Lower Elementary
August 26, 2021
From the Lower Elementary Principal’s Desk
Dear Parents,
We have had a smooth start to our new school year. On Monday we welcomed our Group A students and on Tuesday we welcomed our Group B students. It was great to see lots of excited children on their first day of school. Students who were in post-travel quarantine this week, as well as those who are medically exempt, had the opportunity to attend daily Zoom sessions with their teachers and peers in school. We are looking forward to a rewarding school year.
We thank all the parents that joined our Principal and Counselor Virtual meeting on Wednesday. A recording of the session is housed on the Teneen divisional page, for those of you who were unable to attend.
Please note that starting this coming week, August 29 to September 2, the school day will start at 8:00 am for all grades and students will be welcomed on campus starting at 7:40 am and should arrive by 7:55 am.
Our school hours are as follows:
Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4: 7:55 am - 12:30 pm
KG, Grade 1 and Grade 2: 7:55 am – 3:00 pm
There will be no parent entry on campus during morning drop-off. Parents are able to enter the campus for pick-up at dismissal time. Our Lower Elementary School dismissal locations are as follows:
Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4 & KG - MPR
Grades 1 & 2 – Elementary Gym
Fifteen minutes after dismissal time, students who are not picked up will be escorted to the Elementary Office where they will be supervised until their parents arrive.
Faculty and Staff Information
Joining us this year are a great group of educators who are a most welcome addition to our Lower Elementary School team. We would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to our following new team members:
Faculty
Pre-K 3 Homeroom: Hannah Staley & Melissa Jenkins
Pre-K 4 Homeroom: Monica Perez
KG Homeroom: Shalena Harvin
Grade 1 Homeroom: Dawn Grogan & Deborah Tebo
Grade 2 Homeroom: Meral Sheta
Staff
Pre-K 3 Learning Assistant: Hershey Ansay, Hiroko Iida, Gerlie Pepito Acaso
Grade 1 Learning Assistant: Julie Claxton Tanjama, Sue Harrison, Marcia Oliveira
Grade 2 Learning Assistant: Carmen Scheffler, Rashmi Gayan, Sabahat Mahmood, Devyani Chauhan
Pre-K / KG LS Instructional Assistant: Maura Regina Carneiro
Art Assistant: Poonam Panda
Science Lab Assistant: Mariko Froning
In addition:
Eman Said and Zorida Centi have moved to KG
Tracy Garber has moved to Pre-K 3
Once again, we feel very fortunate to be supported by a fabulous team of leaders this year. Our divisional leaders for this new school year are as follows:
Grade Level / Team Leaders
Pre-K 3 & 4: Linnea Maloney
KG: Jennifer Bendriss
Grade 1: Matt Self
Grade 2: Rani West-Singh
Specialists: Jenn McEwan
Student Support Services: Zoe Gare
Subject Area Coaches & Coordinators
Literacy/Social Studies: Abby Kasky
Math/Science: Carol Little
IT: Jenn McEwan
World Languages: Julio Romero
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA): Sawsan Calfat
Health: Anne Sarafin
Back to School Night
Back to School Night will be held via Zoom on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 1. During the course of this afternoon, teachers will be sharing a great deal of information pertaining to curriculum and classroom routines/procedures. We encourage all parents to attend these virtual sessions. The Zoom session schedule is below:
Homeroom Teacher Sessions
3:30pm - 3:55pm Pre-K 3 & 4 Homeroom Sessions
4:00 pm - 4:25 pm KG Homeroom Sessions
4:30 pm - 4:55 pm Grade 1 Homeroom Sessions
5:00 pm - 5:25 pm Grade 2 Homeroom Sessions
Homeroom teacher sessions can be accessed by using the Homeroom teacher Zoom.
Specialist Teacher Sessions
These are repeated sessions and parents are encouraged to attend at one of the times that is most convenient for them. Specialist teacher sessions can be accessed by clicking on the Zoom link for your preferred time.
Hybrid Schedules for the Upcoming Weeks
Sincerely,
Dr. Lana Al-Aghbar
Lower Elementary Principal
What's on les
Updated Every Friday in Teneen!
Be sure to visit our LES Teneen page, for up-to-date information.
What's On LES
Sun, Aug 29
LES/UES Day A
ASD Bus Services Begin
Mon, Aug 30
LES/UES Day B
Tue, Aug 31
PACT, dismissal at 12:30 pm
LES/UES Day A
Wed, Sep 1
LES/UES Day 2B
LES Back to School Night, 3:30 pm - 5:25 pm, Zoom links provided by homeroom teachers
Thu, Sep 2
LES/UES Day A
Sahifa Editions
Check out our section on Teaching and Learning
Information for Parents
LES Grade 1 & 2 World Language Selection Form
2021-2022 ES Program of Studies
LES 2021-2022 Supply Lists
Message from ASD Nursing
Greetings From ASD Nursing,
We are excited to welcome students back to campus this year. We want to give some reminders to aid us in keeping our ASD community healthy:
Quarantine Upon Arrival to Qatar
Please be mindful if you are traveling back in the country that you adhere to the quarantine rules that Qatar has implemented. We understand that people are given various instructions in regards to quarantine based on where they have traveled from, vaccination status, age, etc. We at ASD ask that you are honest and follow the below quarantine guidelines based on MoPH directives:
Returning from a Red Country- Unvaccinated children aged (0-17) traveling with their fully vaccinated parents shall be subject to a home quarantine of 10 days.
