Updates Archives - Allisonville Elementary School

4th Grade College Project

Ellen Rogers — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:12:27 +0000

4^th grade students at Allisonville Elementary have been working on a project that will ultimately give them a confidence about college, as they inquire deeply into their subject matter . Each student has been assigned an Indiana College that they research from many different angles. While learning about the college institution, they are also learning about Indiana History. In addition to the research portion of the project, students have also established a pen pal relationship with students in the College of Education at Purdue. The communications between the students allow the 4^th graders to learn more about what college is like in general and form a personal connection with a current college student. “The project has so many benefits,” said teacher Josh Bolles. “The college confidence in one layer, learning Indiana History is another, and another added benefit is the practice of letter writing.”

One student has even taken the project a step further; he visited the college that he has been researching, Manchester College over the winter holiday. After having a campus tour and visit to the College Archives, not only has the student deepened his own inquiry, but Manchester College is also writing an article on him for their next publication.

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AV Announces IB Authorization

Ellen Rogers — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 03:25:00 +0000

Congratulations Allisonville Elementary!!! Three years ago, Allisonville joined the MSD of Washington Township on a journey to become an International Baccalaureate World School. This is not a task that is easily accomplished. There have been many hours of hard work by every person that makes up our Allisonville family; teachers, administrators, the front office staff, the janitorial staff, the cafeteria staff, and most importantly our students! Students have been on a journey to learn about IB learner profiles, attitudes, and units of study. A transformation has been taking place and today we announce to you that it has ALL paid off. This past week, Allisonville was informed from the International Baccalaureate World Office that our school has become a fully authorized International Baccalaureate World School!! This is great news!

What does it mean for Allisonville ? It very simply means that we continue the superior academic instruction that we teach every day; we continue supporting our teachers with access to the very best training that the International Baccalaureate World curriculum offers, and our students will now be recognized in the education world as students who are being exposed to the high quality standards and rigor for which the International Baccalaureate is known. What is different is that it is now all official. We are now officially authorized and recognized by International Baccalaureate World Schools. Please take a few moments to explore the International Baccalaureate website to get a deeper understanding of where Allisonville Elementary is headed www.ibo.org

This is an exciting time in the history of our learning community. We hope that you will celebrate along with us, by attending the MSD of Washington Township School Board meeting on December 12^th at 7:00 pm where a formal announcement and recognition will take place. The following afternoon, December 13^th from 3-6:00, families are invited to attend the CEC Winter Open House. This is an annual event, and will celebrate this year the amazing accomplishment of IB Primary Years Program (PYP ) authorization. Students will celebrate this great news at an upcoming all-school convocation. Until then, please consider joining us at either one of the district events, planned for Dec. 12 and Dec. 13. at the Community and Education Center located at 8550 Woodfield Crossing Blvd. 46240. We hope to see you there!

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AV Students Fund Well in Guinea

Ellen Rogers — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 15:49:41 +0000

Allisonville teacher Steve Auslander has taken IB Action to his students, and in the process lifetime lessons have been learned that will have an impact for a long, long time. In 2012, Mr. Auslander’s class set out to build a relationship with a class nearly 5,000 miles away in Guinea on the continent of Africa. Through an organization called School to School (STS) Mr. Auslander set up a pen pal account where students at Allisonville Elementary would exchange letters with a class in Guinea. Making the project even more exciting was the fact that letters between the students had to be translated as the Guinea native language is French. The most exciting element was yet to come. Through communicating with the class in Guinea, Allisonville students became aware that drinking water did not come easy for their far away friends. They learned in fact that the only fresh, safe water during the student’s day at school was more than 2 kilometers away. Thus began a fund raising effort by Mr. Auslander’s class that would include the efforts of several other 4th and 5th grade classes at Allisonville. The goal: to fund the well. Fund raising projects included talent shows, popcorn sales, lemonade stands and more. “It was a true team effort of the 4th and 5th grades here at Allisonville,” said Mr. Auslander. “It just shows that kids can make a difference. Because of a motivated and caring group of 4th and 5th grade Allisonville students, an entire African community will enjoy clean drinking water.” Through the many different fundraisers, Allisonville students raised over $3,000. Today, the well has been constructed and not only do students benefit, but so does an entire community. Below is the account of the well construction by Mamounan Kpokomou, the School to School National Coordinator in Guinea. Please also visit the STS website, recognizing Allisonville students and Mr. Auslander for their support. http://www.sts-international.org/Donor_Allisonville.html

The construction of Nasser well

June 4, 2013

By: Mamounan KPOKOMOU

STS National Coordinator, Guinea

The Nasser well is situated behind the classrooms, two meters from the wall. This well was financed by Allisonville Elementary School, an active participant of STS’s pen pal program, who spearheaded a variety of fundraising initiatives in 2012 to make this possible.

