scheduled for

Tuesday, September 25, 08h45

Thursday, September 27, 18h00

Thursday, October 4, 08h45

Those of you who are new to CAISL this year will shortly be receiving an invitation and a request to choose a date. 

IB Diploma Student Successes

CAISL’s pass-rate for the IB Diploma Exams for May 2012 was 90%.  This is an excellent result as the average pass rate worldwide for May 2012 was 78%.  You can find further information on the May 2012 results as well as an overview of CAISL’s IB Results for the past 10 years on the CAISL web site here

Our results are particularly distinctive when you consider that CAISL does not refuse to allow students to try for the IB Diploma.   It is quite common—in the highly competitive world of international schools—for students who are not predicted to “help” the school’s results to be refused entry or dis-enrolled part-way through the program.  CAISL encourages students to try and only rarely and in extreme circumstances dis-enrolls students from the program.

Evaluation of CAISL

Over the past 18 months, CAISL has undergone external evaluation by 2 accrediting agencies as well as participated in the “Foundation Census” instituted by the Portuguese government.

Foundation Census:  

The Portuguese government instituted an intensive review of entities constituted as “foundations.”  The school CAISL is governed by the not-for-profit Fundação Escola Americana de Lisboa (FEAL) and thus was part of this census.  The results, published in early August, were widely publicized by the local media as well as available on the Portal do Governo.  

I am quite pleased to tell you that CAISL was ranked the 8^th best-run out of 190 Foundations.   The criteria were 

Pertinência / relevância                       Pertinence/Relevance

Eficácia / eficiência                                 Efficiency

Sustentabilidade                                     Financial Sustainability

Accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS)

The NEASC and CIS Visiting Team came to CAISL the last week of March 2012. 

Many of you attended the Sunday afternoon community reception and/or the open-invitation meeting with the team Tuesday morning.  

At the end of the week, the team met with the CAISL staff to summarize its findings but, since their report needed to go to the NEASC and CIS Board, they could not give much detail.

Accreditation is granted for 10 years (with interim reports and visits) and then must be re-applied for.  Since our most recent Accreditation dated from 2002, we were scheduled for a re-accreditation visit in 2012.

Accreditation is not required for a school to exist but seeking accreditation does indicate that a school is striving for quality. 

In June 2012, we were informed by both NEASC and CIS that we had been re-accredited for a further 10 years.  Our re-accreditation was a “clean” report with commendations and recommendations but no “red flags.”    In fact, having worked with the Accrediting Agencies myself for many years, both as a Chair and as a Team Member on the visits to other school and as a Director and Teacher at a school receiving a visit, I am delighted that there were more commendations than recommendations in the report (very unusual) and that the commendations were glowing and the recommendations mirror those we had already identified and support our efforts at continual growth and improvement.

Over the next two years, we will be analyzing and working to address the recommendations in the report.  This update is due to the agencies in 2014. 

The full report (quite lengthy!) as well as a summary of the Commendations and Recommendations is in the pass-worded section of the Parent Community tab on the CAISL web site here    (If you are a current CAISL parent and do not know the password, it will be emailed out again in the Friday newsletters this week or you can email me.)

Over the next weeks and months, you will see quotes from the Visiting Team appear around school, in the press, and as the “sign-off” line in our email signature. 

However, I think it is worth repeating just a few of the commendations and statements from the Team’s Conclusion below as they are truly glowing and I am quite pleased that the 10-member Visiting Team so quickly identified these as strengths of CAISL and that every aspect received praise:

NEASC and CIS Praise for

Our Program

CAISL has developed clear and broadly understood guiding statements; core values and expectations for learning that . . .help to create and sustain the engaged and energetic climate that characterizes the teaching and learning life of the community.

The Visiting Team commends the faculty and staff for their student-centered approach to learning.

Our School Culture

The Visiting Team commends the school for creating an environment between teachers and students that is respectful, caring and where all are excited about learning.

There is a pervading sense of calm, of students who are comfortable in their work and in their relationships with teachers.

Th[e] quality of ease ought not to be confused with a lack of vigor and challenge.

The school is a work place, but not one that wears students down. It is a busy environment, but not a hectic one.

Expectations are high, but a commitment to kindness is evident. Students clearly feel that this is their school.

Our Students

The Visiting Team highly commends CAISL students for their embodiment of the qualities embraced by the school’s Profile of the Learner.

The Board of Trustees

The Visiting Team noted the strong and sustained support of the School’s Board for all the efforts CAISL has undertaken. This small group has been steadfast, generous and diligent, through many difficulties, and continues to hold the school in trust in wise and essential ways.