Returning from a Yellow Country- Unvaccinated children aged (0-17) traveling with their fully vaccinated parents shall be subject to a home quarantine of 7 days.
Returning from a Green Country- Unvaccinated children aged (0-11) traveling with their fully vaccinated parents are exempted from quarantine if they are coming from a green-listed country. Unvaccinated children aged (12-17) traveling with their fully vaccinated parents shall be subject to 5 days of home quarantine if they are coming from a green listed country
All vaccinated students are exempt from quarantine, however, depending on the country from where you traveled, there may be directives to have a PCR performed within 48-72 hours of arrival. If this is the case please do not send the student to school until they have received their negative PCR results.
Vaccinated Students
In addition, if you have a student that is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 please do not forget to fill out this form for EACH vaccinated student. (If you have more than one vaccinated student you need to fill out a separate form for each student) This will allow us to give you a better picture of what percentage of our students are vaccinated and aid us in keeping track of which students are vaccinated as well.
Absences Related to Sickness
Please remember if your student shows any signs of sickness to please keep them at home and follow up with a doctor. Last year the nursing department worked very hard to track absences related to illness and to ensure that students who were out sick were only returning to campus after obtaining medical clearance from a doctor. This year we will still be implementing this policy and will do our best to follow up on all sickness related absences to ensure that when students return to school they are safe!
Please keep in mind that keeping the ASD community safe from COVID-19 requires participation and compliance from all members of the ASD community. This will require continued transparency in regards to the health of our students, faculty and staff, and our households.
Have a Good Weekend!
A Message from the ES Library
Please return any summer check-out books with your student or to the library cart at GATE 6 as soon as possible!
If your student completed the Summer Reading Challenge - Tower of Books, please return the check-off list and Book Spines with your student by 9 September to the Library.
Thank you,
Cindy Wright, LES Librarian
Karolee Martin, UES Librarian
A Message from ASD Bus Services
The ASD Bus Service will commence on Sunday, August 29 (Day A).
Bus schedules and route information has been sent to all parent emails. If you have not received your email please check your spam OR contact Bus Services busservices@asd.edu.qa
From our School Community
QATAR LITTLE LEAGUE is a developmental league that offers baseball, softball and Challenger programs for boys and girls ages 4-18 throughout Qatar. Players of all skill levels and abilities are welcome. No experience necessary!
Online Registration is NOW Open for our upcoming season
NEW THIS YEAR
A FREE LEARN TO PLAY BASEBALL OR SOFTBALL CAMP
September 17 and 18
More information about our program is available at our website: QatarLittleLeague.com
Commonly Asked Questions
When does the season start?
Sunday, September 26, 2021, but there will be an optional Knock the Dust Off Camp for registered members Friday and Saturday, September 24 and 25, 2021. The season will run through the end of February.
What are the Age Divisions and how much does it cost?
Where do we play?
We will start playing out at the Doha Sports Park in Lusail. Our hope is that the ASD Baseball field will be available to us sometime during our season, however, the Doha Sports Complex is our current plan.
What is the time Commitment?
With the exception of Tee-Ball and Challengers who practice and play on Friday mornings, all other divisions have one weeknight practice and at least one game on Friday OR Saturday.
What equipment do I need?
QLL provides helmets, bats, catcher gear, a uniform top and cap. Players will need a glove, athletic shoes, baseball pants, or athletic pants, and boys must have an athletic cup. Due to Covid 19 protocols we highly encourage batting gloves and will expect a mask to be worn when not on the field.
Where can I find out more information and Register?
Visit our website qatarlittleleague.com to register for the season and the two camps. Also, follow us on Facebook QatarLittleLeague & Instagram: Qatarlittleleague. You can e-mail us at qll@asd.edu.qa or qatarlittleleague@gmail.com with any additional questions.
The ASD Booster Club welcomes all our DRAGON families to the new school year!
Be safe. Be kind. Be active. Let’s go DRAGONS!
Our ASD Booster Store Online Catalog is back! It includes the store’s most popular items so be ready to show your dragon spirit! The Booster Club provides positive support and assistance to the American School of Doha Athletics and Activities Program for all school divisions.
Shop Online by clicking on the link below; pick up your purchased items at school! The orders will be delivered on a weekly basis to each student and ASD staff.
Please fill out THIS form to purchase your items after you have explored the Catalog below!
Click HERE for the Booster Club catalog.
Hope you had a restful summer! For PTA can we please include the following:
The PTA wishes to extend a warm welcome to our new and returning families, we look forward to meeting with you soon! Each year, the PTA publishes an Information Guide with some useful information about ASD and more information about the PTA. Please click HERE to check it out!
The JuniorSenior Committee welcomes all the new parents of Grade 11&12 students to another exciting school year at ASD! We have many fun things planned for the year. If you would like to be a part of this great committee, please contact us at juniorseniorcommittee@asd.edu.qa.
