Upper School Girls to Compete in Volleyball

Nine of our upper school ladies will be competing against other Skopje schools as part of the Macedonian Sports Federation Volleyball Tournament next week. The first two matches will be played on 18 November at 11:00 a.m., the and second match will be played at 1:00 p.m. All matches will be played at the V.A. Dren High School gymnasium. This high school was formerly known as Boris Kidric High School located in Kisela Voda section of Skopje. One additional matche will be played on 19 November at 12:00 noon. If the girls do well and win all their matches they will move on to the next level of competion. In addition to QSI, other high schools participating are V.A. Dren High School, Nikola Karev High School, and J.B. Tito High School. Good luck girls. Plans are also being made for the boys and girls football (soccer) tournaments.

Seven Year Olds Create Pumpkin Globes

As part of their cultural studies geography unit, Ms Rachel had her class create globes from pumpkins. As you can see, the children all enjoyed this project while they learned the names of the oceans and continents.

Your Student is in an Accredited School!

How your school became accredited by the Middle States Commission on Elementary Schools

• Self-Study -- The Commission believes that students benefit from being in a school that thoroughly knows itself.
The first step is a year-long, in depth analytical self-study that begins with defining a philosophy of education and a description of the school community. This is followed by an appraisal of the school’s offerings and a self-evaluation of the organization, personnel, facilities, and materials of instruction.

Through the self study, the school discovers if it has what is needed to fulfill the promises offered by its philosophy. It also acquires the self-knowledge needed to plan with confidence.

• Objective Evaluation -- The Commission believes students benefit when their school undergoes an evaluation based on accreditation standards.
Having completed a successful self-study, the school is visited by a team of recognized educators named by the Commission.

The educators, who have no prior relationship with the school or its sponsoring authority, verify the findings of the self study and during a two or three day on-site visit, offer recommendations based on accreditation standards improvement.

• School Improvement Plan -- The Commission believes students benefit from being in a school that constantly strives for improvement.
The implementation of a school improvement plan serves as the foundation for continued quality education.

• Accreditation -- The Commission believes students benefit if their school continues to be actively involved with other high quality schools both to improve themselves and to participate in the national movement to improve education.
Accreditation is granted by the Commission when self-study, evaluation, and planning reports reveal that the school meets the standards for accreditation. Accreditation is normally granted for a period of seven years.

From Middle States Association Commission on Elementary School Parent Brochure Summer 2006

Weekly Bulletin Items

• Please, notify the Office of any changes or updates to your home and mobile phone numbers and email addresses. If there is a change in emergency contact information, the office needs to be included in this information, too.

• The Parent Teacher Organization decided to reschedule the International Food Festival scheduled for 26 November to spring 2009. At a future meeting of the PTO we will discuss a date.

• Just a reminder that the school will be closed 27-28 November so families can enjoy a Thanksgiving break and a traditional turkey feast.

• Work has begun on our school Accreditation for Growth mid- term review. The Planning and Implementation Teams will be reviewing our school Action Plans to update our Strategic Plans for a spring audit by Middle States Association. If you are interested in learning more please contact the office.

• Parent and Director Coffee Time: The Director will be conducting some small group discussions with parents interested in learning more about QSI’s philosophy, mission statement, grading program, and performance orienting mastery learning curriculum. Other items can also be discussed and questions may be addressed to the Director about the school’s curriculum. The first meeting will be held in the school cafeteria on 25 November at 9:00. Coffee and snacks will be available.

Six Rules about Trust

I’ve talked about it lots of times before: The high cost of lying and deception by politicians, police, corporate executives, clergy, journalists, accountants, and educators has weakened every major social institution.

As each of these domains wages its separate battle to remove the cloud of suspicion and cynicism that hovers over it, there are six truths about trust that must be understood and dealt with.

First, there is no shortcut to building trust. Rebuilding it on the rubble of lost credibility is much harder. The antidote is nothing less than scrupulous and consistent honesty – especially when the truth is costly.

Second, where trust is important, there are no small lies. Falsehoods, however small they seem, are like germs. Without the antibody of trust, they cause infections that can kill credibility.

Third, the lethal quality of lies lasts long after they’re told. Lies told years ago have an immediate poisonous effect on trust when they’re discovered. Think of all the prominent people who’ve been undone by the discovery of trumped-up old resumes.

Fourth, while honesty and forthrightness don’t always pay, dishonesty and concealment always cost. It’s true that in some settings nothing good may come of admitting wrongdoing, but it gets a lot worse when you don’t.

Fifth, lies breed other lies. It’s harder to tell just one lie than to have just one potato chip. Once you start deceiving, it takes more and more bodyguards of new lies to protect the old ones.

Finally, don’t be seduced by the “I’m just fighting fire with fire” excuse or all you’ll end up with is the ashes of your integrity. Self-justifications aside, you can’t lie to a liar or cheat a cheater without becoming a liar or a cheater.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
(From Character Counts at http://charactercounts.org/michael/2008/10/six_rules_about_trust_5904.html)

“You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.”

~ Indira Ganadhi ~