Financial Sustainability 

The Visiting Team commends the school for maintaining a sound fiscal policy in uncertain economic times thus ensuring that the expected quality of education continue.

  

I look forward to seeing each of you at Open Houses, the PTO Picnic toward the end of the month, PTO Meetings and just “around” campus.  If you wish me to address any particular topic in this blog (or at a meeting or presentation), please post a comment or email me. 

Blannie Curtis, Director

CAISLisbon.

Welcome to a New School Year

Dear CAISL Community,

Welcome to a New School Year.  It was wonderful to welcome our new students and their families at yesterday’s New Family Orientation and to see again after the summer break so many of our returning families.  

BLOGGING

Last year I started a “blog” in which I commented and reflected on happenings at school that I thought would be of interest to you.  I will continue that this year and hope you will post responses or questions in the “comment” section of the blog.  When a question is posted, I will respond although I may wait a while to post a response to see if others post related questions.   

You can sign up on the blog to be notified whenever a new comment (by me or others) is posted.   If you have suggestions for topics you would like to see me address, please post your suggestion or email it to me.  I do not promise to post a new blog on any rigid regular schedule but plan to do so 3 or 4 times each semester.   The link to the blog on the home page of the web site will always be to the current version.

As always, however, there are some parameters within which this blog will operate. If you have a question or concern which directly relates to your own child, other children, a specific teacher or other CAISL employee, you will need to address that privately with the person most able to respond--the teacher or other employee first, then the Principal (or Business Manager or other direct supervisor if the employee is not a teacher). Please do not comment on individuals in this blog. 

There is also an “online suggestion box” (linked from the www.caislisbon.org web site) on which you can provide your insights and suggestions in a private manner.  

However—this blog and the online suggestion box are only provided as additional means—not the primary means--of communication.   The primary communication should be person-to-person dialog.  A conversation is always the best way to get a question answered or to resolve a concern.

COFFEE MORNINGS AND OPEN FORUMS

Last year I began holding monthly “Coffee Mornings” which were informal “question and answer” sessions.  Some had pre-set agendas, derived from the topics which were most posted on the blog and some were “open” sessions with no agenda.  These were held in the morning on campus.  I will continue with the “Coffee Mornings” although also plan to relinquish some months to Katie and Nate who wish to begin holding their own Open Forum sessions. 

Additionally, the Board of Trustees holds two Open Forum sessions for parents, in the evenings, one during 1^st semester and one during 2^nd semester.  There are no pre-set agendas for these.   The Trustees will continue with their two sessions during the year. 

All of these will be announced via the Friday newsletters as well as posted on this blog and on the web calendar.  I hope to see you at these.  If there are topics you would like to see addressed—by me or others—please post a comment/question or email me directly.

REMINDER:  PARKING LOT OPENS!

As you have already read in the Elementary and Secondary pre-school opening newsletters, as of the first day of school, Monday, September 3, the parking lot to the side of the Secondary Building will be open for parent and staff use.

Please read and follow carefully the instructions at these links:

English version 

Portuguese version

NEXT BLOG:        Wednesday, September 5. 

  

June 19: Next Director's Coffee Morning

The next Director’s Coffee Morning will be on Tuesday, June 19, 08h45 to 10h00, in the 'old' Elementary Art Room. There is no agenda for this meeting.   We revert to the 'Open Forum' format.

I hope to see you there.

Blannie Curtis

Next Director's Coffee Morning: Thursday, May 3, 08h45 to 10h00

Now that the Visiting Team for Accreditation has departed and we are back from a well-earned spring break, let’s get back on a once-per-month schedule of “Coffee Mornings.”   The next one is scheduled for Thursday, May 3, at 08h45.

The comments section of this blog is open for posting comments, questions, and/or suggestions for agenda items for May 3.  Please let me know what you want to be discussed or what you want to know more about or what questions you have. 

In the meantime, I hope that each of you will be able to come to the “Speaker Series” the evening of Thursday, April 26, at 19h00.  An area of interest to all of us, I’m sure, and one I have spent a considerable about of time researching—as a teacher and school administrator and for my High School class in Psychology this year—is how we help students become successful.   What are the skills they need, what are the attitudes and habits they need which will provide them the means to achieve success—academic success, personal success, career success.   Is one’s IQ a determiner of success?   What is the impact of effort and perseverance?   What role does patience play?     Feel free to bring friends who are not part of the CAISL community. 

I look forward to seeing you at, hopefully, both events. 