The completion of this work began by the awareness of the local communities to the importance of clean water in daily life. At once, local partners banded together and worked together to assemble 12 cubic meters of sand, 6 cubic meters of gravel and a cubic meter of granite. In a week’s time, the students helped their parents gather these materials in the schoolyard.

The well digger, along with the beneficiaries, proceeded to select the location of the improved well. Assisted by his workers, he dug the water table at a depth of 18 meters. The construction of the well was followed by the manufacturing of nozzles to be used to protect the water from the well, thereby preventing the earth walls of the hole to fall into the well water.

The nozzles, once dried, were stacked in the cylindrical hole with strings designed for this kind of work, which requires great physical effort. The pulley system was also constructed and arranged above the wells. A ladle with a plastic container and a rope was installed for the pulley so that even the youngest members of the community can fetch water easily.

This work would not be possible if it weren’t for STS and its fellow partner, Allisonville Elementary School.
The Nasser well will serve about 285 students, including 134 girls, and the surrounding population estimated at about 300. There are about 30 families that reside in this community.

We would like to gratefully acknowledge Allisonville Elementary School for its contribution. Nasser is one more community that will benefit from access to clean water. Our gratitude to the generous donors will speak at first by the care that the community will take to the well to ensure its longevity.

[button size=”medium” color=”blue” style=”none” new_window=”true” link=”http://www.msdwt.k12.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/TEMOIGNAGES-translated.pdf”]Testimonials from Guinea Community[/button]

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IB Project; display of Community Caring

Ellen Rogers — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 16:40:43 +0000

Second semester of last year, 5th grade students completed IB projects, as the first class of Allisonville International Baccalaureate World School 5th graders. There were many different projects, which encompassed many different themes. This Allisonville student hand painted over 50 portraits of cats and sold them for $10 each. The proceeds from her sale totaled $500, which she donated to the Indy Feral Veterinary Clinic. OUTSTANDING!

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IB @ AV

Ellen Rogers — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 00:19:05 +0000

Last summer 5th grade teacher Steve Auslander traveled to Israel to meet a class and teacher with whom he and his students had established a classroom pen pal relationship. This week, one of the teachers from the Israeli pen pal school visited Allisonville!

Mr. Auslander’s students enjoyed demonstrating several technology tools that their pen pal friends might want to try in Israel. The partnership with the Israeli school is fostered through a program called Partnership 2Gether (P2G). Building international relationships, helps us to achieve global understanding and helps to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. This is part of the International Baccalaureate mission.

Take a look at the video archiving the day, at this link:

http://animoto.com/play/hTPM2ZZwD8VyId19u8C5zA

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IB in WT Update

Ellen Rogers — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 18:58:01 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (January 9, 2017) – Having been authorized as International Baccalaureate (IB) World Schools in 2013, all seven Washington Township elementary schools have recently undergone their first official International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP) evaluation. Washington Township is pleased to report that none of the schools received matters to address indicating that ALL elementary schools are upholding the integrity of the IB program.

Being evaluated by the International Baccalaureate Organization allows Washington Township to realize how well the district is meeting the standards and practices that IB has established as part of their quality assurance framework. There are seven standards and approximately one hundred practices regarding philosophy, organization, and curriculum that are implemented by IB schools all over the world.

The framework for the IB evaluation is built in such a way as to recognize each school’s strengths (commendations) and at the same time, explore areas for improvement (recommendations).

“The Washington Township elementary schools consistently received a good ratio of commendations to recommendations,” said Mr. Chad Hyatt, Washington Township Curriculum Coach. “One of the common commendations across the board was the commitment of the governing body of the school district to the implementation of the IB program. One of the common recommendations across all seven elementary schools was a recommendation that is seen frequently among ALL IB schools, and that is to improve the transdisciplinary aspect of the program. The PYP is committed to students learning about their world through the integration of subject areas, just like they naturally do in life. With mandates from the state for segmented instruction in subjects like literacy and math this can often be a challenge especially for public schools to overcome. As a district, we are constantly exploring ways to keep this philosophy at the forefront of our efforts so that we meet our state standards, satisfy state requirements, and implement an IB program within a transdisciplinary focus,” concluded Hyatt.

The International Baccalaureate Organization does not run or operate schools, but instead they work with schools to offer quality international education. Washington Township elementary schools will not be evaluated again for five years. The three middle schools and North Central High School will begin their first evaluation process in the 2018-19 school year with an official visit from IB the following year.

For more information about the International Baccalaureate programs in Washington Township, visit http://www.msdwt.k12.in.us/academic-programs/

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