Dear
Parents,
It was
good to get back to school this week and step back into the whirl of activity.
And what a whirl it is! Tonight the annual Cabaret will showcase our middle and
high school students’ talents in music and dance. Starting at 7:00 p.m., it
will be our biggest event yet in our new theater. With a fantastic new sound a
light system, it promises to be our best Cabaret ever.
On Saturday
the Jan Jamboree will be jamming from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. The main event will be
a carnival of games and fun activities for the middle and elementary school
students. This is being organized by our high school students, who have been
very enthusiastic about providing this day of fun for the younger students.
There will be international foods available and several local vendors will be
selling their wares. The cost of entry for middle and elementary school
students is Rs 200. This will allow them unlimited access to over 20 games and
activities including cookie decorating, obstacle course, face painting, sponge
throw, slime booth, Wii tennis, beat the keeper, T1 car racing, bouncy castle,
balance beam pillow fight, nail salon and more. There is no charge for parents
and high school students. The proceeds from the ticket and food sales will go
to support the high school students’ community service activities. I hope we’ll
see you there!
The Voice Online – This month
the student newsletter, The Voice, goes digital. This newsletter is produced by
students for AISC community. Find out about what’s happening in the high school
by clicking here.
.
Report Cards - Semester 1 report cards were
distributed at the end of the school day today. They can also be viewed on
Skyward. I encourage you to take some time to discuss your child’s progress
thus far. It is a good time to celebrate successes and recognize the
challenges. The following simple questions provide a good framework for a
discussion and the opportunity to set goals for the semester.
- What did you do well?
- What did you not do well?
- What can you do to improve in your challenging areas?
Use
these questions to discuss your child’s progress in each class and set goals.
Setting reasonable and attainable goals will lead to success, and nothing
breeds success like success.
Yearbook photos – The school photographer will
be on campus on Monday, January 21
to take photos of those students who were not in school when the photos were
taken in September. The photos will be made available for purchase through the
All-School Moodle page later in the month.
Parent Curriculum Coffee -
Please note that this month's Parent Curriculum Coffee on Tuesday, January 22nd, will be for parents of High School and 8th
grade students. We will be discussing the course changes for
next year as well as the overarching approach that guides our high school
program of studies. The coffee will be held from 8:45 - 9:45 a.m. and
from 2:15 - 3:15 p.m. in the Hall of Light. Parents are welcome to attend
either session.
Course
registration for 2013-2014 – Even though August still seems a long way away, we will
soon begin the process of selecting courses for next year. This is an important
process for all of us. Mrs. Callaway will be helping students and parents make
decisions that will help our students realize their academic and career aspirations.
Once the course requests have been received, we will begin to build the
schedule of classes for next year.
The
first step in this process is sharing information on our academic program and
on the many options that are available. At the High School Parent Coffee on January 30, Mrs. Callaway will share
information with parents regarding the course registration process. She will
present the same information to students at an assembly on February 5. On that
day we will be sending home copies of the 2013-2014 edition of the High School
Curriculum Guide. This has information about our overall academic program as
well as individual course descriptions. It will be made available online as
well.
On
February 12, Mr. Robertson-Jones, our IB Coordinator, and Mr. Meyers, our AP
Coordinator, will make a presentation to parents and students on program our IB
Diploma and AP Programs. Please note that
the IB Parent Seminar scheduled for February 5 has been cancelled and that the
IB/AP Parent Seminar on February 12 will be held at 8:45-9:45 a.m.
From
February 5 through March 15 Mrs. Callaway will be meeting individually with
students and their parents to plan their courses for next year and beyond. The
course selection forms will be due in the office by March 15. For more
information, see the Guidance Counseling website link in the sidebar.
PSAT results - The results of the Preliminary
SAT (PSAT) have arrived. They will be distributed to the students this week.
Mrs. Callaway will share information on interpreting the results with parents
at the High School Parent Coffee on
January 30. She will also show parents the resources that are available to
students through the College Board website, www.collegeboard.com/quickstart.
It is a rich resource that helps students understand their results, practice
for the SAT and start searching for the college that will best meet their
interests and needs.
Model United Nations - Our Model United Nations team will
be travelling to The Hague, Netherlands, to participate in the THIMUN
conference Jan 28-Feb.2nd. THIMUN is the largest MUN conference in
the world, attended by more than 3000 students from international schools.
Eighteen of our students will be representing the country of Oman and UNIFEM
(UN Women’ Organization) in various committees of THIMUN. This is a greatly
opportunity for our students to show case their understanding of international
issues and how to solve them through diplomacy.
Skyward
Message Center -
You may have received messages from teachers through Skyward pertaining to your
child. It is important to note that any direct response in the Skyward
message center may not be immediately noticeable by the teacher. At the
moment, the best way to ensure a teacher reads your reply is by emailing them
directly at their @aisch.org email
account. If you do not have the email address of your teachers in your
contacts, please use the following method to reply to them.
1.Note the name of the teacher that
has sent you a message.
2.Click Schedule on the left of
your screen.
3.Click on the teacher name linked
in blue. An email form will appear.
4.Click on "Send a Copy to
Me" to get a copy of the email.
5.At this point, all further
communication will happen through email.
We
are working to ensure that all communications from Skyward are sent to the
email address we have on file for you.
IB
and AP updates - Be sure to check the
sidebar for news about our IB and
AP Programs. Mr. Robertson-Jones has provided some valuable
information this week about an exciting opportunity for our students to
participate in an IB Global Leadership Forum.
I’ll
look forward to seeing you at this weekend’s events.
John McCandless
High School Principal