Blannie

Accreditation Visit and Invitation to Parents and new Online Suggestion Box

At the Director's Coffee Morning on Wednesday, February 29, there were two parents and the discussion was mainly informational about the upcoming visit from two of CAISL's accrediting agencies--the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS). 

NEASC/CIS Accreditation Visiting Team--invitation to parents.

CAISL will have its 10-year visit by a team consisting of professional educators from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the Council of International Schools (CIS) from 24 through 30 March.   This is part of the on-going process of school improvement and validation of programs and activities which is so important to ensure that a school continues to strive for and achieve the highest levels of excellence. 

There are two events related to this Accreditation Visit which are of particular interest to parents. 

On Sunday, March 25, from 16:00 to 18:00, CAISL will host a reception for the entire school community in the Snack Bar.  This is an informal "meet and greet" to welcome the team.  All parents are invited to attend but it is vital that you RSVP to info@caislisbon.org no later than Monday, March 19.

On Tuesday, March 27, from 08h45 to 10h00, the Visiting Team would like to meet informally with parents in a roundtable discussion.   There is no need to RSVP for this event which would have the format of an "open forum" although in this case it is likely to be the Visiting Team asking the questions of the parents.  This meeting will be held in the small classroom outside the gymnasium.

After the team has left, they will finish the report they must write to their respective governance boards and subsequently, probably over the summer or early next school year, we will get a detailed report which will give commendations for things we are doing well and make recommendations for areas we can improve. 

I look forward to many of you meeting with the Visiting Team.

Online "Suggestion Box"    CAISL values the opinion of each member of our community and wishes to hear from you and to answer your questions, to work with you to solve any problems which might arise, and to know what you are thinking. 

With that in mind, we are creating yet another way for you to provide us with input.  Dialog and discussion are always the most effective way to resolve issues of concern or to bring suggestions for improvement to our attention.  However, recognizing that some may prefer another vehicle to do this, we now offer the "online suggestion box." 

The CAISL Senior Management Team (Blannie, Katie, Nate, and Mark) and CAISL's Community Relations Coordinator (Maria) will read the comments.  You may choose not to give your name and, in which case, you may be assured that your input is anonymous and even those of us with passwords are not able to determine who submitted the survey answers. 

Please understand that, because it is impossible to enter into dialogue to gain complete understanding, anonymous comments may not always receive the attention they may deserve. 

The link to the survey is on the home page of the CAISL web site.

Blannie Curtis

Director

CAISL

Next Coffee Morning: Wednesday, February 29, 08h45

Dear CAISL Community,
Last night (Tuesday, February 7), the Board of Trustees held an "Open Forum" for parents.  Trustee Open Forums are held twice a year and are an opportunity for the parent community to sit with the three Trustees to ask questions about the school and the role of the Trustees.  There is never a set agenda and the meetings are a dialog of questions and answers.  Last night, 3 parents came to the Open Forum and there was a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with the role of the Trustees explained by Michael de Mello, Board President, and a further exchange in which the parents were asked to share with the Board their experiences at the school.  A suggestion was made that perhaps an opportunity could be arranged for the PTO and the Board to meet together at some point.  Further discussion was held about the upcoming visit of the Accreditation Teams from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Council of International Schools which occurs at the end of March.    Once the Visiting Team has shared its preferred schedule with us, more will be posted on this blog about the Accreditation Process and the opportunities for parents to meet with the Visiting Team.

The next "Coffee Morning" will be held on Wednesday, February 29, at 08h45.  Because we are turning the "old" elementary cafeteria into the "new" Early Childhood Library over the next couple of weeks, we will need to find a new meeting place but I will figure that out and announce it before we meet.

Please post your suggested agenda items on this blog which will be open for agenda items or general comments until Thursday, February 23.  The agenda items will then be posted in the Friday newsletter that week.  If another parent posts a comment, question, or agenda item which interests you, please post a comment expressing your interest.  This way I will have a sense of the level of interest in particular issues which arise.  I will not respond immediately to posts as I do not want to cut off discussion and an exchange of ideas but, when a question is posted, I will wait a week or so (to give other parents time to comment as well) and then I will post a response.

I look forward to hearing from you.  All parents of the CAISL community are welcome to attend (and, in fact, encouraged to attend) the Coffee Mornings.
Blannie Curtis
Director

11 January 08h45: Next CAISLisbon Coffee Morning

Please post suggested agenda items below
or
simply post questions to which I will try to respond.

Agenda items need to be posted no later than the end of the day on Wednesday, January 4, so that I can compile the suggestions and post the agenda, linked from the Friday newsletters, on January 6.

Have a peaceful and pleasant holiday season!
Blannie