Dear Parents,
A very big Thank You to the PTA for hosting the luncheon
for the teachers today. It was a splendid way to recognize not only the time,
effort and expertise that our teachers bring to the classroom but also the
important link between teachers and parents as we work together to provide a rich
and secure learning environment for the children.
As I write, the 9th grade is celebrating
the end of the week with a pool party that their student leaders have
organized. They are having a great time feasting on the snacks brought by
parents and splashing in the pool. What better way to unwind at the end of a
hot and busy week? Our thanks go out to Mrs. Pam Sriharan and Mrs. Samina
Rahman for their help in making this event a success.
High School Week Without Walls - For a
number of years, AIS – Chennai has provided an opportunity for middle school
students to experience the culture and geography of India and explore new
interests in a Week Without Walls experience. We are excited to announce that
we will extend this opportunity to our high school students during the month of
October of the 2012-2013 school.
The structure of the trips will be different from that
of the middle school. We will offer 12 trips to different locations throughout
India, from the foothills of the Himalayas and the deserts of Rajasthan to the
mountains of south India and the Andaman Islands. Each trip will offer a
different set of experiences for your child to explore, including outdoor
adventure, community service and the arts and culture of India. Each trip will
have 16-20 students of mixed age and will be accompanied by two or three
faculty chaperones.
The Week Without Walls program will be an integral
component of our curriculum that is intended to enhance our efforts to instill
our beliefs as a school community in our students. In particular, the program
seeks to address the following AISC Beliefs:
·
As a community, we are proud of our diversity and recognize
it as a strength– appreciation of and empathy for diversity start with knowing
ourselves, our school community, and our host country.
· Our community has an obligation to promote a
challenging academic program that best meets the needs of all our learners and
feeds their intellectual curiosity - (1) a whole person constitutes not only a
person’s intellectual well-being, but also the person’s physical, social, and
emotional well-being and (2) a balance of academic, aesthetic, and athletic
experiences are necessary for a well-rounded education.
Your child received a packet of information last Tuesday, along with a form with which to indicate his or her trip preferences. this form requires your signature. Please talk with your child about the trips and return the form to the high school office by Monday so we can begin the process of assigning the students to the trips.
I hope you will share with us our excitement in being
able to offer this opportunity to our students, and look forward to making this
a fun learning experience. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or the WWW Coordinator, Mr. Ron Dirksen.
Semester Exams – The end of the school year is drawing near, which
means that the semester exams will take place soon. These are summative
assessments that help teachers determine the extent to which each student has
met the learning outcomes for the course. Seniors in non-IB or AP classes in English,
Foreign Language, Social Studies, Science and Math classes will take their
exams on May 23 and 24. All other students will take their exams starting on
June 1 and ending on June 6. To ensure the integrity of the assessments, final
exams will not be given prior to the exam dates. A final schedule will be
posted in the Daily Bulletin and on the bulletin boards around the high school.
Varsity
Sports Banquet – Our annual
celebration of our varsity athletes’ achievements will be held on Friday, May
18 in the Gym. See the notes from the Athletic Director, Mrs. Davenport, for
details.
Have a restful and enjoyable weekend.
John McCandless
High School Principal
John McCandless
High School Principal
